For the first time in weeks, I finally felt able to breathe. Leaving England had been the right decision, but it didn’t make it any easier knowing the people I was leaving behind didn’t fully understand why I had to go. Magic was in my blood. That much had become clear to me since my first time in the tiny oceanside town of Brookhaven, Massachusetts two months ago. But in London, I wasn’t free to be myself. When I’d shared the news of my recently emerged magic with my parents, they’d told me I was a mental case.
Even though I’d seen what the start of my magic could do on my first trip to Brookhaven, the moment I’d set foot back on British soil, it was like that taste of power had vanished. I knew it wasn’t really gone. But being back home under my parents’ scrutiny had stifled my progress. With no one to guide me, my magic was withering like an untended flower. I deserved to blossom and flourish.
My first visit to Brookhaven had been brief, but memorable. On my first night there, my host, Tania, and I wound up in the middle of a hit-and-run that turned out to be a robbery from High Time, the town’s marijuana dispensary. I’d managed to harness my magic and it guided me to the culprit. Most sane people would have run the other direction after an experience like that. It had only drawn me closer. The feeling of safety I’d felt in the tiny town despite the danger was exactly what I needed. That and the people waiting to help me hone my skills like Tania, and the town’s resident healer, Maggie.
Which was why I sat in the backseat of the cab, the boot—trunk as Americans called it—stuffed full of suitcases of clothes and other personal effects as it pulled up to a quaint little bed and breakfast bearing the name Tia Tania’s in Brookhaven. I’d barely paid the cabbie when an older woman with graying hair raced out the front door.
“Darcy, we’ve been waiting for you,” the eponymous Tania called.
“Sorry, my flight got delayed,” I apologized and let the older woman wrap me in a tight embrace.
Tania Alvarez ran the bed and breakfast, and was the one to push me to explore my newly revealed magic when I’d come to stay for holiday two months ago. She’d insisted that when I made the decision to move here, that I stay with her as long as necessary. For a modest rent, of course.
“Beau’s been positively glum without you,” Tania rambled, pulling cases and bags out of the boot, and hefting them past the wooden sign with its red and purples roses.
Beau was a curious little fellow. A chameleon with telepathic tendencies who for some reason had taken a liking to me on my last visit. Communing with a non-verbal sentient creature had not been on my bucket list, but then neither had magic.
“I’ve missed him, too,” I replied, following Tania inside and up toward the second floor. My gaze stopped halfway up on the banister where I’d first encountered Beau. The wood was smooth as I ran a hand along it. No chameleon hiding in plain sight today.
“I’ve left the room just as you had it,” Tania said, nudging the bedroom door marked ‘4’ open with her foot.
“I’m sure you’ve had plenty of people come through,” I said and stepped in behind her. “But it is good to be back. Silly as it sounds, this already feels like home.”
“I’m just glad to have a familiar face around again,” she said and patted my shoulder.
She left me to settle in. Unlike my last visit, I took the time to unpack, filling the dresser neatly with shirts and undergarments. She’d provided empty hangers in the closet for trousers. The tiny hairs on the nape of my neck bristled as I stowed the now empty luggage in the back of the closet. I stood, pivoting slowly to find Beau perched on my pillow, blending in with the navy pillowcase. The curling of his tail and his slow blinking eyes were all that gave him away.
His sudden appearance would have freaked me out if he hadn’t already done it to me before. In fact, the first time he’d appeared out of nowhere had been in this very room. Right before we’d gone off in search of a thief who’d nearly totaled Tania’s car in their getaway. I didn’t entirely understand how Beau’s magic worked. But it didn’t hurt that he could somehow extend his camouflage and invisibility powers to me when he felt like it. I settled on the bed and stroked one finger along his back.
“Heard you missed me, mate.”
‘Happy now.’
His soft voice echoed in my mind, and I couldn’t help smiling. I glanced around, half expecting the B&B’s other resident supernatural to make an appearance, but nothing happened.
‘Not here.’
Well, that answered that question. The jet lag from the long flight—plus two stopovers—had caught up to me. I curled up on the bed, Beau settling against my shoulder.
I only intended to sleep for a little while, maybe an hour at most. I was sure Tania would wake me for supper. But when I finally woke, the sky outside was a deep inky blue and the clock on the night table read 12:10.
Part of me wanted to go back to sleep, but my empty belly rumbled, demanding food. Padding down the hall to the stairs, I took them as quickly and quietly as I dared down into the large, homey kitchen. A dim light on the oven’s display caught my eye and in the pale moonlight I found the note Tania had left.
Leftovers in the oven when you want them.
Realizing that fumbling in the dark in a still-unfamiliar space was a recipe for disaster, I turned on the light above the stove and rummaged in the cabinets for a plate and some utensils. The scent of lasagna wafted at me as I pulled out the foil wrapped leftovers.
“Oh, you’re back,” a snarky tenor voice said from behind me.
“Leave it to a ghost to come lurking after midnight,” I answered and took a forkful of pasta before facing Sam, the establishment’s resident ghost.
He appeared even more flamboyantly dressed than the last time I’d encountered him, which seemed impossible given that when last we’d met, he’d worn sequins. He was dead, but I’d never asked him how he could change his outfit. It had seemed unimportant at the time to ask. I had barely scratched the surface of how magic and ghosts worked in my short time in Brookhaven. All I’d really learned was this was a safe place for me to learn to use and hone my magic.
“I can’t just sit around all day, hoping some perky British chick with a fondness for plants walks in,” he quipped.
“I am not perky,” I argued in spite of myself.
Sam gave me an exaggerated wink and gestured toward my torso. “Anyway,” he drew out the start of the word for dramatic effect and added, “It’s a good thing you did come back. I was starting to worry Tania would have to move.”
The fork fell out of my hands. “What? Why would she have to do that?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, we aren't exactly swimming in guests.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure you will. A place like this must do brilliant come Halloween time. After my visit, I read online it’s like one giant spooky festival all of October.”
“We’re no Salem,” he sighed. “Point is, it’s good you’re here, so at least Tania’s got someone bringing in some steady cash.”
“Well, after what she did for me, I’m grateful to her for letting me stay.”
Sam fluttered closer, propped his chin in his hand and batted his lashes. “And I’ll have you know, Ginny Hayes has been all aflutter about your return, too.”
“Why does she care?” Ginny was Brookhaven’s resident gossip and for some reason I had yet to discern, people still listened to her. She ruled the roost at the local coffee shop on Main Street. She’d been partly responsible for my new boss, Sage, being questioned by police about the theft during my first visit here. Ginny had given me the idea that the dispensary proprietor had stolen from her own till. A lie, but one I’d repeated to the town’s Chief of Police. I’d had my share of blame for it, too, but surely she’d moved on in the months since I’d been gone.
“Because you’re new and exciting, and Sage won’t shut up about you. She keeps calling you her miracle grower.”
“Bloody hell.” I’d been offered a job at the town’s dispensary tending to the crop since their last grower, in cahoots with his uncle in Town Hall, had in fact been the one to commit the theft. I haven’t even had my first day on the job yet. I had received an official offer letter from High Time to secure my green card, but that was all.
“How has Sage been managing?” I probed around another bite of pasta.
“From what I’ve heard, she’s had to cover the plant tending duties herself for the last two months.” He flashed me a smirk. “You made waves and it hasn’t gone unnoticed, is all I’m saying.”
I didn’t want to be the talk of the town. I just wanted to blend in with the rest of the town’s population where I could learn to harness my powers in peace. I didn’t need the town gossip speculating about me. Not when her brother was the Chief of Police, and he wasn’t very fond of me.
I finished my leftovers in silence, set the plate and utensils in the sink to soak, and retreated to my room. Beau was nowhere to be seen when I returned. My mind and body were at war, telling me I was meant to be starting my day now. I forced myself to curl up beneath the blankets and nestle my head against the pillow, letting the comfortable bed lull me back to sleep.
* * *
A knock at the door roused me the second time and I sat up to see early morning summer sun streaming in through the windows. Tania stuck her head in and gave me a grin.
“Nervous for your first day?” Her tone carried a touch of anxiety that I wasn’t entirely certain was her own.
“A little,” I answered and climbed out of bed.
“You’re going to do great,” she said, her Spanish accent coming through heavier on the last word.
I appreciated her vote of confidence as I showered and dressed for my first day of work at High Time. It still amazed me that even though I’d accused the owner of stealing from her own till months ago, she’d turned around and offered me a job. Tania’s sway in town hadn’t hurt matters, either.
“You seem cheerful,” I noted as Tania passed me a travel mug of coffee and a muffin.
“Oh, I just have a good feeling about today,” she answered with a one-shouldered shrug.
From what little I knew of my landlady, she was a witch like me, but her magic leaned more toward emotion. She called herself an empath. Except the way she often knew things before they were going to happen made me wonder if she had some form of precognition, even if she wasn’t fully aware of it.
“I don’t start my shift for a little bit, maybe we could have a chat first,” I said, sliding into the chair I’d occupied a few hours earlier. The kitchen was far brighter and cheerier in daylight.
“Something on your mind?” Tania sat across from me.
“Well, I know I just got here and all, but I was hoping we could start working on my magical … education?” I took a sip of coffee.
“I suppose it’s never too early to learn something new,” she mused. “Where do you want to start?”
“How does magic actually work? Like, if we’re both witches, why do we do different things?”
She leaned back in her chair. “Well, I’m not an expert. But from what I was taught, magic manifests most often in bloodlines from two camps. Those connected to the elements and those linked to humanity.”
“So, like your ability to sense feelings,” I noted.
“Yes. And I suspect your hedge witch abilities are linked to the element of earth.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” I took another sip of coffee. “What about ghosts? How does that all work? I mean I’ve only met Sam, but there must be loads of others around?”
“Ghosts are a difficult topic. One I think we should keep for another time. Besides, you don’t want to be late.”
My mind raced as I walked the short trek up Main Street to the dispensary with its light-up sign of a sneaker with a marijuana leaf at its center. Customers already congregated outside, waiting for the shop to open up. I was hopeful that many of them would become familiar faces in time. An older gentleman at the front of the queue looked familiar. Hadn't he been here when I first met Sage?
I was about to join the line, not having an official employee ID badge to get into the building on my own, when tires crunched on the gravel behind me. I turned to see Sage pull into the parking spot labeled Owner. Her car had been serviced since last we’d seen each other in person.
She was a spunky woman with aqua colored hair that matched her eyes, accented by trendy glasses. She climbed out of the driver’s seat and gave me a wave.
“Come on around the back Darcy,” Sage called.
I left the line behind and joined her at the back door. She led me through the large kitchen, where staff was already busy baking confections and other edible treats, to the grow room.
“How’s business been?” I asked, trying to make light conversation as I waited for Sage to give me directions.
“Great, actually.” She leaned in close. “I think some folks took pity on me with the whole robbery thing and were trying to throw some extra business my way.”
“I noticed a Help Wanted sign in the front window,” I said as she handed me a lanyard with an ID badge.
“Yeah, we’re looking for some more folks to run the registers out front.” She gestured to the ID badge. “This one’s just a temporary one. It will get you around the building until I have a chance to take your picture.”
“Thanks.” I looked around at the carefully temperature-controlled room with its grow lights and ample spacing for plants to flourish. It had to have been my mind playing tricks on me, but the plants were quiet since I’d gone back to London. My magic, as far as I could tell, involved plants reaching out to me in their limited sentience, whispering the promise of what they could be to guide me. I’d come to Brookhaven looking for an escape from it, only to find that this was just where I needed to get a handle on my powers.
Tania might have magic, and Sam might be a ghost, but that didn't mean everyone in town was fully aware of the supernatural. To my knowledge, Sage just thought I had a way with plants—a normal, run-of-the-mill green thumb. I had to hope I didn’t disappoint her.
“Why don’t I give you the penny tour?” Sage offered before I could settle in.
“Sounds great.”
“Well, obviously this is the grow room. It’s where all the magic happens.”
I gaped at her. Had my assumption been off base about her not knowing about magic? “Not the first person I’ve heard say that. Is there something I should know?”
“Just a figure of speech,” she said, dismissing my question.
She ushered me back to the kitchen. “This the kitchen crew. That’s Thomas, he’s our head baker,” she said, pointing to a tall lanky guy in an apron.
He waved before turning back to the task at hand. She gestured to another door. “That’s the employee break area. And my office is just through there.”
I tried to make a mental map of the small space. It wouldn’t be hard to remember. “Think I’ve got it. And out front is obviously where the sales happen.”
“You got it,” she said with a smile. “Now, we cultivate fresh leaves every week or two. Though it’s been a bit spotty the last month or so,” she continued. “You’ll want to make sure you’re taking extra care.”
“Right, yeah. And um … I know it’s going to sound silly, but what exactly am I supposed to do with the plants?’
“Make sure the grow lights are calibrated properly and nudge along any plants that seem to be lagging.”
The way she talked made me think she did know more about me and my powers than she was letting on. “I’ll let you get comfortable,” Sage called before disappearing through the break room and into her office.
I left the kitchen behind and tried not to panic as I stood there, in the middle of the room, surrounded by plants all starting to notice my presence. One by one they started tickling my magical senses.
“Not today. I’m not ready,” I said.
I would learn to control and harness my magic. Though not today, I wanted to be a normal woman on her first day in a new job. I wanted to learn all the company rules and fill out all the boring forms. I wasn’t ready for magic to take hold and push itself on me. I still didn’t entirely know how my magic worked and until Tania had time to teach me, I didn’t want to risk testing my limits and ruining Sage’s new crop of plants.
Thankfully, by the time lunch rolled around, Sage had returned with a stack of forms. I was able to sit and focus on those, instead of the plants surrounding me. A little after noon, I found Sage in the back office and handed over my completed forms.
“Great,” she said, flipping through them. “Oh, I need your work authorization before we can actually get you on payroll,” she said.
My passport and work authorization card were still sitting in my travel bag back at Tania’s. I’d been in such a rush to get to the shop on time, I hadn’t even considered bringing them along. “Right, of course,” I apologized. “I can run and get them now. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
“Why don’t you take this as your lunch break and just bring them when you come back.”
I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t done anything strenuous enough to require a break, but arguing with my boss on the first day wasn’t going to make a good impression. So, I accepted her generosity and retreated to the bed and breakfast. Tania stood in the kitchen pouring a handful of beans into a large pot.
“I wasn’t expecting you back for lunch,” she called as I started up the stairs.
“Forgot some things in my bag,” I answered and took the stairs two at a time.
Someone had stacked my passport and work card on the night table by the clock. I would have guessed it was Sam if he’d been corporeal, or Beau if he could read, but neither option seemed plausible. Or maybe Tania’s powers had kicked in and she knew I’d left the documents behind and needed to find them in a hurry? I checked my bag and found my wallet still there with all of my other ID and a handful of pound notes I hadn’t changed over to American currency yet. Everything appeared to be in order, so I scooped up the identification, shoving them in my back pocket.
I was halfway down the stairs when the doorbell rang.
“Darcy, would you mind getting that?” Tania called from the kitchen.
I descended the final few steps and pulled open the door. A young woman with poorly dyed brown hair stood on the front step clutching a duffel bag.
“Can I help you?” I asked before realizing it wasn’t my place. “Actually, I don’t work here. Let me get the owner.”
“I’m looking for a place to stay.”
“Come in, come in. We’ve got plenty of room,” Tania said, her voice so close behind me that I jumped.
My host’s penchant for knowing when people would be arriving on her doorstep was definitely a sign she was hiding more than just her empathic abilities. As I stepped aside to let the young woman in, I couldn’t help but feel a new wave of nerves. Just like this morning, I wasn’t sure it was my own emotion.
