Derrick
Witches most revere those who teach, and unselfishly give of their greater knowledge and wisdom to those who ask respectfully, in order to help make the Earth a better place for all.
Rule Number Six of the Nine Rules
*World Council of Witches*
Derrick had a problem.
Derrick had multiple problems, actually, but the one that seemed most pressing was that he had slept with the Chosen One. Not just once, but multiple times.
And he didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. If anything, he hoped he and Jessica continued sleeping with each other until one or the other of them put a stop to it. And the only thing he was certain of at this point was that that person wasn’t going to be him.
He’d known he should have turned down this job. He’d helped dozens of witches in dozens of villages exactly like West Harbor. Many had been saved. A few had not.
But none of those jobs had ever gotten personal . . . until now.
The obvious difference was Jessica. He could have laid the blame on her warm laughter and darkly shining eyes—not to mention her deliciously soft body and even softer mouth.
But he knew it was more than that. More even than her sarcastic sense of humor and skeptical attitude—both clearly worn as armor to protect a heart that was as vulnerable to mishandling as her home was to the elements. More even than that cheerful home and warm, inviting bed.
It was her. Just her.
That’s why he had to protect her, and why he was willing to risk everything to do so, even though he knew that when she found out the truth, it was probably going to get him banned from that bed forever.
But until that time, he could make himself useful. He’d been in her office in the back of her shop, using a putty knife and a hammer to try to unstick the window there, but now he was leaning in the open office door, watching while she fitted Esther’s friend with a gown. Or tried to, at least, since the kid wouldn’t come out of the dressing room.
“I’m sure it looks lovely on you, Gabby,” Jessica called to the girl.
“It doesn’t.” The reply from behind the velvet curtain sounded hopeless.
“Just come out and let me see. Or let me come in. It’s a tricky gown. It might need some adjusting.”
“It’s not the gown. It’s me. I look terrible.”
Derrick saw Jessica exchange glances with Esther, who was sitting in his old spot in the Friends and Family Chair, doing her homework. Jessica’s look was pleading. The kid rolled her eyes and called, “Come on out, Gabs. There’s no one else here.” At this, she exchanged an apologetic glance with the salesgirl behind the register. But the salesgirl only smiled and went back to whatever she was doing on the computer. “I’m sure you look amazing.”
“I don’t.”
But finally the girl flung the curtain back and came out of the dressing room. And . . . she was right. She looked terrible. Derrick couldn’t believe that Jessica, of all people, would have put her in such a hideous garment. A pastel nightmare of some kind of shiny material, covered in fake flowers, the kid looked like a wedding cake someone had left in the sun to melt—and from the expression on her face, she knew it.
“Okay,” Jessica said, her tone way too chipper. “That’s not so bad.”
Not so bad? He darted a look in Esther’s direction to see what her opinion on the matter was, but she’d wisely ducked her head back over whatever she was writing. Smart kid.
“Not so bad?” Gabby stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror in dismay. “What are you talking about? I look awful.”
“You don’t look awful.” Jessica reached out to do something to the gown. “You just need a little . . .”
And suddenly, with a twist of Jessica’s fingers, the fake flowers fell into place, and turned to silk blossoms in the palest of purple that gently kissed Gabby’s shoulders, and then floated together to form a heart shape at the center of her chest. The shiny material seemed to transform into shimmering gossamer, nipping in softly to cling to Gabby’s curves in all the right places, then billowing out gently at others.
“There.” Jessica took a step back to admire her handiwork. “That’s more like it.”
Suddenly, instead of a melting wedding cake, Gabby looked like a woodland sprite. An enchanted fairy. Something otherworldly and ethereal. Definitely beautiful, anyway.
And she knew it. She was blinking back tears of astonishment at her own transformation in the mirror.
And she wasn’t the only one.
“Whoa.”
Esther had lifted her head from her homework and was staring in wonder at her friend. “Gabs. You look awesome!”
Gabriella smiled—a small, tentative smile—and reached up to wipe her eyes. “Do I?”
“Yeah.” Esther set her homework aside and rose from the Friends and Family Chair to cross the shop to admire her friend. “Totally. Dude, you might even win. Ms. Gold, how did you do that?”
“Me? I didn’t do a thing.” Jessica leaned down to fluff up the gown’s light, airy skirt. “It’s all Gabriella.”
Gabby, clearly delighted, laughed and twirled in the mirror. The skirt of the gown ballooned out, shimmering in a rainbow of colors, all the palest tones of pinks and lavenders, like a spring sunset. The kid laughed, and twirled some more.
Derrick couldn’t help grinning at Jessica’s pleased expression. It was heartwarming to watch her perform her very specific kind of magic, and even more heartwarming to see the joy she got from doing it. It gave him joy to see her doing it.
Goddess help him. He looked down at Pye, who was sitting by his feet, daintily licking a paw. He had it bad.
“But Ms. Gold,” Gabriella said, stopping midtwirl, a look of anguish crossing her face. “I can never afford this.”
Jessica nodded. “I know. It’s a good thing you don’t have any extracurriculars, because you’re going to be working here every weekend for the rest of the year to pay me back.”
The girl squealed and threw her arms around Jessica’s waist. She was too short to reach her neck. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“You’re welcome.” Jessica, noticing Derrick’s gaze on her, smiled at him over the top of Gabby’s head, then patted the girl on the back and said, “Now go take it off so I can adjust the hem. It’s way too long. And don’t worry, I’ll have it done by tomorrow night.”
As Gabby floated on a cloud of happiness back into the dressing room, Jessica crooked her finger at Esther. “Come here.”
The kid’s eyes grew twice their size behind the lenses of her glasses. “Oh, no, not me. I told you, I’m not into princesses. Or dresses.”
“I know. That’s not what I want to talk to you about.”
Reluctantly, Esther followed Jessica, who led her back into her office where the window was still stuck half-open, Derrick’s hammer and putty knife on the sill. Jessica sank down behind her desk, gesturing for the kid to sit in the chair opposite. Derrick leaned in the open doorway, curious to see how this was going to go. This wasn’t his show, after all. Jessica was the Chosen One.
Jessica opened with, “Chocolate?” and offered Esther candy from the open bag on her desk.
“Oh, cool,” the kid said, and grabbed a handful of mini chocolate bars. “Thanks.”
“So, Esther.” Jessica was unwrapping a Snickers bar of her own. “Remember the wolf?”
The kid nodded, chewing. “From last night? Yeah, how could I forget?” She glanced up at Derrick. “Did Animal Control catch it yet?”
“No,” he said. Like the Animal Control Department of West Harbor wouldn’t wet themselves laughing if someone called in to report a wolf sighting. “Not yet.”
“Oh.” The kid glanced a little nervously at the open window behind Jessica’s head. It was only late afternoon, but the autumn sun was already sinking. It would be dark in less than an hour. “So it’s still out there.”
“Yes,” Jessica said, leaning forward so that her elbows were on her desk. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Derrick here thinks that the reason there are suddenly wolves in West Harbor—not to mention the king tides that keep flooding the school and stuff—is because a demonic rift is opening up beneath the town.”
The kid, instead of laughing or rolling her eyes, nodded. Apparently, this was no surprise to her.
“And in order to close it and save West Harbor,” Jessica went on, “we’re going to need you. Because according to an ancient prophecy, I’m the Chosen One, and you’re the Bringer of Light—which means only we can stop the evil.”
Esther looked from Jessica to Derrick and then back again. Then she took a bite of the mini chocolate bar she was holding, chewed for a moment, swallowed, and said, “Okay.”
Derrick wasn’t sure the kid understood.
“Esther,” he began. “What we’re saying is—”
“No, I get it.” The kid reached into the bag on Jessica’s desk for another candy bar. “There’s a big bad in town, and you need me to fight it.”
Derrick glanced uncomfortably at Jessica. “No, that’s not what we’re say—”
“Yeah, it is.” The girl shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I knew this day was going to come. I’m a Scorpio. Spooky stuff is my jam.” Settling farther back into her chair—so comfortable that she might almost have put her sneakered feet up onto the desk if it had been her own and not Jessica’s—she continued. “So, what do you need me to do?”
Derrick exchanged glances with Jessica. She was smiling, her eyes warmly prideful and easily read. See? I told you this was the girl. Isn’t she amazing?
He couldn’t help feeling a little more cautious, however. He’d been through this before.
“We don’t actually know yet,” he said. “But we do think whatever is going to happen, it will be during the full moon on Thursday.”
“Makes sense.” Esther was nibbling the chocolate sides off her candy bar and leaving a gooey mess of caramel and peanuts in her fingers. “So, during the Tricentennial Ball, when everyone is at the village square.”
“Exactly.”
“And I personally think you might be right about this Harvest Princess thing,” Jessica said. “I find Mrs. Hopkins’s plan of selecting nine girls for it a little suspicious.”
“But we don’t know anything for sure,” Derrick hurried to say.
Esther squinted up at him through her glasses. “Sagittarius,” she said, pointing at him. “Am I right? On the cusp of Capricorn?” When he only gaped at her, she nodded. “Yeah. Definitely a workaholic who likes to keep the peace.”
Jessica burst out laughing. “Uh-oh, Mr. Winters. She’s got your number.”
Derrick couldn’t believe it. He was a Sagittarius, but born just before Christmas. His mother had always complained it was difficult to find him two gifts, one for his birthday and one for Christmas, and so every year he’d received only one from her, though it had always been a big, absurdly impractical one.
He’d never complained, however, because he’d wanted to keep the peace between his separated parents.
Esther had been absolutely right . . . not that he believed in any of that astrological crap.
“Very funny,” he said to Jessica. “Listen, Esther, this is serious. We have no way of knowing what to expect. We simply have to be alert. And you, especially, have to be careful. I don’t want you going out by yourself after dark. I understand that spooky stuff is your, uh, jam, but that wolf could be the least terrifying thing to come after you in the next few days.”
She looked just as she had the night before: absolutely thrilled. “Cool!”
“No, not cool.” May the Goddess give him patience. “I’m serious. Halloween is the day after the full moon, and is traditionally believed to be when spirits roam the earth, looking to avenge their death. So in addition to dealing with the rift and the threat from any living beings who might be on the side of the demons, we’ve also got to be wary of that, as well.”
“Oh, no worries, Mr. Winters.” Esther pulled her homework from her backpack. “I’ve got it covered. I’ve written all about it in this letter to the mayor.”
“The mayor?” The Goddess clearly wasn’t listening to his pleas. “I don’t see how that’s—”
“It’s complicated, but I’m pretty sure the mayor can help with our demons.”
Derrick didn’t want to be the one to break it to her that only Esther herself—with the aid of Jessica—could rid her town of its demon problem, especially when the kid was looking down at her letter, her brow slightly creased—the first sign of real anxiety she’d shown so far.
“I’m just not sure how to get this to her,” she went on. “If I mail it, it won’t get there in time. And if I ask my mom to give it to her—because the mayor and my mom are friends—she’s going to want to know what it is. But I don’t want my parents to know about this stuff. They . . .” Her brow creased even more. “They don’t know about my magic, and I don’t want to tell them. It would only worry them.”
Jessica’s voice was warm as she stretched her hand out across her desk. “I feel the same way about my parents, so I understand. Give the letter to me. I know the mayor’s wife. I’ll make sure she gets it.”
Esther brightened with relief, all the lines gone from her face. “That would be great.” She laid the letter in Jess’s hand. “Thanks.”
Derrick was about to say something—what, he hardly knew. Maybe, I don’t think a letter is going to work—when Pye, tired of all of this conversation, leaped from Derrick’s feet to the windowsill. The cat was obviously intent on going outside for a prowl just as the sun was beginning to set.
“No!” Jessica cried, springing from her chair. She lunged to grab hold of Pye’s sleek black body, but the cat moved too quickly for her. His paws were on the sill, poised to push himself out of the window, when the entire office shook—from the floor to the ceiling—as if from a small tremor beneath the earth. Samples of candles and crystals tinkled on the shelves above their heads, and piles of stock—fortunately mostly only colorful clothing, still in plastic wrapping—came tumbling down upon their heads.
But that wasn’t all that fell. The office window came crashing closed with a bang, trapping a very startled Pye inside. The cat jumped from the sill to crouch at Jessica’s feet beneath her desk, his back arched in indignation.
Derrick—who’d gripped the sides of the doorframe in which he’d been standing at the first sign of what he’d assumed was an earthquake—sprang across the desk to reach the window. Because just as the frame had come crashing down, he could have sworn he’d glimpsed a shimmer of light behind the glass. The glow of a flashlight belonging to some teenagers, performing a pre-Halloween prank?
Or the eyes of the demon who was behind what Derrick now realized wasn’t an earthquake or prank at all, but a concentrated effort to trap them inside, and then destroy them?
But when he got to the window, he saw nothing outside except the parking lot behind the store. There was no one there—pranksters, demons, or otherwise.
“Are you all right?” he turned to ask the women as they both pushed clothing from their laps. “Are either of you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Jessica had dug Pye out from beneath her desk and was stroking the affronted creature. “Esther?”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Esther picked a piece of fuzz from her lips that a cashmere shawl had left behind as it fell on her. “I didn’t mean to slam the window down so hard. I just wanted to make sure the cat didn’t get out.”
Derrick stared. “Wait . . . you did that?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I’ve never moved anything that heavy before. I’m surprised it even worked. Either that window was stuck harder than I thought, or . . .” She trailed off with a shrug. “I don’t know.”
Derrick knew. Derrick knew exactly why it had worked. The reason it had worked was sitting next to him, holding her cat close, and stroking the thoroughly unimpressed feline.
The Chosen One. The Chosen One had found her Bringer of Light.
And Esther had brought the light, all right.
Derrick felt like he needed a drink—a strong one, and not coffee, either. He had never in his life seen someone with powers as strong as Esther’s.
And she was only a kid.