I sat back, staring at the passage. So, even before the town had been founded, the Native Americans had known about the woodland. I pushed back the book, thinking. Maybe it wasn’t chance that had drawn my great-grandparents to Moonshadow Bay. Maybe it was fate.
I believed in fate, to a degree. I didn’t believe everything was preordained—predestination didn’t allow for free will and above all, I believed that we could change the outcome of almost any situation. Oh, everyone died, and if we didn’t pay our taxes we’d eventually end up in jail, but other than that—there was usually a choice.
While I did believe certain things were slated to happen and that we were sometimes born to a path in life, that didn’t mean that every step, every movement, every choice was already set before us. I didn’t believe in perfection, and life wouldn’t be a challenge if we had no choices. If people didn’t believe they had some sort of control over the outcome of their lives, it would strip away the desire to strive and succeed.
I shrugged, and glanced over the next few entries. There were several recipes for spells and rituals to be done by moonlight, or during the afternoon—even one to do at seven a.m. on a Saturday morning to invoke clarity. Great-Grandma Colleen had been detailed when it came to her magic. I randomly flipped to another passage. By then, my great-grandparents had three children, and Moonshadow Bay had been in existence twelve years.
Colleen’s Book of Shadows
Entry: December 15, 1918
Well, life moves along. I’m exhausted. Who knew how tiring raising children can be? I love them, and I love my family, but the wee ones are enough to tax the strongest of hearts and souls, and with a babe still in diapers, and a five-year-old and a three-year-old, I’m run ragged. Brian suggested I find a nursemaid, and so I plan on it. I’ll put an advert in the Moonshadow Bay Monitor tomorrow.
The town may be small, but there are plenty of young women looking for work, especially among the shifter clans. They betroth their girls young, so there’s no need for the women to spend time on husband-finding. And shifters are long-lived, so there are several candidates among the wolf-shifter Packs who are looking for something to occupy their time until they get married.
I went into the Mystic Wood the other day and much to my chagrin, I discovered a turnstone. I hadn’t expected to find such a thing here—I thought it was native to my beloved England. Or Ireland, rather—given I’m an Irish lass by blood. I do miss my childhood home, but I even miss England. But Brian wanted to emigrate and true enough, our fortunes have grown multi-fold since we moved here. He has founded his legal practice and is the leading barrister in the town. Lawyer, they call it here. Anyway, I digress.
So yes, I found a turnstone, and that worries me. That means the Woodlings have found their way across the ocean. Or perhaps they’ve always been here? Per chance they’re found worldwide, by differing names? But I know for sure they are settled in the Mystic Wood, and who knows how many they have swept away?
I plan on bringing this up at the next Witches’ Council, but I’m sure that Rowan Firesong will try to waylay my worries and act as though nothing is the matter. I’m not sure why she seems to dislike me. She definitely does her best to ingratiate herself with Brian. I’m grateful I trust him, but she is pretty and sometimes…I wonder. I just have to hope he ignores her charms and still carries his torch for me, and that nothing will come of my concerns…
I shut the book and pushed it aside, taking care so that it was well away from the remains of my breakfast. What on earth was a turnstone? And why did my great-grandmother think it might only exist back in her homeland?
Esmara, are you there?
No answer. I tried again and still no answer. Apparently, the Ladies were out lunching on the spiritual plane. I debated on whether to continue reading but then I remembered I had laundry to do and the house to clean, and Ari was coming over in the early afternoon. She wanted to introduce me to a friend of hers who was in from out of town, whom she thought I’d like to meet.
I finished my breakfast and downed the rest of my mocha and then hustled my ass upstairs to put a load of clothes in the laundry. I added detergent, set the controls, and then changed the sheets. As soon as I was done with that, I swept and mopped my bedroom, cleaned the bathroom, and then moved on to downstairs, where I swept like a whirlwind through the house. Luckily, I was a fairly neat person, and I tended to clean up after myself as I went.
I loaded the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes and since I hadn’t run it after dinner the previous evening, I set it to cycle. I kept glancing back at the table, at Colleen’s book of shadows. What else would I learn about my great-grandmother’s life? I now knew that she had been jealous of Rowan Firesong, and that was something that I’d have to figure out how to approach Rowan about. If I talked to her about it at all.
After I finished mopping the kitchen, I tidied the living room and then I was done. Cleaning had taken me an hour, tops, and now it was time to change the laundry out and put another load in.
“I’d love to have a maid,” I muttered.
No, you wouldn’t. You’d resent someone in your space, around your things. Which is why your mother never hired help.
I jumped. Sometimes the Ladies were downright sneaky. You startled me! Esmara, I found Colleen’s book of shadows.
Good. Read it all the way through. It will take some time, but there are so many things in there you can use to help you hone your magic.
She was jealous of Rowan.
Well, yes, we know that now, but my sisters and I never realized it then.
Is Colleen with the Ladies? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention her.
You’ve barely heard me mention anything, given I only appeared a few months ago to guide you. But no, Colleen…to be honest, we’re not sure what happened to her. Your mother, however, has joined the Ladies. And you…well…you have many things to do in Moonshadow Bay. So much more before you.
I paused, wanting to ask her what, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me. Is there anything in particular I should be doing now?
Remember to contact the Aseer and set up an appointment. You will have to talk to her about Rowan being your grandmother, so don’t overlook that. And with that, she fell silent.
That’s right—I almost forgot. I sighed, setting a reminder on my phone to call the Aseer.
I washed my hands and was about to settle down with Colleen’s book of shadows again when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find Ari there, with a woman who was curvier and shorter than me. She was dressed in a waist-cinching 1950s swing dress, a cropped jacket, kitten heels, and a pair of red-framed, horn-rimmed glasses. Her hair was as coppery as Ari’s and she had a winsome smile. But her gaze was sharp, and I had the feeling she observed in detail everything that went on around her.
“Hey, come on in.” I motioned them into the living room.
Ari led her friend into the living room before turning to introduce us. “January, this is Peggin Sanderson. She lives in Whisper Hollow, out on the peninsula. Peggin, this is my bestie, January Jaxson.”
As I reached out to shake Peggin’s hand, a spark hit me hard, and I knew right then I was talking to someone with a very deep magical, very shadowed energy behind her.