Page 100

"Well, excuse me!" I said, frowning. "I've never drawn a door in midair before!"

"There's a first time for everything," Bartleby observed.

I ignored both of them and finished tracing the rectangular shape. The moment I joined the final line, the golden outline flared with brilliant light.

And suddenly, there was a doorway standing in the middle of the front hall.

It wasn’t a wooden door or anything like that—more like a shimmering opening filled with warm golden light. Beyond it, I could see the familiar Tampa sunshine pouring through the doorway. Everything looked exactly as I'd left it, which was reassuring.

But then a blast of hot, humid air came rushing through the doorway, and I nearly groaned aloud.

"Ugh," I groaned. "I almost forgotten how hot it is in Tampa right now."

The heat rolled over me like a damp blanket, carrying with it the familiar smell of baking asphalt and warm tropical air. It was such a contrast to the crisp, cool Autumn weather of Hidden Hollow that I felt immediately homesick for the magical little town, even though I hadn’t left yet.

Behind me, I could hear the gentle rustle of autumn leaves outside Blackthorn Manor, and I could feel the refreshing chill of the morning air drifting through the front hall.

Ahead of me was Tampa…hot, sunny, ordinary Tampa with its horrible traffic and strip malls and all the endless responsibilities that were waiting for me.

Not to mention, my awful job…

Crap—my job! I wondered if Angie had already fired me. Considering that I'd missed an important presentation and hadn't even been able to call in properly, I wouldn't have blamed her.

Well, actually, I probably would have blamed her, because Angie was a horrible boss and I didn't like her very much. But I would have understood.

"Well," I said, trying to sound more enthusiastic than I felt. "There it is—home sweet home."

"Indeed," Garrik murmured behind me. “It appears quite tropical.”

“You have no idea,” I said and sighed. I turned to look at him.

He was standing beside the front staircase, his enormous hands clasped behind his back and his handsome face looking kind of stern. But there was something in his eyes that made my heart ache—he looked sad.

Suddenly, the thought of leaving him here all alone seemed almost unbearable.

"I'll come back," I told him. "You know that, right?"

He nodded.

"Of course, sweetheart. You've given me your word, and I have no reason to doubt it."

"Good." I smiled at him, though I felt like crying. "And if Goody figures out anything else about the spell, you can call me on the magic mirror."

He frowned.

"Will you have a mirror through which I can contact you?"

"Oh." I hadn't thought of that. "Well, no. I guess not. But I’ll come back soon so I won’t miss anything.”

“All right.” He nodded.

"Well," I said again, because apparently I couldn't think of anything else to say. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

I took a step towards the doorway, but before I could go any farther, Garrik spoke.

"Celeste."

There was something in his deep voice that made me stop. I turned towards him.