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Chapter Twelve
I thrashed myself awake from nightmares of fire in the middle of the night, with the smell of smoke still filling my nose.
My blankets were suffocating, and I kicked them away, hardly able to catch my breath. Tears of angry frustration leaked a slow trail from the corners of my eyes, and my breath burned in my lungs like I was sucking in ashes and embers.
I tried to calm my breathing, inhaling the lavender scented air of my bedroom while my heart went from a frantic gallop to more of a trot. A glance at my phone told me it was just before four in the morning, and I groaned.
Normally, the scent ofDreamtime Oil, or its new super-powered cousin,Sweet Dream Oil, made me feel drowsy and content. But right now, the lavender and vanilla undernotes just felt cloying. The room was unbearably stuffy, and I stumbled over to the window to yank it open, desperate for some kind of breeze.
The summer wind wafting through my open window cooled the sweat on my face, thank goodness. I could tell the chances of me falling back asleep were pretty much non-existent, though, so I figured I might as well get dressed and get something accomplished instead of staring at the ceiling of my bedroom as the minutes ticked by.
I started to step away from the window when a flash of color caught my eye.
There was a woman out for a jog on the road in front of my house. It was her pale hair that drew my attention. It was caught back into a pony tail and seemed to reflect the light of the moon. She was dressed in black yoga pants and a red tank top with a red windbreaker thrown over it, and my sleepy brain was still trying to puzzle out why she was out there, either way too early, or way too late, when I realized the woman was Lacey.
Well, my day was already off to a terrible start, but at least I might be able to get one thing accomplished. I just needed to catch up with Lacey to deliver my long overdue apology, before she disappeared again. And that apology was even more overdue if she was dating Marty. Sooner or later, he’d want to hang out (I hoped) and it would be important for his girlfriend and ex-girlfriend to get along.
Plus, I was a little worried that Lacey was out there alone at this time of day or night or whatever the heck it was. Especially given the fact that things in the Hollow hadn’t been as safe as they could have been lately—a human out on her own wasn’t such a great idea. Furthermore, there weren’t any sidewalks in my neighborhood, and Lacey wasn’t wearing anything reflective while she jogged. If someone came across her in the dark and were driving too fast, they might not see her in time.
I grabbed my house coat and hurried out the door, trying to fast-walk on the balls of my feet so I didn’t wake Finn up. The stairs were a pain, they liked to creak at the best of times, but I managed to hug the wall and avoid the boards that squealed the loudest. I barely paused to throw on a pair of shoes, and then I was out the door and down the front steps.
Lacey was already gone.
I stood there, panting, and searched for that flash of pale blonde hair, but there was nothing. I even walked down to the road, and looked both ways, but I didn’t see any sign of her.
My heart sank. I’d really upset her, if she was willing to run off across someone’s lawn just to avoid my house.
I stood there for a second, feeling guilty all over again for how I’d acted to someone who could have been a new friend, and then turned and shuffled back into the house.
***
Finn had arranged to have one of his school friend’s parents pick him up that morning. Not that he’d said two words to me since the night before. I didn’t know what was up until I was dressed and ready to drive him, when a car pulled up out front and tapped the horn lightly.
Finn was then out the door with his school bag, and didn’t even stop to say goodbye or good morning, or even grab anything for breakfast. I tried not to show how much that hurt. I’d been warned that the teenage years could be a drag, but I wasn’t sure if this was teen angst or something else.
I moped around the house for a little bit, thinking about heading to my shop before I stopped myself and wondered why I was even going. I didn’t have potions to sell; I didn’t have stock set aside for the festival, and the few ingredients I did have were suspect at best. A very big part of me thought it would be a great idea to just stay home and have a pity party instead.
At least there wasn’t much left to do for the festival, other than my personal stuff. Everything was booked and organized, but none of us could set up until Saturday morning, so I was in a holding pattern, there.
My phone rang, and I frowned, curious as to who might be calling this early, since Wanda was still asleep, and Finn couldn’t have even made it to school yet.
I checked the call display and blinked in surprise when Fifi’s name came up. And that didn’t shed much more light on anything, because I had no idea why Fifi would be calling me so early.
Only one way to find out. “Hey, Fifi. What’s up?”
I heard her take a deep breath. “Okay, don’t freak out.”
I wasn’t sure why people kept telling me that, since the very words were guaranteed to send a bolt of pure terror running down anyone’s spine. “What’s happened?”
Please, don’t let anyone have been hurt,I thought to myself. It had been a while since some supernatural nasty had crashed into town, and I’d have really liked to keep it that way.
“No, no, nothing like that,” Fifi quickly reassured me. “It’s, well. It’s about the Summer Solstice festival.”
That didn’t fill me with confidence, but at least it didn’t sound like anyone was bleeding. So, there was that. “Okay…”
Over the line, I heard Fifi take a breath, like she was steeling herself for something. “So, you know the field that the festival is being held on? The big one, by the woods?”
My stomach clenched, a sour taste flooding my mouth. “You mean the only one big enough to host everyone, and to be a minimum safe distance from the trees to hold a bonfire of that size? Literally the only place in town limits where the festival can be held? That field?”
