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“Yeah.”
“Well, that kind of magic… it’s the dark kind,” Eva said.
“The dark arts, to be exact,” Nova said, and even she was having a hard time looking casually disinterested.
“So it was a spell? Someone put a spell on me?” I asked, my voice rising hysterically.
“Not on you, no,” Eva said quickly. “But it does seem like they used the spell to lure you down to the beach.”
“But why would someone do that?” I asked. “And who?”
“I’m not sure if we can help with the ‘who’ or the ‘why,’ but we might be able to figure out how,” Eva said thoughtfully. She turned so quickly on Nova that Nova jumped a little in fright. “We need the library.”
“What? No! My mom will kill me!” Nova said.
“Oh, come on, Nova, when did you start caring what your mom thinks?” Eva snorted.
“Right around when she promised to take my car away before she’s even bought me one,” Nova snapped back. “Seriously, I am on thin ice already after this winter. If I get caught in the library—”
“But we won’t get caught!” Eva said. “And besides, isn’t your mom away on a vacation in Indonesia or something?”
“A retreat,” Nova corrected her, rolling her eyes. “She’s off to ‘find herself’ again.” She used exaggerated air quotes.
“And she thinks she left herself in Bali?” Zale asked.
“Apparently,” Nova muttered.
“Well, while she’s looking, we can use the library,” Eva said, getting to her feet. “Come on. We’ll be quick. Is anyone else even home?”
“I don’t think so,” Nova said. “Bernadette might be in her studio, but she’s not even on this plane of reality, so we don’t need to worry about her.”
“Bernadette? She’s the artist, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, the walking stereotype of the mad genius,” Nova said sulkily. When I looked confused, she added. “She’s an oracle. Apparently it messes with your sense of reality.”
“An oracle?”
“Yeah. It’s what we call witches who have, like, premonitions and stuff,” Nova said. “But the predictions shift and change; it’s an unreliable gift, and most of the witches with it wind up a little not right in the head.”
“That sounds awful,” I said.
Nova shrugged. “Whatever. She’s harmless. And she almost never comes out of her studio anyway.”
“And Ostara?” Zale asked.
“At the Historical Society meeting,” Nova said.
“Great! So there’s nothing stopping us,” Eva declared. “Unless, of course, Nova Claire is now a rule follower.”
Evidently, there was no greater insult that a person could hurl at Nova. She stood up with a long-suffering sigh and marched toward the bedroom door. “Fine. But if we get caught, it was your idea, and I tried to stop you. That is the story we will be sticking to.”
Eva gave a military salute. Zale and I scrambled to our feet and followed them back downstairs.
Nova led us through several large and tastefully decorated rooms before arriving at a set of French doors, which she carefully pried open just enough to peek inside. “Okay, the coast is clear. Everything goes back exactly where you found it, or Ostara will know someone’s been in here.”
We all nodded in agreement, and she tugged the doors open further to let us in, closing them carefully behind us.
I could tell at first glance that the Claire family’s library was full of the same kinds of books as the library at Lightkeep Cottage. Rows and rows of worn leather tomes lined the shelves. Glass-topped cases had even older books on display, books that looked like mere contact with a human hand would cause them to disintegrate. There was a long wooden table under the windows, with a long bench pulled up to it. It was to this table Nova led us, perching herself upon it, and glaring at us.
