"We'll have to be quick," I said to Calin over my shoulder as we entered the path off my backyard.
"Where are we going? Nora, it's dark."
"Don't worry." I laughed and kept hold of his hand as he followed me through the trees. "I know this place inside-out. Trust me."
The glow from the sensor lights in our backyard helped me to navigate the way. Once those dimmed as we traveled farther, the shine from the moon illuminated the ground, no longer covered by an umbrella of trees. Even so, the path was still worn from years of traipsing through it, and I knew each step.
"No wonder you like the clearing in Wickenton so much," Calin said as we entered the circle void of trees, but I didn't slow down.
"Yeah, for a long time, this was my little hideaway," I said, laughing.
It no longer scared me and instead left me with the memory of the day my mother and I had lounged in the grass after I discovered it had been reborn. I couldn't believe it had almost been five years since the fire that I thought had destroyed the clearing. Less than six months ago, it still terrified me. Now, I couldn't remember being afraid of the power I held, although I was apprehensive to figure out the extent of it.
"Come on," I said, still laughing as I pulled Calin out of the clearing towards the rocks beside the stream. "Check this out."
I climbed onto the flattened rock and wrapped my arms around me knees as I stared into the flowing water. Calin scaled the bolder and sat behind me, pulling my shoulders until my back rested against his chest. I sighed and let go of my knees to sprawl out comfortably, my feet hanging over the side.
"This is beautiful, Nora," Calin said, his voice nearly a whisper.
"Hmm." I nodded, feeling content. "I used to come out here to draw and stuff. I think it drove my mother a little crazy, to be honest. Either I'd come home covered in charcoal from sketching or dirt from the clearing. Then, when I tried using my abilities and started a fire, I stopped. Since then, I've learned it isn't something I should be afraid of. It's nice that I can come here and relax now."
"I'm glad you showed me."
"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head. I figured you were useless cleaning, so I decided to distract you."
Calin chuckled, and I felt his chest vibrate.
"So, are you satisfied that you got to see me with Nancy?" I asked.
"Yeah, though you're different with her than I thought you'd be."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, in Wickenton, you are subdued and don't seem to let yourself have much fun aside from running, which, let's be honest. It's weird."
"Hey!" I sat up, turning to face him as I steadied myself with one hand and smacked him in the stomach with the other.
Calin laughed and reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Here, you are more easygoing, which is nice. You don't talk about magic much, though."
I shook my head. "People in Briarville are different, Calin. Nancy doesn't even really have magic and her parents... Well, they followed my mother and know stuff, but they don't practice like in Wickenton. The people who belong to the magical community and live in Briarville respect that it isn't something you show off with. Heck, most of the community in Briarville has no clue magic even exists!
"My point is, even those that believe in the Craft don't practice magic often, if they even can. If I were to use my abilities here, I'd probably scare them. Besides, it should be done in private not public."
"It's weird."
"So are you, but I don't complain."
"Did I offend you?"
"Nope," I said, popping the P, and laughed to ensure he knew I was serious. "Honestly? I like that you get to see this side of things. Maybe it'll help you understand my reluctance when I moved to Wickenton. Even now, when I've shown everyone there that I can use magic, I am not eager to keep using my abilities like they do."
Wiggling to the side, I started to climb off the rock and motioned for Calin to follow. "Come on. We better head back. I just wanted to show you this and see for myself that it hasn't changed. I don't want to leave everything for them to clean up and need to make sure the garage door has the lock changed, too."
Calin climbed down and stood in front of me, leaning in to kiss me on my forehead.
I blinked. "What was that for?"
He shrugged. "Because. I like that you're sharing things. Coming here has shown me a lot about who you are."
Funny, but even I didn't know who I was anymore. I rolled my eyes and said, "Whatever. Let's go."
Calin grabbed my hand and we walked side-by-side through the clearing until we reached the narrow pathway leading back to my yard. Without letting me go, he dropped back a step and allowed me to walk ahead of him. When we reached the grass, he was at my side again. I looked to my right and felt a pull, and I suddenly felt the urge to go to the gazebo. I hadn't been there since before my mother died and her and Zach had been cagey about their excursions. Unconsciously, I started veering off in the direction and then felt Calin tug me straight again.
"Nancy's outside," he said, nodding towards the back door.
"Oh." I exhaled and concentrated on moving forward. After a few steps, I smiled and looked up. "Hey, Nancy!"
Nancy's attention turned to us. She narrowed her eyes and then smiled. "Dad wants to know if you want the bedroom door locks changed?"
"I want everything done!" I yelled back. "Ask him not to forget the garage!"
Nancy nodded, her eyes going to where I held Calin's hand, then back up. "You coming in now?"
I nodded. "In a minute."
"Kay."
As she left, I turned to Calin. "Why don't you go in? There's something that I want to see before I join you."
"Outside? Alone?" He narrowed his eyes. "Nora, it's dark out."
"Then I'll use the light on my phone." I pushed him towards the door. "Don't worry. Like I said, I know this place inside-out, remember? I couldn't get lost even if I tried."
"I don't think—"
I leaned up and kissed his cheek, once again pushing him away as I stepped back. "Go, Calin. I'll only be a few minutes, I promise," I said, already walking backward as I held his gaze. "Why don't you wrangle up a take-out menu and order dinner? If things haven't changed too much, they should be in the drawer under where the coffee pot is."
"What do you want?"
I shrugged. "Surprise me."
I turned and started back the way we'd come, veering to the left as I crested the hill. Now that I was headed in the opposite direction, the woods were to my right. At the bottom of the other side of the hill sat the gazebo. As I came closer, the light from the sensor flicked on, and I smiled as the mosaic tile glowed underneath the brilliance as though a thousand crystals had been placed into its layout.
It was just like it had been in my dream with Zachariah and didn't appear abandoned at all.
With a sigh, I stepped into the circle and sat on the bench, staring at the floor. It looked polished, almost new. I wondered at the truth of what my mother had said about keeping up with its maintenance, though she had said they were making sure the wood hadn't rotted. I leaned back and stared at the ceiling, clearing my mind of all thoughts. As I breathed in and out slowly, I felt a sense of familiarity wash over me. Alone, I finally felt at home.
Tingles danced across my skin, and I opened my eyes to look around as though I would catch someone watching me. When I didn't see anyone, I stood and started out of the gazebo. Perhaps Calin had been right. My mother's fence still surrounded the backyard, but that didn't mean whatever protection she'd placed there remained. I shouldn't come out here alone until I was sure it was in place or Onyx was with me to warn of danger.
For now, I'd accomplished what I wanted, and knew the gazebo remained unchanged.
*****
I entered the house through the garage door, detouring to ensure that the boxes that Astrid had promised had been stored were in fact there. I didn't stop once I saw them, but I felt better knowing it hadn't been a lie. Once I had more time, I would go through them to look for my mother's books and anything else that might be missing. Unfortunately, given that we had to go back to Wickenton in less than twenty-four hours, I wouldn't be able to do that during this visit.
Heading upstairs, I met everyone in the kitchen, which was now clean.
"Sorry I didn't help tidy up," I said as I sat at the island. "Thank you for washing Astrid away."
Aubrey-Lynn tsked. "Not to worry. We'll get some painters in here for you."
I shrugged. "Nah, I'll do it."
Calin caught my eye and smirked, and I knew he realized I wouldn't use painters to fix the redecorating that Astrid had taken it upon herself to complete. He had been right to assume I was different with my friends from Briarville. Magic wasn't prevalent here. It didn't mean it wasn't used, though. My mom had erected a fence around our entire backyard in less than an hour! I was sure I could remove the gray from the walls.
"So, all the locks are changed," Aiden said, coming through the kitchen doorway. "Nora, here are the keys."
He held out two key rings and I took one. "You keep a set for while I am in Wickenton," I said. "How much do I owe?"
"Don't worry about it. Consider it a welcome home present."
"I'm not home, Aiden."
"You will be." He smiled and turned his gaze to everyone gathered. "Now, what's for supper? Are we heading back to the house or eating here?"
"Actually, I need to head back," Aubrey-Lynn said, coming over to peck Aiden on the cheek before continuing towards the exit. "We ordered Chinese food to be delivered to our house so we wouldn't have to clean again. I'll go get everything prepared. You guys can follow me once Nora has a chance to get what she wants."
Nancy jumped off the counter and pulled Julian to follow her mother, and Aiden trailed them. "I want to eat," Nancy said. "You coming, Nora?"
"Yeah." I nodded and stood. "I just want to grab a few things. Give me ten minutes and then Calin and I will head out."
They all left, leaving me alone with Calin. I turned to him and smiled.
"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"Outside."
"Oh, yeah." I nodded. "I just wanted to check on the gazebo, make sure it was still standing."
"And? Is it?" A smiled tugged the corner of his lips up, and I looked away.
"Mm-hmm."
"Nora."
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?" he asked, stepping closer and putting his hands on my waist.
"Uh, what? Nothing." I shook my head.
Now that we were alone, I didn't want to be in this close proximity to him. It was confusing, which I knew was weird considering we had just been at the clearing together. Somehow, this—being inside of my home—was different. Calin knew me in ways nobody did. Or, at least he knew the whole me, which no one else seemed to recognize.
"I am going to go get a few things, okay?" I said quickly, avoiding looking at Calin.
Before he could answer, I ran from the kitchen and went upstairs to my mother's room. Quickly searching the closet, I grabbed what I wanted and headed to my room, looking for anything that I might want to bring with me. Finally, I went back downstairs and met Calin in the living room.
"You ready?" he asked, taking my bag as we headed to the front door.
I nodded. "Yeah, let me just... I'll be right there. I want to see if I left a pair of shoes in the hall closet. Don't worry, I'll lock up."
Calin went outside, leaving me alone. I grabbed a pair of strappy shoes—ones I knew I would be able to walk in at the dance tomorrow—from the closet and then looked around at the grey walls, a slow smile lifting the corner of my lips into a smile. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and imagined the walls the way my mother had intended, stripping away the unwelcome color to reveal what it had covered up.