Familiarity Breeds Witchcraft Read online

  This time, Gemma remained the passive viewer, sitting off to one side without participating. Her avatar’s watchful waiting reminded her of her own time spent on the sidelines of local activities.

  Gaming was usually a fun escape from reality. Now it was a little too on the nose for her to have as much fun as she usually did.

  Enid dumped their leftover cabbages into the cauldron.

  “Well, that’s all I got. Guess I should get ready for the real magic.” Enid dropped her controller, got to her feet, and stretched. “Sure you don’t want to join us tonight?” She looked out the window as she spoke, her voice noncommittal.

  “I’m sure.” Gemma plugged in the controllers. They sang out with gratitude, resonating with her techno-witch senses. Everything only silenced when she shut of the game system as Bronson clomped up the stairs and settled onto the floor next to the sofa. Crossing the room, she patted his head. “Bronson and I will chill and watch some movies.”

  “Just you and Bronson, huh?”

  She ignored the tone of innuendo in her sister’s voice and went to boot up her computer.

  Enid patted Bronson and headed down the stairs. “See you later, then.”

  “Later.” Gemma brought up her messenger. RideswithBronson: Hey! Movie time?

  FeistyFox95 was already waiting for her. This wasn’t merely because Fox was always on the internet. They had a standing movie date for nights like these when they, solitary practitioners of two different kinds, didn’t celebrate the esbats. Instead, they spent the time together in their favorite way: on the computer.

  The response pinged onto her screen a few seconds later.

  FeistyFox95: Sure. Which one? I’m up for anything.

  Settling in, Gemma pulled up her queue and started listing off the options.

  Chapter 4

  ENID LEFT FOR the esbat as the sun set. In the time since she’d gone to prepare for the evening’s outing, Gemma and FeistyFox95 had already watched a short movie—an indie flick that had been uploaded by one of their favorite TV show personalities.

  When Fox received a message regarding her work, she temporarily went AFK—away from keyboard—to handle the issue, leaving Gemma awaiting her return.

  She tried not to pine in Fox’s absence.

  For a little while, she rested her chin on her knuckles, gazing at Fox’s icon in the chat app. Fox was beautiful in every way possible, from mohawk to piercings and her perfect lipstick. Most people as gorgeous as Fox—she was a model, for cauldron’s sake!—wouldn’t give Gemma the time of day, much less become her best friend.

  Things were different on the internet. Gemma’s avatar was of Bronson’s baleful eyes when he was begging for a bite of bacon (one of the very few things that Bronson considered worthy of waking up for). Bronson was as adorable as Fox was beautiful.

  In the digital world, Gemma and Fox were sort of equals.

  She sighed and turned off the app so she wouldn’t be compelled to stare at Fox’s picture the whole time she was gone. Her tablet gave a cheery sing-song throb in her magical senses, as though to celebrate the rest on its processor.

  Gemma distracted herself from Fox’s absence by watching from the attic as Enid stepped out the front gate and joined the stream of people heading toward the Leif farm. Among the group she saw Garrett Blank helping his oh-so-pregnant partner Rowan waddle along the street; he seemed right at home with all the witches, though he hadn’t known until just a few months earlier that they even existed, and she envied him his ability to adapt to his new situation.

  It was easy to understand why Garrett had so quickly become an irreplaceable member of the coven, though. He was such a nice guy. Relentlessly supportive. Funny to boot.

  If Rowan left Secret Hallow again, Gemma wouldn’t just be losing one of her real life best friends. She would lose Garrett, too. He’d already shown himself to be a cool person who liked to help out and she considered him an asset to the coven despite the fact he had no magical power.

  She had to figure out a way to keep the little family in the village.

  Gemma moved to sit next to the computer closest to the window and watched until the last of the group disappeared from sight. She continued to stare outside, chin in hand, as darkness fell over the street beyond the house. The breeze died out as the sun disappeared and the room began warming up as the waning moon rose.

  As the brilliant sliver of silver light backlit the ruins of a castle on the nearby bluff, she shook off her doldrums and turned her attention to her equipment.

  Just turning her gaze onto her various components made her mind fill with the sparkling joy of the technology that loved her.

  The feeling was mutual.

  Gemma could network this PC with her more powerful tower whenever she wanted so she could work while enjoying the fresh air at the open window. The temperature in the attic sometimes became too stifling for her to concentrate on the task at hand, like now. Problem was, she tended to stare out the window and waste time, as she’d just been doing. The world outside could be too much of a distraction, too.

  Bronson often shared the long bench she’d placed before this workstation with her. Considering how difficult she found getting up to be once he’d pinned her down, maybe she should work from the window computer more. Being trapped at her work station might just encourage her to accomplish more than she had of late.

  “What do you think, Bron?” She scratched his exposed belly as he drooled on her other hand, which was currently twined with headphone cables. Gemma hadn’t even noticed it sneaking up on her. “Could you keep me honest and on task if I sit here more often?”

  The visible portion of his tail attempted to wag.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She made kissy noises in his direction as she ruffled his ears.

  In response, he licked her hand.

  A quiet ping caught her attention. When Gemma clicked on the link Fox had sent, her friend’s face appeared, solemn but for the twinkle in her eye. She’d dyed her mohawk red and tried a new, very attractive, style. Special jewelry also decorated her pierced lips. Gemma enjoyed clicking through several headshots of various types. Fox tended to model when bored, a habit Gemma didn’t mind in the least.

  FiestyFox95: Are they so good you’re overwhelmed or so bad you don’t want to hurt my feelings?

  Realizing she’d been so busy staring at her hot friend she’d forgotten to respond, Gemma adjusted in her chair, shifting Bronson’s head so the weight didn’t press so hard into her hip. She sat with her fingers resting on the keys as she tried to compose something to say.

  In reality, Gemma’s response to Fox’s modeling pictures was always a string of drool hanging from her chin.

  That would probably sound creepy if she said it, though.

  RidesWithBronson: Does your ego need a boost? You should know you’re stunning.

  FiestyFox95: Stunning works. Don’t I get to see you? Not that Bronson isn’t handsome!

  Gemma laughed. She’d sent plenty of pictures Fox’s way in the past, but just to tease her a little, she sent a shot she’d taken earlier when she’d aimed her phone out the window at the townspeople walking toward the gathering. She sent the picture to Fox and sat back to wait for a response.

  FiestyFox95: Oh, right. Tonight’s the esbat! Who’s the guy in the middle?

  Gemma’s phone screen was too small for her to be able to make out individuals so she sent the picture to her own email and opened it on her computer.

  She thought seeing the town this way, as a still picture in time, could be kind of nice. Enid stood in the near distance, the tip of her pointy hat a little crooked in the breeze, her striped stockings as bright and cheerful as ever in the fading light of late day. She seemed to be talking to someone Gemma assumed was Kimberly Leif, judging by the eagle familiar swooping behind the woman’s head.

  Nearer to the house, Adora Glenn stood somewhat aloof, her blonde hair paler than usual in the cool light of evening. Some kids and o
ther people Gemma couldn’t pick out by sight seemed to be milling around. Right in the middle of the group she saw the person who’d most likely caught Fox’s attention.

  RidesWithBronson: That’s Garrett Blank, the town’s token mundane. He’s the father of Rowan’s baby.

  FiestyFox95: LOL, token mundane. But that’s so sweet!

  RidesWithBronson: Of course you’d think so…

  Fox always talked about non-magical people with loving condescension. Gemma admired non-magical people, too. After all, she’d grown up around so much magic that the reverse seemed pretty novel.

  How could anyone use computers when computers didn’t sing to them? How did they troubleshoot issues without being able to ask the motherboard why it felt sick?

  Mundanes were truly impressive in their ways.

  FiestyFox95: I thought he looked pretty happy. Makes sense if he’s having a baby.

  Taking a closer look at the picture she saw Garrett had been standing kind of close to the house and could just make out his bright and cheerful expression as he looked off to one side. Squinting a bit she saw…Rowan, of course. Who else would he look at that way?

  Gemma hadn’t expected Rowan to show up at the esbat, since she was about a million years overdue to give birth. She might just pop out a baby while she was sitting with the other witches.

  Reviving the Ash Academy must have been as important to Rowan as it was to her.

  Gemma considered how she might feel in Garrett’s shoes. Gemma thought going to random esbats and socializing with witches who’d known each other forever would have been way too much for her sensitive nature, but from what she’d seen of him, Garret was always really nice and very easy-going. His presence truly made the town a nicer place. Her earlier worries bubbled to the surface and she shared them before she realized she’d done so. RidesWithBronson: Rowan said she’s thinking of moving away.

  FiestyFox95: Secret Hallow’s reached a peak, huh? Are the pumpkin pies turning stale?

  RidesWithBronson: If they were, I’d be the first one gone. We were discussing the school situation. Both Rowan and I want the idea of rebuilding to work out. I want to keep as many of our families in town as possible. So Rowan and Enid are going to talk fundraisers with the coven tonight.

  FiestyFox95: What would a fundraiser do for messed-up magic?

  Of course she’d forgotten to bring Fox up to speed on the newest developments. She recapped her earlier conversation with Enid about the new building in as few words as possible.

  FiestyFox95: No way would bake sales earn enough. ComePayMe is the way to go.

  Gemma’s eyes widened. Fox had talked about ComePayMe before, back when she’d needed money to do a print run of her web comic. She’d told Gemma how random people online pledged money for the project in return for little gifts and bonuses. Fox had earned more than enough and the print version of her web comic earned her both new followers and a tidy income. The idea sounded perfect, except…

  RidesWithBronson: Who outside Secret Hallow would care to chip in? We’re not world-famous and I don’t know that we could make enough pies as incentives.

  FiestyFox95: I could drop a link on the newest update to my comic to share with my followers. If you start tonight, I’ve got a big release coming out tomorrow. Remember the twist I told you about? And I’ve got plenty of incentives left over from last time, if that would help. I’m happy to donate!

  RidesWithBronson: I couldn’t ask that of you.

  FiestyFox95: Just for the smaller levels. I’m only talking bookmarks, babe.

  Gemma rubbed her temples as she took a couple breaths. She didn’t want to risk her friendship with Fox, but Secret Hallow did need the help. She couldn’t do this herself. And the idea of her friends and relatives all moving away hurt too much for her to even consider.

  RidesWithBronson: Okay, talk me through this so we can watch another movie.

  FiestyFox95: Goblins, you figured out my price. I found a truly awful movie for us!

  Gemma laughed and pulled up the ComePayMe site.

  Chapter 5

  SUNLIGHT WARMED GEMMA’S face and bright light filtered through her closed eyelids. She groaned and rolled over, wiping a slimy strand of drool from the corner of her mouth.

  When had she fallen asleep? She felt like the crust at the bottom of a cauldron after a long night of casting.

  Stretching out the kinks in her shoulders, she looked around the room in half-conscious confusion.

  Bronson no longer lay on the bench. In fact, she didn’t see him anywhere.

  As she tried to stand, she tripped over the edge of the blanket wrapped around her, and figured Enid must have stopped in when she’d gotten home from the esbat the night before.

  Gemma must’ve fallen asleep when the second movie ended. Fox had been right…the story was probably the worst she’d ever seen. Who in the world would believe a man could fall in love with a glittering blood-sucking woman without figuring out what she was?

  Thinking back to the terrible movie reminded her of what she had been doing the entire night.

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  The Ash Academy’s ComePayMe fund must have been up for at least eight hours now.

  She wiggled her mouse to wake her computer and pointed the cursor at the ComePayMe bookmark in her browser. Deep down, she hoped to find they’d already earned what they needed to rebuild the school, but knew that wouldn’t happen overnight. She could only hope a person or two might have stumbled across the page since they’d set up the request.

  Gemma froze as her gaze landed on the dollar amount.

  “No way.” The sound of her own voice in the morning stillness startled her.

  She refreshed the page, like that would somehow change things, but everything looked just the same. The green line on the graph reached all the way up to their target funding amount.

  But that couldn’t be right. The page showed only four donors, and the majority of the money from one anonymous source, which…no, that had to be a glitch. They couldn’t have already reached their goal. Fox hadn’t even offered her incentives yet.

  As she thought of Fox, she saw the chat window still open on her screen.

  RidesWithBronson: FOX! DO I NEED TO RELAUNCH THE COMEPAYME? SOMETHING LOOKS WRONG.

  Gemma gnawed on her ragged cuticles as she waited for a response. She knew Fox might still be asleep at such an early hour after they’d been up so late watching the movie.

  Wrapping the blanket tight to ward off the morning chill, she sat with her heart racing in fear she’d done something wrong with the ComePayMe page. Maybe she’d broken something without Fox knowing.

  The loud clicks of the clock on the nearby wall indicated the slow passage of time.

  “Where is she?” Gemma asked a nearby CAT-5 cable, which reared its connector in an inquisitive look. It couldn’t respond. It might have been animated by Gemma’s magic, but it wasn’t truly sentient.

  Even so, she took a modicum of comfort when it coiled around her forearm in a hug.

  Should she text Fox? She didn’t want to take the chance of being thrown off the site for having done something illegal. How else would they have so much money so soon?

  FiestyFox95: Don’t scream at me so early in the morning, babe. I have a bad movie hangover.

  “Oh, thank the ghosts!” Gemma sagged with relief as she set down her phone.

  RidesWithBronson: Sorry. Just…can you take a look at the page?

  FiestyFox95: What’s wrong?

  RidesWithBronson: Our request seems to be fully funded! Looks like one person left a ridiculous amount of money. Maybe they didn’t mean to donate so much. Do I have to track them down and return the cash?

  FiestyFox95: I’m not seeing a problem.

  RidesWithBronson: There’s no way one person would drop that much on a school.

  FiestyFox95: Hang on, babe. I’m gonna call you.

  Gemma started as her phone danced across the desk with the incoming call n
otification.

  She and Fox never talked on the phone.

  Well, okay, maybe they had once or twice. Gemma only called Enid for the most part since she much preferred to text with people; she couldn’t hear well on the phone and worried that she’d either misrepresent herself or insult someone.

  She took a steadying breath as she reached for the phone with a trembling hand. This was just Fox. They messaged online for hours every single day so speaking to each other shouldn’t be a big deal. Toggling the accept button on her screen, she put the phone to her ear.

  “Hey, babe.” Fox’s deep, sultry voice, even on the crackling line, sounded very good. “I knew I should’ve talked to you about this first, but you’d fallen asleep, and I thought…well, that doesn’t matter. I’m just sorry you’re so worked up. That was never my intention.”

  “Why are you apologizing? You’re only trying to help.”

  A few moments of silence passed before Fox spoke again. “The money wasn’t a glitch or a mistake by some stranger.”

  Something didn’t add up. “Then who…”

  “Me.” Fox gave a nervous laugh. “I made the donation.”

  The dorky laugh Gemma could never seem to control escaped before she could stop herself. She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. The nervous habit just made a strange situation weirder and she mentally cursed her lack of self-control. “Oh, pumpkins! You know you shouldn’t have done that, Fox. We can never repay such generosity.”

  “It’s a donation, babe. You know what donations are, right?”

  “But you paid way above the highest donation tier! It’s not enough for me to send you honey from the Leif hives and a couple of pumpkins.” For that much money, it wouldn’t have been enough to send Fox an entire car in thanks.

  Fox’s tone turned teasing. “I have an idea of what you can do for my incentive.”

  “You’re the one with the bookmarks.” Gemma’s nervous laugh escaped her again. She clenched her free hand into a fist and gritted her teeth. “Did you want to keep them that much?”

  Fox laughed, a warm, musical sound. “I just need help with a spell, babe. That’s all.”