Page 60 of Curses & Cold Brew
IRIS
Nothing epitomized Maple Hollow quite like the night of the Halloween Festival. It was the crowning jewel of our spooky little town. Harlow, Jordyn, and I walked together through the labyrinth of stalls and lines to the middle of the candlelit square.
I felt like a giddy child. It was basically like Christmas for us witches, and I’d been delighted when the coven elders had offered to man the bookshop and apothecary tables so that Jordyn and I could explore and enjoy ourselves.
Booths had been set up in the town square throughout the week. There were stalls where you could bob for apples or participate in a pie-eating contest. There were fortunetellers and booths for cauldron elixirs. There were crafting stations where tourists could decorate their own witch hats and dip their own candles. There was even a carousel. All the youngest witches and werewolves were in line for it. Instead of horses, they would ride magically floating skeletons, pumpkins, and witches’ brooms.
My favorite area was the Snack-o’-Lantern Strip that featured far more than just bowls of candy for trick-or-treaters. It had the most sinfully decadent fare the festival had to offer:candy apple bars, monster macarons, and pumpkin-spice funnel cakes.
“Willow and Wyatt’s booth looks so cute.” I pointed down the row to where Willow was pre-pouring cinnamon-spiced hot chocolate into cups and setting them next to the green and purple monster macarons that Wyatt had made especially for the festival.
When we got closer, Eloise spotted us. “There you are! I’ve been wondering when you’d show up.” She looked over her shoulder then down the row as if she were about to open her jacket and reveal a bunch of counterfeit watches. But what she took out and slid across the table was far more coveted in these parts—a white pastry box. “This is the last box. You didn’t get them from me.”
Lightning fast, Harlow snatched it and opened the lid. “The last three apple cider donuts!” She held a hand to her chest as if deeply moved. “Thank you for saving them for us.”
Jordyn plucked out a donut. “These are harder to get than drugs in this town.” She made a delicioushmmsound when she bit into it.
I laughed as Jordyn stuffed her entire donut into her mouth. “Considering we are the only drugstore,” I said, “that doesn’t mean much.”
“Nothing illegal in our shop!” she loudly assured everyone around us. “Only medicine.”
“Thanks, Eloise.” I removed a small baggie from my purse and slid it back across the table toward her. “For you. A sample of our very legal drugs.”
I had put together a tea blend for uplifting and luck and was passing it around to our closest friends. A little magic for the locals after the long—and sometimes grueling—tourist season. After tomorrow, the town would return to its normal pace, and we’d all have a chance to recover over winter.
Eloise closed her eyes and sniffed the bag. “Hmm . . . lemon balm, valerian root, and something sweet . . .”
“They’re special dried blackberries that the coven propagated,” Jordyn added. “Very warming. Good for the soul.”
“I can’t wait to try it. Thanks.” Eloise tucked away her little sachet and returned to her customers.
Wyatt and Willow stood next to each other, separated only by the small gap between their tables. Though they weren’t outwardly affectionate, something had clearly changed between them. Willow had explained a few bruises and scrapes the other day to Harlow, but we still felt like there was more to it than a misunderstanding with the wolf pack. A story for another time, for sure.
“Harlow, could you take these over to the vampire booth, please?” Willow held up two trays of hot chocolate, each lid balancing a crescent pastry on top. “A little thank-you to Agnes and the knitting club for making those cute tea cozies for the pots in the café.”
“That’s a lot for a cup of cocoa to say,” Harlow jested but took the trays anyway.
“It’s not just hot chocolate,” Wyatt added as he filled to-go boxes with four different pastries. “I also made new macarons—vanilla with maple cream—to go with them. See?”
He held up the nearest plate for me. They were painted to look like the moon with a small willow tree in the middle.
Nice touch.
I popped one into my mouth and let out an indecent sound at the taste. Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Rich and creamy. They were perfect.
He’d also made the oversized burnt maple marshmallows that topped the luscious hot chocolate.
I gave him an approving thumbs-up. “You’re right. They say a lot for small cookies.”
A rush of sightseers came from behind us, and we knew it was time to move on. Jordyn linked her arm with mine and we made our way through the crowd.
I panned the rest of the aisle, and my gaze finally landed on the person I’d been waiting to see. I couldn’t stop the butterflies in my stomach just from seeing her. Ramona stood with Naphula on the outer edge of the square as they watched the mortals enjoy the Halloween Festival that they had likely seen a hundred times before. The two of us had agreed we’d enjoy the festivities with our best friends, each of us celebrating in kind—me with wide-eyed exuberance and Ramona with aloof wickedness.
“Are you meeting up with Ramona later?” Jordyn asked, catching my wandering eye.
“Maybe.” I nudged her playfully with my elbow. “But tonight, I want to spend time with you and our friends.”
She squeezed my arm, emotions cascading across her face. “Have I told you that I’m sorry for disappearing so much in the last year?”
