Page 20 of Spellbound
“Or you can just call the sheriff’s office, and they can come out and take a report. I can’t imagine it was anything more than some kind of prank or some kids fooling around out there when I wasn’t home.” She turned toward my grandma and shrugged. “I’m gone for hours sometimes when my ladies’ group and I volunteer over at the nursing home. We go over there and paint the ladies’ nails or do their makeup. We do crafts with them too or read to them. Janet, you’ll have to come with me sometime. It’s so rewarding.”
Ben interrupted my grandma before she could answer. “This wasn’t any kids playing a prank,” he said, his voice loud and harsh and cutting right through their chatter. “I was on that bridge just last evening and it was fine. So, I believe it happened between then and the time Asher stepped onto it. I think this is magistrate business. Someone tried to deliberately hurt one of us, or considering Asher’s injuries, maybe even try to kill him.”
“B-but who would do something like that?” I cut in. “Besides, anyone could have used that bridge. If that had been my grandma or Rosalyn out there this morning, they could have been badly hurt or even killed. No one could know it would be me. Maybe Rosalyn is right, and you should report this to the sheriff. I think you’re right about this being deliberate though. This was far from being any kind of prank.”
Ben looked annoyed at all of us. “This has nothing to do with the sheriff’s department, damn it. Magic was involved in this. That whole scene out there reeks of it.” He turned to look at me. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten the fact that you used magic to save yourself this morning. That’s not speculation—I saw it with my own eyes. Don’t get me wrong—I’m glad you did,but it doesn’t erase the fact that it shouldn’t have been possible. Your magic was bound by your father years ago, but your magic blew right through the binding. We need to talk about how you managed that. And if you’ve thrown off the binding.”
****
Ben
My little announcement brought the discussion to a halt pretty quickly. I was surprised that Ash didn’t argue about it, but I guess it was undeniable that he’d used magic to save himself, regardless of what he kept claiming and glossing over. I knew what he said about magic, but it was time he faced facts and stopped living in his little dream world.
I didn’t understand how he could keep ignoring the obvious and dismissing the facts. Was he under some kind of spell?
“Are you going to the cottage soon to get settled in?” I asked him. “I can help, and it would give us a chance to talk about all this.”
He gave me a wary look. “I would like to get settled in. But if you’ll be busy with this bridge stuff, I can do it myself.”
“Aunt Rosalyn,” Ash said, changing the subject as he turned to her, “does the place have wi-fi? Or do I need to arrange that today? I think Gran said there was a television set, so I’ll need wi-fi to stream. And of course, I’ll need internet for my research.”
“You should be all set for that, as well as internet,” she replied. “I’ll give you a list of the passwords. Let me know when you’re ready to go to the cottage, and I’ll take you. It’s just behind the house, and over another bridge that crosses the stream.”
“No. I’ll take him, Ros. We need to talk.”
“Oh,” his grandma said, leaning over to listen. “That’s a good idea, Rosalyn, we can go to the grocery store then since I know what Asher likes. That way he can have some snacks and sandwich things at his cottage.”
“Of course,” Rosalyn said, “But I hope you’ll have most of your meals here with us, Asher. Your grandma and I will be cooking almost every night, and it’s just as easy to cook for one or two more. I’ve stocked the pantry for you already, and the small appliances are in there, along with the pots and pans. Just the basics, so you can decide if you need a few more things. You can pop into town to get whatever else you need.”
Rosalyn began discussing what else Asher might need and making lists, while I sat there and stewed as I waited them out, staring at Asher. He was endlessly fascinating to me, and I never got tired of looking at him and trying to figure him out, but I was irritated by this waste of time, and he must have known it. Maybe it made him feel self-conscious. He kept stealing nervous little looks over at me and finally stood up abruptly.
“I think I’ll go up and get my suitcase. The rest of my stuff is in the car. I probably should get started on settling in soon.”
“Put it all in the back of my truck, along with whatever else you want,” I said. “Like Rosalyn said, there’s another of the little footbridges to get to the cottage, and I’d like to check it before it falls in too. If it’s all right, I can drive your things around behind the barn and we can unload them there. It’ll be easier than trying to carry everything.”
“Let him catch his breath, Ben,” Rosalyn said, in a disapproving tone.
“He doesn’t have that luxury, I’m afraid. All of you are ignoring the fact that someone tried to kill him this morning, and like I’ve said repeatedly, Ash and Ineed to talk.”
Silence fell abruptly and Rosalyn’s face got red. You think someone wants to kill him? That’s a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think? He just arrived.”
“No, actually, I don’t think so, and I don’t care how long he’s been here.”
Her lips tightened and she suddenly got busy and stood up to start clearing the table.
“No one is ignoring this, Ben,” she said. “But you’re right. We’ll just leave it up to you, like you said.”
“Good.” I turned back to his grandmother. “So, what do you say Asher and I go over to the cottage while you two go to town? If that other bridge is damaged too, then the guy can fix them both when he comes.”
“That sounds great,” my grandma said. “Then we can go straight on over to Walmart.”
“Fine by me,” Asher said, though he sounded a little sullen, I thought.
“Or I can go with you to Walmart, and Ben and I can talk later.” He looked over at me hopefully.
“No. Sit back down and finish your breakfast, Ash. You’ve hardly eaten anything. Pour him a glass of milk, please, Rosalyn. He’s going to need his strength.”
He looked at me, alarmed and seeming ready to fire something back that probably would have been a little rude, with those eyes flashing…and I sent him a little something to foster a sense of calm acceptance. It did him no harm and he was way too uptight. Besides, he was too thin, and the milk was good for him.
