Broom with a View (28 page)

In a flash, Miss Popplewell turned from a bleeding girl with singed hair and a burnt dress lying on the floor into a knight standing straight and strong, with sparkling silver armor and a large silver shield so shiny that it reflected the world like a mirror. The professor’s powerful blast of sunlight hit the shield square on and was bounced directly back at him, catching him unawares with a full blast of his own magic.

The Warlock known as Professor Yog was immediately burnt to a crisp.

Seeing her enemy defeated and falling to ashes, all the strength drained out of Miss Popplewell. Her armor vanished, and her wounds returned. She took a few staggering steps and then collapsed to the floor. Sebastian dragged himself over to hold her in his arms. “Why aren’t you healing?” Violet asked, noticing that he was still horribly burned. “I thought Vampires could heal from most wounds.”

“Yog’s magic was too strong,” Sebastian said, inhaling sharply as his injured wing brushed the floor while he tried to gather her to him. “I don’t have the strength to regenerate.”

Violet looked down at the crimson that was quickly seeping into her ruined dress. “I’d offer you some of my blood, but I don’t have much left. I don’t think I can last much longer.”

“Then kiss me,” Sebastian told her. “Please just kiss me before we die. Because if I know that you really do love me, then I have had a life worth living.”

Violet tilted her head back to meet his lips. Sebastian’s mouth was tender and full of promises he wished he could keep. Even through the pain and the blood and the smell of burnt hair, the kiss felt wonderful. It started a small, warm glow in Miss Popplewell’s stomach that rapidly spread throughout her body. The agony of her injuries quickly evaporated and turned into something gold and ethereal, like a glimpse of fairy lights out on the moors. “What’s happening?” she asked, breathless and a little frightened.

“I’m not sure,” Sebastian whispered back, his lips brushing hers. “But I’m beginning to feel a bit better.”

The glow that was building between them started spreading across the room and then throughout the mansion. It extinguished the fires and righted the furniture. Soon the glittering dust was spilling out the windows and seeping under the doors, infusing the night air.

Violet looked down and saw that her shoulder was no longer broken; she could move her arm again. The blood that had been oozing from her mouth and temple was gone. Sebastian flexed his wing and it was somehow he
aled back to its former glory. “How is this possible?” she asked, not sure if she was dying or had a second chance to live.

“Magic,” was all he could think to answer.

“But whose magic?” Violet wanted to know. “It’s not mine. Are you doing this?”

“No,” Sebastian said, shaking his head. “It’s not mine either. I think it’s our magic.”

Epilogue: The Unexpected Challenges of Happily Ever After

Sometimes knowing a professional gossip has its advantages. Although the pages were slightly bloodstained, Miss Popplewell was able to present Miss Hopkins with all of Professor Yog’s correspondence to Lady Wilberforce. Hippolyta wasted no time getting the letters on the Vine word
for word. An immediate investigation was launched by the authorities, and many arrests were made in the Crafter, as well as the Mortal, community. Much to everyone’s surprise, there were even a few Vampires caught in the plot, but, then again, there were Rajahs who helped the English colonize India. “One should never underestimate a person’s ability to act selfishly,” Mr. B theorized.

“It’s a miracle that the young people managed to survive,” said Miss Hazel Fate as they all gathered in the Popplewell’s back garden a few days later. Another of Mr. Wainbright’s cottages had a vacancy
, and he was swift to strike a bargain with the three sisters.

The Popplewell
s’ house on Gallows Road was as it was before the attack. The elves had fulfilled their contract admirably down to a hairpin that was clogging the bathroom drain and a lost shilling that was wedged under the back steps.

“I still find it hard to believe that a Mortal like Mr. Wilberforce could have any power over a Witch,” said Miss Abigail Fate, clucking her tongue a little, or maybe it was because it wasn’t her turn to wear the teeth.

“But you must remember that Miss Popplewell is still a very young Witch,” Mr. B insisted. “And Mortals do have some magic, whether we like to admit it or not.”

“Mr. B, you were there. Can’t you tell us what happened?” Miss Esther Fate asked, regarding the High Sorcerer with the opera glasses.

“I’m afraid between the time of my arrival and the moment when a large chunk of marble knocked me unconscious was only a few minutes,” he said. “I wish I could tell you more.”

“I have heard,” Mr. Wainbright said, a bit timidly seeing that he was the only Mortal at a table, “that Professor Yog was incinerated by his own spell. That it somehow rebounded on him.”

“That doesn’t surprise me one bit,” said Miss Abigail Fate a bit tartly. “He always did know how to make an ash out of himself.” The three sisters tittered at the pun.

“I’m just glad the lovebirds survived,” Mrs. Popplewell said, pouring out a bit more lemonade for her guests. “Just imagine; we’re going to have a Vampire in the family. I never thought I’d live to see the day where a Crafter and a Vampire would be in love, let alone marry.”

“If the peace talks keep progressing the way they have been, with everyone feeling so amiable towards their fellow magical being,” said the Count Du Monde, “then I’m sure in a few years it won’t be such an uncommon thing.” He shifted his chair slightly to be more in the shade.

“For my part, I could tell they were instantly attracted to each other,” Vera said from her seat on the opposite side of the table from the count. “You can always tell with true love.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Miss Abigail Fate, carefully removing the cucumber from a cucumber sandwich. “I’m sure if Professor Yog hadn’t made such a fuss, there’s a chance their romance might have fizzled. I mean, look at Romeo and Juliet.”

“What about them?” Mr. Wainbright wanted to know, his brow slightly furrowed. Sometimes he found it challenging to keep pace with a Crafter conversation.

“That Romeo was a scoundrel, always sniffing around one girl or another. He stood outside my sister Hazel’s window for three nights in a row the month before he met Juliet.”

Hazel nodded her confirmation but said nothing as she was making use of the false teeth.

“Sometimes love takes a little adversity to make it stick,” Miss Abigail said with a small chuckle.

“Look at them out there,” Sonny said, peering out the kitchen window. “All having a good old gossip at your expense.” He turned to look at his sister and Sebastian, who were dishing up bowls of ice cream.

Or to be more precise, Sebastian was scooping out the ice cream and Violet was enjoying haranguing him, trying to get him to sample a small taste. “Just try it,” she was insisting, pressing a spoonful towards his mouth. “How do you even know you don’t like ice cream if you’ve never tasted it?” He moved his head away
, and she smeared a bit of chocolate on his cheek.

“Good Goddess,” Sonny said, rolling his eyes. “I’m not sure how much harmony I can stand. I think I liked it better when we were all trying to kill each other.”

Violet gave off trying to force feed her fiancé and turned to her brother. “Do you really think there will be peace?”

Sonny gave a small shrug. “It certainly looks that way.”

“But why now?” Violet wanted to know. “I mean, the war between Witches and Vampires has been heating up and cooling off for centuries. It doesn’t make sense that it would end now, just because Sebastian and I are engaged.”

“You two are a symbol of harmony between magical beings, I guess,” Sonny told her. “You might say that you’re setting an example. So long as you stay in love and get married, then I imagine the war between Witches and Vampires will finally end. No pressure, of course,” he added, with an impudent wink.

Sebastian snuck up behind the girl and swept her into his arms, dipped her low, and placed a passionate kiss on Miss Popplewell’s rosebud lips. “Not a problem,” the Vampire assured his future brother-in-law.

While Sonny and Mr. Du Monde brought the ice cream out to the garden on trays, Violet wandered into the parlour. She hadn’t done any magic that day, but she was still feeling out of sorts. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Sebastian. Quite the contrary, she loved him rather desperately. But the prospect that the state of peace amongst magical beings depended on her feelings for him was making the girl deeply anxious.

She sat down at the piano and plunked out a few notes, not really feeling like playing but not sure what else to do. A small noise caused her to look up and see the Count Du Monde standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said. “It’s just the afternoon sun is getting to me a bit, and I’ve never had a taste for ice cream. Not even when I was a Mortal.”

“I wasn’t startled,” she assured him. “Come in and sit down, if you like. It’s much cooler in here.”

“Thank you,” he said, seating himself not too far from the instrument.

Violet wanted to be conversational with her future father-in-law, but she really couldn’t think of anything to say.

After a few minutes of the count silently observing her, he said, “Would you mind if I spoke frankly to you, my dear?”

“If you like,” was her reply.

“You can’t take responsibility for the happiness of the whole world,” the old Vampire began. “Everyone must find their own magic, be they Crafter, Vampire, or even Mortal.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she told him, although she could tell he was trying to be kind.

“What I mean is,” the Count Du Monde said, earnestly looking into her eyes, “the best thing you can do, Miss Popplewell, is to learn to make magic for yourself.”

The End

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Broom with a View
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Gayla & Ted
 

Craving more vampire romance? Consider Gayla Twist’s
Call of the Vampire
~ Book 1 in the Vanderlind Castle Series:

Aurora Keys has dreamed of the Vanderlind Castle ever since she was a little girl. But the fiercely private Vanderlinds keep the massive structure strictly off limits to visitors. Until one night, the wealthy family throws a party—not just a small soiree, but a huge black-tie affair. No one from the town of Tiburon, Ohio, is invited—not even the mayor. But Aurora’s best friend, Blossom, has a foolproof plan for the two of them to sneak in.

At first, everything goes smoothly: the girls enter the castle undetected, and there is free champagne. But then the handsome Jessie Vanderlind sweeps Aurora into his arms, crushing her to his chest and whispering, “I knew you’d come back to me.”

Aurora understands it is a case of mistaken identity, but she feels connected to him somehow. And the boy is so beautiful, she believes she would be happy if he never let her go.

Once Jessie realizes he is mistaken, his smile quickly changes to a scowl. “You must leave,” he tells her in a low, urgent voice. “Immediately. Come! I’ll find a way to get you out.”

Unbeknownst to Aurora and Blossom, they have snuck into the home of one of the most prestigious vampire families in the world, and it is doubtful the two young women will ever be allowed to leave. Aurora’s resemblance to Jessie Vanderlind’s lost love just may be the only thing keeping them alive.

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