Chapter 35 Toad Suck

The inn was a buzzing hive of activity. The Gilbert and Sullivan crowd bustled around the lobby, putting the final touches on costumes and props in preparation for this evening's performance of Pirates of Penzance . Feathered hats were adjusted, plastic swords were brandished, and vocal warm-ups echoed through the halls.

Meanwhile, Aphra, Dayo, and Priti gathered over coffee in the dining room. They were brainstorming what to do now that there were no supplies left in the hardware store—yet another challenge for the pile. Scarlett entered and joined them at the large wooden table.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence." Aphra eyed Scarlett's rumpled outfit. "Wearing the same clothes as yesterday, I see."

Scarlett felt her cheeks flush. "Never mind that. What's the latest on the grove situation?"

Priti sighed heavily. "Not good. The infection is spreading faster than ever. The EMS is out of supplies, so is Aphra's store, and now so is Williams Hardware. If there's some new explosion or fire . . . I don't know what we're going to do. EMS is going door-to-door, seeking donations of whatever people can spare. Herbs, crystals, anything to sort of band-aid this whole situation."

"Do you really think the townsfolk will hand over their supplies?" Dayo asked skeptically.

"Doubtful," Aphra said. "But we have to try something. Unless anyone has a better idea?"

"What about reaching out to that coven in Boston?" Scarlett suggested. "Maybe they could lend some support."

Dayo shook her head. "They're dealing with their own magical crisis at the moment. An infestation of pixies that are turning all the beer in the city into mead."

"Oh, the humanity," Aphra deadpanned.

Just then, Priti's phone buzzed with an alert. She glanced at the screen and grimaced. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything; I jinxed myself. Another fire, other side of town. I better go check it out." She pushed back from the table and hurried out.

Scarlett suddenly felt eyes boring into her. She glanced over to see Louise Demain staring intently from across the room, her unblinking gaze deeply unsettling. Scarlett squirmed uncomfortably, then abruptly stood. "I'm going to go see what Delilah is up to. Be back later."

She found her sister in the lobby, fiddling with an antique clock on the wall. "Hey, I have a thought," Delilah said as Scarlett approached. "Why don't you take Max's dragonflies to Luna? She's gone through one of the portals to try conjuring some potential predators. We realized it would be smarter for her to work somewhere without all the anarchy."

"Which portal?"

"Broom closet, second floor."

"Aha, that'll be Toad Suck, Arkansas." Scarlett vividly remembered every portal that she and Nate had worked on. Even thinking of him made her chest tighten with emotion, but she pushed it down. "All right, I'll go find her."

She headed up to the broom closet and stepped through the portal. Scarlett found herself transported to a wooden treehouse. Crooked beams supported a spacious room, with window-shaped openings overlooking the dappled Arkansas woods. Sunlight poured through the leaves, painting the gnarled floorboards with golden splotches. Scarlett's footsteps crunched on fallen leaves that had blown through the windows.

She descended the ladder and found her sister beneath the sprawling butternut tree. Luna sat cross-legged on a woven rug in vibrant colors. Around her in a wide circle sat a menagerie of surprisingly obedient animals: bright-eyed squirrels, grumpy-looking toads, a green iguana covered in spikes, and a variety of birds. Some looked very much at home in Arkansas—the crow, the sparrow, the chicken—while others—the macaw, the bird of paradise, the quetzal—just looked confused. But regardless, every creature gazed at Luna with a reverence Scarlett found unsettling.

"Luna?" she said hesitantly. "I brought flies?" She held up the metallic cage.

Luna rose, smiling. "Perfect, I've been waiting for this. Let's see if we get any takers."

Scarlett joined her on the blanket, watching in fascination as Luna offered a dragonfly to each animal in turn. The frogs sniffed disdainfully and turned away; the birds pecked warily, then backed off, and the iguana lifted its head briefly before returning to its nap. Hope dwindled with each refusal.

"Umm . . . let's see . . . looks like you haven't done an owl?" Scarlett suggested.

"Ah, great idea!" Luna resumed her conjuring position, sitting cross-legged on the blanket, eyes closed, hands extended, and palms turned up. In a moment, the air in front of her shivered and changed shape as if Luna was channel-surfing reality itself. The shimmering slowly but surely resolved into the form of a white-faced barn owl.

The owl immediately hopped over to the cage. It studied the dragonflies from one angle, then climbed on top of the cage to examine them from another. Suddenly, the barn owl shot straight up into the air, wings flapping furiously. It flew back down, hovered in front of Luna, and shrieked furiously right in her face. And then it flew off, soaring into the woods.

"He's not that into you, I guess," Scarlett mumbled.

"I don't get it." Luna sighed, running a hand through her wild hair. "Maybe we need a more exotic predator. I don't know . . . do pangolins eat flies?" She flopped on her back, staring up at the tree canopy overhead. "It's the uncertainty that's killing me. At least when the trees were poisoned, we knew exactly what to do about it."

"The good ole days . . ." Scarlett said softly. "I wonder whatever happened to old Handsome Bill . . ."

Luna sat up, surprised. "What do you care?"

"I suppose I don't. But he is Violet's dad, after all. You saw how much pain she's in over his absence. And, I mean . . . he's an Oak Haven-er." She paused, considering. "Oak Haven-ite? Haven-ian? Whatever. He's one of us."

Luna shook her head firmly. "I'm sorry, but he stopped being one of us when he attacked the grove."

"Obviously, that was a bad choice . . ."

"Bad choice?! Scarlett, that was a lot more than a bad choice. Actions have consequences, and some actions can't be forgiven."

Scarlett's heart sank. For just a moment there, she'd wondered if she might confess to Luna that it was her mistake that killed Papa. If Luna knew what had really happened that night when Papa died . . . Could Scarlett be forgiven? But clearly the answer was no. She swallowed hard and changed the subject.

"Maybe we should try spiders next? They eat flies, right?"

Luna made a face. "You know how Mama feels about spiders. If I cover the grove in black widows, I'll never hear the end of it."

They brainstormed a few more bird ideas—a red-tailed hawk, a meadowlark, an eastern wood peewee—and Luna easily created them all. But none would have anything to do with the magic-tainted dragonflies. At one point, Luna even conjured up a black bear cub, which promptly tried to use the cage as a soccer ball. Adorable but unhelpful. The sisters slumped in defeat.

"Hey," Scarlett said suddenly. "Did you try a starling? Starlings are major bug-eaters, aren't they?"

Luna looked aghast. "No way, no no no. Starlings are an invasive species. We only have them in the U.S. because a bunch of dum-dums decided to import every bird mentioned in every play by William Shakespeare. They released about a hundred starlings in Central Park, and boom, before you know it, there were millions of them. They take food from other birds, and they evict other birds from their nests . . . just terrible things."

"Dunno, maybe they're just clever survivors," Scarlett said with a shrug. "Maybe that's exactly what we need."

"Clever? I was in South Moravia one time, and I saw a flock of starlings destroy an entire vineyard overnight. Overnight, Scar. No, I don't want to replace one invader with another. Plus, they look weird. What are you, starling—are you black, are you brown, are you purple, green . . . what's even going on?"

Scarlett laughed. "But they're super smart, right? They're the ones who fly in those groupings—what are they called, murmurs or something?"

"Murmurations," Luna corrected. "Giant twisting clouds of starlings. Very creepy."

"Dunno, it seems like telepathy to me. Which is . . . kinda like magic? So who knows, maybe they won't be so offended by eating magic dragonflies. C'mon, Lulu, do a starling."

Luna made a face. " You do a starling, if you want one so much."

"Well, maybe I will." Scarlett pulled herself up to a kneeling position and closed her eyes. She focused her mind on the complex markings on one of nature's smartest and yet most unwanted birds. She visualized the iridescent sheen of the starling's feathers and the sharpness of its clever eyes. She felt energy flowing through her as she summoned the bird's essence. A faint popping sound made her eyes open.

A starling appeared on the ground in front of her. It stared up at Scarlett curiously, then turned its attention to the enchanted cage. It hopped closer, eyeing the tasty treats within. With a quick flick of its beak, the bird snatched one up and gulped it down. Satisfied, it ate another. And a third.

"Hey!" Scarlett said happily. "Luna, look! We're in business! Now we just need our own little murmuration."

But Luna looked despondent. "We can't do it. The only way to get rid of one pest is to create ten thousand more? No way."

The starling squawked angrily at Luna and fluttered up to perch on Scarlett's shoulder.

"Sorry, birdie," Luna sighed. "I shouldn't judge you for being a starling—it's not your fault."

"How about this," Scarlett offered. "We conjure the starlings, then send them through a portal when the job is done."

"To where, though? To become someone else's problem? That's not right. When you conjure something, you're responsible for it. And look at the mess I've already made right here." She gestured at the adoring crowd of creatures she'd created. "I'm responsible for these goofballs now. A lot of them I can just let loose in the woods, but it's going to take me hours to find a good home for a quetzal. No, I'm sorry, Scar—we can't bring a bunch of starlings to Oak Haven without a clear plan to dispose of them."

At the word dispose , the starling let out a loud, disapproving squawk. With an affronted flap of its wings, it took off for the dense foliage of the nearby trees, continuing to tweet its complaints as it flew away.

Scarlett gave a little nod. "You just got read to filth by a bird, Lulu."

Her sister sighed. "Occupational hazard."

"Well." Scarlett stood up, brushing bits of grass off her jeans. "I don't know why my solution can't possibly be the right solution—is it just because it came from me, the family embarrassment?"

"Oh, don't take it like that. I just want to solve our current problem without creating a new one."

"But why are starlings any different from these other beasts you've conjured? Oh wait, I know. Because you made them, right? Luna the expert instead of Scarlett the screw-up."

Luna's eyes went wide. "No, of course not! Starlings truly are devastating for ecosystems that can't defend themselves, Scarlett. They tear through foliage, spread diseases like salmonella, drive out other birds . . . Starling droppings are highly acidic , Scar, I'm not even kidding. Look, I'm not trying to be difficult, I swear. I just don't want to introduce something that I can't—"

"You know what? Never mind. Fine. Hate starlings if you want. Best of luck with your pangolins. I should get back to the inn." Scarlett scanned the clearing, looking for an exit. "How do I portal back?"

"Wait." Luna stood to face her sister. "Scarlett . . . I promise, I'm not saying no to starlings because they were your idea. I'd have the same concern with any predator that's considered invasive. Before we settle on an animal that could destroy the entire grove, I want to keep looking, make sure we've considered all possible options."

"All possible options . . . except mine."

"But that's not what I—" Luna stopped, chewed her lip for a moment, then started again. "I'm sorry. Please, Scarlett . . . We've been apart so long. I don't want to argue."

Scarlett's expression softened—the sadness in her sister's voice melted her frustration. "Me neither. And I understand, you're just trying to do the right thing."

It struck Scarlett that, given how badly she had messed up with magic, she really had no right to criticize her sister. If Luna wanted to be cautious, she was probably right. "After all, you've been traveling the world practicing magic for ten years, while I've been sitting at a desk and fixing broken URLs on websites." She smiled. "So I guess it's possible that maybe you know a little bit more about it than me."

Luna flung her arms around her sister, squeezing her tight. "We'll figure it out. And who knows, maybe we can find a way that starlings could work. I shouldn't reject your ideas so quickly."

"It's all good. So can you hook me up with a portal home?"

"Ah yes, this is a good one. You run as fast as you can, directly at the trunk of the tree. And just as you're about to crash into it? Portal opens."

Scarlett turned to stare down the stout, gnarled tree trunk. "I'm supposed to run, full speed, directly at this tree."

"Yep. It's a faith-based portal. So, no hesitation. If you hesitate, it won't open."

"What happens then?"

Her sister grinned. "Then I expect you end up with quite a headache. So don't hesitate. You need a running start—go stand about ten feet that way."

Scarlett did as instructed, but somehow the distance made the tree look even more intimidating and ouch-inducing than before. Nevertheless, she knelt like a runner at the starting blocks. "Okay, here I go! One . . . two . . ." She paused. "You know, these portals are pretty great, aren't they? I know we need to fix magic, but it'll be a shame when they're gone."

"You're stalling!" Luna laughed. "But you're right, maybe we should keep a portal or two."

"Definitely. The inn could offer day-trips through a portal, a nice little income stream. Let's see some Marriott or Hilton offer that ! Of course, there's a downside." She kept riffing, enjoying every moment that she was not running face-first into a butternut tree. "A witch would need to go along on each trip, to keep the guests safe and make sure they get back okay. Can you imagine Del doing that? Trying to play tour guide, with her questionable people skills?"

"Yes," Luna said with a knowing smile. "That sounds like a terrible job . . . for Delilah ."

"Oh, stop it. You know I'm going back to San Francisco the minute this is over."

Luna tapped at an invisible wristwatch. "You're not going anywhere if you keep avoiding this portal, Scar."

Scarlett glared at the tree. Fuck my life, she thought. "I hate this."

"Nah, you got this. Faith! Trust! Belief!"

Scarlett squared her shoulders, her resolve warring with her instinctive desire to protect her face. She almost took a step but then stopped. "Are you familiar with the phrase, I'm getting too old for this shit?"

"Just do it," Luna encouraged. "Unstoppable force meets immovable object, let's go!"

Her heart pounding, Scarlett let out a rebel yell and sprinted straight at the immovable tree. As the butternut loomed larger in her vision, she squinted her eyes, bracing for impact.