Chapter 5

I ris decided to head out again as her exploring had been cut short last time but as she opened the door, Morag clearly decided to come with her.

‘Might as well explore my new home. Doesn't look like we'll be going back to Scotland anytime soon.'

‘I wouldn't say that just yet,' Iris said. ‘Nothing is set in stone.'

‘It seems your fate is tied to this man whether you like it or not.'

‘I don't know him to like it or not.'

‘But you knew him well enough to kiss him.'

‘That was a mistake.'

‘Yet you're here, living in his village, two doors away from him. And now you've seen his future, which is inexplicably linked to yours.'

‘It's a possible future, not the only future. Let's not forget that I saw your future when I first found you and it did not end well for you. I changed that future and here you are all these years later, which shows our paths can be rewritten. Our fate is not laid out in the stars, we are in charge of our own destinies. If I stay here, it will be because I've chosen that life, not because I'm being forced into it.'

Morag made a noise of disbelief.

Iris was struggling to believe it herself. Her home was her beloved farmhouse, where she'd grown up, where she'd spent almost her entire life. Home was the beautiful, remote, rugged Scotland. It was hard to believe she could ever leave that permanently unless there was a really good reason. Falling in love and trusting a man with her future happiness was not good enough; she had been there and been burned far too many times.

They reached the village green to find lots of people milling around, chatting and laughing with each other. A few of them looked over at her curiously and she wondered if people knew she was part kelpie and what they made of it if they did.

She forced a smile on her face and gave them a little wave but she wasn't brave enough to go and talk to anyone, not yet.

A lot of people were heading towards one area of the village so she decided to go in that direction too.

She stopped at the entrance to Stardust Street. It was evidently a street of shops but that wasn't what caused her to stop. There was magic everywhere. The shops themselves were magical with their impressive entrances, a giant cauldron in one with fire underneath, bright yellow liquid bubbling away inside, potion bottles moving around within the shop. Another shop had an oversized book out the front, the crinkled pages turning as if someone was actually reading it. Books moved around between different shelves in there too. The shops' wares floated out of the doors, either enticing potential customers to try the goods or to come inside to buy them. People were doing magic too, she could see it as they were talking to each other. How utterly wonderful to be able to just be completely yourself, to be so at ease to do magic whenever you wanted without fear or judgement. She had always done her own magic behind closed doors where no one could see.

‘It's a lot to take in, isn't it.'

Iris turned round to see Star approaching her.

‘I've never been anywhere like this before – not just the wonderful shops, but people using their magic so freely. I've always been taught to keep it hidden, that mundanes would never understand and my experience of growing up with them is proof of that. The few people I shared my magic with didn't want anything to do with me after that. But here people can just be themselves and it's a glorious thing to see.'

Star nodded. ‘It is. People are happy here, you can see that. It's a very positive atmosphere. When I first came to the village, I was a wildling, I had no idea this magical world even existed. You can imagine how overwhelming I found it at the start. But people are very friendly here and very supportive. You'll make friends in no time.'

That was almost impossible to believe, Iris had never really made friends before.

Star glanced down at Morag and the fox offered out a paw. ‘I'm Morag, pleased to meet you.'

Star's eyes widened and then, seemingly unfazed, she knelt down and shook Morag's paw. ‘Nice to meet you too. We have a talking cat here called Viktor. He's a bit grumpy but there is a heart in there, I'm sure he will make you welcome once he's got used to the idea of not being the only talking animal anymore. Only, please don't eat him. Despite his continual sarcasm, I'm quite partial to him.'

Morag looked at her with disdain. ‘I don't tend to converse with my food before I eat it.'

With that she stalked off, leaving Star smirking. She stood back up. ‘Oh, she and Viktor are going to get on like a house on fire.'

‘Your cat will be quite safe. Morag doesn't hunt. I raised her from a cub after I found her abandoned in the woods. I tried to release her when she was old enough but she didn't want to go so now I have a pet fox. Well, a companion, she doesn't like being referred to as a pet. But she prefers her food to be cooked and served on a china plate, not covered in fur and bones.'

Star laughed. ‘When I first met Viktor he told me he liked his tea served warm, not hot, with a sprig of fresh lavender on the top. So I understand demanding animals.' She linked arms with Iris as if they were best friends, which Iris found a little unnerving. ‘Come on, let's show you the shops.'

They walked through the wrought-iron gates into the street and a young man came hurrying over holding a clipboard.

‘Star, is this a friend of yours?' the man said.

‘Yes, Ezra, this is Iris McKenzie, she's just moved to the village with her nan, Ness.'

Ezra consulted his board, which Iris realised was some kind of electronic device. ‘I wasn't aware of this.'

‘It was very last minute but she'll be here for a few months at least. She lives at number sixteen Hazel Lane. I don't suppose she's been added to your system yet so can she just have a bracelet today for my account?'

‘I can do that.' Ezra clicked his fingers and a little leather bracelet with a large rainbow-coloured stone on it appeared in his hand. He held it out for Iris and she took it in confusion. ‘You use this to buy anything you want in the shops, or if you take any of the produce from the street it will be charged to your bracelet and money automatically deducted from your account. Or, for today, Star's account. So you never need to worry about bringing your purse or queuing up at the till, you just take what you want and walk back out and your bracelet will be charged.'

‘So legalised shoplifting?' Iris said.

Ezra laughed. ‘Something like that.'

She looked at the bracelet and could see the stone was swirling with different colours. It was clear everything here had been thought through. This community living was going to take a lot of getting used to. Whenever she went into her nearby village to go to the shops she could feel people were always wary of her. Most of them probably had no idea why, and didn't know or believe the rumours, but they knew Iris was different and that was enough. Iris had learned to get in, get what she needed and get out. Wandering aimlessly around the shops and chatting with people would be a complete novelty.

‘Thanks Ezra. Come on, let's look around,' Star said, guiding her through the archway.

Iris looked all around her. It really was like walking into a magical theme park, with the imaginative shops displaying their magic so openly. The products moved, swirled and danced inside the shops, enticing customers to come in.

‘Do you do potions, Iris?' Star gestured to the potion shop. ‘I have to be honest and say I don't know a lot about kelpies.'

‘I have done some potion work but not a lot. I don't do a lot of spells, I haven't really felt the need. Obviously I do stuff around the house to make things easier, like washing-up or cleaning. If I'm sitting watching TV I might make myself a cup of tea without getting up or summon an apple from the kitchen. Sometimes I'll go into the village as someone else so no one will look at me and think, oh there's that weird girl from the farm again. I was not well liked growing up, none of my family were, so I never wanted someone to be walking past my home and see me standing over a bubbling cauldron.'

‘No, I get that. If you ever wanted to learn more about potions, we have a potions club every week. It's a small group, only six of us, well seven if you include our teacher, Ashley. Everyone is very welcoming and it's always a fun night. There's also a lot of wine that gets drunk so you can see how seriously we take it.'

Iris laughed. ‘I might come. All of this is going to take a lot of getting used to. I've never had magical friends before, witch or kelpie. I've not really had a lot of mundane friends either because they know that I'm different even if they don't know to what extent. Sitting around chatting and drinking wine with friends is not something I've ever done, let alone doing magic with someone outside of my family.'

‘Then you must come. I was the same when I came here. Despite not knowing I was a witch, I always felt like I was different to everyone else and while I had some friends I didn't have a lot. But I've made some wonderful friends since I've been here. Come for that, even if you're not interested in potions.'

Iris chewed her lip. ‘I'll think about it.'

An ice cream cone filled with white sparkly ice cream floated out of one of the shops. Iris grabbed it to stop it hitting her dress and felt her bracelet vibrate.

Star laughed. ‘They are crafty about getting you to buy stuff here. I normally walk around with my hands in my pockets so I don't accidentally hold something. You might as well enjoy it now you've paid for it.'

Iris laughed at the audacity of charging people for protecting their clothes against ice cream stains. She took a small lick.

‘Mmm, coconut, my favourite.'

‘I think that might be magical ice cream, so it's any flavour you want it to be.'

Iris smiled. ‘Now that is clever.' She took another lick, it was so creamy and delicious. ‘I've never thought about mixing food and magic before.'

‘I make a living doing just that. I make cakes to solve any problem: a broken heart, a cake to help with anxiety or to boost confidence, a cake to nail that job interview, or just a cake infused with happiness. I have an online shop called Witchy Bakes and Cakes and it's very popular, and of course I have a shop here on Stardust Street too. I could make you a cake to help you settle into Midnight Village, if you want?'

Iris laughed. ‘I'm good thanks. I think the magical ice cream is enough for one day. There's actually a witch, Betty, who runs the bakery in the next town to where I live and she makes the most amazing tablet. It's sort of like fudge but more crumbly and tastes so much better. Her tablet is the best I've ever tasted, I've always wondered if she uses magic to make it taste so good. Though I've never asked her. She doesn't like me. She knows I'm magic but not exactly a witch, so she always views me with suspicion whenever I go in there. Although she's always happy enough to sell me her tablet. I suppose money is money no matter who it comes from.'

‘You've had it rough if even the witches are giving you a hard time.'

‘Yeah, I've been an outcast my whole life. Don't fit in with the mundanes, the witches don't want to know us and there is a distinct lack of kelpies.'

‘Are there not many of you left?'

‘None that I know of. I have a second cousin who lives in the Orkneys, she's half-kelpie too. But outside my family, I don't know any. Not to say they're not out there but we kelpies like to keep ourselves to ourselves so it's hard to know.'

‘What part of Scotland are you from?' Star asked.

‘Near Loch Fyne on the west coast. It's very beautiful, very remote. You can walk some of the hills and moors and sometimes not see a single person all day.'

‘And you like that?'

‘I love it. I'm not a people person, give me a sarcastic fox any day.'

‘Life here is going to be so different to that. Everyone knows everyone's business, but they all mean well. I'd suggest trying to embrace the community vibe, talk to people – you might find you like it.'

Iris wasn't sure she would, she'd spent too long on her own, but she got the feeling she couldn't hide away in a place like Midnight.

A box of hot doughnuts floated out of one of the shops, but Iris made sure not to touch it this time and after a few minutes it floated away.

‘Have you seen Lynx yet?' Star asked innocently.

Iris smiled at the question. ‘Briefly. But I wouldn't get any ideas about some blossoming romance with him. It was a simple kiss purely to distract the guards, it didn't mean anything. I don't even like the man.'

Star smirked at this as if she didn't believe her. ‘Well you certainly made an impression on him.'

‘I'm sure it was the pretty blonde with the big breasts that made an impression on him, that's who I was when he kissed me.'

Although he'd looked at her the exact same way when he'd met her as a redhead a short while before, with complete adoration.

‘Lynx says you can see things. You know, things like a premonition. He told us about the premonition you had about our second child.'

‘Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to ruin the surprise.'

‘I'm going to have to get a pregnancy test from outside the village to confirm if it's true. I couldn't possibly get one from in here, the whole village would know in less than an hour.'

Iris knew it was true, but she didn't say that.

‘But that aside, I've had a few premonitions myself,' Star went on. ‘Not many and I certainly don't have any control over it, but now I know where I knew you from. I've seen you in my future.'

‘I think I've had enough premonitions for one day. If you're going to tell me that you've seen me happily married to Lynx with a baby, I don't want to hear it.'

‘Ah, well in that case I better change the subject.'

They fell into silence for a minute and Iris tried to focus on the shops. There was a giant teapot pouring an endless cup of tea outside one café and a sparkling cake that slowly changed shape and flavour outside another, so that what started off as a strawberry cream tart one moment turned into a chocolate éclair the next.

‘Is that what you saw?' Iris said. ‘Me and Lynx together?'

‘You said you didn't want to talk about it.'

‘I don't. But what did you see?'

‘I first saw you around eighteen months ago. You were very nearly the end of me and Wolf actually. We have a little holiday cottage called The Pearl, down by the coast. First time I went there in the very early days of mine and Wolf's relationship, I saw him playing with a red-headed baby, looking so happy, and then I saw you, standing in the kitchen, heavily pregnant. I made the assumption that the red-headed child must be his and yours, so I let him go so he could have that future and that happiness. I finally realised the child I'd seen was mine and we got back together but I've always wondered who you were. I've seen you a few more times since then. The first time, I didn't see your face, just the red hair and the pregnant belly. But the second time I saw you clearly. The third and fourth time I saw you with Lynx.'

‘That doesn't even make any sense. Eighteen months ago I didn't know you or Lynx even existed. I hadn't even met Christopher then and he's the reason I'm here now. How could my future be so set in stone that every decision I've made has brought me here to Lynx? That's ridiculous.'

‘I do believe in soul mates, that everyone has that one person they're supposed to be with. And some people never find theirs. If the stars have aligned for you to find yours, why not welcome it with open arms?'

Iris sighed.

‘Did you have a premonition today?' Star asked.

‘I did and I don't like it. I've never been able to see my own future, just flashes of other people's. But today I saw Lynx's future and it involved me and that bothers me more than it should.'

‘Because you feel like you have no control over it.'

‘Yes exactly,' Iris said. ‘And my nan said she can see my future too and that Lynx makes me very happy and it all just seems like a fait accompli.'

‘I could understand you fighting against it if it was a horrible future. But surely a guaranteed happiness is something to look forward to?'

‘But I want a choice. I don't want to start dating him because my eyes are firmly on that future. I'd want to date him because I think he's nice, kind, funny and sexy as hell. If I believe in that future I might as well march round to his house and demand he marries me right now and skip all the dating malarkey altogether.'

‘I do understand but no one can force you to fall in love with him, regardless of how it starts. Fate or destiny, or whatever you want to call it, can't change the way you feel.'

‘But will I love him because of what I've seen? Because I've seen him holding my baby, our baby, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen?'

‘Ah, yes, I see what you mean.'

Star was silent for a moment.

‘I don't even like him,' Iris added. ‘What he did to steal the locket from me felt very underhand.'

‘I know he feels awful about that. But if it helps, he really is a decent, kind man. He's been so worried about you since he met you in London and how he could protect you from this man you've got mixed up with. He's part of the reason Wolf offered you the house.'

Iris didn't say anything. Finding out Lynx was nice and protective was not helping her resolution not to let anything happen between them.

‘What was the kiss like?' Star asked.

‘The best damn kiss of my life. And if you tell him that I'll curse you so that every sweet thing you eat tastes of salt.'

‘As my sole income is from making cakes, that would be a harsh punishment! But I promise my lips are sealed. My point is, you enjoyed that kiss before you saw those premonitions, which shows there's an attraction there that has nothing to do with any baby-related future you might have seen.'

‘That's a fair point,' Iris said. ‘But one kiss doesn't necessarily mean that I want to marry him and have his babies.'

‘No, true. But surely a kiss that incredible warrants further investigation to see if you have anything beyond that?'

‘I did think that earlier – that while I'm here for the next few months I should take some time to find out if he's the man of my dreams or not. But I'm still in denial right now. My nan thinks I should just sleep with him as that would get him out from under my skin.'

‘That's certainly one way. Or you could just talk to him, see if he's someone you want to spend more time with.'

Iris nodded. She never wanted to regret the path not taken. She could talk to Lynx at least.

‘What is it you do, for work I mean?' Star asked, thankfully changing the subject.

‘I make jewellery out of water. I have an online shop called The Frozen North and I make icicles, snowflakes, bubbles and chunks of ice, or even frozen flowers or little animals, and then I magically preserve them so they never melt. I turn them into necklaces and other jewellery. Everyone presumes they're made from crystal or glass or resin but no, they're just water and a little magic. They sell well. I've had a couple of celebs find and wear my pieces so that always results in good sales.'

‘How does that even work?'

‘Well the one thing you should know about kelpies is our affinity to water. It's a massive part of who we are. We really need it to survive. I can't go a week without a swim in the loch or sea or at least paddling in open water. We start to feel really tired and run-down without it. Just like a lot of people get the benefit of vitamin D from being outside in the sun, we need the nutrients that the sea or other fresh water gives us. A lot of our magic is based on water too. So it's very easy to do something like this…'

She held her hand out with her fingers pointing down and a single drop of water dripped from her fingertips. She waved her hand, casting her magic over it, and before it fell into her other hand it had become magically frozen, forever. She passed the solid drop to Star who was staring at her with wide eyes. She held it up to the light.

‘This is beautiful,' Star said in wonder.

‘And something like this is a bit more complicated…'

Iris formed a small pool of water in her hand, chilling it fractionally so it was a bit more pliable, then lifted the edges to make small petals, before freezing it completely once she had formed a perfect flower. She handed it to Star.

‘When I have my tools I can produce something a bit more intricate and detailed but you get the idea. I also sometimes freeze natural things like flowers, leaves, feathers or dandelion seeds within the ice, capturing them and preserving them forever.'

‘Wow, I can see why these are so popular.'

‘And every piece is unique, which is part of their charm.' Iris felt very proud of her jewellery but sharing how she actually made it was not something she'd ever done before. Maybe there was something to be said for this place where everyone shared their magic so freely.

‘Actually, we could use your skills on the decorating team. We're getting ready for the summer solstice next week, which is really a celebration of the sun and fire, but also a celebration of nature. We decorate the village green with real flowers but we have other decorations too. Would you be willing to help?'

Despite Iris swearing to herself that she wasn't going to get involved with village life, she liked Star and the warmth and openness of the village was definitely growing on her. And perhaps it wouldn't hurt to become friendly with a few more people.

‘What kind of stuff do you want?'

‘I was thinking about some kind of solstice sun-catcher we can hang from the lampposts on the village green.'

‘Oh yes, I can do that. We used to make those when I was a child and hang them all round the house.'

‘Great. Maybe you can incorporate something inside them, like you do with the flowers and leaves, but with something a bit more solstice-themed. Could you put fire inside it? Oh, I'll leave it up to you and the other members of the decorating team.'

‘OK.' Iris was already thinking of ideas.

‘Brilliant. Can you be at the village green at nine tomorrow morning?'

‘Sure. I can do that.'

They wandered on a little way and Star suddenly stopped her.

‘You could have a shop here on Stardust Street selling your jewellery, I'm sure it would be very popular.'

‘There's already a jewellery shop here.' Iris pointed to a shop they were passing called Fire in the Heart. It obviously sold fire-themed jewellery as every piece in the window glowed with red, gold or orange as if they made from pieces of the sun.

‘But very different to yours. There are a few shops that sell cakes on Stardust Street too but I've never seen it as a problem. There's enough custom for everyone. The second floor of this jewellery shop is free, you could set up your shop upstairs and that way your customers will look at their stuff too and vice versa so you would be benefitting each other.'

‘You want me to set up a competing jewellery shop in the same building as the current one? Talk about making a bad impression. I thought you wanted me to make friends here. They'd be chasing me out of town before I'd even had my first customer.'

‘What if I told you that Lynx owns the bottom floor? When he's not charging round the world retrieving lost magical artefacts, he does this.'

Iris felt a slow smile spread across her face. ‘So he would be the person I would be in competition with?'

‘If that's the way you want to look at it, yes.'

Her smile grew wider. That was the kind of petty revenge she could get on board with.

‘I take it that's a yes?' Star said.

‘It's definitely a yes.'

‘I'll talk to Wolf and make it happen. It will probably take a day or two to get it ready.'

‘And can I be the person that tells Lynx?'

Star smiled and shook her head. ‘Go for it.'