Chapter Nine

Haven Hollow’s General Hospital made an effort to be a bright, cheery place.

There were flowers planted in the beds outside, and the walls were painted in soft pastels. But under all of that, it was still a place for the sick and the injured, and underneath the faint antiseptic smell of chemicals, there was fear, and there was death.

I didn’t have a lot of good memories of hospitals. The day Finn was born was pretty much it. The harsh chemical smell that was desperately fighting against sickness and infection, stung my nose, and the murmurs of frightened, worried people clustered together in the waiting areas tugged at my heart, leaving me feeling soul-bruised and a little light-headed.

I took a deeper breath, and the smell of flowers briefly drowned out the smell of bleach and antiseptic. The light flared overhead, stabbing my eyes like I was staring straight up into them. There were people leaning over me, masked strangers speaking to each other in voices that weren’t shouts by only the thinnest margin. I was cold, so cold, the ice numbing my whole body, until I couldn’t even shiver.

How had I ended up here?

I could only just feel the vibration of the wheels beneath me as the nurses rushed me to the emergency room, stringing up a bag of blood they were desperate to get back into my veins. And somehow, over the babel of controlled chaos, I heard a man’s voice.

Hold on, Poppy. You have to hold on.

I yanked myself out of the memory with a gasp that was loud enough that one of the nurses at her station glanced up to look at me. I managed a weak smile, but it was enough to convince her I wasn’t about to pass out or expire right there in front of her, so she went back to typing on her computer.

The uncomfortable vinyl chair creaked underneath me as I shifted my weight. There was a cramping in my thighs from where I’d been sitting with the metal bar digging into the back of my legs for too long, and I grimaced as blood went rushing into numb limbs in a rush of pins and needles.

I’d been waiting here for a while, too keyed up to play on my phone, but trying to make a game out of deciphering the near incomprehensible announcements over the PA. Finn had been sitting with me for a while. Owing to the fact that he wasn’t Alicia’s family, he hadn’t been allowed in right away. Eventually, Alicia’s mom had popped out to grab a drink and had seen him waiting, and she’d ushered him in for a visit, knowing he was someone her daughter would absolutely want to see. Then I was left to wait by myself.

I was starting to regret that last application of Memento Mori . The potion was still clinging to the hair at my temples, and unfortunately the hospital wasn’t giving it anything nice to latch on to. Or maybe it was just my own uneasiness from being here, but I kept getting an unpleasant montage of all the various ways I’d managed to hurt myself since coming to town. It wasn’t the best.

Though, there was that confirmation that the last time I’d ended up here, when Roscoe had landed me in the emergency room with a severe case of anemia, I really had heard Andre’s voice. Even before we’d met, Andre had reached out to me. He’d been there for me during one of the worst moments of my life, and I hadn’t even known it.

Which made the idea of losing him hit that much harder.

Nope. I wasn’t going down that path again. I was here for Finn, and for his friend. Whether or not there was relationship drama between Andre and me, that was a problem for another day.

I tried to think of something more pleasant, and the smell of woodfire and lilacs flared, the potion oh so helpfully giving me a full body flashback to Andre kissing his way down my throat as I lay sprawled across his bed.

Blood rushed into my face, fast enough that I could feel the hot burn of it in my skin. Oh boy, those memories weren’t out-in-public friendly, thank you, potion. I shifted, uncomfortable, and suddenly irrationally worried that someone was somehow going to start eavesdropping on my thoughts.

The nurse at the station gave me another worried look over the rims of her lime green glasses, probably wondering what had happened in the last minute to turn me from fair-skinned, to volcano-red. I managed another shaky smile. Luckily, she’d probably seen it all and written the book on it, because she turned back to her typing. The staccato beat of the keyboard helped me focus on breathing and not thinking of anything too racy.

There had to be other things to distract myself with, other than Finn’s friend or my own worries. I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, but I knew they had to exist. I didn’t want to pay too much attention to the other people in the waiting area, feeling like I was intruding somehow, just by looking at them. The television was turned way down, and I’d never been very good at lip reading, so I had no idea what show was on or what was happening. And I couldn’t say I cared.

Instead, I’d resigned myself to counting the tiles on the floor that I could see, when a second nurse, one in scrubs covered in pink and blue puppies, stepped up to the reception station.

“Can you pass me the paperwork for thirty-three?”

My ears perked up. That was Alicia’s room. Now, obviously, the nurses couldn’t tell Finn and me anything, since we weren’t Alicia’s family or guardians. There were privacy laws. And it wasn’t like I wanted to bother her mother with questions, especially if the answers weren’t good ones. But, if I happened to overhear something while I was zoned out and counting floor tiles, well, maybe it would bring Finn some comfort.

I pretended not to be listening, and let my eyes go soft and out of focus, like I was thinking very deeply. No one eavesdropping over here, no sir.

The first nurse broke away from whatever she was typing to sort through a pile of clipboards before handing one to the second nurse, who flipped through the papers quickly. That nurse then sighed, shoving back some fly away hair that had slipped out of the bun it was twisted back into.

“Panic attack. Mmm hmm. Well, we’ll keep her for the night just to keep an eye on her and make sure there’s nothing else going on. The doctor can talk to her in the morning.” She looked up at the other nurse. “Maybe something for anxiety?” The other nurse nodded. “I’ll make a note for… who’s on in the morning?”

The first nurse hit a couple keys, tipping her head back to peer through her glasses. “Doctor Stuart is on rotation in the morning.”

“Okay, great.” The second nurse passed the clipboard back. “I’m going to go double-check that she doesn’t need anything.”

I waited until she moved off and the other nurse went back to whatever she was doing before I let out the breath I’d been holding. A panic attack sounded awful, but it wasn’t as serious as it could have been. I couldn’t help but wonder what had caused it though. From what Finn had told me, Alicia had been doing better with dealing with the lingering issues caused by Ms. Rose’s efforts. After that whole thing with the Magicless, it had been hard for the poor kid for a long time. She didn’t remember the more obviously magical parts, thanks to Wanda and Astrid’s quick work with memory charms. But the feeling of helplessness, that was the kind of thing that lingered, especially in kids. Still, Finn had done his best to help, keeping Alicia company, trying to cheer her up when strange things set her off, like the smell of chalk or the old portables on the school grounds.

That was part of what made what Andre did, what Finn would do, so important. Because being a Magician, it was all about hope. Having it, inspiring it in others. Especially in children. It was something so important, helping kids like Alicia, keeping their hope alive. The world certainly didn’t need any more Magicless in it.

Maybe Alicia’s panic attack wasn’t related to the Magicless at all. Even in Haven Hollow, not everything was due to magic. Alicia was fifteen. That was a rough age for any kid. She might have just had an anxiety attack after all the stress of the State Exam, and it just got away from her. I hoped that she got the help she needed. Maybe Finn could cheer her up.

It was a relief that it wasn’t more serious, though. Finn had been panicked when I’d picked him up, and he hadn’t been able to tell me any more than he had on the phone. Just that Alicia had suddenly started hyperventilating and had eventually passed out. That must have been so scary for her, and for everyone else. I was glad she was going to be okay, and I knew it would be a big relief for Finn, too.

I shifted again, trying to find a position in the chair where my legs didn’t start going numb after five minutes. I’d also missed dinner, and so had Finn. Slipping away to the cafeteria while Finn was with his friend was out of the question, though. Assuming I could even find it. I’d been there a few times during my last stay, but sometimes it felt like the hallways moved and changed around me. They all looked the same, and it made the building a confusing maze.

I was pretty sure that I had a granola bar or two stashed in my purse. I’d taken to storing snacks ever since Finn had started his latest growth spurt and took to eating like he was hollow. It seemed kind of rude to just pull one out and start eating it here, though. But again, I didn’t want to leave, even to go to a stairwell to inhale some granola and chocolate chips.

It was only a few minutes later when Finn slipped out of Alicia’s room. I braced my hands on the arms of the chair to boost myself up, a reassuring smile already on my face, when I caught sight of his expression and froze.

Because that wasn’t the face of a boy who’d checked on his friend and found her mostly fine. Finn’s face was pale, and a little sick looking. His eyes were wide, and his freckles stood out like sepia ink against the rest of his skin. I was very familiar with all the expressions my son could make, and that one was definitely his freaked out and trying to hide it look.

I hurried towards him, trying not to stumble as my feet were forced to remember they had bones and nerves in them. “Finn? What’s wrong?”

The smile Finn forced himself to make was ghastly and made him look like he was fighting the urge to be sick. “I’ll tell you in the car, okay?”

Well, that was worrying. What the heck could have happened in the hospital room? Was there something else that was wrong with Alicia, after all? Whatever it was, clearly Finn didn’t want to talk about it in a crowded hospital, even if the chances of being overheard were pretty low, what with the people and the gurneys being wheeled around, and the low repetitive beep of machines.

I didn’t argue, I just hurried Finn towards the exit and into the parking garage. Even once we were buckled in, he didn’t seem like he felt like talking. He buckled his seatbelt, and then sat there, just staring straight through the windshield while he chewed his lower lip until it was bright red.

“What’s going on?” I prodded him.

That had him taking a shuddering breath. Finn’s voice was very small when he spoke. “Alicia had a panic attack.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I heard the nurses talking. That’s not good, but she’s going to be fine—you know that, right? A panic attack isn’t that serious, Finn. So, you don’t have to worry—”

He was shaking his head before I’d even finished the sentence. “No, Mom, you don’t get it. It’s not the panic attack that’s worrying me.”

“Then what is?”

He turned to look at me. “She had the panic attack because she suddenly remembered Miss Rose, and all the things that she did to us. She remembered . All the stuff that Astrid and Wanda made her forget, it’s all back now.”

My whole body went cold, like my veins had been flooded with ice water. “What? No. How would that happen?” I shook my head. “No, that can’t happen, Finn.”

My thoughts were spinning. Wanda’s magic was sometimes a little unpredictable, but she was an experienced witch. She was the High Witch of the entire coven. A memory charm was child’s play, excuse the pun. There was no way it would just wear off like that. Alicia remembering the Magicless that had targeted Finn and his class was a grade A disaster but it… well, it wasn’t possible.

Was it?

It wasn’t likely that anyone would believe Alicia if she told anyone what had happened, as sad as that was. But still, Alicia regaining her memories could mean serious problems for the supernatural residents of Haven Hollow, and everywhere else, for that matter.

I’d already reached for my phone without even thinking about it. If something had gone wrong with the memory charm, Wanda needed to know immediately. She might be able to get to the hospital and fix it. Not just for the Council’s sake, but for Alicia’s. I had my own magic, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Finn’s hands wrapped around his seatbelt, and he started twisting it hard enough that his knuckles blanched white. “Alicia’s been really worried about the test. The teachers have been telling us we have to do well, or the school might get in trouble with funding. She’s been studying even more than I have. But she was still worried, so…”

It was agony to wait, but I knew I couldn’t push him. Finn would tell me—he wanted to tell me—I just couldn’t rush him about it. Still, my heart was pounding in my chest like a drum, telling me to figure this all out right now and to do something about it.

Finn took a deep breath, obviously trying to collect himself. “Alicia’s sister has a friend, a couple years older than us. She gave Alicia something that was supposed to help her do better on her test. Whatever it was, it helped Alicia’s memory. But then she started having nightmares, and then she realized those nightmares were all things that had really happened to her—things she forgot—things Wanda made her forget.”

“Oh, no,” I said and shook my head.

Finn turned wide eyes on me. “She was so scared. She kept asking me if I remembered standing up for the class, if I remembered what I’d done, or if I’d forgotten, too. I didn’t know what to say, so I just said I didn’t remember anything like that.” He grimaced, like the lie had left a bitter taste on his tongue.

I wanted to comfort him. I knew Finn hated lying. I wanted to tell him he’d done the right thing, that it wasn’t just us we were protecting with secrets, but everyone. Maintaining our secrets was supposed to keep mundane people safe, too. That was the bargain for living in a Hollow. People had to obey the rules and keep their hands off their human neighbors.

Thoughts went rushing through my head, like the landscape through the windows of a train barreling down the tracks. The women at the salon, talking about students being suspected of cheating on the state test. Only, it hadn’t been cribbed notes or morse code tapped out through pencils, or anything like that. They’d been using something to improve their memories. If they could remember their notes flawlessly, getting a perfect score would have been the easiest thing in the world.

And what kind of substance could make someone’s memory so sharp? The smell of lilacs and wood smoke teased my nose, like it was taunting me. The kids were using Memento Mori as a way to cheat on their tests. No wonder those teens had come to my shop, looking for more potions. They had a good thing going, just dab on a bit of potion before flipping through their notes, and then it was perfect scores across the board.

Problem was, I’d only made three bottles of the stuff. I had one, as a tester, and the other two I’d given to Niamh. I didn’t see her giving it away, not after looking for someone who could make it for so long. And she didn’t seem to me like the type of person who would encourage kids to take the easy, dishonest route.

But then, there was Jenny. Niamh’s great-granddaughter, tapping away on her phone as we talked. The memory of each eye-roll was insultingly clear. Three guesses who it was that had given the potion to Alicia, and the first two didn’t count.

That wasn’t great. Potions were kind of a gray zone when it came to keeping secrets. It was a lot like Wanda’s enchanted clothing. The people in the know, they knew exactly what they were getting. Other people just thought it was a gimmick for well tailored clothing.

Some people who bought my potions knew they were real magic. Other people thought they were just a new age thing, or just another word for aromatherapy, or even a perfumery. The point was, someone using a zest potion or a Sweet Dreams candle wasn’t going to suddenly start thinking Big Foot was real (not only was he real, but he also owned a bar and made a mean hamburger). The point was: a few potions weren’t something that was going to convince the rest of the world that magic was real.

That was going to change in a really big way if the careful memory charms that smoothed away all the obviously supernatural things that mundane people had seen, suddenly stopped working. There had been so, so many things that the Council just couldn’t keep completely under wraps. It was hard to be subtle when an army of Winter Faeries decides that they want to have their one-sided civil war right down the middle of Main Street.

Icy horror snaked through my limbs, and I slapped a hand over my own mouth before I could make any kind of sound. I didn’t need to freak Finn out any more than he already was. But if Memento Mori was really doing what I thought it was doing, if it was making Alicia remember all the magically erased bits of the horrors she’d seen, we were all going to have a very big problem.

I needed to talk to the coven, and I needed to talk to them immediately.