Chapter 21

21

Sadie was busy wiping down the counter when Clay and Abby walked in together. "Hey! How's it going?" she asked them. "I hope you guys weren't out too late, breaking down the bar after we debuted our song."

"Oh, we were there late all right," Abby said, taking a seat at the bar. "Then when we got home, both of us were sicker than a dog."

"Oh, no! Melissa and Briggs weren't feeling well either," Sadie said. "Why are you here? You should be in bed recovering."

"Oh, no." Abby smiled brightly. "We woke up just fine. Must have been something we ate."

"Abby forced one of her potions down my throat last night," Clay said, getting himself a glass of water. "I have to admit, even though it tasted like dirt, it seemed to do the trick."

"It did not taste like dirt," Abby insisted. "It tastes like grass. The main ingredient is wheatgrass."

"Yeah, it tastes like grass and dirt," he said. "I'm not complaining, though. It worked, so as far as I'm concerned, you're the hero in this scenario."

Abby beamed at him. "This is why I married him."

Sadie chuckled. "Good call."

"Can you get me a cheeseburger, cheese fries, and a slice of apple pie? And coffee. Definitely coffee," Abby added. "I'm starving today."

"Goodness, I guess you are feeling better." Sadie put her order in and got to work making a fresh pot of coffee.

When she brought the fresh pot back, she was pleased to see Melissa and Imogen sitting next to Abby. "Hey! I didn't know you two were coming in today."

"I needed to get the scoop on everything that went down last night," Imogen said. "I can't believe I missed it! The party I coordinated went overtime, and I had to track down someone at the party store to even get the tables and chairs back, and it was just a nightmare. Being that it was Halloween, no one wanted to come in. They only did it because I promised to recommend them to future clients. Otherwise, I'd be on the road right now taking them back to Eureka."

"I'm glad you're here, instead," Sadie said. "Let me get your orders in and then we can chat." After she sent the orders to the kitchen, Sadie poured some drinks and went back to her friend. "Okay, I'm back. Where were we?"

"I was saying I'm sorry I missed your performance." Imogen reached across the bar and squeezed Sadie's hand. "I heard it was spectacular."

"It was something all right," Melissa said, making Abby chuckle.

"What does that mean?" Imogen asked. "Did something happen? Don't tell me something spooky happened with it being Halloween and all. You do know that's a day when the spirits come lurking, right? Especially here in Keating Hollow."

"You've been listening to your sister too long," Melissa said flippantly. Then suddenly she winced, turned to Imogen, and added, "I didn't mean that. I wasn't thinking."

"It's all right," Imogen said, her voice tight.

It wasn't that long ago when Imogen had been possessed by a ghost. An evil one that had made her life hell. Her sister Harlow was a famous ghost hunter, and even she hadn't realized it. The entire situation had been very traumatic.

"It's not all right. I'm sorry I was so thoughtless," Melissa said.

"Thank you, but really, that's in the past. Don't worry about it." Imogen turned to Sadie. "Did it go okay? I saw that your song is trending on TikTok."

"It is?" Sadie lit up. "That's amazing! It's probably because the PR firm invited influencers." The image of King's mother flashed in her mind, and she quickly squashed it. King had said there was no way she was an influencer, so if the song was doing well, it wasn't because she had anything to do with it.

"Sounds like you have a decent PR team," Abby said. "That's fantastic."

"So, if the song is doing well, then what was it?" Imogen asked again. "Something went down at the show last night. I can feel it."

"Order up!" the cook called from the order window.

"Excuse me," Sadie said and went to get Abby's lunch. "Here you go. One cheeseburger, a side of cheese fries, and the best apple pie this side of the Mississippi."

"Good goddess, that looks delicious," Abby said as she plucked a cheesy fry off the plate and shoved the entire thing into her mouth. Moaning with pleasure, she nodded her approval and dug into the greasy goodness.

Sadie went back to stand in front of Imogen. "Last night was pretty crazy. Honestly, the song went better than expected. King and I were both in the zone and everything was perfect. I felt better than ever, and the crowd seemed to be into it. It was only after we finished our song that all hell broke loose."

"What do you mean? Was there a fire or a medical emergency or something of that nature?" Imogen asked.

"Nope. None of those things," Sadie replied. "King and I sang the song and then afterward, everyone seemed to sort of lose their minds."

"How?" Imogen frowned. "Over-the-top cheering? Cause I gotta say, that sounds like a good thing."

"No," Melissa said. "Well, there was a lot of cheering, but that's not what Sadie means."

Abby let out a choked laugh. "Yeah, after the song was over, Clay and I got into a huge fight over who was going to make the announcement that everyone had to leave. And I do mean huge. Which is weird because we never fight about that kind of thing."

Imogen studied her, seeming unimpressed.

Sadie supposed a couple fighting about something so mundane probably didn't hit anyone's radar as strange, but she'd been around Clay and Abby since the beginning, and it was true; they rarely fought about anything. And when they did, it was about things much more important than making an announcement.

"I also made out with Briggs," Melissa said as she pointed to the beer taps.

"Where?" Imogen asked, her eyes wide.

"Right there in the tent in front of god and everyone," Melissa said. "Usually I'm a lot more modest."

"When?" Imogen joked.

"Ha. Ha." Melissa said dryly. "I just felt like something came over me?—"

"Yeah, lust," Abby said with a snicker.

"Besides that." Melissa shook her head. "It was like all my filters were just gone, and I couldn't stop myself even though I knew I'd regret it."

"You regret kissing Briggs?" Sadie asked her, feeling a little sorry for her friend.

"No, I mean yes… Well, sort of?" Melissa blew out a breath and made a face. "I mean, it's not like I regret the actual kiss. He's a great kisser. It was the way it happened and where it happened. I suppose I'm just a romantic, but I'd have preferred something more special than in the middle of a rowdy crowd or with that confused jackass Jasper adding his two cents."

"That makes sense," Sadie said with a nod. She wouldn't have liked her first kiss with King to be in that scenario either.

"The crowd was beyond rowdy. More like out of control," Abby said.

Imogen leaned forward to look past Melissa so she could see Abby. "How so?"

"Well, there were a lot of couples arguing. And then there were Shannon and Brian, who I swear were about to rip their clothes off right then and there until Sadie redirected them. I mean, I know they are hot for each other pretty much all the time, but they are never that in people's faces about it."

"Hmm, it kind of sounds like everyone was possessed," Imogen said. "Except for the fact that you all were there, and I can't see any signs that you're carrying a crazy spirit with you. And I'd know since… Well, it happened to me."

"I definitely don't think I have a passenger on board," Abby said. "If I did, I vomited him or her out when I was emptying my guts last night before I finally thought to suck down a potion."

"You were sick last night, too?" Melissa asked, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes.

"Yes. Both Clay and I were super nauseous. I was the one who ended up losing my dinner. He almost did though. But after we took the potions, we started to get better right away and then woke up just fine this morning." She waved at her food. "As you can see, I'm not having issues keeping anything down today."

"Me either, and I didn't even take a potion," Melissa said. "Though my bestie did come through with some much-needed ginger ale and crackers."

Sadie caught her eye and smiled at her.

"You mean I didn't have to drink the dirt potion?" Clay called out from his spot at the other end of the bar.

"I'm sure it helped," Melissa called back as she gave Abby an apologetic grimace.

Abby waved it off. "He'll thank me when he adds ten to twenty years to his life because of me."

"True," Clay called again, and everyone laughed.

But then Imogen sobered. "You know, as someone who is hearing about the situation last night, it does sound like something strange went down. It's unusual for everyone's collective energy to change so suddenly. Are you sure someone didn't cast a spell over everyone?"

A shiver ran down Sadie's spine. She hadn't thought about it that closely, but the way that Imogen described it was spot on. There had been an overall energy change. And it happened after Sadie had been reveling in all the magic she and King had been creating.

Then it hit her like a bolt of lightning.

The collective energy in the room had magically changed right after Sadie, an empath, had created a seriously intense magic with King.

"I think it was me," Sadie said, her voice small and full of fear. "I'm the one who cursed everyone."