Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

E veryone's eyes, including Robbie's, grew wide. Gary? As in Gary the broom that had once belonged to Greer's mother Aradia?

Gary twisted and turned to no avail before Gwinnifer grabbed him by the handle, holding him so tightly, the light veins in her hand stood out, even in the dark.

"Indeed, Gary." She gave him a hard shake. "This little turncoat, this hag for my daughter, stole my magic and hid it from me and refused, refused to tell me where it was. He literally stole it right out from under my nose! Can you imagine my dismay at that kind of betrayal, Greer?" Her finely boned hand fluttered to her heart in dramatic fashion. "It cut, darling. Deep ."

Savage. Gary was savage.

Poor Gary.

Looking at his condition, Robbie knew they had to save him. His battered handle was scarred, his bristles bent and roughed up as he quivered under Gwinnifer's grip.

Greer made a move to snatch Gary from her, but Gwinnifer stopped him. "Uh-uh-uh," she warned with a flick of her finger, zapping him with a bolt of light, hitting his feet to keep him in place.

Robbie fought a gasp, but Greer put a hand on her arm to let her know he was okay, even as his feet sizzled and smoked.

Still, Robbie couldn't keep her mouth shut. Her need to fix everything just wouldn't let her. "So Gary stole your magic and hid it from you. I didn't know a broom had any powers other than the ability to fly."

Gwinnifer's eyes narrowed. "Neither did I, but apparently Aradia taught him a few tricks. Long story short, he ambushed me, snatched my magic from my very soul, and left me for dead."

"Hah!" Greer barked. "How did that feel, Grandmother ?"

Her glance was catty, an ugly smirk spreading across her face. "You know exactly how that felt, Greer. And if it hadn't been for your mother, I would have finished the job."

This felt like some bad movie. How could she say such things to her grandson?

Greer lifted his chin in clear defiance. "But she was too powerful for you, wasn't she? And you killed her for it. You hated that my mother was loved and admired, and you were nothing more than a hack who had to steal magic in order to call yourself a witch!" he shouted.

Gwinnifer looked none too pleased. Robbie eyeballed him, hoping he'd get the message she needed him to tell her what to do, give her guidance with her magic, but he wasn't picking up what she was laying down. He was far too angry, his hatred falling off him in waves of almost palpable heat.

But Gwinnifer scoffed at his anguish, his pain. "Your mother was such a do-gooder. Miss Light and Truth. Always crying about justice and right and wrong. She got what she deserved for interfering!"

Holy cow. Agatha Tisdale sounded like Mother Theresa compared to this monster.

As Robbie racked her brain, trying to think of something, anything she could do to end this nightmare, Gwinnifer was becoming more and more agitated.

Her eyes flashed hot and angry at the memory of her daughter, and Robbie knew that meant she had to calm the situation in the hope that while she did, someone would come up with a plan.

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, she sauntered toward the woman. "So Gary stole your magic. Know where he hid it?" she teased with the sweetest smile she had in her arsenal. "At the scene of the crime. What a jerk, right? I mean, like, hid it right under your nose, for pity's sake!"

Gwinnifer's confused glance said she had no idea what Robbie meant. "What are you babbling on about?"

"Gary hid your magic at Siobhan's—in the very home of the woman you killed. Which is how I got it. I moved into her apartment. In a planchette, of all the things. Crazy, right?"

Gwinnifer's mouth went thin and tight, her chokehold on Gary tighter than ever. "You bastard! You left me with nothing. Nothing ! I had to fight and scrape for five years and live like an animal, while you lived your best life here with all your little do-gooder witch friends. I'm going to kill you, Gary—but not before I kill all of them first!"

Robbie threw up a hand—her left hand. "But wait! How did you get in here? If you didn't have any magic, how did you unlock the gates to Moonfall? How did you even find it?"

Because she'd like to know that trick. She'd spent four effin' days trying to damn well get here.

Gwinnifer heaved a sigh, as though questioning her villainous prowess was unthinkable. "Let's just say I made a deal with someone in the Lost Lands. You've been there, I hear. You know the place. It was easy, really. They get me in here, and I hand over the coven to them, but not before I took all those uppity witches' magic first."

Gary whimpered, pulling away from Gwinnifer's tight grasp, leaning out as far away from her body as he could get.

So that's how she'd done it…but why did she wait for them to come to her ? Why hadn't she sought Robbie out to take her magic back?

"You sent everyone to the Lost Lands?" Greer said in disbelief, his eyes hot with rage, his fists clenched tight.

"Duh," she said on a light chuckle. "Where do you think I got these powers from? From everyone in the village, silly boy…and I took it aaallll! You should have seen the look on Soledad's face when she saw me again, after dumping me in the ground like trash in a landfill." Gwinnifer laughed out loud. "Priceless, I tell you!"

Her laughter was growing more maniacal, the vibe surrounding them shifting with a malevolent turn, and it was scaring the shit out of Robbie.

"But why did you wait for us to come to you? Why didn't you just come get your magic back?" Robbie asked.

"Because this little bastard refused to tell me where it was!" she shouted, hurling Gary to the ground. "I couldn't smell it anymore because I had no magic at all. I couldn't even find this simp of a grandson I was burdened with to wring the answer out of him. It's not easy being human. I don't know how you filth do it," she spat.

Greer ran to Gary, but Gwinnifer thwarted him again by creating a ring of fire around the poor broom. The blue and orange flames licked at his bristles as he struggled against the magic tether.

Gary whimpered, the small sound tearing at her heart. Sounds of protest from the group at his treatment rang out.

Without thought, Robbie threw up her left hand and yelled, "Stop, Gwinnifer!"—effectively dousing the flames. She fought to keep her surprise on the inside, but yahoo.

Well, well. Maybe the tables had turned a little.

But the woman only cackled, her eyes zeroing in on Robbie's face as she stalked toward her. "Look at you, fledgling witch," she crooned seductively. "Aren't you clever? I knew my magic would lead the keeper of my powers back to Moonfall eventually. It was just a waiting game. And now, here you are. Pretty, too. It's almost going to be a shame to have to cut your hand off to get back what's mine."

Cut her hand off? Wait. Wait. Wait. There had to be a better way.

But that made her mad. What if she didn't want to give it back? What if it was in better hands now? What if she didn't want to give up the chance to be a part of this community because some maniac was on the loose.

What if she simply said so?

Something clicked in Robbie then. Call it years of being pushed around, or shutting her mouth when what she really wanted to do was scream. Rather than cower from Gwinnifer, she met her halfway, her chest heaving, her pulse pounding in her ears.

"If you want it, I guess you should come and get it, huh?" Robbie taunted to the tune of more muffled and squealing protests. Splaying her fingers wide, she focused everything she had on Gwinnifer, unsure what was going to happen but praying it was something useful.

With a twist of her wrist, she flicked her fingers at a fuming Gwinnifer, making a bucketful of water suddenly appear and tip over onto her head.

Okay, so she'd been thinking "make it rain," but a bucket of gushing water would do. It was enough to distract Gwinnifer and attempt to undo the spell she'd cast over the group.

SAP. Think about SAP, Robbie. Say it, Apply it, Point at it.

But what should she say? Words swirled around inside her head, so many words, none of them making any sense. Closing her eyes, she begged the universe to help her find the right thing to say—to help her do the right thing.

As a wind picked up and Gwinnifer sputtered, wiping the water from her eyes, Robbie experienced a surge of undeniable power. Of energy so powerful, so rich, her veins sizzled. Her lips began to move before she could stop them.

"Undo this wicked injustice, fix it well! Reverse the harm, reverse this spell!" With an outstretched arm, Robbie made a sweeping motion over the group until they all were free of the spell.

Nina was the first to move, heading straight for Gwinnifer, but Grandma had other ideas. Raising her hand high, she slapped the air, knocking Nina to the ground as though she held a life-size fly swatter, sending her skidding across the road toward Greer's mother's house.

"Nina!" Robbie screamed as the others ran toward the vampire—and then she saw Gwinnifer eye Tottington.

Oh no. Not Tater Tot. Not on her watch.

Pinching her fingers together, Gwinnifer dragged him over her head, lifting a helpless, dangling Tottington high above her.

If she lived to see the end of this, she'd never forget how powerless he looked—and that enraged Robbie.

Enraged her with a fire burning in her gut like she'd never felt before. "Let him go!" Robbie hollered, flicking her hand with anger in Gwinnifer's direction.

Clearly, the universe was on her side, because her magic snatched Gwinnifer up like a rag doll, breaking the hold she had on Tottington. And when Robbie flicked her wrist, it launched Gwinnifer like a cannonball out into the distance, where she could no longer see her.

As the wind whisked the evil witch across the sky, Darnell cheered as he ran to catch Tottington in the basket of his large arms. "Get her, Robbie!"

Seeing that Tottington was safe, she rushed to Greer, who fought to untether Gary. Robbie knelt beside him, instinctively knowing all she had to do was wave her hand over the broom to cut him loose.

Greer's eyes were wide as his chest heaved. "Way to go!" he praised, pulling Gary upright. "Where in the hell did that come from?"

But she didn't have the chance to answer.

"Greer…oh, Greer," Gary sobbed, his cultured words filled with remorse as he coughed. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't warn you. She held me captive. Please…forgive me."

Greer held his handle, brushing it off. "But you didn't give us up, buddy. Man, is it ever good to see?—"

"Greer! Look out!" she heard Marty scream.

As they both turned toward her voice, Gwinnifer reappeared, zooming toward them in the air like an F-14. The wind began to howl, the world tilted—and Robbie watched in almost helpless horror as she aimed directly for Greer.

Her heart stuck in her throat as Gwinnifer shot through the night. "Leave him alone! It's me you want! Come get me!"

"I'm going to kill you, Greer, and then I'm going to kill your girlfriend!" she screeched, making the world around them rumble as she raced toward them, her hair streaming behind her, eyes red with rage.

All the panic drained from Robbie then. She didn't think. She didn't feel any fear. She did nothing but react to the idea that Greer was powerless, and his grandmother was going to try to kill him for a second time.

Lobbing herself in front of him, Robbie knocked him out of the way, taking the hit of magic Gwinnifer flung at him right in the gut. The hot sting sliced through her flesh, leaving her in a ball of pain, writhing on the ground.

"Robbie!" Greer yelled, crawling to her as the ground beneath them swelled, pieces of concrete breaking and cracking.

He snatched her around the waist, dragging her aching body toward shelter by a bush, protecting her with his long frame, only to be knocked out cold by falling debris.

Pushing herself up, Robbie called to him, laying over his chest and clapping his cheeks. "Greer! Are you okay? Greer! Wake up !"

"You fucking crazy bitch!" Robbie heard Nina bellow. Squinting as debris swirled in the air, she saw Nina soar across the sky, tackling Gwinnifer like an NFL star and taking her to the ground, rolling over and over as the vampire clung to Gwinnifer's throat.

"Get Greer!" Wanda cried. "Get him out of the way!"

Darnell rushed in then, hauling an unconscious Greer up by his armpits and dragging him behind one of the few hedges still standing.

And then, out of the absolute blue, as she fought to find the strength to get up off her ass, as sweat dripped from her brow, she heard a voice whisper, You can do this, Robbie! Get up and do this! Trust in the universe. Get up and let her have it!

But do what? Let her have it with what?

Then she heard Greer's voice in her head after all those lessons. "Let the magic come to you, Robbie. It will if you let it."

Forcing herself to her feet, dragging her week legs, she stumbled and tripped toward Nina and Gwinnifer when an idea hit her right between the eyes. Her hands. They had to contain Gwinnifer's hands.

"Hold her wrists," she cried. "Don't let her use her hands!"

But Gwinnifer wasn't so easily contained. Before Nina could latch onto her delicate wrists, she zapped the vampire with a hit of magic, forcing Nina to roll away, her clothes on fire.

As Greer lay unconscious, as Marty, Wanda, and Darnell threw their jackets on Nina to tamp out the flames, as Tottington wandered, dazed and confused toward Greer, pulling him into his lap to cover his body, Robbie's temper soared to heights she didn't know existed.

Gwinnifer rose to her feet, swishing her arms in the air, forcing the wind to take on a new speed, making hard raindrops fall from the sky. Chaos ensued as the group fought the elements, slipping and sliding, grunting and grasping onto anything they could use to anchor themselves.

Now she wasn't only angry, Robbie was livid, beyond the scope of any word she could craft to depict what was churning inside her. While the madness played out before her, she simmered until she burst.

No. No. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. No.

"I said," she started in an eerie calm that rose to a fevered pitch, " leave them the fuck alone !"

With a twist of her wrist, power surging from her hand, Robbie ran toward Gwinnifer, her arm out in front of her. Unfamiliar words fell from her lips as she pumped her legs, fighting the heavy wind and pelts of rain until she was standing below Gwinnifer.

Lifting her chin, spreading her legs to hold her stance, she yelled above the wind, " Evil be gone, back from where you came! Leave us now, this power I claim! "

Gwinnifer screamed, a bloodcurdling howl of pain as her skin began to crack, her image distorting and melting as magic swirled in the air around her—dark, ugly magic Robbie tasted.

But Gwinnifer had a whole village worth of magic in her arsenal, and as she straightened, her bones creaking, her body crumbling and twisting, as she rose tall and proud, morphing into a nightmare, she showed Robbie what she was actually made of now.

Scaled and horned, her new body unfurled, slick with rain and glimmering in the night, her feet and hands clawed with long talons as she lifted them to the sky.

When Gwinnifer opened her mouth, it revealed long teeth, threads of saliva dripping from them. And then she shrieked, "Dark magic, reveal my power, show the world my force! Rain Hell down upon them all, let evil take its course!"

Apparently, the dark magic, whoever that was, heard her…because holy reign of terror.

The fabric of the world around them literally began ripping in two, the tearing loud and screeching as it uprooted everything in its path.

Wanda and Marty screamed to her, "This way! Run, Robbie! Run!"

She turned briefly to look at them, panic and fear on their faces as they hurtled toward her in an effort to save her.

But how could anyone be saved from the earth virtually falling away from you? Holding up her hand, she thwarted their movement, using a finger to change their direction and make them go toward the gate.

She saw Darnell grab Greer while Nina scooped up Tottington and began to run toward Robbie, the ground nipping at her heels. "We have to get the fuck outta here, Robbie!" she yelled. "Get on my back!"

No. The hell she was running away. This would never end if she ran away, and she wasn't giving back the magic she'd grown to love. So, no .

"Go!" she yelled over the wind. "Get out! Take them with you!"

"The fuck you say! I'm not leaving you here!"

Robbie opened her mouth and roared in her face, "Gooo!" With a flick of her wrist and the palm of her hand, she forced Nina do her bidding, shoving her back the other way, toward the gates, clearly against her will. Nina grunted and struggled, but she couldn't stop Robbie's spell.

And then it was just her and this thing Gwinnifer had turned into. A screeching, writhing monster.

The wind tore at her hair, the rain saturated her clothes, and she thought, Yeah. Okay, Braveheart. Now what?

As Gwinnifer stomped toward her, enormous feet crashing against the ground, glowing eyes now laser-focused on her target, the universe answered.

"Robbieee!" Hervé called, swooping under her and lifting her high off the ground. "Hold on!"

He circled Gwinnifer's misshapen head, rather reminding her of the helicopter in King Kong , whizzing around and around until Robbie was almost dizzy.

She clung to Hervé's handle as Gwinnifer swiped at them. "Kaboom her!" Hervé yelled. "Kaboom her hard! Use ze magic, Robbieee!"

Gripping his handle for dear life, she let go with her left hand and flicked it, fireballs rushing from her fingertips. They landed on Gwinnifer, making her screech and duck, sizzling her flesh.

"Again!" Hervé yelled. "Do eet again!"

As they rushed through the night, Hervé bobbed and weaved while she hurled anything she could get her fingertips to create.

Thunder crashed. Lightning crackled, infuriating Gwinnifer.

She took another swipe at the air, but this time, Hervé wasn't quick enough and her talon clipped him. He dive-bombed toward the ground, yelping the whole way. They crashed against the crumbling ground with a grunt, Robbie's back cracking at the jolt.

Rolling to her side, she reached for Hervé with a moan, her whole body on fire, her nerves raw.

And then she felt a tug on her left hand as something scaly began to pull—pull so hard she thought it would rip right off.

Which was apparently Gwinnifer's goal. She used her taloned paw to yank, scratching the flesh of Robbie's hand until she screamed in agony.

Hervé began beating Gwinnifer, swatting at her head. "Off, you beast! Off my Robbiee!"

When Robbie didn't think she could fight anymore, when she thought her hand would be ripped from her body, she heard Greer roar.

"I'll kill you, you insidious bitch!"

Wiping the rain from her eyes, she saw Greer in the distance, his strong thighs pumping, his arms high in the air, something shiny in his hands.

She blinked. A sword?

How the fuck did he get a sword ?

He ran at Gwinnifer with a warrior cry. "This is for my mother!"

With that, he thwacked her with the gleaming weapon, chopping at her legs like he was cutting down a Christmas tree, swinging the sword with his muscled arms over and over while the rain beat down on his head, plastering his hair to his skull.

Gwinnifer screamed in agony, flailing, howling, but Greer didn't stop until she grew smaller and smaller—until he could reach her head.

Robbie gasped for air, trying to crawl to him, but it wouldn't have mattered. He was seeking justice for his mother's cruel death.

Before he took one final thwack, Greer leaned in and looked her in the eye, his chest heaving, his jaw tight. "And this is for what you did to my life!"

With one slice he severed her head, toppling it to the ground, where it went rolling like a scaly tumbleweed.

For a brief moment, as Robbie gathered Hervé to her side with her throbbing hand and tried to move her legs, there was silence. Sweet peace.

Right before Gwinnifer's head exploded into a million pieces—but it wasn't with the gore Robbie expected.

No, sparkling swirls of colored smoke erupted…purple, blue, gold, green, zipping throughout the village until it came back around, circling Greer.

As it settled over him, dusted every part of his body, Robbie gasped.

Magic. She smelled it.

It was magic. All forms of magic.

"Ohhh," she whispered as the magic took various shapes, turning into people. Pulling Greer to them, they hugged him close as hushed whispers became clearer words.

"Greer. Sweet boy. We're so glad you're home…" someone softly said.

"Welcome back, Greer. It's been too long," another voice whispered.

Robbie sat on the ground, trying to catch her breath, looking at the debris littering every square inch of Moonfall as these people, men, women alike, hugged Greer.

Had that just happened?

Yes. That had just happened. Like a scene from a movie, Roberta Tisdale, meek-adjacent, uncomplaining optimist, had helped slay the dragon…er, witch .

Whoa.

Nina was the first to haul her upward, wrapping her arms around her and swinging her in a circle. "Holy fucking balls of titanium!" she crowed. "You did it, kiddo! You fucking did that!"

She wanted to wrap her arms around Nina and bask in her approval, because, who didn't? But she was so weak, her limbs like noodles, her hand aching, all she could do was smile feebly and whisper, "Thanks…"

Marty, Wanda and Darnell were right behind Nina, helping to hold her up. "Who's the baddest witch in the land?" Wanda cooed, wiping the hair from Robbie's eyes.

"That would be you, Miss," Tottington praised, his suit torn, his hair mussed.

Robbie couldn't help but think he'd fall to the ground in a crumpled heap of dismay if he could see himself, but she cupped his cheek. "You okay?"

"Right as rain, Miss. No worse for the wear."

Darnell dropped a kiss on her cheek. "You're really somethin', kiddo. Proud of ya."

"But it wasn't me. It was Greer and Hervé, too," she managed, clinging to Hervé. "Where did he get the sword?"

"Gary," Marty said on a chuckle, using her wrist to wipe the water from her face. "It's the Gary. Greer's mother's broom."

Robbie began to laugh. Of course it was Gary. Brooms weren't just for sweeping the floor.

Greer approached them, his eyes bright and warm, the women who'd appeared following behind him. He didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her from Nina's arms into his, holding her tight.

Robbie sighed, nestling against him, forgetting all about her previous misgivings and logic.

Tipping her chin up with his index finger, he said, "You were fucking amazing, Robbie. Amazing ."

"Hah," she murmured. "Listen here, Paul Bunyan, I had help." Then she quieted for a second before she looked into his eyes. "Are you okay?"

He had just killed his grandmother. It wasn't as though Gwinnifer didn't deserve it, but it had to leave a mark.

Brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, he whispered, "I'm at peace."

Reaching up a hand, she cupped his cheek, pressing a kiss to his lips.

When they pulled apart, Greer asked with a smile, "Are you ready to meet your coven?"

She blinked. "Wait, are those the people who were in the Lost Lands?"

"If I might," a beautiful auburn-haired woman said from beyond Greer's shoulder, putting a hand at his waist. "I'm Soledad, Robbie. It's so wonderful to meet you." She smiled, warm and welcoming, making Robbie's eyes sting with tears.

"Nice to meet you, too. Sorry about the mess…"

Soledad chuckled, her laughter tinkling through the air. "You just helped save an entire village. I think we can live with the mess." She held out her hand to Robbie. "Please, won't you come meet everyone else? We have so much to share with you."

"Only if you promise to bring her right back," Greer joked, as Robbie took her hand.

Soledad hugged him again, her smile bright. "She won't be far—not ever again."

Robbie smiled at him, dropping another kiss on his cheek. "Let me go meet your people and maybe when I'm done, we can talk about that date?"

Everyone catcalled her, whistling and cheering as they nudged each other.

He grinned, lifting an eyebrow. "We'll see. In the meantime, this should tide you over." Greer snapped his fingers, pulling a red rose out of thin air, bowing gallantly as he handed it to her.

She gasped in surprise. "How…?"

Soledad tugged her away, her small hand entwining with Robbie's. "We'll explain all that and more—and we'll fix that hand right up. Come on, everyone's dying to meet you!"

Clinging to the rose, Robbie let Soledad pull her toward the men and women who waited to meet her, her heart full, her future looking brighter than it had in a long time.

The End