Chapter Three: Willow

Since that short conversation with Martin, Willow found she appreciated her magic more.

Water. Something every living being needs to be able to survive. I should be more proud of this power.

Finding out that Martin wasn't at the academy anymore interested her. So, with Harrow and Kati's help, they spread the word that if anyone remembered Martin Gallagher, they should let them know. It turned out that quite a few did. It also turned out that one person wanted to meet with them just because Willow was asking questions.

Willow met with Eva Gallagher on one of her free periods, choosing to meet for an early lunch. Eva looked a lot like her older brother. She had stark orange hair, amber eyes, and large canines that seemed out of place on her otherwise delicate face.

"Good to meet you, Willow," she said, extending her hand for a firm, almost painful handshake. She smiled in a way that made Willow nervous. She wasn't used to engaging with shapeshifters. There was something wild and primal about them.

"You've been causing quite a stir with your questions about my brother," Eve said.

"I didn't mean to cause trouble. I was just… curious. He mentioned that he wasn't going to the academy anymore, and I guess I wanted to find out if anyone remembered him. I'd ask him myself, but I haven't seen him around since I met him in the gardens. I'm not even sure how often he comes to the academy."

Hopefully, she wouldn't think that Willow was a stalker. Still, she wanted to know partly because she couldn't get him out of her head and partly because she wanted to dig deeper into the potential mystery he offered. At least now she knew he had a sister.

"What did you talk to my brother about?" Eve asked.

"We were in the gardens. I was using my water magic, and it caught his attention."

"Ah." Eva's expression intensified. "Water magic. Okay, I can see that."

"He's interested in people with water magic?"

"Yes, I believe so. I'm not really sure how much to tell you, but I will at least say what is already generally known." Eva slurped on her apple juice before saying, "Around five months ago, five people went missing, including him. When they hadn't been seen for almost an entire day and since there was some odd supernatural activity in the area, the local villages, police forces, and academy organized search parties."

Five people? Already, Willow had questions, but she kept them to herself so that Eva might continue the story.

"Eventually, they found Martin not that far from Oakwend, our home village. He was soaking wet, and three of the people he'd been with had drowned. The fourth person is still missing to this day."

Willow's eyes bugged out in surprise. "What? They all drowned in a river or…?"

"See, that's the thing. There is no water source where they were. There are rivers, but they're closer to the mountain on the other side. But where they were, there were none. What's more, the water the three died in was saltwater. The local police brought my brother in for questioning; he was the only suspect at that point. Eventually, they let him go – it was all a little too weird and wacky for them. Dreadmor Academy offered my brother some time off to recover, and since then, he's not gone back."

Willow took her time to process this information. The mystery of the drowning intrigued her, but whatever happened was clearly traumatic. "Wait. You told me what people think happened. What about what Martin thinks?"

At this, Eva smiled. "He says they found the sea coast and went down into a cave. However, something about that doesn't ring true. I think he doesn't quite remember specifically what happened because he was enchanted. He remembers vague details, like they went into the cave and the waters rose. But there's still a lot of information missing, including the fact there is no sea coast for them to reach."

Huh. That sounded weird. Willow frowned. "What on earth?"

Eva sighed. "See? I've been talking to the teachers and looking into things, and the collective conclusion is that we have some sort of realm bleed. It"s not a permanent fixture like the swamp or the other areas we know – but one that appears sometimes. But we don't know the conditions under which it will appear. That's what my brother's obsessing over at the moment. And I think he believes that if he finds it, he'll need someone with water powers because maybe they can stop people from drowning.

"I tell you this now because I want you to be careful. My brother – he's a good person, but he's not thinking clearly. We all want him to come back to us. But he won't until he's found his missing friend and has proven the existence of the place."

Realm bleeds. Harrow, Chloe, and Kati had mentioned something about that. Willow's friends had attended a summer camp program, and they said that a big event had occurred while they were there with the realms overlapping. However, everyone had witnessed that occurrence.

Except Willow had heard her friends mention that there was some weird stuff happening now. Chloe had said something about the Dryad talking about a potential danger.

The situation piqued Willow's interest, and she knew she wanted to see Martin again to find out if her water magic could be of any help to him. On the other hand, she didn't want to stir the pot too much; she was only going to the academy because she couldn't think of anything better to do. But maybe her thinking was wrong.

"Maybe," Willow said carefully, "you can tell your brother that I'm interested in meeting him again if he wants to talk more about how my powers might be of use."

Eva looked taken aback by the response. "You don't mind?"

Willow shook her head. "You want your brother to come back to the academy, right? You want to help him?"

"Of course. But that doesn't mean other people should be dragged into the situation. That wouldn't be fair."

"Maybe not," Willow agreed, "but it's clear you care enough to come and talk about him with me. And though I don't know your brother well, I don't mind helping if it will do any good and as long as it doesn't interfere with my studies or anything, that is."

Eva tapped her fingers on the table in front of her, thoughtfully pursing her lips. "I can pass the word on to him. Just make sure you don't get dragged into anything you don't want to be dragged into. But honestly, I'd appreciate some help for my brother. Me, my family, and his friends are worried about him. He doesn't let us in, and he seems a little too obsessed at times."

"Which was why you mentioned the enchanting," Willow murmured. "Did you already talk with any of the teachers about it?"

"Yes. They say they can't know for certain – but don't bring it up with him, just in case. Enchanted individuals don't believe they are under a spell. Of course, he may not be enchanted at all. We don't really know for certain."

"Got it." Willow considered the situation. Talking to Harrow or Chloe afterward might be a wiser option. She wasn't as close friends with Chloe as she was with Harrow, but they all interacted to some degree.

Willow said, "You can give him my number if you want." She entered her number in Eva's phone. "And you can call me, too, any time."

"If it's not too much of a bother, could you keep me updated if anything big happens? We don't want him to go missing again, and he's not always so eager to communicate."

"If I think it is necessary," Willow said, nodding. She wasn't sure if she liked the concept of spying on Martin, but the situation seemed so out there that she figured it was best to have someone to check in with.

"Be careful. My brother's a good person, but he's not really been himself lately."

Understandable, Willow thought. Given that he lost all his friends on a trip they went on together. He must have some crazy survivor's guilt.

Yet he seemed… well-adjusted when they spoke.

Or was he?

Maybe his reaction to her water stunts was a little more primal. She didn't know. She wasn't a mind reader.

"Thank you," Willow said. "Hopefully, it'll all turn out fine. And as I said – if I can help even a little, maybe he'll gain some sense of normalcy."

Eva's smile was genuine this time, and when they got up to leave, she hugged Willow as a thank you for her efforts.

Naturally, Willow passed all the information on to Chloe and Harrow – who spread it among their friends.

Chloe and her boyfriend Tiran seemed particularly interested in the news. Messages from all her friends flooded Willow's phone on the newly created group chat.

Chloe: Hey, this honestly sounds like what the Dryad wanted from me. They were mentioning something dangerous happening. Back me up, Tiran.

Tiran: Maybe? I don't think you ever mentioned a coastal area

Arlo: Maybe it's related to what's been happening with the ghosts. Some of the ghosts Holly and I contacted were disturbed by what seemed to be dark magic…

Chloe: And that sounds like what's been happening with the Dryad and their woods lately! Something's going on here, all right. Gosh, what if it's a repeat of the summer?

Harrow: Hell, no. Besides, it's not the same as what happened. We had a full-on ice storm and crap. Things still seem pretty normal here.

Tiran: Wait…

Chloe: What?

Tiran: You mentioned this guy was possibly enchanted?

Willow: Yes?

Tiran: I mean, something like that kind of happened to me, but it was really confusing. I didn't even know I was enchanted, but I was

Willow: You WERE?

Chloe: He was! Some fae from the Unseelie Court.

At this, the messaging grew frantic, and Willow had a hard time keeping track of it all. The general opinion was that Tiran's run-in with the Unseelie Court and whatever was happening with it was also what the Dryad had warned about and what also might be causing some havoc with the ghosts that the necromancer/medium duo was investigating.

Willow: What is the Unseelie Court? It means nothing to me.

Chloe: Okay, so we have our world and the fae world, right?

Willow: Yeah…

Chloe: In the fae world, the fae courts rule.

Chloe: You have six major courts: Seelie, Unseelie, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. There can be some overlap between the fae courts and our world.

Chloe: But we think the Unseelie are overstepping and meddling far more than they should be. We don't have all the info yet, but we think they're up to no good.

Willow: Wait, wait. And you think this has something to do with this guy Martin?

Chloe: Maybe. Maybe not, but we can't discount it, either. But it's kind of a coincidence that this stuff is happening around Dreadmor at the moment.

Harrow: I guess we're due for another apocalypse.

Willow: A WHAT now?

The chat devolved into some more discussion about the fae courts and whether or not they were actually responsible for a lot of things.

All of it left Willow even more confused than before and wondering if she'd somehow ended up biting off more than she could chew.

Perhaps it was best not to try to make sense of it now and just deal with Martin face-to-face. People could tell her about Martin and spam the chat all day about their theories, but in the end, she wanted to hear everything from Martin himself and come to her own conclusions.

One thing for sure – she wanted to see Martin again. Sure, it helped that he was… attractive, but that had nothing to do with her interest.

Of course.

In the meanwhile, she practiced her magic, trying to extend the limits of it. The simplest way was to move around bodies of water that were already there. While this was tiring, it was nothing compared to the more advanced techniques like extracting water from a living thing or attempting to draw it from great distances. In fact, science might one day use water witches to extract water from distant planets and space. Right now, though, the best a water witch like Willow could do with some difficulty was to draw a body of water from about fifty feet away.

The other thing she could do was separate the salt from saltwater or search for hidden water sources, as water witches were more sensitive to the essence of water than most.

It was boring but necessary magic. When you had classmates who could see the future, shapeshift into fantastical creatures, and curse others with twisted, dark magic, it was easy to feel not good enough and like, somehow, she didn't belong there with all the cool people, learning and interacting with so many different types of magic and supernatural phenomena.

Later that day, she spotted a ferocious puff of orange hair as she walked through the school grounds, and sure enough, it was Martin Gallagher himself, steadily heading toward the Triscor Gardens.

Her heart raced a little. Should she head over there? Would it seem weird? If Eva had passed along her number, surely he would've messaged by now, but he hadn't. Perhaps he wanted to take his time or wasn't that interested. She dithered as if hovering on the edge of a rash decision, not knowing if it would be the correct one or a soon-to-be-regretted one.

There was only one way to find out. Acting as if she was there by chance, she took the long way around, half listening to scraps of conversation around the gardens, admiring the scenery. Apparently, she wasn't as inconspicuous as she hoped to be since he spotted her at once and waved.

It'd be impolite to pretend not to notice, so she waved back as she approached. Today, he dressed in warm clothing, compensating for the gloomy weather, the almost rain, and the low, dark gray clouds. Willow wore a hoodie and jeans.

Willow started. "I'm hoping your sister passed along my number to you since I didn't get a chance to ask you for yours last time we met."

He looked momentarily blank before fishing out his phone. "Oh! She did send it!" A slight hint of red illuminated his cheeks. "Sorry, I haven't checked it."

In over a day? She figured it best not to push it. "Yeah, I was hoping to get in touch with you at some point. I had a few more questions I wanted to ask you."

He frowned, glancing between her and the message on his phone. "My sister says she talked to you. Did she… share anything?"

Ah. "Yes. Enough, I think, for me to know something about the situation. Though, I wanted to get your perspective on it. She said you might need someone with water magic."

His eyes flickered, and he seemed to withdraw. "Yeah… but I didn't want to be that obvious."

"I… well, I don't really know everything. But I did get the impression that your sister cares a lot about you. I also told her, and now I'll tell you, I'm okay with helping you out if you need it, just as long as it doesn't involve anything dangerous or illegal."

"Really?" Both his eyebrows shot up. "You wouldn't mind helping? You don't think I was being deceptive?"

"A lot of interactions are because we want something from the other person," Willow said with a shrug. "Whether it's friendship, entertainment, or knowledge… so it's no big deal for me."

He let out a small sigh of relief, nodding. "Well, I would love your help at some point. I suppose you must be curious about a few things."

"Of course."

"And I'm a little curious about you as well."

She managed to avoid blushing this time, which felt like an achievement. Naturally, when navigating new friendships, you want to get to know the other person. Ask questions, gauge topics of interest, and determine personal limits.

The one thing she liked about getting to know someone new was that delightful flutter in her stomach, that excited anticipation to meet and talk to another person, to want to get to know them. That fluttering sensation arrived in full force since Martin presented himself as friendly, approachable, and still a little mysterious. But would he be willing to answer her questions, even the more boring ones?

"Do you live close by?" she asked. "Is that why you're able to visit frequently?"

"Yep. Oakwend's a thirty-minute walk from here. You probably haven't visited it since it's not one of the popular villages in the area." He pointed vaguely to the south, which indeed led away from the more well-known student haunts. "It doesn't have a whole lot going for it other than it's a farming community. We can take a walk there when you have some free time if you want."

"Sure, why not?" She smiled ruefully. "That seems pretty cool actually to live so close to the academy. I had to travel across the country to get here, so I live in the dorms." She was lucky to still have a dorm at the academy in her third year, though she did pay a little extra to have more amenities.

"I miss being in school a lot, honestly. Going to a place like this gives you a sense of purpose."

"Then why don't you come back?" she asked before clamping a hand over her mouth. He seemed more amused than offended, however. His amber eyes twinkled, and laugh lines appeared on his face. It was a face a woman could easily fall for if she weren't careful.

It was also a face that Willow tended to associate with those who were too charming for their own good and less willing to build a genuine connection with people. But judging people solely on their appearance didn't seem fair.

She needed to do better.

"I want to come back eventually," he said. "But right now, I can't… it's not really an option." His eyes glazed over for a moment, making his face look oddly blank, but then he shook himself.

"Anyway, enough of me. I noticed your accent. Where are you from?"

"Minnesota. It's a rural state, but a beautiful one."

"Your accent is lovely," he said, apparently unaware of how much a small, flippant compliment like that affected her. When it came from other women, it didn't faze her. But when it came from someone like him… she paid a lot more attention.

"Nah, I sound like some backward country bumpkin. I much prefer yours. It's… pleasant." It was also a lot deeper in timbre than she expected. There was something about deep voices that struck her as attractive. "But we're not here just to compliment each other on our accents, I suppose."

"We can," he replied, grinning. "Doesn't have to be anything more. Or it can be something more."

She blinked a few times at that, not sure if he was flirting with her or just being friendly. Her track record with men was not great. She'd had a few dalliances here and there, one long-term one in high school that ended when her boyfriend asked someone else to the prom and subsequently dumped her.

"You're nice, but you're just too boring," he'd told her. That sentence was etched in her mind, taunting her whenever she was unsure about her future. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't fit in. She was boring. So, like a piece of drifting seaweed, she followed the tide and waited to see where it would take her.

"Let me know if I say anything wrong," he added, still wearing the gentle smile that pulled her out of her negative thoughts. "I'm not always that socially adept. My friends always correct me if I say or do anything weird…" he trailed off.

"Your friends?" she asked softly, curious but not wanting to pry. She really, really wanted to know his side of things, not whatever the school rumor mill churned out.

"Yeah. None of them are around now."

Should she ask? She didn't want to offend or hurt him. Her curiosity got the better of her, though, and she blurted, "Your friends – they drowned?" She winced when his features darkened. "Sorry. Your sister mentioned that you'd lost friends, but nothing more than that."

He looked away and took some deep breaths, opening and closing his mouth a few times. "Okay. I think I'm okay to tell you a little. It's, uh…" he took another deep breath, "not easy."

"Take your time," she said, clasping her hands together, hoping he wouldn't suddenly get cold feet and clam up.

"I'll… I'll be honest enough to let you know I can't remember everything. I also nearly drowned myself, and I just can't remember all the details. I just…" He rubbed the crease between his eyes as if something bothered him there. "I remember how it started. I remember where we went. But everything around what happened is fragmented."

She nodded, not wanting to say anything to interrupt his train of thought. She'd read something about what he was describing now – how, in a traumatic situation, the mind sometimes wipes out the memories of when it happened, though it seemed he still had some memories related to it.

"Yannick said he'd discovered something really cool, and he wanted to show it to us. He said that there was an area in the woods near Oakwend where you could see the sea. Obviously, we all thought he was insane, but he really wanted to show us, and we arranged to meet there.

"He didn't say much about how he knew of this place. It was more of a ‘wait and see, once I show you the place, you'll believe me' type of attitude. So, all five of us gathered together on a foggy day. We went to where he said… and… he wasn't lying. The mist was so thick that we could barely see ten meters ahead of us. It seemed like we were in the woods – and then, before us, the trees thinned, and there was a rugged coast and the smell of salt in the air."

His nose twitched slightly as if he could smell the salt now. She shivered, picturing the world changing around her, emerging out of the fog. Something about the fog sounded magical – and most likely where the realms overlapped, though it still didn't quite explain why the overlap was temporary instead of solid like the ones they had around Dreadmor Academy.

"You don't have to keep talking if you don't want to," she said, though she didn't want him to stop. He waved off the concern, saying he still wanted to talk.

"There was… a coastal path. Yannick and the others were so excited and intrigued. I was a little… wary. It didn't make sense that a coastline would be here, but you know how it is when you're in a group, and everyone wants to do something you don't really want to do. You get overruled. We went down this thin cliff path. The sea was at a distance, and there was damp sand below. Low tide. There was this little sign with the times for low and hide tide. Apparently, no high tide would occur for at least five hours. The cycles are in six-hour increments. We thought we had plenty of time. We found this seaweed-drenched cave; we went in there…" He paused.

"That's when it gets fuzzy. I don't really remember much after that, but something happened in that cave. Something that means my friend is still missing today, and the other three are gone."

Her story ended so abruptly that she waited a little longer, thinking he might continue, but he didn't. His eyes were wintry, cold, somehow lost in the turmoil of a memory that he fought to reach for. Except he couldn't remember. And he was driven to find out what happened.

That sounded… insanely dangerous. "And your goal is to find this place again, however you accessed it the first time, and, what? Find your friend?"

"Find him. Find out how to make the place reappear. Find out if there's another reason for my missing memories." He floundered slightly, and Willow was reminded again of the suggestion that he might be enchanted.

Whether he was or he wasn't, she did see an avenue to help him. If the issue was the rising tide, she could prevent drowning with her magic. That wasn't too complicated. If that was all he needed…

"I'd be happy to help you. But I need to feel safe. I wouldn't feel too confident if it were just the two of us if there's something else at work there. Maybe we need a teacher or some professionals to come and help…"

His lips thinned slightly. "If they're willing to come, they can. But I can't promise if I can even find the place again."

Well, that didn't sound exactly… ideal. But it did make sense why he might still be looking for answers five months after the event. Maybe she could do some research, but she didn't know what she might find that he and his sister hadn't.

"I've spent far too much time talking about myself," he said, gesturing for her to follow him. "I'd feel a lot better if you could share something about yourself. Maybe something small like a favorite day of the week or something."

She chortled at that. He didn't want to put pressure on her to respond with something equally deep, though she didn't have anything deep to reveal unless you counted her perpetually drifting future, not really knowing what she wanted, where she wanted to go. Even coming to the academy was more her mother's suggestion than anything else.

"Sunday's my favorite day," she said. "You can spend time at home, the shops close early, some of the best meals are cooked on that day, and it's a great opportunity to visit grandparents or spend some catching up with people you don't see often."

An absent smile appeared on his face, and warmth shone in his eyes. "Okay, I can see that. A Sunday child. You sound as if you like your family. Did I get that right?"

"Yeah, I have a big one with lots of quirky magic. My mother sells potions and witch paraphernalia to humans. I'm about ninety percent sure the potions are just common tinctures with herbs that do help but have nothing to do with magic, while the other part… is some serious magic."

"Not love potions, I hope?"

"Oh, that'd be illegal." She grinned. "But she does have fake ones because people ask for those the most. Forcing people to love you isn't a great idea.

"People could go to jail if they used a dangerous love potion. Human will shouldn't be overridden, but that didn't mean that all fae stuck obeyed the law. Love potions have only been outlawed in the last twenty years or so."

Also, thinking of love potions made her think of what might be enchanting Martin without him knowing. She resolved to message her mother and see if she knew anything about them.

"What about your favorite color?"

"Orange," she said before flushing slightly because that was the color of his hair.

"Is that so?" The smile turned devious. "Interesting."

Willow gulped. "Yeah, it's, uh, bright, warm, the same color as my bedroom walls. I have a fall landscape with the sun and the leaves on the ground."

"That sounds wonderful." He looked a little wistful, and a lump formed in her throat, a brief sense of loss for a time gone by. Her parents had sold the house with the wall painting and bought a new one – a much bigger one, of course – but it wasn't her childhood home. "It's interesting, isn't it? The things we remember from childhood that we didn't think were that important back then."

She agreed wholeheartedly. They continued the conversation at a gentler pace, taking the time to speak of less charged topics. It seemed that when Martin wasn't obsessing over finding the mysterious coastal area, he had some pretty wild memories of going hunting with his family, stalking prey through the mountains, mushroom foraging, building his own shelters, and going fishing and hiking through magnificent scenery.

That was completely different from her upbringing, which was in a suburb of a big city with a lot less opportunity to connect with the wild unless you counted going to a zoo.

Honestly, Martin sounded completely out of her league. It didn't stop her from occasionally daydreaming about being with him and wondering what it would be like to get to know him better. If it meant taking long hikes and camping trips and learning to fish… that didn't seem too bad. Maybe it could work out.

She flushed, realizing she was already daydreaming about events that hadn't taken place yet. With some regret, she waved goodbye to him as evening fell, and he needed to head back.

"I'm glad I met you and have your number now," he said, his voice low and soft, his eyes not moving from hers. "I have a good feeling about this… friend." He held out his hand to shake, and with a shock of excitement, she took it. Those big fingers wrapped around hers, and herlips curled upward. Her limbs felt light, and it took quite a bit of effort not to skip back to the dorm like an idiot, though she did allow herself a little jig out of excitement after he left.

Not only did this out-of-her-league person like talking to her – he already considered her his friend.

It remained to be seen if this burgeoning friendship would be good or bad. She now knew a little bit more about him, but the mystery of the coast and exactly how badly the events had affected him, she would learn in time if he revealed it to her.

However, she did need to call her mother. She picked up after a couple of rings, and the tone that greeted Willow was one of surprise.

"Hello, daughter of mine. How rare it is that I get a call from you. You only want to text and email."

"Love you too, Mom," Willow said, fumbling with the key to her dorm, the phone pressed to her ear. "It's easier to text most of the time. I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Go on, then. Shoot."

"Do you have any potions or anything that can help someone who may be enchanted by a fae or object? Or do you know anyone who might know about this?"

"Hmm. Why do you ask?"

"I met this guy, and I suspect he may be enchanted."

"You met a guy? What kind of guy?"

"You know, someone. At school." That was technically the truth, although he wasn't enrolled at the moment. But her mother didn't need to know that.

"You're being really vague about this, I suppose," her mother said. "Fine. Is he exhibiting any signs of being enchanted? Does he seem to be obsessed with a place or person?"

"A place."

"Okay. Is he unable to explain why he is obsessed with this place, other than it being something he must do?"

"I think so."

"Does he have any marks on him? There can be a physical or magical mark that impresses an enchantment."

"I haven't really looked. Or asked."

"Right. Well, there are no real potions that can break a strong enchantment – they have to be broken with a shock or with force of will. However, you should approach Professor Valgrur. I believe that old bat's still there, and she was my original potions teacher. Ask her to whip you up a Truesight potion. If he drinks it, and he's enchanted magically or physically, he'll glow, and that'll tell you for certain that he is."

Oh. That was actually helpful. "Nice, Mom! I've never seen this professor, though. I don't do potion lessons."

"A shame, really. But your magic is pretty awesome as it is, so not too bad."

When the call ended, Willow had the glimmerings of a plan. Not exactly a complex plan, but she needed that potion, and she needed that teacher.