Hot Flashes, Sorcery, & Soulmates by J. C. Blake

Author:J. C. Blake [Blake, J. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Redbegga Publishing
Published: 2020-12-02T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Back at the cottage, Aunt Loveday closed the door then sank against it as though shutting out the world. Our journey back had been silent, but the kitchen filled with chatter at the click of the latch.

“What on earth happened?”

“The houses just sank into the earth!”

“It’s a sinkhole,” I offered. “I’ve seen videos of them before.”

“Terrifying!”

“I hope no one was in them?”

The room filled with a communal groan of horror.

“That would be terrible!”

“It’s all my fault!” Aunt Beatrice gave a doom-laden sigh.

“How? Did you cast a spell?”

“I don’t think so, but I did tell that girl that I wanted the houses to disappear into a hole!”

Aunt Loveday gasped. “You cast a spell then?”

“No! But ... oh, maybe I did!”

The image of the creature standing behind my aunt at the fete was bright in my mind. “There was something at the fete. It was hideous – like you’d imagine a goblin to be, I think – and it was standing behind Aunt Beatrice laughing – well, it was more of an evil cackle.”

“Why didn’t you say?”

“I couldn’t. The crowd was there, and that girl was being vile—everyone was watching. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was hallucinating. I saw it running beside the car the other day, but it was there and then gone within seconds and I convinced myself I’d imagined it. I didn’t know what to do when it reappeared at the fete and no idea how to deal with it. I didn’t want to betray our magick, especially with that girl accusing us of being witches.”

Silence fell for a few seconds and then Aunt Loveday said, “Tell me exactly what you saw. Do not leave out a single detail.”

I described my sighting of the creature as I drove Aunt Beatrice to the shop and then went through the entire incident at the fete, from the moment the children arrived at the table until the creature disappeared. Aunt Loveday’s face became increasingly dour as I recounted the story and described the creature and explained how it had reacted to Aunt Beatrice’s response to the vile girl.

“So, when she said, ‘I wish it would just disappear into a hole!’, it cackled?”

“Yes, it was like it had won something, as though it were delighted, and then it disappeared, and then the ground started to vibrate.”

Aunt Loveday’s hands gripped the back of the chair, knuckles whitening with the pressure. “It is a Gewyscan púca; a type of puck that grants wishes—but only harmful ones. It is entirely disruptive. They can be extremely dangerous and bring calamity upon those they imprint upon.” She threw a pitying glance at Aunt Beatrice. “And I believe that it has imprinted upon you, Beatrice.”

“Oh, for Odin’s mercy!”

“How has it ... imprinted on her?”

“They imprint on the first person they light upon once conjured.”

“I’ve never heard of a Gewyscan púca.”

“That’s because our knowledge is found in books like Arthur, books kept hidden and protected by the covens and the Varðlokkurs.”

“And you really think that this gewyscan púca was conjured and has imprinted on Aunt Beatrice?”

“Yes, I do.

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