The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic(55)
“Are you listening to me?”
It would be the thing that put her spell for Gigi over the top. She had to find Raquel. Make her go with her. Because there was no way she was going alone to Wild Rose Hill at night.
“Sorry.” She threw the word over her shoulder as she headed back to the house. “We’ll talk later!”
Cherry Cheese Pie
The easiest, foolproof, no-bake dessert around. Seth would beg me for this dumb ol’ pie for every special occasion he could think of, but Sadie never could stand it. That girl just has something against being peaceful, I think. A slice or two of this pie will help to ensure peace when an argument is sure to happen. Perfect for family gatherings.
Ingredients
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
? c. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1 (21-oz.) can cherry pie filling
Directions
1.?In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla, then pour mixture into graham cracker crust.
2.?Cover and refrigerate for three hours or until set. Top with cherry pie filling.
??9??
SADIE RUSHED THROUGH THE house and found Raquel on the front-porch swing, Seth leaning against the railing as they talked.
“I have a favor,” Sadie said in rush.
“No,” Seth said.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Sadie said shortly. “Raquel, my beautiful, wonderful best friend. How would you like to go for a little drive?”
“Where to?” she asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Wild Rose Hill,” Sadie answered innocently.
“You must be out of your mind,” Raquel barked. “You, of all people, know that place is haunted.”
“She does know. Which would beg the question: Why, sister?”
“Mount Diablo buckwheat.” Her voice was a little breathless.
“Oh, come on,” Seth said, rolling his eyes. “Seriously?”
“Should I know what this is? I mean I’m not exactly filled with comfort with the word devil being in the name.”
“It’s for Gigi. I’m working on a spell for her. For the cancer.”
“And this flower is supposed to be crazy powerful. Where our magic originally came from,” Seth added.
“Not only that,” said Sadie, “but remember that fire a few years ago? Wild Rose Hill was blackened. And now it’s lush again. The most powerful Revelare flower, life growing from death. It’s the perfect symbolism. Please,” she pleaded to Raquel. “I don’t want to go alone, but I will if I have to.”
“Alright, alright, keep your shirt on. I’ll come,” Raquel said. “But Seth is coming too.”
“I am?”
“No, he’s not,” Sadie said with a short laugh. “He doesn’t believe in what I’m doing.”
“Seth?” Raquel demanded with an arched brow.
“Fine, fine. I’ll go,” he said after only a moment of pause.
Sadie refused to acknowledge that she was grateful for his presence. Because the second she admitted that, it would mean she was giving credence to the haunting. And everyone knows that the moment you look the dark things in the eye, they become far too real.
Wild Rose Hill was twenty minutes outside of town, and the trio was silent as they drove. They all knew the stories. And knew, too, that Gigi would have banned them from going, which is why they didn’t tell anyone. Sadie idly thought about Jake. About what he was going to tell her. And knew that she didn’t want to hear whatever he was having trouble getting out. She couldn’t hold him off forever, but a little while longer wouldn’t hurt. It was just another dark thing she didn’t want to look in the eye.
The hill loomed eerily in the distance, like the arched back of a slumbering giant. Around the base was a forest of trees that stopped abruptly as the incline grew steeper. Then, at the top, was a single, towering oak.
“I already have goose bumps.” Raquel shivered.
“They’re just stories,” Sadie told her.
“Nothing is ever just a story,” Seth said from the backseat, sounding like a Revelare.
“We’re here.” Sadie cut the engine and let the silence fill her. None of them moved.
A rock hit the side of the car, and all three of them jumped.
“Fuck it,” Seth said taking a deep breath. “Let’s go. This better be worth it,” he added to Sadie.
She swallowed hard and they set off—with flashlights and a resolution that didn’t quite feel steely enough.
“You really believe the story?” Seth asked quietly as they reached the tree line. “That this is where Evanora got her magic?” His voice was strangely serious.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She could practically hear his shrug.
“What exactly was the price of that magic?” Raquel asked in a whisper.
“Probably whatever’s left haunting this place,” Seth answered.
An owl hooted nearby, and Raquel let out a small noise. Seth positioned himself between them, a knife in his hand.
“What the hell, Seth. A knife isn’t going to work on what’s here.”