James Swain - Shadow People

Peter took the spot. Milly had helped raise him, and was the closest thing to a mother that he had. He hated spoiling her morning, but didn’t see that he had any other choice. Holly was out of control, and Milly needed to rein her niece in before Holly ruined his life.

“I need to talk to you about Holly,” he said.

“You sound terribly solemn. Is she still scrying on you?”

“Yes, yes, and yes. I made the mistake of encouraging her yesterday when I discovered a reporter spying on me. Now she keeps texting me every five minutes.”

“But she’s love in with you, and says you have feelings for her.”

“Of course I have feelings for Holly. I also have feelings for you. But that doesn’t make us in love, does it?”

Milly laughed under her breath. “I suppose not. But Holly is young and infatuated. You need to go gently with her. Let her down easy, as they say.”

Milly did not understand the gravity of what was taking place. Holly had held him against his will in her apartment through the use of a spell. She was also using her powers to stalk him, and that didn’t feel like any kind of love he’d experienced before.

“Holly won’t listen to me,” he said in a quiet but firm voice. “I have enough problems in my life right now, and she’s only making them worse. Please talk to her, Milly.”

Milly drew back, clearly alarmed. “I suppose I could call her.”

“I would be forever in your debt.”

“What exactly would you like me to say?”

“Ask her to stop intruding. Order her, if you have to. Just make her do it.”

They fell silent. On the other side of the path, a dozen feisty black crows lined the limb of an oak tree. They were the jackdaw variety, and perched in a militarylike formation. They’d migrated with Milly from the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, decades ago, and had taken up residence in the park across the street from her apartment. Witches had many unusual powers, including the ability to hold sway over dogs, cats, and birds. The crows were Milly’s pets, and would have done anything their master asked.

“Are you implying that Holly can’t be reasoned with?” Milly asked.

“Holly is out of control. She’s messing with my life, and refuses to stop. I’m afraid if I talk with her, I’ll lose my temper, and ruin whatever’s left of our friendship.”

“So you still care for her.”

“How could I not?”

“But she’s making you miserable.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.”

“A truer definition of love I’ve never heard.”

Peter gritted his teeth. Milly was letting her feelings for her niece cloud her judgment. It was understandable considering that they were both witches, and that Milly had trained Holly to cast spells, scry, and perform other strange rituals that made up the witch’s playbook. Milly would side with Holly no matter what her niece had done, and he rose from the bench.

“I need to go. Thanks for listening.”

“Ever since you were a child, you’ve run away from your troubles,” Milly said. “It’s a defense mechanism, I suppose. Well, dear Peter, you can’t run away from this. You’ve been in love with Holly since she was a little girl. I saw it one night when you were babysitting for her, after I’d come home from the theater. The way you looked at her told her you were in love. But since she was much younger than you, and you were a proper young gentleman, you did not act on your impulses. Admit it.”

“That was a long time ago,” he said defensively.

“Love never dies.”

Milly was right. He still had strong feelings for Holly. If he hadn’t, he’d have found some nasty way to blow her off. But he couldn’t do that to Holly. He cared about her too much to cause her pain. Maybe Milly was right, maybe he loved Holly more than he realized.

“Yes, I love Holly,” he said, “but I love Liza more. We live together, for Christ’s sake, and she’s my best friend. Why can’t you see that?”

“You love Liza more now, ” Milly said. “But that might change. Liza is normal, and you are not. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but relationships with nonpsychics don’t work out, at least none that I’ve ever heard about. Don’t throw away your feelings for Holly just yet.”

“Liza and I are doing great,” he said. “We’re a team.”

“How long have you and Liza been together?”

“Two years.”

“And how long has she known you’re different?”

“I told her last month. It wasn’t easy, but we’re working it out.”

“How much does she know?”

“Enough.”

“Everything?”

“No, not everything.”

“So you haven’t told her the true origin of your parents’ powers, or yours.”

Peter felt the air escape from his lungs. “Not yet.”

“Still keeping secrets from her? That will never work in a million years.”

“I’m going to tell her. I just have to find the right time and place to do it.”

“Oh, no, here he comes,” Milly said under her breath.

Milly’s eyes shifted their focus as an elderly fellow wearing gray sweats and a sweatshirt tied around his waist came jogging down the path. He was downright handsome for his age, with a mane of snow-white hair and a runner’s lean physique. A smile lit up his face at the sight of Milly. Cupid’s arrow had struck, Peter guessed.

“You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend,” Peter said. “He’s cute.”

“The man is practically stalking me. I can’t stand him.”

“You’ve been out with him?”

“Just once. Dinner and a movie. It was a terrible mistake.”

“You made it through dinner and a movie? I’d say you’re doing great. Introduce me.”

“I’ll do no such thing.”

“Come on. Love never dies.”

“Be still.”

Milly’s beau was veering toward their bench, ready to strike up a conversation. Milly was having none of it, and raised a crooked finger to ward him off. In all the world, there was no greater force than a witch’s crooked finger, at least not that he knew of. With that single finger, oceans could be parted and skies made to darken. It was a power not to be used lightly, and he was surprised that Milly used it now. From the oak trees a single kamikaze crow exploded in a beeline for the elderly gentleman’s perfectly coifed head. He saw the bird coming in time to halt his forward progress and raise his hands in self-defense, exactly what Milly had intended.

“Go away,” the man said.

The bird did the opposite, and continued to buzz his head, while doing arcing somersaults befitting an aerial show. Peter could not help but laugh under his breath.

“You think this is funny?” Milly scolded him.

“I was thinking of filming it, putting it on YouTube.”

“You’ll do no such thing!”

Love is blind. It was also stupid, deaf, and incredibly dumb. Milly’s beau would not give up, his feelings for the old witch too great. He came toward them while continuing to do battle with the crow, his arms flailing like a crazy man just released from an asylum. Milly raised her crooked finger again. More crows exploded out of the trees and added to the first bird’s aerial assault, forming a cloud of black around the poor man.

“Have them pluck his eyes out,” Peter suggested. “That will do the trick.”

“Don’t think I haven’t considered it,” Milly said with a stern face. “I made the mistake of giving him my phone number. He won’t stop calling me.”

“You gave him your phone number? This sounds serious.”

“A moment of weakness.”

Milly’s beau continued to inch toward the bench. There was no doubt in Peter’s mind that this man was truly in love with Milly. There was also no doubt that Milly had found him attractive. So why was she trying to scare the fellow half to death?