Wicked sorceress Cora must ruin someone's life before her eighteenth birthday or lose her magic forever, a task made tricky when she falls for her chosen victim.
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Cora Emerson is a magical misfortune who just can't get the hang of being a wicked...
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As Agatha had said, dinner began promptly at eight.
"Cora, Willow," Stella called upstairs for them to come down as soon as the big hands in every clock in the house were no longer striking seven fifty-nine PM.
They both came down at a snail's pace. Cora led the way. Their entire house smelled decadent with Agatha's spices and best herbs, like they'd been transported into the kitchen of a vegetarian restaurant. The meals had already been dished out into their best plates and bowls and transported into the dining room.
"Here we go." Cora pushed open the dining room door.
"You really outdid yourselves," said Blythe. "This looks heavenly." She waltzed around the room, eyeing the dishes Agatha had prepared.
Out on the table were all kinds of non-meat meals, from pasta shells stuffed with spinach to roasted potatoes, and cheesy vegetable chowder. The lit candles on the table pulled everything together and brought a soft glow to the otherwise dark room.
"Well don't just stand there," Stella said to Cora. "Come in, come in."
Cora had paused at the door, taking in the scene in front of her. The grownups stood behind their chairs waiting for her and Willow to join them so they could all sit and dig in.
Cora left the door with Willow following. She sat next to her mother. Willow sat next to Agatha, Blythe sat on Stella's right, and Mariam on Cora's left. There was one empty chair at the table, Tilda's.
"My Tilly isn't feeling well," Blythe said, as she folded her napkin across her lap.
"Do you want me to go check on her?" Stella asked, while doing the same with her napkin.
Cora and Willow had a silent conversation with their eyes again, asking each other what they should do. Cora's eyes said, "We lie, lie, lie."
They had no other choice. Cora wanted to keep Blythe's wrath at bay as long as possible. As the food began to be passed around and the grownups discussed Mariam's taste in dining room décor, Cora's nerves settled enough for her to enjoy her meal, which was delicious as Agatha's recipes often were. She was making her way through a second helping of the vegetable chowder when she felt it, a brush against her leg. She jumped, pushing her chair back.
"What's wrong with you?" Mariam asked.
Cora, not knowing what else to do, picked up her fork and dropped it. "I dropped my fork," she said and widened her eyes at Willow, telling her that Tilda was under the table.
Willow dropped her fork as well, and they disappeared underneath the table to retrieve their cutlery. Past her mother and Blythe's legs, Cora caught sight of Tilda. Was she smiling at her? Could mice smile? Before she could do anything, Tilda was climbing the leg of her chair.
"What in the world are you girls doing under there?" Mariam's face appeared underneath the table. "Get up and finish your meals."
Willow and Cora's response was drowned by a loud scream from Blythe. Cora wished to stay under the table until the end of dinner, but she had no choice now. She got up. Willow did the same. Tilda had climbed onto the table, onto her dish, as if waiting to be served.
