Page 63 of How to Woo the Undead

“So, she IS the Grove Witch?” Austin crouched down in front of Greggory. He shook his head and waggled the rolled parchment in his face.

“No, no—she’s not. She can’t be. This is a letter from an adventurer to his guild leader, out in the Badlands. It details him coming across the Grove Witch. He saw her through the branches and thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, but when he went to talk to her, he got a terrible sensation that he was in danger. He ran away and watched as another hapless fool fell into her trap. The adventurer saw her start to feed the body to the tree and so he lit the tree on fire. Apparently, she was tethered to the tree, so as the tree turned to ash, so did she.” Greggory held up the scroll to give to Austin. “Will you give that to Hyacinth. I think it might help her. Because Sabine isn’t THE Grove Witch. That was more of acollection of stories about people encountering these types of fae. I think she’s ‘a’ grove witch, I think it’s a type of Old Fae. And that means…I think I know how to fix her ghost problem.”

“Yeah,” Austin sighed, tucking the scroll away in his pants. “We just gotta go burn down a tree.”

What is with ghost stories and burning things? Can’t we ever just talk it out with the spirits? Why does everyone love fire so much!

“Precisely!” Greggory slapped at his calf. “I’m going to go find more stuff for her, but go have fun with the tentacles you sewed in. Don’t forget to give her the scroll before you use those wiggly things on her.”

Austin stumbled back a bit, whiplash from the conversation making him loopy as Greggory scrambled up and out of the lab.What…what just happened?But there was no answer as he tucked away his chest of spare parts.Seriously, there is no privacy in this house.He washed his hands and changed his shirt when he heard the laboratory door crack open. Austin stopped at the base of the stairs to find Hyacinth up at the top with Snuffles. She held him up above her head.

“What’s he done now?” Austin laughed, eyeballing the fluffy ball in her hands.

“Havershum said he’s gonna turn him into stew!” Hyacinth whined.

“That’s not what I said!” Havershum’s voice echoed behind her.

“Oh dear,” Austin sighed, stomping up the stairs. “Havershum, leave Snuffles alone.”

“He’s evil! He chewed through Smith’s pant leg!”

“He’s just curious!” Hyacinth argued. Austin cleared the top step and found the house in absolute chaos. He’d left Hyacinth with Agatha in Melody’s art parlor, and somehow in the hour hewas down in the lab, the house was torn apart. Tables were overturned; there was a random chair in the hallway. And there was some sort of vine creeping down the walls from the ceiling. Austin glanced left and right, finding the carpet ripped up and part of it shredded.

“Did you have a fight with a hundred rabbits?” Austin teased as he closed the laboratory door behind him.

“No!” Havershum fought his way out of an aggressive ivy keeping him pinned to the banister of the stairs. The wraith slashed through the vines that screamed, like a teakettle getting too hot, for a moment before wilting away. “Just him! Just the rabbit. That’s a spawn of the oblivion I tell you! He’s got antlers! And tentacles!”

Havershum zipped to right over Austin’s head. Austin flattened himself back against the door to the lab, a hand in front of Hyacinth. He hid her and Snuffles behind him as his brother in undeath hissed. Soft, low, in an ominous tone, his words ran a shiver down Austin’s back. “Did you know he has tentacles?”

Hyacinth harrumphed, hoisting Snuffles up to her eyelevel. “Snuffles, are you hiding tentacles from me.”

Austin glanced down at the bunny that just wriggled its nose at her in response.

“Evil,” Havershum snarled softly, disappearing into smoke within the walls. “Evil!”

Austin hooked his arm around Hyacinth, ushering her out of the hall and toward the front door. Anywhere but inside the house. They needed to remove themselves before Havershum turned into a spinning top of blades. The foyer was destroyed and when Agatha found out, there would be penance to pay.

The front door swung open for them as they stepped out into a brisk wind, but no rain. The sky was still bright, even thoughthe air was cold and biting.A walk.Yes! That was the answer. A quick walk to clear their senses, then they could go back inside and apologize and help clean up. Then Hyacinth lost her grip on Snuffles. He flew from her arms and bound across the mixed clovers that made up the yard. Hyacinth raced after him, holding up her skirts. The wind swirled around them while Austin did his best to keep up with her. Snuffles bound for the garden at first then made a screeching right turn. Hyacinth giggled as she skidded through a muddy patch of yard. Austin had to jump over her to avoid barreling into her.

Their bunny bound out the front gate of the yard, Hyacinth and Austin chasing after him. They called his name, laughing and pushing each other. The wind kicked up leaves around them, making it feel like the forest was joining in on their game. Snuffles would slow down long enough for one of them to catch up, then race off.

When he finally stopped, they were far out in the woods. The trees skittered away from them, giving them a small clearing, surrounded by mushrooms and dangling vines. Hyacinth reached out her hands to the woods and they reached back. Flowers bloomed at their feet, spreading wildflowers all over the forest floor. Her wings fluttered as leaves floated up around her. Their soiled brown and yellow colors became a vibrant green. Ivy danced over their heads. Then Austin stopped, absolutely mesmerized, as bundles of familiar purple, pink, and blue flowers rose up out of the underbrush around them.

“Hyacinths,” he chuckled, plucking out a handful of them. When he faced her, she gave him the top of her head without hesitation. Decorating her hair with them, he watched them grow into a flower crown around her hair.

Then she threw her head back, opened her mouth and yelled. At first, he lurched backward, confused as to what she was doing. Only she spread her legs, curled her fists, and put morepower behind her scream. Austin felt it shake the air as the trees grew another foot, their roots glowing with green magic.

Her magic touched his skin, and he felt his stitches on his side, the ones that were usually the loosest due to the bending…tighten. He glanced down at his arms, watching his flesh pulse. It made him want to scream too. Not in a bad way, but in an expulsion way. He curled up his fists, threw out his arms, and unhinged his jaw. His roar bounced off all the trees around them, scaring the birds up into the sky. Their chattering beaks and ruffled feathers were muffled by the pair of them. He leaned into it just as she had. It possessed him.

For every moment she grew louder, so did he. Until she opened her eyes and met his, a twinkle of delight in her lilac eyes. She smiled into her final crescendo, shaking everything in the forest around them.

With a sharp gasp of air, she pulled back. Austin panted for air. Hyacinth beamed, glowing from deep within. From pointy ear to pointy ear, she was a lightning bug. She crackled with energy, grabbing him by the front of the shirt. Dragging him forward into her, their mouths crashed together. Vines whipped out from the trees, creating a spiderweb of sticky leaves and strong branches. Hyacinth pushed him back into it, a hammock made of her magic. He swung back and forth between the trees as she dropped into his lap.

“Thank you…for screaming with me,” she breathed against his lips. Her fingers trailed down his chest.

“You’re right,” he laughed, dizzy from lack of oxygen and a sudden surge of desire. It pumped hot and fast through him as her fingers took hold of the drawstrings of his pants. “It felt good to let it out.”

“You know what also feels good?” she purred quickly before stealing a kiss. He groaned into her mouth, letting her tonguetangle his up in knots. Her hips ground against him as she freed his hips from the fabric covering him. Only to rip back with a gasp. It was ridiculous to be proud of it, but seeing her smile broaden as his newly attached tentacles reached for her? It made his heart jump. His hips bucked up to her, letting loose the mating trunk. It was a long shaft that unfurled and inflated from the base. Tapered at the end, it teased the inside of her thigh. The frills filled next and she let out a shriek of excitement.