Page 9 of No Charm Done

As they shuffled forward in line, Belinda launched into a detailed review of every food stall she’d visited so far. Luna found herself only half listening, distracted by the enchanted band in the gazebo. The Beach Boys had just finished “California Girls” and were shapeshifting into Bob Marley and the Wailers.

“—someone who’d been in the Void as well!”

Luna’s attention snapped back to Belinda. “I’m sorry, what was that about a void?”

“The Void, dear! Where those dreadful magicians held us prisoner. Don’t tell me your mother didn’t tell you every gory detail?”

“We knew she was taken prisoner, obviously, but . . . Well, she won’t discuss the details.”

“Poor Kelly never did like discussing unpleasant experiences.” Belinda’s eyes gleamed like someone with a terrible fondness for discussing unpleasant experiences. “I found the whole thing absolutely fascinating!”

They reached the front of the line, and Belinda ordered a lobster roll with a side of the magical coleslaw that sang sea shanties while you ate it. Luna ordered her own lobster roll with slaw, and followed Belinda to a nearby picnic table.

“So you see—” Belinda settled onto the bench “—it all started at the Christmas market. One minute I was buying fudge, the next minute I was falling through absolute darkness.”

“Falling into what?”

“Oh, that’s the best part! You’re not falling into anything. You’re just . . . falling. Forever.” She took a bite of her lobster roll and sighed contentedly. “Absolutely extraordinary sensation, once you get used to it.”

Luna tried to wrap her head around the concept of infinite falling. “Sounds horrible. But you weren’t falling the whole time, were you? Mama mentioned that somebody pulled you out?”

“Oh yes! We were rescued by the most charming rogue you could imagine. Handsome as anything, and lovely manners despite being a convicted criminal.” Belinda’s expression grew dreamy. “His name was Mr. Elias Shaw, and he’d been sentenced to the Void for crimes against magicians. I don’t know what he did exactly, but any enemy of the magicians is a friend of mine, know what I mean?”

“He was imprisoned there?”

“Yes, he was arrested back in the 1920s, can you imagine? Poor man seemed quite lonely. So handsome, though. Sharp suit, vest, tie, the whole thing.” Belinda paused to try the singing coleslaw, which immediately launched into a particularly bawdy version of “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” “He lived in this little waiting room. Looked like a doctor’s office, or perhaps a lawyer’s.”

Luna leaned forward. “And he helped you survive until you were rescued?”

“Pulled us right into his little sanctuary, and we waited there until you kids were able to defeat the magicians. I taught him how to play bridge. It was great fun. When the rescue finally came, we wanted to bring him with us, but he said it was impossible. The way in and out of the Void is terribly complicated, you see.”

“Complicated how?”

“I wouldn’t know, dear. That’s magic far beyond anything I understand. But Mr. Shaw mentioned something about needing very particular magic to navigate.”

Luna absorbed this information, her mind already spinning with possibilities. A handsome rogue, trapped in an interdimensional prison since the Roaring Twenties. Like Han Solo written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “Belinda . . . this Shaw person. He’s still in the Void?”

“I can’t say, but he told us he’d been given a life sentence, so one assumes yes. Poor soul.” Belinda finished her lobster roll and stood up, brushing crumbs from her crab-printed dress. “I do hope someone finds a way to help him eventually, but I’m afraid it’s quite beyond anything I could manage.” She wandered off toward the arts and crafts stalls, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts.

The hero who saved our mother’s life is trapped in an interdimensional void. He’ll spend eternity alone in a waiting room.

Well, that simply won’t do. Absolutely not.

Luna had spent more than ten years studying magic systems across every continent. She’d portal-hopped through dimensions most witches didn’t even know existed. If anyone could get into the Void and out again, it would be her. And if that required a bit of a sabbatical from the inn, well . . . some things just couldn’t be helped.

She finished her lobster and set off to find Scarlett and Nate. If she was going to mount a rescue mission, she’d need someone to cover for her at work.

* * *

Luna found the lovebirds at the lazy river. Nate stood waist-deep in the water, helping smaller children and older folks climb aboard the more docile unicorns and griffins. Scarlett sat on the edge of the waterway, feet dangling in the current, as she worked her way through a funnel cake the size of a medium pizza.

“How’s the ride going, Nate?” Luna asked, settling down beside her sister.

“Surprisingly well,” Nate called back. He boosted a little girl onto a friendly-looking mermaid. “Though one of the griffins got a bit too enthusiastic and tried to actually fly. Had to talk it back down while its rider held on for dear life, hovering six feet above the water.”

“And you?” asked Scarlett. “Had any adventures at the festival so far?”

Luna took a deep breath and launched into her announcement. “Guys, listen up. I have just learned that the man who saved our mother’s life in the Void is still trapped there. Still imprisoned. Still alone, after decades of helping other victims while sacrificing his own freedom.”