Page 33 of They Were Broom-Mates

“Delia!” Amelie cried out, scrambling to her feet just as Delia’s legs seemed to give out. She had barely gotten back to her feet when the death witch’s unconscious body hit her chest, but determined not to drop her, Amelie stood her ground. The most immediate issue was the bleeding, clearly. Unfortunately, Amelie had very little experience with healing magic beyond basic herbal remedies, and she certainly didn't have time to whip something like that up right now.

So instead, Amelie ripped off the bottom of her shirt and started packing the wound as tightly as she could with her trembling hands. Then once she was satisfied, she lifted Delia’s hand above her heart and held it there.

About ready to pass out herself and trying her best to figure out how she was going to get everyone inside, Amelie looked to the sky as she heard a massive crack, not unlike the one she’d heard when Regina and Hestia erected the barrier. At first there was nothing but the sounds of groaning, like a ship caught in a storm, but then fault lines began to appear across the top of the dome.

Relief flooded through her as the barrier melted away and several witches teleported into the area, all looking very official and very ready to hop into action. Amelie had no idea who they were, but the only thing she could think of as she felt her strength failing was… ‘thank the gods’.

“Regina!” A dark-haired woman in deep blue robes hurried across the graveyard and over to where Regina was cradling Hestia, dropping down next to her.

At the sound of her voice, Regina looked up and smiled. “Agatha. I knew you’d come.”

Legs beginning to give out underneath her, Amelie shook her head in amazement. Of course, Regina had said that the Council would come if they couldn’t get back in contact with them. “You’re Regina’s sister.”

Agatha looked up from where she’d crouched down next to the Divination Witch, and a concerned look crossed her face as she hurriedly called someone over. Amelie’s knees hit the ground just as someone took Delia from her arms, another robed figure crouching down next to her and preventing her from faceplanting into the dirt.

Despite her exhaustion, Amelie watched the man carrying Delia over to another witch wearing white and green robes. A healer of some sort, Amelie presumed. Only after the healer checked for a pulse and signaled for the man to lay the death witch down and wave him away did Amelie turn her attention back to Regina’s sister.

“I am,” Agatha replied. “And you must be Pumpkin Hollow’s new Hearth Witch. Apologies for the rocky start.”

Amelie waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s okay, you couldn’t possibly have known.”

Agatha’s brows went up, and when she and Regina exchanged looks, Amelie remembered what sort of craft they practiced and burst out laughing. The area smelled like death, and Amelie knew that her reaction was very likely inappropriate for the situation, but she couldn’t help it. Tears streamed from her eyes as she clutched her sides; gods, she really needed sleep.

Looking up to apologize through giggles, she stopped short as she saw Regina and Agatha both laughing quietly, hiding their mouths under their hands. Amelie let out a breath of relief when she realized she hadn’t offended anyone and was about to say something when the redhead moved beneath them.

“Unghhhh.” Everyone turned their attention down to Hestia as she groaned.

“Are you feeling alright, dear?” Regina petted Hestia’s head as she waited for the Illusion Witch to respond. The bite on her shoulder was pretty nasty, but the zombie had clearly deteriorated before it could do any major damage.

The bite on her arm, on the other hand, was still bleeding, but luckily hadn’t hit any major arteries. It was gross and looked very painful, but she wasn’t in any danger of bleeding out at the moment.

“Am I going to turn into a zombie now?” Hestia’s voice trembled at the question, and Amelie paused as she realized that would have also been her first question after a zombie attack, looking to Regina and Agatha for an answer.

Regina took a deep breath, relief evident on her face, and shook her head. “No, my love. This isn’t Dawn of the Dead.”

Hestia turned onto her back with a pout, still managing to look stunning with tears streaking her cheeks as she winced.

“Though we might want to get you a tetanus booster and maybe a Hepatitis B shot,” Agatha interjected. “They may have been dead, but they were still humans, and people bites are no joke.”

Hestia huffed as she pressed her face into Regina’s hand, and Agatha waved over another witch in white and green robes. Then, dusting herself off, Agatha stood and let out a sigh of relief. Once the healer got to work on Hestia’s bite marks, magically stitching the flesh back together, Agatha helped her sister up off the ground before extending a hand to Amelie as well, pulling her to her feet.

“You all did a fantastic job, all things considered.” Agatha nodded in the direction of Delia, who was now conscious again, sitting up and watching the healer knit her flesh back together. “There’s a lot that we don’t know, but I’m hoping you four can help us fill in some of those blanks.”

“Of course.” Regina smiled, lingering at Hestia’s side.

“Well.” Agatha nodded. “I suppose we should get inside and go over everything that’s happened, hm?”

Chapter thirteen

Amelie poured the tea as they all sat at the kitchen table. Delia and Hestia’s wounds had been healed, and after giving the Illusion Witch a couple of shots and ensuring that Delia wouldn’t pass out due to blood loss again, the healers had given them a clean bill of health and departed with the rest of the council.

Agatha hadn’t been one for many words, sitting and listening to the group’s account of what had happened and scribbling down notes on her pad of paper periodically. Amelie felt like they were being graded on their actions, but Regina had assured her after everyone had left that, much like her job at the cathedral, the Council’s job was just to record what had come to pass. Then, sure enough, after hearing the whole story, Agatha packed up her pen and paper, gave her sister a firm pat on the shoulder, and departed via portal. Gone as quickly as she’d appeared.

“Does it bother you that your sister only ever drops in when things have gotten catastrophically bad?” Amelie mused as she sat down, holding her warm teacup in her hands.

Regina shrugged and shook her head. “That’s always how my family has been. The important piece is that she shows up when I need her.”

Amelie pursed her lips and nodded in understanding. “My brother can be like that, stoic and stubborn, but the difference between him and Agatha is that he’s always bitching about something.”