“I know it sounds ridiculous, but they did tell me I needed a helper, and they were right about that, weren’t they? If they hadn’t told me to ask you, we wouldn’t be sitting here now.”

A rush of pleasure fills my center. The way she says it makes me feel like me being here is important to her. I manage to keep my face normal. “I guess so.”

“And Sage was a witch, and my mom sort of was too, at least as a teenager. Plus, the aunts are too, so maybe there is something to all this witchcraft stuff. Not to mention, they told me it was best to perform the spell close to a full moon. We’re basically there, right?” Now she looks defiant.

I wipe the smile off my face. “I think close enough.”

She uncrosses her arms. “So what if we go to the house tonight and try it out, and then… I don’t know. We can search Sage’s house one more time? It could be our last chance.”

Casting a spell for help is obviously ridiculous, but there’s no way I’m saying no to more time in the house with Willow. Or anywhere, really. “All right. I’m in.”

She bites her lower lip, her cheeks still flushed. “I think I need to collect items for it, but it can’t be that hard. There are spell shops everywhere. Come with me?”

I don’t even bother to answer. We both know I’m going to say yes.

Finding spell supplies is embarrassingly easy in a town like Salem, and once we have everything we need we spend the rest of the day wandering around town. Willow wants to try her aunt’s favorite sweet shop, and she devours a mint chip sundae served in a chocolate witch’s hat while I drink a soda concoction called Witch’s Brew.

At some point you’d think we’d run out of things to talk about, or places to see, or foods to try, but we don’t. Willow doesn’t ever get tired, and so neither do I. We walk and walk, wandering through neighborhoods and parks and alleyways, going into and out of stores, and peeking in on tourist sights. We stop for popcorn, and more sodas, and several bottles of water, and the entire time we talk.

I find out she’s a night owl, she prefers vintage clothes over new clothes (more soul), and she once had a pet hamster named Angel who bit anyone who came near it.