"Shoo! Go away!" Sage Fenwick yelled at the crow frantically hopping around her feet as she twisted the key in the door of her family's shop, Fenwick's Elemental Forces of Nature. She slipped inside, trying to keep the bird from following her.

"What is wrong with that thing?" she muttered, flicking on the lights. Her eyes immediately landed on the boxes her sister Penny had left the night before. "Pen, you better get down here and help me with this stuff," she grumbled.

Sage and Penny had practically taken over the shop since their mother, Holly, had grown progressively weaker in the last few months. It wasn't new for them to work there. She and Penny, along with their other two sisters, Pepper and Poppy, had worked in the store and the town's quarterly festivals since they were kids. They would either sell wares from the shop, read fortunes, or perform magic tricks.

Running the metaphysical store wasn't hard most of the time, but the big festivals were another story entirely. Sage had never really been involved in the business side of things, and God knows it wasn't Penny's thing either.

How are we going to manage this? she whispered, rubbing her palm across her forehead. The Samhain Festival was fast approaching, and the store would soon be packed from open to close for the whole week—especially the weekend.

Boswick had built a reputation as a place with four spiritual vortexes. These, along with the wishing well in the town square, ensured a constant flow of people passing through. The number of spiritual seekers that flooded the small town had become overwhelming. Everyone, from the mildly curious to the deeply devoted, visited year-round. The town's Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Midsummer festivals had become known worldwide, and the new Yule festival was quickly gaining popularity.

"Of course, I'll help out, Sage! But I need to finish the corn dollies and necklaces before the festival!" Penny had called over her shoulder before leaving early the day before.

Sage huffed, starting toward the boxes, but stopped as the clapboards on the store windows clattered.

"What the hell?" she yelled, heading outside to check the shutters. By the time she made it out, the noise had stopped.

"Hmph!" she grumbled, tugging at the wooden knobs that were stuck. "What is going on today? Geez!" she said, taking a deep breath before yanking them hard. "There. Still undefeated," she smirked, glancing up at the sky. Gray-black clouds had begun to roll in.

"Yuck, what an ugly day," she muttered, frowning.

Just as she turned to go back inside, a crow fell at her feet.

"What in the world?" she whispered, kneeling to check the bird. "Oh no."

She stood and looked around to find crows perched on every open spot of the well. They're everywhere. The birds covered tree limbs, signposts, sidewalks, and the tops of buildings. Every shop awning had at least one black bird, all cawing loudly. Shocked shop owners began streaming out of their stores, staring in amazement. The birds barely moved.

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"What the hell is happening?" Sage asked, partly to herself, partly to the others on the street, and partly to the birds.

"This can't be good," Whitney Adkins muttered as she slammed the doors of her bakery, The Mad Batter, shut. Stepping over and around several birds, she shook her head slowly.

Sage cocked her head, observing Whitney amid the chaos. Her raven-black hair and all-black outfits always made her look like a stereotypical witch. Whitney's words echoed in Sage's mind as other shop owners tried in vain to shoo the birds away.

Sage watched for a moment before covering her face with her hands. "You're just scaring them! They won't fly away if they don't want to," she blurted, instantly regretting it.

Boswick was known for its quirky residents, but even in a town like this, the Fenwick family had always been the subject of whispers. Their status as one of the town's founding families only fueled the gossip.

"Oh, Sage, will you ever learn?" Whitney said, closing her pretty brown eyes and shaking her head toward Mairi Boswell. She seemed unfazed by the birds.

"I guess not," Sage replied, shrugging.

Whitney had been Sage's friend since grade school. Outside of her sisters, she was her only friend at the time. When Whitney left for culinary school, Sage had been beside herself. Whitney had begged her to come along.

"Come on, Sage! You know you want to get out of here! Together, we could take on the world! You'd be winning awards for your writing, and I'd be winning them for my bakery."

"Whit, you know I can't leave Mom right now. With Pepper gone and Poppy's trouble, I can't leave Penny to handle everything."

"Okay, but you'll regret this decision."

"I already do, Whit, but I don't have any other choice."

Two years later, Whitney returned to Boswick to open The Mad Batter, and though Sage never asked why, she was overjoyed.

Sage knew Whitney was right about provoking Mairi, though. Their encounters never ended well. Mairi had made the Fenwick girls her sworn enemies since her thirteenth birthday party when Pepper spun Sage around so many times before the piñata that Sage destroyed Mairi's prized birthday cake—a model of the town, complete with the well and dry ice smoke. Even a decade later, Mairi hadn't forgotten or forgiven.

Across the square, Mairi was in front of her family's store, Vexes and Hexes, wildly kicking and swatting at the crows. Their shop was similar to Fenwick's but without the homemade items. It catered to visitors interested in darker magic. The Boswells were another of the four founding families.

Mairi stopped her flailing to glare at Sage.

For fuck's sake. Not today, Mairi. Nope. Don't come over here.

Sage involuntarily shuddered. Mairi straightened and began stomping through the birds toward Sage, her wild blond curls blowing behind her, icy blue eyes blazing.

Come on, birds! Fly away! Now! Sage screamed internally, her body starting to tremble.

I. Said. Now!

Her body tensed as she felt the energy surge. A light breeze rustled the leaves, then swept through the square. The crows cawed loudly as the breeze became a brisk wind. Sage's thick russet curls whipped across her face, and the broom Mairi had left outside toppled over. Mairi halted mid-stomp, turned, and grimaced at her store.

Sage closed her eyes and sighed. "At least one thing went right today," she mumbled.

The bird Sage thought was dead began to flutter its wings. It cocked its head as if to ask her a question, then took to the sky, followed by the rest of the crows. They circled in unison before disappearing.

"This town just keeps getting weirder. But hey, it's good for business," Whitney smiled as she turned and went back into the bakery.

Sage shrugged at Mairi, who scowled before storming off. She hurried inside, slammed the door, and pressed her back against it.

"What the hell just happened?"