The Ex Hex

As they drive back to town, Vivi explains that the hex was meant as a joke, but apparently it really worked. Gwyn calls Vivi, and Rhys overhears people screaming through the phone’s speaker. They race back to Something Wicked, where they find Gwyn standing on the counter, brandishing a broom to protect three young female customers from miniature skull toys that have come to life. The skulls attack, and one bites Rhys’s leg. He blasts it with magic, nearly burning his own skin in the process. Gwyn tosses Rhys the broom, and he clears a path for the three customers to escape. He explains the skulls as faulty off-brand merchandise, which the girls believe. Vivi tries to close the shop’s curtains with magic, but accidentally sets them on fire instead. The skulls launch a second attack, and before the trio can do anything, the shop door bursts open. The skulls are destroyed in a flash of blue light, and when the smoke clears, they see Vivi’s aunt Elaine.

In the storage room, Vivi and Gwyn explain everything to Aunt Elaine. Gwyn objects to Rhys’s blameless attitude and accuses him of shattering Vivi’s heart. Vivi denies it, as she is “desperate to save some kind of face here” (104).