Lemonade & Love Potions

by Bella Falls

  “It's a decent crowd and mix. We've got a couple of fairies, a gnome or two, a vampire.” I listed out a few names. “Oh, and a troll.” I knew the last one would rile him up, and I just couldn't help myself.

  His eyes flashed amber, and his lip curled up in a snarl. “That sounds dangerous.”

  “It's just Horatio,” I laughed, pleased at achieving the reaction I wanted. “He's fine and a friend of mine.”

  “How close of a friend?” Dash closed some of the distance between us with a step.

  I swallowed hard. “Just…a friend. I gotta get the pies.”

  “See you soon.” His voice grated so that I didn’t know if the man or the wolf spoke. He winked before entering the bakery, and I cursed the butterflies that took wing in my stomach.

  If anyone felt dangerous, it was Dash. The wolf shifter needed to stay in the friend zone. For that matter, any guy needed to stay firmly there. I might be helping with the night's event, but I definitely wasn't going to be a participant.

  Chapter Two

  Somehow, I managed not to curse Sassy and her attitude when picking up her homemade desserts from the diner. That fairy with the green hair bugged me to no end, but she sure had a way with pies, bless her heart and hex her tiny hiney.

  When I returned to Sweet Tooths, lively conversation buzzed in the air. I placed the cherry pies on the counter, surprised that Skeeter didn't make a big deal out of me bringing them. I reached for a cup to scoop out some of my homemade libations and stopped. Why was the lemonade pink?

  The drink’s appearance had changed in the time that I'd been gone. Instead of a pale yellow, the liquid had a faint blush color to it. Almost shimmering. Skeeter must have done something to it, trying to make it match the rest of the room.

  I walked the perimeter, checking for any love connections. Smiles adorned almost everybody's faces—a good sign. Still, something bugged me. My nerves stood on end, and my stomach churned like I’d eaten a deviled egg that’d sat out in the sun too long.

  Beau stood in the corner, chatting up not one, but two, ladies I recognized from his community theater troop, the Honeysuckle Hams. The twin witches had a reputation of hitting on any and all the males in town, but my roommate ate up the attention.

  He laughed, and I marveled at him showing off his fangs in public. Then again, the man had two ladies hanging on his every word, so go Beau. But he’d better take my warning seriously. In no way did I want to be disturbed in my own home or walk in on any shenanigans.

  Maybe my roommate deserved a chance at fighting his loneliness. After all, he’d mustered up the courage to participate in tonight’s event versus my sorry behind walking the sidelines, pretending that having an elderly vampire as a roommate was good enough. I scanned the room for the detective. Or the wolf shifter. At least somebody to talk to for a few minutes to cheer me up.

  Something knocked me upside the head again, and dark green dust flew up my nose. I sneezed twice in response.

  “I’m so, so sorry.” Juniper waved her wand around to clean me up, causing even more particles to fly around me. Quite an unusual effect from someone who owned the local fairy dust and clean business.

  She giggled at her failed attempt. “I’m making things worse. But you know what? It's kinda fun to make a mess instead of cleanin’ one up.” She brandished her wand in the air, spreading more of her dark green dust around. “Whee,” she cheered, taking a sip from her cup.

  How many flying things needed to hit me in the head tonight?

  Pushing my way through the crowd, I searched for my friends. By now, Lee should be with Alison Kate, and maybe Ben had gotten a clue about Lily's affections.

  I found Lily, staring with deep adoration at the person next to her. But my jaw dropped when I identified him. “Lee.” Nothing about that pairing gave me good feelings or eased the gnawing in my stomach.

  “Hey, Charli. Isn't this fun?” Lee gestured around the room, spilling the contents of his cup in mighty sloshes over Lily. I waited for my fiery friend to explode at him.

  Instead, she laughed it off with a flirtatious titter. “More for me.” She licked her fingers.

  Who were these people and what did they do with my friends? I shook Lee by the shoulders. “Where's Alison Kate?”

  He squinted his eyes at me in confusion, but the smile never left his face. “I think she's talking to Ben.”

  “And that doesn't bother you?” I resisted the urge to knock some sense into him.

  He turned his full attention back to Lily. “Why would it? I want my friend to be happy. Don't you?”

  “I do,” I agreed, waving my hands in the air in frustration. “But with the right person.”

  Had I always been wrong? Maybe my instincts were frazzled. Dealing with the loss of a beloved relative and a death curse to boot might have damaged my ability to read others. And yet, I'd always known who liked whom when growing up. Tastes didn't change all of a sudden, did they?

  Mason grabbed my elbow and pulled me to the side. “Charli, we need to talk.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the unicorns. Have you figured out what’s going on?”

  “I’m afraid.” He furrowed his eyebrows, holding on to me even tighter.

  “Of what?” I waited for his brilliant theory.

  A sickeningly sweet smile broke through his frown. “I’m afraid that you don't know how special you really are.”

  Any number of flying objects or beings could have entered my mouth as wide as it dropped. “But Mason,” I countered.

  “No, I mean it. Charlotte Goodwin, you are extraordinary.”

  The detective used my full name only when I was in trouble. Problem was, I figured I was in a heap of it right now.

  Mason lifted his red plastic cup in the air as if toasting me. “I mean, I've met women who had great powers. But it's not your incredible ability to find things that sets you apart.”

  Because of Mason's confidence in my abilities, my talent grew stronger with every use. My dad used to call it bird doggin’, but the detective used the technical term of tracker from where he used to work up North. But right now, I couldn't find my way out of this awkward situation.

  “Mason, I should go.” I tried to back away politely, but he followed.

  He stroked my arm. “I mean with a talent as rare as yours, you could have hundreds of men at your feet. And yet you stay hidden in this sleepy little town.”

  “Not so sleepy right now. I think you should cool off. Maybe find something else to drink.” When I reached for his cup, he yanked it away from me, protecting it.

  A crash from somewhere behind interrupted us. With Mason's attention torn away from me, I made my escape and sought out the cause of the noise. Juniper flew by me, a trail of dark green dust in her wake. Horatio chased after her, and I barely made it out of his path before being mowed down.

  “Horatio, what are you doing?” I called out.

  “Flying thing pretty,” he bellowed.

  Not the right words from the eloquent troll. Definitely a far cry from Shakespeare. I didn’t need my souring stomach to tell me that things were going terribly wrong.

  My eyes darted around the room, taking everything in. Friends hooking up with the wrong friends. Personalities not just different, but completely changed. A detective almost making a declaration that would splinter us, changing our relationship forever.

  The scene unfolded into chaos. My gut did an annoying I Told You So dance inside me while my mind worked in overdrive to find the common thread. The thing that would have affected everyone.

  One of the witch twins who'd been attracted to Beau's fumbling charms, Flossy or Mossy, pushed me out of the way without ceremony. “I need me some more of this here drink. Hooey, it's got one heck of a kick.” She spilled the pink lemonade down her hand and licked it up with enthusiasm.

  After filling her cup, she ran back through the crowd again. A thought dawned on me. Everyone held a red plastic cup in their hand. And they all
beamed even brighter after taking sips.

  Another person bumped me with their hip. “Move over,” growled Dash.

  “I thought you weren't staying.” Maybe the wolf shifter had decided to find a mate after all. He sloshed some lemonade into his cup.

  “Dash, I don't think you should drink that.” I pulled on his arm to get close to the cup. Maybe I could wrestle it away from him.

  “Why? It's delicious.” His tongue lapped up the pink drops from his fingers, and he faced me. “As are you.” With a wide grin, he showed off his elongating fangs.

  Pixie poop.

  Chapter Three

  I snatched the plastic cup from Dash and examined it. The lemonade no longer resembled the drink I had made at the beginning of the event. Not only was the hue a bright pink, but now it contained bubbles. One whiff of it and the smell nearly singed my nose hairs off.

  “Hey, give that back.” Dash snatched the cup back and downed its contents, licking his lips with dramatic satisfaction. His intense stare gave me the heebie-jeebies. More than once, I had imagined him looking at me that way late at night, but something felt way off about it now.

  I smacked my forehead with my hand. “Sweet Honeysuckle Iced Tea, I bet it's a spell.”

  What else could explain the sudden shift in everyone's attitudes? But in all my years, I’d never seen a casting that made my friends so goofy and confused. Like a love spell gone wrong. Or a love potion.

  Taking a closer look at the contents in the punch bowl, I examined the pink liquid. I stirred it with the ladle, and tiny granules of something broke the surface. Effervescent bubbles fizzed. The pink of the lemonade changed and shimmered the longer I stared at it.

  Somebody had spiked the drink for sure, and now all heck had broken loose. My particular talents were no good in this situation. Finding objects—not a problem these days. Tracing a spell back to the one who cast it? Not my department. I needed help, and the one person I could think of was here. But at the moment, he was dancing an awkward waltz. By himself. In the middle of the room.

  “Mason,” I yelled out.

  His eyes lit up, and he shimmied his way over to me. “You called?”

  Hoping against hope that the detective still possessed some of his warden skills, I pleaded with him. “Mason, something's wrong here.”

  “I completely concur.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “Yes. There's a crime happening.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. You’ve figured it out, too?”

  He reached one hand out and hooked it around my waist, grabbing my other hand and holding it up. With one swirl, he pulled me into his body with a thump.

  “It's a crime for such a pretty lady not to be dancing.” Without another word, he led me in erratic dance moves.

  Pixie poop, what had I gotten myself into? “Detective Clairmont, focus. You need to summon up all your strength and help me.”

  He twirled me away from him with enough strength that I stumbled and yanked me back. It took great effort on my part to keep us upright.

  “Whatever you say, I'll do. It would be my pleasure,” Mason oozed with a charm that sent shivers down my spine, and not in a good way.

  My lips twitched up in disgust. Sure, he and I had had our few moments together. I couldn't deny that something akin to tension might have existed between us. But right now, puke threatened to fly rather than sparks.

  Following the detective’s lead, I took a chance. “Something's gone wrong, and we need to contain it. I need you to use the power of the wardens to lock everybody in place until we can solve it.”

  Wardens possessed the ability to stop others in their tracks with their authoritative magic. If we could put a freeze on everyone at the singles mingle, then I could go get help and salvage the night.

  “And will that do it?” Mason looked down at me, hope shining in his eyes.

  “Do what?” I worried.

  “Make you happy. I want you to be happy, Charli.”

  Frosted fairy wings, if I could poof myself out of here and run far and wide, I would. Plastering a smile on my face, I did my best to reply through gritted teeth. “I’ll be extremely unhappy if you don't help me, Detective.”

  He released me to my great relief. Striking a pose in the middle of the room like a superhero with his hands on his hips, he cried out, “I’ll save the day.”

  I waited for everyone to freeze in place as soon as he enacted the wardens hold. But he rushed toward the door and caught me off guard.

  With authority in his voice, he exclaimed, “By the authority of the warden's office of Honeysuckle Hollow, I lock you all in.”

  “No,” I cried out too late.

  Mason held out his hands and spellcast the door to Sweet Tooths. I smacked my forehead, realizing my mistake. I should have used a different word than lock. And now, we all were. Locked inside together, madness descending on each person except me. And they threatened to drag me down with them.

  Mason sauntered over to me. “There. Now I have you captured.”

  “That's not what I meant.”

  “So you're not happy?”

  “I am the farthest thing from happy right now.” No idea presented itself how to stop the goofy interactions and the wrong connections surrounding me.

  Mason fell to his knees in front of me. “Then tell me what I must do.”

  A table smashed into pieces. Horatio ignored the damage he caused. No longer focusing on talking literature with Linsey, he grinned with a vacant stare into the air. Dark green dust sprinkled down on his head, and Juniper bobbed and weaved in the air just out of the troll’s reach.

  “That can't be good,” I groaned.

  Another table slid across the floor in my direction, and Mason stopped it. “I’ll protect you from harm, Charli. For I am Mason Claremont, the best detective this side of the country. At least I was until the incident that brought me here.”

  Curiosity zinged through my veins. Although we needed to fix the situation, I wanted to know more about the mysterious Detective and why he had settled temporarily here in Honeysuckle. But he bounded away to try and corral the enormous troll, failing to make a difference due to their vast difference in size.

  Needing a break, I dove behind the counter to take refuge, crouching down and plopping into a seated position. I found myself next to a miserable cupid.

  “Skeeter, how did this happen?” Rubbing my temples, I attempted to make sense of it all.

  The depressed Cupid shook his head, took off his trucker’s hat, and scratched his sweaty curls. “I told you. Everything I touch turns into a disaster.”

  “But this was full proof. I even stacked the deck for you with a couple of couples that were sure to get together with a little push.”

  He sighed. “Well, maybe I'm not the one to give anyone some help. I've failed yet again.”

  His sulking and morose attitude did nothing to ease my irritation. I wanted to yell at him that of course he failed with an attitude like that. But what good would my fussing do, other than make him feel worse and me feel even angrier?

  “You've got to help me fix this,” I pleaded.

  Skeeter pouted. “If I try, I'll fail at that, too.”

  Somebody crashed into the counter, and some of the pink drink splashed on the floor between me and the cupid.

  “Don't touch it,” he cried out.

  His scared warning pricked my senses. “Why? Skeeter, what did you do to it?” The noise level rose to an unbearable cacophony. I risked my own safety and peered over the counter.

  I popped up and did my best to babysit the pandemonium. “Stop that. Don't touch that. Definitely, none of that. Let's see some sunshine between the two of you.” I became a chaperone in a madhouse.

  Off to the corner, I spotted my roommate hugging the wall. He made his way with careful steps toward the door.

  “Beauregard Pepperpot. Get your hiney over here,” I ordered.

  The older vampire
poofed into a bat in his startled state and fluttered in our direction. When he made it behind the counter, he changed back into his body form.

  “Why aren't you affected?” I eyed him with suspicion.

  “Who? Me? I am. See?” He did a pirouette on his tiptoes.

  Smacking him upside his head, I pulled him closer. “You are not. You didn't drink any of the lemonade, did you?”

  He shook his head. “Not my kind of libation. But it seems to be going down well with everyone else.”

  My hands gestured at the chaos around the room. “Going well? It's a disaster.”

  “I failed again,” groused Skeeter.

  I kicked the Cupid where he sat. “Enough of that out of you. We are the only ones who can do anything.”

  “I was trying to do something. I was trying to escape,” Beau said, pointing at the door.

  “You can't. Mason used his warden authority to lock us all in.”

  Skeeter threw his hat on the floor. “A fitting end for a disgraced cupid. Death by love.”

  “I have no intention of dying tonight. There must be something we can do. Let's check the back door,” I implored.

  Skeeter shook his head. “You go. I'm going to stay here and wallow.”

  I rolled my eyes, but grabbed Beau’s hand and dragged him to the kitchen. If the cupid wasn't going to be part of the solution, then he was a part of the problem. Beau and I checked the back door. It wouldn't budge.

  “No windows or nothing,” the vampire remarked. He glanced at an extra tray of red velvet cake pops. “If regular food tempted me, I’m sure I could finish these. They sure do look appealing.” He picked one up.

  I knocked it out of his hand. “I wouldn't try. I'm pretty sure they're laced with something, too. If this night is any indicator of what else could go wrong.”

  “Still, that Alison Kate is a mighty fine baker. The smells that come from the building are simply delectable whenever I pass.”

  My doddering roommate was right. When the tooth fairies or Alison Kate were baking, the sweet scents enticed people to their store. Which meant that there had to be a vent or something for the smells to escape from.