Rowena Meldrum is the baker at The Witch’s Brew café, and this shy young witch can only imagine sharing her precious moments with a trusted lover, until Caleb Meriwether strolls into her life. This handsome stranger beguiles and seduces her, but does he have a dubious motive for doing so? Rowena’s instinctively wary because she once trusted a male witch who tricked her, and kept her prisoner. Nevertheless, her heart has been entranced, and even the disapproval of her own coven can’t stop her falling in love with a man she knows nothing about.
Caleb is a loner, a male witch with no history, and no coven. He doesn’t want or need a coven, but he’s on the hunt for knowledge. He agrees to infiltrate the Raven’s Landing community in exchange for vital information about his own origins, and sees Rowena as his way in. But the powerful London witch who holds the key to his past is playing a wicked game, and Caleb needs to find out what it is. Getting mixed up with an adorable innocent like Rowena is only going to hinder his progress, right? It’s imperative he cast her aside. What he didn’t account for was the power of love, the strength of the Raven’s Landing coven, and the revelations they might reveal.
Read on for the first chapter:
CUCKOO IN THE COVEN
CHAPTER ONE
“WHY ON EARTH WOULD I want to be part of a coven?”
It was a ludicrous idea. Caleb Meriwether shook his head, dismissing Dimitri’s suggestion.
Dimitri Kustavos lifted his vodka glass and swirled the ice around. “Useful contacts. People who understand you.”
“I’ve managed without for my entire twenty-three years.”
“You’ve managed because you’ve got me.” Dimitri grinned. “But you’d gain so much more meeting new people.”
Caleb reached for his whisky tumbler, and took a swig from it. The music in the club bar was suddenly too loud, too annoying. Dimitri, who he’d known since they were kids, lounged on the sofa opposite, a woman draped on either side of him. The women were arm candy. Expressionless glamour girls who cooed over his magical abilities and his sexual prowess.
“Yes, I’ve got you,” Caleb replied, sarcastically, “so I don’t need a coven.”
“I get it,” Dimitri replied. “You’re self-reliant, but there’s something missing from your life. You just said as much.”
Caleb fixed Dimitri with a dismissive stare. “You weren’t listening. I told you I’d given up trying to find out about my start in this world. I don’t care to know any more.”
“The very fact you mentioned it means you want to know. You’ve tried everything, haven’t you? You’ve even used your magic to find out your heritage.”
Caleb shrugged. It was true, but he wasn’t going to beat himself up about it, especially not for Dimitri. “What are you getting at?”
There was always something behind Dimitri’s façade, some ulterior motive. They were old friends from boarding school days, and they met up occasionally for a drink, because they both had the gift.
“I just wanted to see how you were coping.” Dimitri didn’t deliver casual enquiry well. “It’s been a while.”
Caleb sensed Dimitri was lying. “I’m doing fine. To be honest I find life more challenging when I don’t use my magic, and that’s what I enjoy, a good challenge. Using the gift makes everything too easy.”
Dimitri gave a derisive laugh and stroked his hand along the curve of his female companion’s hip. “You’ve achieved a lot, sure, but wouldn’t it be the icing on the cake to find out about your background?”
Caleb didn’t respond. They’d already spoken about this matter. Dimitri knew everything about his own roots, his heritage. Caleb knew nothing.
It did irritate. Most of all he wanted to know why the truth had been hidden from him. He regretted discussing it with Dimitri though. Dimitri didn’t respect boundaries, nor did he take hints well. Caleb was ten years old when Dimitri arrived at his boarding school, having been expelled from his previous one for being a troublemaker. They were both on the verge of discovering their gift, and it bonded them.
What was Dimitri up to now though? Caleb knew Dimitri was part of a coven, a community of the gifted, but the idea had never really appealed to him. But Caleb was bored, so he hung around, listening to him bragging about connections and implications.
“You’re between projects,” Dimitri continued. “Why not use the time to learn more about your gift?”
“I know enough.”
“How do you survive without people around you?”
“I have people around me. They’re not into the secret side of my life, but it doesn’t bother me.”
“I suppose you always were a bit of a loner.”
Necessity, given his circumstances, but he didn’t say it. “I don’t like to rely on other people.”
“You could charm the birds out of the trees if you wanted to, especially with a coven behind you.”
“That’s the key. I don’t want to be part of a community.”
Dimitri carried on regardless, determined, it seemed, to convince him. “I can put you in touch with my coven mistress. She’s looking for someone like you.”
Caleb gave a derisive laugh. “What does that mean, ‘someone like me’?”
“Someone who isn’t very well known in the network.”
So that was it. There was an ulterior motive. It should have warned Caleb off and he knew it, but he was bored. He was indeed ‘between projects’ and he was looking for a new challenge.
“Drusilla knows everyone,” Dimitri continued. “She’d have access to information about you.”
“What’s in it for her?”
“Trust you to think like that.”
“A businessman has to think about it from all angles. Besides, you already said she wants an unknown.”
“So I did.” Dimitri pursed his lips.
Had he overstepped the mark? Caleb was curious. “What does she want? Money?”
“Money isn’t an issue. She does want something in return, a favor most likely.” Dimitri swallowed down the rest of his drink. “Why don’t I take you round to her place now, introduce you?”
Caleb didn’t have any pressing engagements. Perhaps that was why he was tempted by Dimitri’s suggestion. He didn’t need to know about his beginnings, it didn’t matter anymore. He’d established his life independently. He didn’t need anybody. The curiosity was there though, and it kept him from taking off and leaving Dimitri to entertain himself with his arm candy.
“I told Drusilla about you. She said she might have known your mother.”
Caleb sipped his drink and tried not to react. It was bait, wasn’t it? He couldn’t be sure.
Dimitri rose to his feet, pushing a wad of notes into his companion’s hand as he did so. “The chance might not come along again.”
Caleb had the urge to silence Dimitri, but deep down the questions were always there, whether someone was baiting him or not, so he decided to go along with it. That’s why he left the club bar with Dimitri that late summer Sunday night, because he was bored and curious, and maybe he did want to stretch his wings.
Dimitri hailed a taxi and they crossed London from the West End to the luxurious hotels close to Buckingham Palace. Their destination was an elegant self-contained apartment attached to the most salubrious hotel in London.
Caleb had heard of Drusilla Cavendish, albeit mostly from Dimitri and his cronies. She had a formidable reputation, and he’d heard that if you weren’t with her you were against her, an enemy to be brought down. So he entered the apartment warily. Drusilla was notoriously hard to impress but he learnt from others in London she was the one to be connected with, if a coven was your thing. Which it wasn’t, for Caleb.
A tall, suited man with a shaved head opened the door to them and nodded when he saw Dimitri, ushering him in. He remained by the door, safeguarding the entrance. Caleb scanned the surroundings. The place was luxurious, marble pillars and high ceilings. The furnishings were Moorish in style, expensive. Recognizable masterp
ieces punctuated the walls. A life-size sculpture of a young ballerina stood in the reception area, her arms outstretched, her hands throwing off heavy chains, her expression exalted. A visitor had to choose which side to navigate, to get past it.
Drusilla lay on a red velvet chaise longue, propped on one elbow elegantly, as if she knew they were on their way. She wore a black silk dressing gown, and little else. Her features were distinctive, some might call them regal. Her waist length black hair was secured loosely and draped over one shoulder, tied at the end with a scarlet ribbon.
“Dimitri, darling.” She put out her hands, but didn’t rise.
Dimitri crossed the room at a pace, and then bent over her hands, kissing them.
“Good to see you, dear boy.” Her gaze flitted immediately from Dimitri to Caleb. “Who’s your friend?”
Caleb walked slowly over to join them. He had the feeling she already knew who he was. Dimitri did the introductions, then stood in a far corner, leaning up against a marble pillar, one shoulder against it, observing.
“Take a seat.” She gestured at a low chair nearby.
Caleb chose to remain standing. He had no intention of getting cozy with this viper woman. He nodded his head, and stayed where he was. “Ms. Cavendish.”
“Call me Drusilla.” She looked him over, staring quite blatantly. “Dimitri told me about you.”
“So I understand.”
“You seek kin.”
The urge to deny it was within him, but he resisted. “I’m curious about my beginnings, that much is true.”
“If you were part of our coven, we’d assume the task of discovering your background, if we didn’t already know.” One corner of her mouth lifted.
He stared at her, saying nothing.
“I’d be happy to welcome you,” she continued, still looking him up and down as if he was a piece of meat in a market, “but we usually have some sort of initiation, or a task, through which you prove yourself. Are you willing to take such a challenge?”
Caleb bristled. “I’ve been reliably...” He paused and looked at Dimitri, “informed, that you might know something of my family origins. If you don’t, I’m out of here.”
She broke eye contact, spreading herself out more comfortably on her velvet chaise lounge. Her black silk robe fell open, revealing her shapely legs. Caleb had the feeling she’d done it on purpose to attract his attention. She was a good looking woman, but that wasn’t why he was here.
“Caleb Meriwether, Caleb Meriwether...” She tapped one long red talon against her lower lip. “The name rings a vague bell.”
Irritated, Caleb rolled his eyes. “How vague?”
“I do seem to remember some gossip within my circles. It’s likely I can find out more on your behalf. I’d fill your background in, for a price.”
“Which is?”
“Loyalty. Join my coven.”
Now he was sure. He definitely didn’t want to be part of a coven. Ever. But he was hungry for the knowledge she might have about him. “Depends on the task.”
“I’d like you to go south, meet some old friends of mine.” She smiled. It was sinister. “Specifically, I’d like to know what they’re up to these days. Let’s just say we have mutual interests.”
“You’re asking me to spy on an enemy?”
“My, you are direct. I prefer to call it getting to know them.” She lifted her perfectly arched eyebrows, looking like a 1920s silent movie star.
She looked good, and he couldn’t help wondering how old she was. She had quite the reputation, so he figured she’d traded for more time.
“Where?” He didn’t really want to leave London at the moment. He had irons in several business fires, but he could handle them from a distance.
“You’ll have to leave town for a while. Head down to Cornwall for a nice sleepy retreat.”
Caleb couldn’t think of anything worse. He needed to be on the go, to feel alive and worthwhile. “Sleepy?”
“Don’t be fooled by appearances. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface.”
“And you want to know what.”
“Exactly. We understand each other well, that’s good. That’ll save a lot of time.”
“And why do you think this is a suitable test of my abilities?”
“Because when they put their heads together, they’re quite a coven. I need to know you’re able to stand against them.”
Caleb couldn’t help being curious. Just a little. “Do you expect me to need my magic to infiltrate them?”
“You have to prove yourself worthy to them, and in doing so you’ll prove yourself worthy to me.”
There was much more to it, he could tell. “By infiltrating a different ‘worthy’ coven, don’t you run the risk of losing me to them?”
She blinked, glanced away, and then looked back at him. “You’ll have failed the task if you did that, and you won’t find out what you need to know.”
The bait had been dangled. He could see she knew something. It glittered brightly at the back of her eyes.
“You’ll have to tell me more about them.”
“The less you know, the more natural it’ll seem.” She reached into her pocket and drew out a burner phone and a business card, setting them down on the coffee table.
Diamonds glittered across her fingers. The rings looked eerily like a knuckle duster. Caleb wondered if that was her intention.
“I’ll arrange for my driver to take you there tomorrow. Be ready to leave at five a.m. He’ll have you there by midday. I’ll tell you more once you’ve ingratiated yourself.” She waved her hand dismissively.
The meeting was over.
Caleb didn’t like her, and he didn’t like her attitude. But the need for knowledge hungered in him. He grabbed the phone and the card, and turned his back on her without saying a word.
Dimitri joined him as he strode back to the elevator.
Caleb shot him a warning glance.
Dimitri grinned.
Caleb shook his head. What the hell had he just agreed to?
Only when they got to the elevator did he look down at the card in his hand.
The Cauldron.
Esoteric gift shop
Raven’s Landing.
ALSO NOW AVAILABLE:
CHAOS IN THE COVEN
The paranormal heritage of Raven’s Landing is about to be torn apart for the sake of a documentary, throwing the local coven into chaos...
Aveline and Eben are devoted friends, but Eben wants more—and deep down, so does Aveline. Something in the past is holding them apart. Eben Ayotunde is a stoic, gifted male witch, one who learned of his magic in a baptism of fire in his homeland. He is humble and hardworking, but when provoked strikes like lightning, with fire and brimstone as his tools. Eben came to Raven’s Landing to be at one with people of his kind, but his attraction to Aveline allows him no peace. When she is threatened, there’s no other choice for Eben but to protect her—even if it risks the disapproval of the Witches Council, and the wrath of the Lord of the Underworld.
Aveline Pascoe, the respected local librarian, mourns the loss of the academic life she had before she learned she was magical, and that’s what’s holding her back from loving Eben. When Aveline’s ex arrives—a professor who scorns the supernatural—to take apart the mythology and folklore of Raven’s Landing, Aveline is forced to face her past, and defend what she has become. In doing so, she learns what is worth defending, and who is destined to be her true hero.
LOOK OUT FOR MORE Witches of Raven’s Landing in the future!
You may also enjoy the Witches of Scotland series:
THE HARLOT
Dundee, Scotland: 1715. Accused of witchcraft like her mother before her, Jessie Taskill finds herself behind prison walls, awaiting certain death. Jessie longs to be free of witch hunters and reunited with her magical siblings in the highlands—where pagan witchcraft such as theirs is accepted. Salvation comes in the form of a roguish priest unlike any man of the cloth
she has known. Jessie soon discovers Gregor Ramsay is as far from holy as the devil himself!
Gregor doesn't believe in magic, but he has a canny plan to use the pretty harlot as bait to lure his enemy. His promise of freedom in return for her services could represent Jessie's passage home to the highlands, but neither are prepared for the undeniable desire that flares between them.
Their passion creates a deep bond, and Jessie soon begins to resent Gregor's plan to have her seduce and ruin his enemy. When the time comes for Gregor to send Jessie into his enemies lair, Gregor is torn. Then her witchcraft thrives—nourished as it is by their physical passions. As events unfold, Gregor soon finds everything he thought he knew and wanted is rent asunder.
"Take one gorgeous rogue seeking vengeance and a desperate woman charged with witchcraft, toss them together with a healthy dose of lust and you've got an enticing tale of revenge, justice and magic." RT Book Reviews magazine
"This is a very erotic read and one that gradually engages the heart and pulls the reader into the story. This is one of those books where I was so strongly tempted to go to the end and find out what happened to these two. It is historically accurate and within that context is an accurate reflection of that culture. I highly recommend it and feel it is really a very fine read." Judith, Good Reads reader
"The Harlot is about finding redemption unexpectedly, being able to trust and love again, as well as moving forward. I feel many historical romance readers and fans of Ms. Walker's will not be disappointed in this new work." Ali, Nocturne Romance reads
THE LIBERTINE
His witchcraft could save her from ruin, or guide her swiftly to it...
Lennox Taskill is a rogue, a seducer, and a powerful witch. He has seen his kind scorned and persecuted, and hunts endlessly for his sisters, Jessie and Maisie. His only other loyalty is to his coven, who he wants to take north to safety in the highlands, as soon as he reunites with his sisters.
Lennox’s disdain for humanity is sealed by the searing memory of his mother burning at the stake. So when the wife of a wealthy local landlord comes seeking his help through magic, the beguiling Chloris Keavey presents Lennox with his greatest opportunity for distraction...and revenge.
A Coven of Her own Page 24