Wands Upon A Time (Spellbound Ever After Paranormal Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Annabel Chase

  My blood began to boil. “And leave me trapped forever in the same day?” I pulled out my wand and aimed it at him. “You could’ve killed my baby.”

  “And you,” Phil said, approaching me slowly. “In fact, there’s still time for both.”

  “I bet you didn’t even have a pink fairy armadillo,” I accused. He’d merely played on our sympathies in Paws and Claws. What a complete and total wereass.

  “Oh, I had one,” Phil said, “but she wasn’t my companion. I smuggled her into the human world and sold her for a tidy sum a few years back. Apparently, there’s an underground market for their organs and wings. Who knew?”

  My stomach turned at the thought. “Why frame Percy?” I asked.

  “I didn’t,” Phil replied. “Poor faun found the angel dust that had been dropped by mistake. I had no control over your deputy finding him at the wrong moment. If anything, it caused me problems because it brought you on the scene.”

  “And what about Amos?” I asked. “What did he accidentally find? The roc feather? You took it from his journal, didn’t you?”

  “I would’ve left the feather, but then the old elf stumbled upon my next shipment,” Phil said. “He had binoculars and his journal was full of notes. I couldn’t allow him to report what he’d seen.”

  “You used your druid powers to cause organ failure, didn’t you?”

  Phil rubbed his hands together and they began to glow with a golden light. “Some druids use their power to heal. They forget they also have the power to destroy.”

  “They never forget,” I shot back. “They vow to do no harm.”

  “I make no such vow,” Phil said. “The elf was old. It was easy enough to make it appear that he’d died of natural causes by applying my special brand of healing to multiple organs.”

  Gus and Boyd had been right about the elderly elf’s health. Amos had been in great condition, but Phil was able to reverse that with his own two hands.

  “You’re a monster,” I said. There was no way I’d let this poor excuse for a druid continue down this dark path.

  “A monster on a mission,” Phil said. “Business is booming, Emma. I’m not about to let anything come between me and a good profit margin.”

  “I guess that’s why you’re obsessed with nature magazines. Looking for your next shipment of contraband.”

  “And Spellbound was the perfect location, too,” he seethed, “but, of course, I’ll need to relocate now. You’ve cost me money.”

  “Money? You’ve cost me time! Do you know how precious that is?” I did. I knew it acutely, from losing my birth parents, to my adoptive parents, to my grandparents. Time was special to me. I had no desire to waste it. “Why did you do this to me? I didn’t see anything.”

  “I overheard you talking to your husband in the clinic. You were getting too close too quickly,” Phil said. “I’d already been operating in town for a few weeks—plenty of time to get a sense of your reputation. I knew you’d be able to put two and two together soon if I didn’t act quickly. I had to slow you down somehow.”

  “You gave yourself away,” I said. “You mentioned my pregnancy during one of my visits to the healer’s. One of the times when you couldn’t have known.”

  “I was careful,” he said.

  “Not careful enough,” I said. “There were other clues. You hexed me in Paws-n-Claws. That’s why you only showed up the one time and not again.”

  “It was simple enough,” Phil said. “You weren’t paying attention. Too busy trying to gather evidence to defend the stupid faun.”

  “Because that’s my job,” I said. “I’m his lawyer.”

  Phil laughed. “You’re nothing but a pesky witch. Everyone in this town thinks you’re so special, but I managed to defeat you without you even realizing it.”

  “Then you haven’t been paying attention, Phil,” I said. “Because I’m a sorceress, not a witch. And I’m right here, about to break your curse.”

  His menacing gaze rested on me. “Not if I can help it.” He lunged for me and I felt the energy shoot through me and into my wand. There was no time for a coven spell. My sorceress powers kicked in and Phil froze in mid-motion, not quite managing to reach me.

  “This won’t help,” Phil said, struggling to move his lips.

  “Yes, it will,” I said. “Because I’m going to leave you like this until Sheriff Astrid gets here, and then you’re going to undo the hex on me.”

  “Why would I bother?” he ground out. “If I don’t, you’ll be forced to start the day over again and I’ll be free once more.”

  Dear gods, he was clever. “Then I’ll come straight for you in the morning. I’ll pursue you relentlessly, Phil Saxby.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” a voice said.

  I turned around to see Sheriff Astrid and Deputy Britta. “I’m so glad you found us.”

  “Won’t help you,” Phil said. “I’ll just let the day run its course and law enforcement won’t remember a thing tomorrow.”

  Astrid rolled up her sleeves. “So, what have you got in that building, Phil? Some live animals? Some painful potions?”

  Britta glanced at her sister. “I bet those animals hate this guy. He probably mistreats them.”

  “No doubt,” Astrid said. “I wonder what would happen if he was trapped in there with them.”

  Britta raised a finger. “But they’d have to be loose. Wouldn’t be fair to keep them locked up separately. They should spend time together as one big, happy family.”

  Despite his frozen body, I saw fear flash in Phil’s eyes.

  “I’m no expert on magic, but I bet if you die, the curse breaks,” Astrid said. “Thoughts, sorceress?”

  I nodded. “I had the same idea.”

  “You can’t kill me,” Phil said. “You’re law enforcement. That’s against your oath to serve and protect.”

  Astrid placed a hand on her chest. “I’m not going to kill you, Phil. I’m going to let your friends in there take care of it.” She inclined her head toward the building.

  “You’re not giving us a choice,” Britta said. “It’s either your life or Emma’s.” She cast a glance at her sister. “You take his top and I’ll grab his legs.”

  “It’ll be a tough fight with him frozen like this,” Astrid said. “How will he defend himself?”

  I shrugged. “I guess he won’t.”

  “Damn,” Britta said. “I was going to place a bet on how long he’d last. No point now.”

  The Valkyrie sisters lifted him off the ground and started toward the building. They only made it a few steps when Phil began to scream.

  “Put me down,” he said. “I’ll help. I swear. Just promise not to bring me in there.”

  The sisters paused. “What do you think, Britta?” Astrid asked. “Does he sound sincere?”

  “There’s a small vial of liquid in my pocket,” Phil said. “That’s what I used to spritz her in Paws and Claws. If you evaporate it, the curse will break.”

  I didn’t hesitate. I reached into his pocket and removed the vial. It shimmered with a bluish tint. “What happens when I evaporate it?”

  “I don’t know,” Phil said. “This was my first time using this curse. I got the recipe from a shaman when we bartered goods a couple of years ago.”

  I didn’t dare ask what he’d bartered. Under the circumstances, ignorance was best.

  “Go ahead, Emma,” Astrid said.

  “If this works, then this is the day that counts, right?” I asked. “I wake up tomorrow and you’ve been arrested?”

  “That’s what I expect,” Astrid said.

  I opened the vial and pointed my wand inside. “Time for the repeat spell to abate/make this liquid evaporate.” I watched closely as blue puffs of smoke drifted out of the vial and dissolved in the fresh air. I looked expectantly at Astrid. “How do we know if it worked?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Good morning, sunshine.”

  My eyes blinked open and I imme
diately searched for Gareth’s face hovering over mine. To my great relief, I saw only the ceiling.

  “Did you sleep okay?” Daniel asked. “You seemed restless. You kicked me at least three times.”

  I cupped his cheeks and kissed him hard on the mouth. “I’ve never been happier to see this handsome face.”

  Daniel grinned and inched closer. “That sounds like an invitation.” He pressed against me and glanced down. “Hey, I think your boobs have grown. I’m sure I was able to get closer to you yesterday.”

  “One of the perks for you,” I said.

  “Do you have any plans this morning?” Daniel asked. “No appointments, right?”

  “No, Percy’s case will be dismissed. I just need to let him know he’s off the hook.” I also wanted to put a bug in his ear about Sammy’s ambition. If he complimented her and made the right noises, Sammy might decide to strike out on her own and stop giving him a hard time.

  He shifted closer. “No curriculum task force meetings?”

  Crap-on-a-stick. Marjory was bound to remember the way I spoke to her during our meeting yesterday. “I’m not sure whether I’ll be welcome.” Only time would tell, now that it was moving forward again.

  “Emma!” The sound of Gareth’s voice startled us.

  I groaned. “Boundaries, Gareth,” I shot back.

  The vampire ghost hovered in the doorway. “After you’ve finished puking, come downstairs. I have something to show you.”

  “No tea and toast,” I shouted. Not for another week, at least.

  “What if the toast is smothered in Marmite?” he replied. “I got it from the Wish Market.”

  His answer triggered my nausea. “Thanks for that. Now I need to get up.” I kissed Daniel one more time before vacating the bed.

  “Going so soon?” Daniel’s lip fattened in disappointment.

  “Sorry, but you don’t want me at my most disgusting.”

  Daniel patted the bed beside him. “Oh, but I do. There are no limits to how disgusting you can be with me. That’s how much I love you.”

  I blew him a kiss. “And I’m going to deal with my morning sickness in private so that you keep loving me.”

  I stepped into the bathroom and was relieved to see the toilet intact and the seat up. Despite my usual negative attitude regarding the position of the toilet seat, anything that was different from the repeated day was a welcome sight. The wave of nausea slammed into me at the right time. I hoped Boyd was right and that this phase would come to an end very soon.

  I cleaned myself up and went downstairs to see what Gareth had to show me.

  “Come downstairs,” Gareth said, when I reached the bottom of the staircase.

  I glanced around in confusion. “I am downstairs.”

  “No, not this downstairs,” he replied.

  “Oh.” I rounded the corner to the other staircase. Gareth floated beside me as I trudged down to the basement. It had been quite some time since I’d been down here. It had been Gareth’s bedroom before I moved in and I’d dismantled it, including the disco ball that had hung over his coffin.

  “I thought you’d abandoned this space,” I said, “now that you don’t need material possessions.”

  “I’ve had a project brewing,” Gareth said. “Something to occupy my time when you and Daniel are busy. Magpie’s been down here with me, haven’t you?”

  I hadn’t registered the demonic cat’s presence until now. To his credit, when I looked at him, Magpie didn’t hiss in response. I reached the bottom of the steps and halted. I didn’t need to take another step to see what the secret project had been. In the middle of the room, where Gareth’s coffin used to be, stood a smaller one, adorned in turquoise glitter. I continued to gape at the tiny coffin, speechless.

  “Do you like it?” the vampire ghost asked. “The color matches Daniel’s eyes.”

  I crossed the room to examine the wannabe crib up close. Tiny flashes of turquoise light danced on the walls and the ceiling. Although the exterior nearly blinded me, I loved it. “Gareth, we’re not having a baby vampire.”

  “The baby doesn’t know a coffin from a Moses basket,” Gareth said.

  “Yes, but Daniel and I do,” I replied. “It might be considered creepy to put your half angel, half sorceress baby down for naps in a coffin.”

  “A glitter coffin cannot possibly be creepy,” he said. “Besides, since when do you give a toss what others think?”

  He was right. I didn’t. I stroked the side of the crib. “It’s gorgeous, Gareth. Thank you.”

  “Took a lot of work,” Gareth said. “I still can’t physically move objects willy-nilly. Takes a lot of focus.”

  “Did you have help getting the materials?”

  “Aye, the lads helped. Edgar, Sampson, and Demetrius.”

  I gazed at the place where my baby would sleep and smiled. He or she would be cozy here. Safe here. More importantly, the baby would be loved here. Team Baby, indeed.

  “My goodness, Gareth,” I said, facing him. “Between Daniel, you, the Gray sisters, the coven, and everyone else, this baby is already the luckiest child in the world.”

  He bent down and kissed my cheek. I felt a whisper of air as his lips touched my skin.

  “Well, of course he is,” Gareth said. “After all, he has you for a mother, doesn’t he?”

  Also by Annabel Chase

  Thank you for reading Wands Upon A Time! If you enjoyed it, please consider signing up for my new releases via e-mail here http://eepurl.com/ctYNzf and receive a free copy of the Starry Hollow Witches short story One Witch’s Trash Panda Is Another Witch’s Treasure.

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  While you’re waiting for the next book in the Spellbound Ever After series, you can check out my other series:

  Starry Hollow Witches:

  Magic & Murder, Book 1

  Magic & Mystery, Book 2

  Magic & Mischief, Book 3

  Magic & Mayhem, Book 4

  Magic & Mercy, Book 5

  Magic & Madness, Book 6

  Magic & Malice, Book 7

  Spellslingers Academy of Magic

  Outcast, Warden of the West, Book 1

  Outclassed, Warden of the West, Book 2

  Outlast, Warden of the West, Book 3