Cauldrons & Cake

by Sara Bourgeois

  "What are you doing?" I asked without thinking.

  "I just wanted to try it. They smell good," the ghost said through Jenny. "She'll have nice, fresh breath."

  "Okay... Well, I got the perfume,” I said and pulled the box from the bag.

  Jenny's body took a step toward me as I tore the packaging away. When I showed the ghost the bottle, she smiled. "You've done well. Would you like to try the perfume before I go?"

  I thought about it for a second. I mean, I had paid a lot of money for it. I didn't normally like perfume, but something that expensive had to smell good.

  "You only live once, right?" I asked.

  "If you say so," the ghost said with a chuckle.

  I sprayed a cloud of the perfume in front of me and then walked into it. That's how I'd read in a magazine once that you were supposed to apply it. You were never supposed to spray it directly on your body.

  As the delicious scent enveloped me, I felt a bit sad that I was giving it up. I kept my eyes closed so it didn't sting them, and inhaled one last time.

  "Thank you,” I said and held the bottle out in front of me.

  "No, thank you," the spirit said.

  I watched as the golden mist drifted out of Jenny and siphoned into the Sakura bottle. When I was sure she was contained, I capped it and put it on the back of the shelf. I didn't want anyone walking in and swiping the bottle, so I hid it as well as possible.

  Jenny blinked a few times. "What happened?"

  "You broke a bottle and set a spirit loose. Typical day for you,” I said with a shrug.

  "Where is she now?" Jenny rubbed her temples. "I feel foggy."

  "She possessed you. I had to buy an expensive bottle of perfume to replace her home. It's fine now."

  Jenny looked at me for a second. "What are we talking about?"

  Great, she was just going to forget everything. I let out a sigh and then a chuckle. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I think I've looked at everything I want to see in here."

  "It smells good in here,” Jenny said.

  "It sure does."

  "We should go check the weather. I want to see what's going on with the storm."

  "That sounds like a great idea,” I said.

  We left the room and I closed the door behind us. If anyone did try to steal the bottle of Sakura, that ghost was their problem. It dawned on me that I'd purchased her one of the most expensive gifts I'd ever bought, but I hadn't even caught her name. No mind, though. I was not going back in there to ask.

  "Do you have any money?" Jenny asked as we got on the elevator.

  "Why?" I asked a little too defensively.

  "I was just wondering if we could grab a Coke from the machine before we go back to the room. Probably cheaper in the machine than from the mini bar thing in the room."

  "I don't think I have any cash on me,” I said.

  "They probably don't have those machines that take debit cards," she groused.

  "Not that you're going anywhere near my debit card,” I said.

  "What's got into you?"

  "Eh, just nervous about Gumbo and the storm,” I said. I didn't want to keep explaining it to her.

  As we got off the elevator and walked down the hall, my mind turned back to Elizabeth's wedding. Brilliant schemes of how I could impress her started to unfold in the corners of my mind. I could use the manor's kitchen to whip her up some sort of baked goods with magic so intense, she'd never forget me. If I threw in a musical number, that might be all the better. Or what if I had Jenny help me pull of a magical fireworks display for Elizabeth's shower guests. I could entertain them while we were locked away in Praline Manor. All I had to do was not burn the place down.

  When we got back into the room and settled in, I was just about to annoy Jenny with more ideas to impress Elizabeth when we heard shouting out in the hallway.

  Chapter Five

  Jenny and I jumped off our beds and rushed to the door. I unlocked the deadbolt and undid the chain lock. When I opened the door, I found Elizabeth standing right outside. She was in a panic, and her sister, Skyla, and friend Veronica were doing their best to calm her down.

  Elizabeth was shaking and her eyes were wide like saucers. "Someone was in there. I just know it," she sobbed.

  "What's going on?" I asked Elizabeth.

  "Someone broke into my room,” she said and sniffled. "They were in there, and I feel so exposed. I called down to the front desk, but the hotel is full because of the storm. They can't move me to a new room."

  "Let me take a look, okay?" I asked and she nodded her head yes in response.

  We walked down the hall together, and she slid her key card into the lock. It popped, and I pushed the door open. What I found inside... Well, it was just a normal room. The furniture wasn't turned over. The bed wasn't ripped apart. I could see Elizabeth's luggage all sitting near the bathroom door, and it didn't look like someone had torn through it.

  "I don't..." I started to say, but she cut me off.

  "Nothing was taken, but I know someone was in there. A few things were not where I left them. One of the drawers had some things I'd put in there pushed around. It looked like someone had gone through it. I'm not crazy. My bags weren't exactly where I left them either. They were moved just enough that I knew someone had touched them."

  "Honey, I think you're just stressed out," Veronica said to Elizabeth. "I don't think anyone was in here. How would they have gotten in?"

  "And why would someone go through all of the trouble of breaking in and then not steal anything?" Skyla asked her sister. "I know you've got some really expensive jewelry in your luggage. All your diamonds are still there, right?"

  "They are," Elizabeth said.

  She didn't sound like she believed her sister or her best friend. In fact, she started to shake worse, and I saw all of the color drain from her face.

  "Oh, honey," Veronica said. "It's okay."

  In response, Elizabeth began to bawl. It was big, ugly crying with snot running down her nose and everything. Skyla ran to the bathroom and came back with tissue to save her sister.

  "Nothing is going right!" she managed in between huge, sucking sobs. "Everything is ruined. Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Have I offended the universe so badly that it wants to ruin my wedding too? Oh gawd!!!" she wailed.

  "Honey, it's going to be okay," Veronica said. She tried to rub Elizabeth's back, but that just made her more hysterical.

  "I can't even call Conrad. I don't have any cell service due to the storm," she sputtered.

  "Have you tried calling from the phone over there?" Skyla asked.

  "Yes. Of course. Those phones are out too,” she said and broke down into more blubbering.

  Skyla got some more tissue and handed it to her. Without missing a beat, Elizabeth handed her the used tissue. Skyla cringed, but she took it from her sister and threw it away.

  While I was trying to figure out a way to help Elizabeth, who else but Garnet Guillory walked into the room. Uninvited, I might add.

  "You can have my room," Garnet volunteered, and I felt myself burn with fury. I'd thought of that too, but Jenny’s and my room wasn't nearly as nice as Elizabeth's massive suite. I hadn't wanted to insult her, but I'd made the wrong call. "It's not as nice as yours, but if it makes you feel safe, it's the least I can do."

  "Oh, thank you," Elizabeth said. "Thank you so much."

  "Yes, thank you," Veronica said with palpable relief.

  "I have a little spell that should boost your phone reception enough to speak with your fiancé too, if you'd like," Garnet offered.

  Drat, I could have done that too. I didn't know why my brain was working in slow motion, and probably costing me Elizabeth's business. I was having a hard time focusing because she was crying so hard and... maybe a little theatrically as well.

  "Yes, please. I want to speak to him more than anything else. Let me get my things, and I'll be right over."

  Garnet flounced out of the room
with a smug, satisfied smile on her face that only I saw. I was furious because I knew she was only sucking up to get the job. So I did the only thing I could. I stuck around and helped Elizabeth pack up her room.

  "Let me help you get moved over there,” I said. "You look as though you were already settled in. There's a lot to do here."

  "Thanks,” she said and offered me a smile before blowing her nose again. "Could you maybe help in the bathroom? I unpacked all of my makeup and stuff. It's a lot, though. I understand if you don't..."

  "No, I don't mind at all. I'll start in there."

  She wasn't exaggerating either. Elizabeth had dozens of eye shadow palettes, and those were just the ones she'd brought with her. There had to be thousands of dollars’ worth of eye shadow, and some of them were brand new. I wondered why a thief wouldn't have stolen them, but it was just lucky they didn't. I packed them away in her Gucci bags as carefully as I could. Some of the makeup was even enchanted. That stuff costs a fortune. Witches who have the talent for glamor spells can make a killing. Far more money that kitchen witches who specialize in enchanted cake.

  Personally, I'd still rather have the cake.

  When we were done packing, Veronica, Skyla, and I all helped Elizabeth over to Garnet's room. Jenny came over to me as soon as Elizabeth was in the room with the door closed.

  "What happened?" she asked.

  "I don't know if anyone was in there or not," I whispered. "It didn't look like it."

  "But Garnet and Elizabeth are switching rooms?"

  "Yeah, Garnet came over and inserted herself in the situation. She offered to switch rooms with Elizabeth to make her feel better."

  "We could have done that. Why didn't you offer her our room? We would have had that massive suite."

  "Because I was distracted by Elizabeth's mental breakdown, and because I didn't think she'd want to trade her fancy suite for our regular room."

  "Aw, man, we could have had that big ole room. Why were you gone so long? I saw you carrying Elizabeth's stuff over to Garnet's room."

  "Yeah, I stuck around and helped her pack. Garnet flounced after she made the offer."

  "That was nice of you. I'm sure that will help you get Elizabeth's business. You were there in the trenches and all."

  "I didn't do it to get her business,” I said. "I just wanted her to feel better."

  "You did it a little bit to get her business," Jenny teased.

  She was probably a little bit right.

  Chapter Six

  Once we were back in our rooms, Jenny settled in to watch the weather unfold on the television. I couldn't relax, though. I stood at the window watching the waves crash against the shore. They were coming further and further inland every time they rolled over the sandy beach. My nerves were on edge from having to deal with Elizabeth's meltdown, and I was wondering how Gumbo was holding up. If he could use a phone with his fuzzy little paws, I could call him.

  Except I couldn't because there was no phone signal. I could do a spell like Garnet's but if I was just doing it to soothe my anxiety, it would have been for personal gain.

  Standing around lamenting things I could do nothing about was a recipe for insanity. Instead, I turned to a problem I could solve.

  There had to be a way that I could outdo Garnet. We were all trapped in the same place. Elizabeth was practically a captive audience.

  "I know," I finally said. "I could sneak down to the kitchen and prepare her a five-star meal."

  "What?" Jenny asked. "What are you even talking about, Fern?"

  "If Garnet wins Elizabeth's business, she won't rest until the entire town knows it. It would be the most humiliating thing I've ever had to endure."

  "What about the time in the second grade when that girl yanked your skirt down and showed the class your GI Joe camo underwear?" Jenny asked.

  "You had to bring that up, didn't you?" I asked. "Okay, it would be the second most embarrassing thing ever. But I can still win. I can do something even bigger than letting her have my room. I was just thinking I could sneak down into the kitchen and prepare the whole bridal party an eleven-course feast. I could tie each course to the tropical storm somehow. It would be as entertaining as it was delicious. You could help me. We could turn this whole weekend around for Elizabeth."

  "You're coming unhinged,” Jenny said.

  "What if I baked a few dozen cupcakes and iced them with different shades of gray icing? We could arrange them in the shape of a hurricane,” I said.

  "You want to make a giant hurricane cupcake cake?"

  "Yeah, what kind of spell could we put in the cupcakes? We need to do something really cool. We could blow her away."

  "That was a terrible pun,” Jenny said flatly.

  "Ha-ha. I didn't even mean to do that. It's just that my brain is going. We've got to turn this ship around."

  "Fern, you need to chill out before you burst a blood vessel in your brain,” Jenny said. "Your cake was better than Garnet's. That's why she felt like she had to copy off you. She's not as good as you. Your magic is better too. You're more sincere. Garnet is just selfish, and it sinks into everything she does. It's like it leaves a bitter finish on everything. Elizabeth and her guests will have picked up on that, but you have to calm down or else you're going to start leaving your insanity in everything you do."

  "I'm not insane,” I said.

  "You could have fooled me. You want to cook an eleven-course tropical storm-themed dinner and make a giant hurricane cake out of cupcakes. And those are your ideas to win Elizabeth's business."

  I started to laugh. Jenny was right, I had become a little unhinged.

  "Okay, I will just wait for Elizabeth's decision."

  Around that time was when the lights began to flicker on and off. Praline Manor had stood through worse storms, but that didn't mean the power had stayed on. The phones were already out, and it appeared that we were about to be in the dark.

  "Great, now we're not going to have TV anymore either," Jenny groused.

  "You could always join me at the window. You'll have a front row seat to everything tropical storm related."

  "It's less scary on the television,” Jenny said as the lights flickered again.

  Well, flickered wasn't accurate. That time, they went off for a few seconds before they came back on.

  "I understand, but we're okay. We're safe here. Probably safer than if we were anywhere else,” I said.

  Right on cue, the lights went out again. I held my breath in anticipation of their return. They did not come back on. The power was well and truly out.

  The only light in the room came from the window since I had the curtains open. Suddenly, it seemed, Jenny didn't think watching the storm was such a bad idea. She joined me at the window.

  There was a table and chairs near the window, and Jenny helped me drag it over so that it sat right under it.

  "You could watch the news on your phone,” I said. "Oh wait, there's no signal. Never mind. You could play a game. Do you have any on your phone?"

  "We should conserve our batteries. We have no idea when the power will be back on,” she said.

  "You're right. I have a deck of cards in my purse,” I said. "We could play go fish."

  "You have a deck of cards in your purse?"

  "Yep. Just in case the world ends or something. Don't want to be left after the apocalypse with nothing to do,” I said.

  "I guess this is close enough to the end of the world,” Jenny said. "Might as well be anyway."

  "Don't be dramatic." I chuckled and got up to get the cards.

  We played in the light from the window for a few minutes before a frantic pounding at the door made us both jump. Jenny and I just looked at each other for a moment. Neither one of us moved.

  The pounding came again. It was harder and more insistent that time. It sounded the way the cops knocked on the door in movies.

  "Maybe it's just manor staff handing out flashlights,” I said as I finally stood up. "That w
ould be a nice gesture."

  "Where would they get enough flashlights for everyone?" Jenny asked.

  pound. pound. pound.

  "Let's just see who it is. They're not going away,” I said.

  "Yeah, if it was a serial killer on the loose in a dark spooky ancient hotel, they wouldn't go away, would they?" Jenny asked.

  "I'm going to get it,” I said.

  I made my way over to the door, and Jenny was right behind me. I know that because twice she stepped on my heels.

  My breath hitched in my chest as I unlocked the deadbolt for the room door. I wasn't sure what I was really expecting, but Jenny had kind of gotten to me with that talk of serial killers. Possibly even a violent, angry ghost. Praline Manor was so old that it had to be haunted. I had to remind myself that I was a witch. That made me the scariest thing in the dark. Ghosts and murderers technically had nothing on me.

  When I opened the door, I felt my brow knit together and one eye narrow as I cocked my head to the side. Skyla standing there in tears was not what I'd expected at all. She took a deep shuddering breath. Apparently, It had not been a good day for the sisters.

  "My absolute worst nightmare has come true,” she said between sobs.

  Chapter Seven

  "Come in," I said. "please."

  "Okay," Skyla said and nodded her head.

  Before I shut the door behind her, I looked up and down the hallway. I could barely see people going in and out of their rooms. The manor had emergency lights that gave off just enough illumination for me to see the other guests moving up and down the hall like shadows. It was an unsettling site, but I reminded myself it was just a trick of the light.

  I shut the door and we moved back over to the table under the window. Jenny got Skyla some tissues while I retrieved us all a Coke from the mini fridge. I knew they'd cost me something like eighteen dollars each, but I needed a Coke. Skyla's voice had been so hoarse from crying that I figured she could use one as well.

  "What's going on?" I asked her as I plopped the Coke down in front of her. I took my seat and watched as she carefully inserted one of her perfectly manicured finger nails under the tab. "I can do that. I wouldn't want you to ruin that gorgeous manicure."