by Tonya Kappes
“The Order Of Elders is here to reiterate that there must be no magic performed outside of Whispering Falls.” Petunia looked back at the Elders. All of them nodded in agreement. “We know that Oscar understands, but we need to know from you, June Heal, that you understand the by-laws since it seems to be you that breaks them the most and gets herself in trouble.”
My jaw dropped, my eyes lowered. I couldn’t believe Petunia would say that to me. Nervously she looked away and bit her bottom lip.
“I get it,” I said in a flat tone. “Ouch.” I jerked my hand away from Oscar when he squeezed it a little too hard.
“Then we have picked your destination.” Petunia nodded to Isadora.
“We’ve picked the small island in the Caribbean, Tulip Island.” Petunia lifted the large crystal ball in the air, waving her hand over it. “Tulip Island is a very small American island that only accommodates a few tourists at one time. This will help you keep a low profile and help stay out of trouble.”
“Tulip Island?” Oscar stepped up. “I really wanted to go to Jamaica.”
“I put down Hawaii.” My confusion swirled around me.
“I’m sorry,” Petunia couldn’t even look at me. “Hawaii has the tiki legend and a spiritual community we’d like not to mingle with.” She sucked in a deep breath through her nose. “And Jamaica has voodoo that we’d like to keep at a distance.”
“It is certainly out of the question, with your wife’s history, that we send you just anywhere in the world when we have to keep an eye on her.” Elder Mary Sue pointed a finger at me. Her deep, brash voice boomed, “If you do not accept Tulip Island, you can honeymoon on top of the hill in your cottage.”
“No, ma’am.” Oscar stepped back in line. “We are more than happy to go to Tulip Island.” He nudged me. “Right, honey?”
Mary Ellen put a squirming Mr. Prince Charming down on the ground. He ran over and reared up on his hind legs, batting his front paws on my pocket where I had put the charm.
“What is wrong with your familiar?” Elder Mary Lynn squeaked from the air. She stroked her fox stole that was around her neck.
“Oh no,” Oscar groaned from under his breath.
Chapter Two
“Why didn’t you tell me about the new charm?” Oscar stalked after me on our way back to the cottage. “You and I both know that, that, that,” he spat and stuttered before he stumbled over his own feet because he was so mad at Mr. Prince Charming.
“He gave it to me right before the meeting.” I stalked beside him.
“Then you should’ve told me before the meeting.” He wasn’t getting it.
“I didn’t have time, Oscar.” My words were bitter and to the point. “I had a smudge to do and not only that, but this was something that you and I should discuss in private. If the council knew about the charm, they wouldn’t let us go to Tulip Island, wherever that is.”
The fact that they said they had to watch me angered me more than thinking I needed some protection.
“What am I supposed to do, Oscar?” I asked using his name which meant only one thing. . .I was mad. And at him. “He is my familiar. I can’t control what he sees and knows. I don’t even know how he knows it. All I know is that every single time he’s given me a charm it has been for protection.”
“Did this have anything to do with your dream?” he asked calmly.
I shrugged and turned around to head back to the cottage, putting distance between us. “You know and I know that I don’t remember all of the dreams. All I know is that there was a man drowning.”
“Fine!” he yelled after me because I was tired of listening to his lecture and wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. “We aren’t going to the island.”
“Oh yes we are!” I yelled back, my hands fisted at my side.
“June!” he yelled louder than I’d ever heard him yell. There was anger in his voice that made me pause. He caught up with me and put his arm around me. “We are not going. I will not have you anywhere near water if this is the case. We are going for relaxation, not work.”
“Then I will just go by myself.” I knew I sounded like a baby. But in my head I had reasoned with myself that if I didn’t hang around anyone else on the tiny island but Oscar, then we would be fine. All fine. I wouldn’t see a man. I wouldn’t see the spiral. All fine.
“I’m not going to work. I’m going to relax with some books that Ophelia has waiting for me at Ever After Books. While you work on your tan, I will sit happily under the umbrella and read.” I think I even made myself believe my own words. “If what Isadora says is true and the island is much smaller than even Whispering Falls,” I gestured down the hill over our village as we stood on the front porch, “then we won’t run into anyone.”
He looked at me for a moment too long and let out a deep sigh. He reached around me and opened the door to the cottage.
“We have a day to think about it.” We stepped inside. “I need to do some investigating about the possibilities of this happening. And I hate to even say it, but if Mr. Prince Charming and Madame Torres turn up something else in the next twenty-four hours that means you are going to be in the middle of some murder investigation, then we won’t be going.”
“Fine.” I crossed my arms in front of me, my fingers crossed underneath the fold.
“Fine.” He walked around me and back to the bedroom. “I’m going to get my clothes together for the trip and I suggest you do the same.”
My lip curled and I admit I was pouting. But there was no way I wasn’t going to go on this honeymoon. Charm or not. Oscar had been looking forward to this for so long that even a little nightmare wasn’t going to stop me.
I ran my hand down into the front pocket of my shorts and pulled the charm out. I knew what I needed to do next. Exactly what I did every time one of these charms was dropped in front of me. Go see Bella Van Lou, owner of Bella’s Baubles and the shop where Mr. Prince Charming conveniently stole the charms from.
“I’m going to pick up those books,” I called from the family room back toward the bedroom, leaving out the fact I was going to go see Bella first.
“Okay. Let Colton know that I’m going to soak up some sun for him if you see him.” Oscar joked about Ophelia’s boyfriend, Colton Lance, the co-sheriff with Oscar in Whispering Falls.
I grabbed my bag off the hook and headed out the door and down the hill. The street was packed with tourists and I was happy to notice customers were in A Charming Cure. I would stop by to make sure Faith was doing all right after I got my books, but first things was first.
Bella’s Baubles was the only jewelry store in Whispering Falls and was like the rest, a cover for Bella’s spiritual gift. She was an astrologer and she was able to read gemstones. The cream cottage style shop with the pink wood door was just as charming as Bella herself. It was a perfect time to visit because the sun was coming up perfectly over the mountains and shining down on the pink door where there were all sorts of gems embedded making a rainbow of crystals dart all over town. It was truly beautiful.
Every time I read the store’s hours painted on the door, I smiled. Open Morning to Night. She was as clever as she was amazing. When I stepped through the door, Mr. Prince Charming darted through my legs and jumped on the jewelry display case where Bella was showing a customer a square-shaped ruby. But only when the bell dinged above the door announcing my arrival did she look up.
“Good morning, June.” She smiled exposing the space between her two front teeth and the balled-up cheeks. “I was expecting you.” She straightened up, her long blond hair cascaded down her five-foot-two-inch frame. She ran her slender hand down Mr. Prince Charming, white strands of fur flying with each stroke. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”
“I’m in no hurry.” I browsed around the shop and listened to her talk her customer into buying the ruby stone instead of the sapphire the man insisted on buying his wife as a gift because she’d just gotten a promotion.
“She loves t
he blue tones.” He shook his head.
“Yes, but your wife is one of character and strength. Not only is the ruby the most precious of gems, but it will propel her to leadership of the company.” Bella casually pushed the stone toward him and retracted the sapphire that lay on the black display cloth. “She does want to be the CEO of the company, am I right?”
Bella was able to tap into the man’s wife through him and she knew exactly what his wife needed to go forward in her success. Rarely did one of Bella’s customers walk out of the jewelry shop with what they had come in to buy. And they all were returning customers.
“The sapphire is a meditation of sorts. Easy. And we don’t want her to be meditating on the job do we?” Bella went in for the kill. “I’ll tell you what.” She picked up the square ruby and placed it in the palm of his hand. She curled his fist with hers and said, “If your wife doesn’t see movement toward another new role in the company that has to do with making her CEO faster than anticipated, you come back and see me. Not only will I give your money back, but you can keep the ruby and I will give you the sapphire.”
“Can I get that in writing?” the man asked in a leery voice.
“All done.” Bella reached under the display and pulled out a piece of paper.
The man stood with his mouth opened, stunned. After the transaction and money was exchanged, the man left happy.
“I do love when they come back.” She drummed her fingers together and watched out the window at the man getting into his car. She pushed back her hair, bringing it into the grip of her hand and pulling it around her shoulder, letting it rest down the front of her. She turned to me. “Now. I guess you are here about a little spiral charm.” She stuck her hand out in front of her palm up.
I took the charm and my bracelet and put them in her open palm. She curled them into her fist, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Courage, bravery, and awareness.” Her words were slow and static. “Aware of your surroundings.”
She opened her eyes and smiled.
“So what does that mean?” I asked. “Specifically to my trip.”
“This is a nice charm he’s picked this time.” Bella rubbed down Mr. Prince Charming and I swear he smiled with pride underneath the loud purr. “There are several meanings to the charm, but for you and your trip, it only means that you need to be aware of your surroundings.”
“That’s it?” I asked. “Nothing evil, bad?” I shook my head.
“Just be aware. Keep your eyes open and awake.” Her cryptic language stuck me in my gut. There had to be more than just being aware, but I had to take her for her word. I couldn’t ask her to give me a full reading because of the by-laws, but I sure wished she would. I had to take the meaning of the charm and somehow relate it to my life at that moment.
“Which I guess would make sense because we are going to a tropical island with only a few people on it.” I smiled, brushing off any notions about a bad honeymoon. Now I felt like I should run back to the cottage and hug Oscar.
“Good.” She clapped her hands together in delight. The bell dinged over the door and a new customer walked in. “Have a wonderful time and take plenty of pictures.”
“Pictures.” I groaned. I’d forgotten to get my camera from the house in Locust Grove. “I’ve got to go and get some books Ophelia has picked out for my trip.”
“Come back after and I’ll have this ready for you.” She patted the bundle of charms and set them on the counter. She was always so good about putting the new charm on and getting it back on my wrist as soon as possible.
I waved and let her take care of the next customer. I crossed the street and waved at Raven through the glass window of Wicked Good. She had a line out the door. It was so nice to see the village doing so well. It hit me right then. I was probably feeling all weird because I had never left Whispering Falls for a long period of time as a spiritualist. I had to wonder what it was going to be like as a witch in a community of only mortals for a full week.
“June,” Isadora, Izzy for short, waved from the door of her shop. She wore a ring on her middle finger. It was in the shape of a curled up cat. She brought me out of my thoughts. “I know the remote island wasn’t what Oscar and you requested, but we felt it was in your best interest. And now that Oscar has decided that he would like Madame Torres to accompany you, it tells me that he is also glad we are sending you there.”
“He what?” I threw open the gate to her shop and walked up the steps. Mr. Prince Charming came out of nowhere and started to do his signature figure eight around my ankles. “He came to you?”
“Yes, he just left.” She lifted her arm. I followed the length of it down to where she was pointing, just in time to see Oscar turn behind A Charming Cure. “Didn’t he tell you?” Her question was more judgmental than questioning.
My silence was enough of an answer. He didn’t say a word to me about Madame Torres. He said he was packing.
“I saw you come out of Bella’s so I’m assuming Mr. Prince Charming gave you a charm?” She drew her eyes down to the ground and watched as he curled his long white tail around my leg.
“He did. A spiral charm and I didn’t think anything of it as real protection until Oscar came here. He is the one who assured me that everything was going to be okay and my nightmare was silly.” I was starting to guess that my theory my nightmare was caused by the stress of me being gone was wrong. Izzy strolled up next to me. I said, “He said that I was stressed because I was going to the beach for the first time and riding in a plane for the first time.” Dumb me.
“He said that you had a nightmare and told him you didn’t want to go on the honeymoon. So to ease your fear of anything happening, I felt it best that Madame Torres ride along in your suitcase.” Izzy curled her arm around my shoulder.
Rowl! Mr. Prince Charming batted the air and ran off.
“Yeah, he’s not going to stand for that.” My brows lifted. “I’m guessing he can’t go?”
“We would have to get special clearance from the mortals and that is just something I don’t feel is necessary.” I heard the words that were coming from her mouth, but my thoughts were right back at the nightmare. “A lot of islands require the animal be quarantined so they don’t bring unwanted diseases onto the island. Since you are only going to be gone a week, I figured you can use Madame Torres to not only ask how things are going here, but also keep an eye out for things there.”
“Well, let’s hope so,” I said blankly. “I’ve got to go see Ophelia. She’s got some books waiting for me to take and read.” I paused. “If I’m not working on figuring out my nightmare while on the island.”
“You will be fine.” Izzy pish-poshed me and tucked her hands in the pockets of her skirt.
I just couldn’t believe that Oscar would get clearance for me to take Madame Torres. That only meant one thing to me, that my dream and my fears had him on high alert. Before he was adamant about it being just me and him. Alone at last. Well, Mr. Prince Charming might not be able to come, but a bunch of my potions and my Magical Cures Book were definitely fitting in my suitcase. I glanced over at my shop. It looked full so going in to hide some potions in my purse was going to have to wait until there weren’t so many eyes around.
“Hi, June.” Ophelia Biblio was sitting on the floor in the children’s section with the small kids gathered around her. “Your books are on the counter.” She continued reading the book to the children.
Her soft voice drew me in and I quietly sat for a few minutes and enjoyed her reading the story and watched one little girl in particular twirling a strand of Ophelia’s curly honey hair around her finger as she was mesmerized by Ophelia’s reading. I got up when I noticed she had a stack of children’s books next to her and the sign behind her said that story time was an hour long and it had just begun.
I looked through the books she had stacked for me on the counter. There were a couple romance books that looked steamy enough for a honeymoon, a memoir about one
of our spiritual guides, a map of Tulip Island, and a myths and legends book of the island. She gave me a thumbs-up when I glanced back at her, curious about the island books. I took them anyway so I wouldn’t hurt her feelings and made a mental note to leave them at home. I wasn’t going to spend my honeymoon exploring myths and legends of an island. At least I didn’t think so.
Chapter Three
“Did you get any interesting books?” Oscar asked when I walked through the front door of our cottage. He was sitting on the couch with Mr. Prince Charming. The two were making nice. Well, at least Mr. Prince Charming was. There was no doubt in my mind he knew that Oscar was the one he was going to have to suck up to if he wanted to be included on the trip.
“She gave me some good smutty ones.” I showed him the covers. “I guess I have to read them,” my words dripped with sarcasm. “But these.” I held up the two books about the island. “These can stay home.”
“Let me see.” He wiggled his fingers toward me. I leaned forward to hand him the books, but he grabbed me instead, pulling me in for a nice long and soft kiss. “I can’t wait to spend time with you on the beach.”
“Me and Madame Torres?” I asked, still wrapped up in his arms. Mr. Prince Charming climbed up on my arm as though he were on a tightrope and kneaded me.
“Not you.” Oscar looked at the cat. “You stay here and hold down the fort.”
Rowl. Mr. Prince Charming jumped down but not without digging his claws in my skin.
“Ouch!” I jerked my arm up and looked at the four little blood spots. “He is not happy and neither am I. Why did you go behind my back about Madame Torres?”
“It wasn’t behind your back. I wanted clearance from the council before I suggested it to you. She will make you feel better and not worried while we are gone.” He sat up and raked his hands through his hair before he leaned up on the edge of the couch and put his hands between his legs. “She can show you the shop so you won’t be calling Faith all the time and if something strange does happen, she’ll be there for whatever it is she does as your familiar. Mr. Prince Charming would have to go through customs and red tape. She just looks like a snow globe knick-knack thingy.”