Once Upon a Curse: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Which Village Book 2)

by L. C. Mortimer

  “Thanks,” I smiled. “I just think you need to remember that sometimes, things aren’t as complicated as we think they are.”

  “Explain.”

  “You really were overthinking how to make apple pies. They’re just pies, my friend. They’re nothing special. Nothing fancy. They’re just…

  They just are what they are.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Sometimes it’s okay to simplify the things we want to do. It’s easy to look at pie recipes and think that you have all of this stuff you have to do, but just slow down. This recipe is basically just apples, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of sugar.”

  “I see what you’re saying,” Fiona nodded. “When I baked the first pie, I used too much magic.”

  “You did,” I nodded. “Although, a little bit of magic might be okay at the festival.”

  “The festival,” Fiona rolled her eyes. “Ha!”

  “What was that for? I thought you were excited about the festival. Isn’t that the entire reason you’re here.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly?”

  “I mostly wanted to see your house.”

  “Are you serious? You could have just asked.”

  “That would have been rude.”

  “Not any ruder than forcing me to bake apple pies with you all day,” I shook my head. “Did you really just want to see the inside of the house?”

  “I did.”

  “You don’t want to bake for the festival?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “There are going to be a lot of strange people there, Jaden.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with meeting strangers,” I gently reminded Fiona. “I know that this isn’t the way Which Village has traditionally functioned, but new people can be good.”

  “This is a lot of new people,” Fiona pointed out. “I understand that Eliza wants to bring in new faces and new money, but I’m not sure this is the way to go about it.”

  “That almost sounds like a warning.”

  “Eliza needs to be careful,” Fiona said gently. “If she’s not, she might make enemies she hadn’t planned for.”

  “Enemies? What kind of enemies?” Instantly, I was nervous. My mother had made enemies and now she was dead. I didn’t want my almost-stepmother to make enemies, too.

  Eliza was the person who had helped me the most when I’d first traveled to Which Village. She’d guided me, assisting me as I learned how to start using my powers. She’d kept me company as I’d mourned my mother. She’d been there for me even when I didn’t understand just who my mom had been to her.

  “Well, would you look at that? It’s time for me to go,” Fiona said. She smiled and stood up. “Keep the pies, dear, and thank you for a lovely afternoon.”

  Before I could say anything, Fiona had bolted through the back door and was halfway across the lawn as she raced to her older house. My eyes narrowed as I watched just how sprightly she really was.

  One thing I’d noticed about the witches around town was that they all acted like they couldn’t do too much, but that wasn’t the case at all. They all liked to pretend they were old and weak, but I’d learned since coming to the village that age really was just a number.

  Fiona might be older than me, but she could move just as fast as I could. Sometimes I thought she might be able to move even faster. She looked tiny and weak, but she wasn’t.

  That was one of her powers, I realized.

  She was able to look like she wasn’t a threat. Then people left her alone. If anyone looked at her and tried to judge her, they’d see an older retired woman who liked to bake. They wouldn’t see how sharp she was. They wouldn’t notice her quick wit or the fact that she knew more magical spells than most people would ever know in their lifetime.

  Fiona was someone I’d underestimated myself. I wouldn’t be doing that again. She’d come over to scope out the house, and she had. She’d also left me with a sink full of dishes, I realized as I turned around.

  I sighed and headed over to the sink.

  Apparently, it was time to start washing.

  Chapter 10

  Eliza

  “We did it,” I said, staring at Which Village. The town was bustling with activity. It was only two days until the first annual festival began, which meant vendors and visitors from all over had started to pour into town.

  Leslie and Lionel, who ran the local inn, were booked solid. They’d even build extra cabins on their property to try to accommodate more of the guests who were visiting, but it just wasn’t enough.

  A local campground had been opened, and many of the vendors had chosen to do car camping or even bring their own RVs and trailers in order to have a place to stay for the duration of the 3-day event.

  A couple of witches who were looking for extra income had chosen to rent out rooms in their homes. I was too nervous to do anything like that. Well, too nervous and too busy. Although I loved the idea of renting out a room, I also knew just how time-consuming entertaining a visitor could be.

  I needed to make sure my focus was on the festival and nothing else.

  I didn’t have time for anything else.

  “It’s amazing,” Jaden said. She was standing beside me as we looked out over the town. People were decorating and setting up charms. A couple of people had cast special spells to make their decorations dance around. “But I have to admit that I have no idea how Which Village has managed to stay out of the spotlight for so long.”

  “We’re a careful people,” I shrugged.

  “Maybe,” Jaden murmured. “I don’t think that’s it, though.”

  “No?”

  “No,” she shook her head. “I think ya’ll are just good at lying.”

  I bristled a little. Nobody liked being called a liar. I especially hated it. When I’d been an attorney, my job had been to assist people who were lying about wills and estates. My practice area had focused mostly on estates and end-of-life planning, but I wasn’t above taking the occasional criminal case. It was those cases where I really felt like I got to shine.

  Those were the cases I took when I wanted to help people who had been called liars by the police.

  Those were the cases where I got to help people who were really hurting to keep moving forward with their lives.

  “We aren’t liars,” I said stiffly.

  “You are,” Jaden said. “I’m not saying that to be judgmental. Not at all.”

  “Then why are you saying it?” I asked, looking over at her. “Because it kind of sounds like you’re judging all of us.”

  “Not all lying is bad, Eliza.”

  “I understand that.”

  “I just mean that sometimes, in order to protect the things we cherish most, we do have to lie.”

  “I can’t say I agree.”

  “Really? You don’t think my mom did the right thing by lying to me about who she was?”

  “No, I definitely don’t.” Alicia and I had argued about Jaden when she’d been alive. Alicia hadn’t wanted to tell her daughter about the fact that they were witches. I’d always thought that Jaden deserved to know.

  In the end, it had been Alicia’s choice. After all, Jaden was her daughter: not mine. I didn’t really get a say in how their relationship would work. Besides, their communication had always been strained. The two of them had never truly seen eye-to-eye, although I wondered how things would have been if they had been able to meet up now.

  Jaden wasn’t the immature, tantrum-throwing teenager that Alicia seemed to remember her daughter as. She wasn’t as wild and crazy as Alicia had told me that she was. Instead, Jaden had mellowed with age. She’d calmed down immensely and had really seemed to find herself.

  Maybe that was the best thing about getting to know Jaden now, as she was. I didn’t have any old memories of her as a teenager to warp my view of her. When I looked at Jaden, I saw her as I’d always known her.

  I saw her as b
rave, and calculating, and calm.

  I saw her as a fierce woman who would do anything to say the person that she loved. It was quite incredible, really, and it was also slightly inspiring, if not scary.

  “I never thought your mom should have lied to you.”

  “I think she probably knew what she was doing. She knew me well. She probably knew I wouldn’t have been able to handle the truth.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I’m ready for the festival. I need this.”

  “It’ll be like a little vacation,” I offered. At least, that was my hope. It was supposed to be something that would help and benefit the town, but more than that, it was supposed to be something that would help all of us. We all needed a way to feel better about who we were and where we’d come from. Every single one of us needed hope.

  This could be that hope.

  “Maybe not a vacation, but it’ll be a nice chance. There are a lot of people traveling from all around. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet a nice lady,” Jaden smiled, elbowing me a little.

  “Jaden, are you teasing me?”

  “A little,” she nodded.

  “What about you? You don’t think you’ll try to find a nice man?”

  “No,” she laughed. “Stanley’s out there, Eliza. I can feel him. I don’t know when I’m finally going to find him, but he’s here. I just know it.”

  “I admire your hope.”

  “If I didn’t have hope, I’d go crazy,” she told me.

  “You know, it’s okay to admit that he might not come back,” I offered gently.

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “It’s only been a year since I came here.”

  “The werewolf you saw, Jaden,” I said slowly, “it might not have been him.”

  I didn’t know how to tell her that, which was why I just blurted it out. I felt a little bad saying it. I didn’t want to be the person who dashed her hopes, but I also didn’t want to be the person responsible for giving her a false idea of reality.

  There was a chance, albeit small, that the creature she’d seen hadn’t been her husband.

  After all, no one else had gotten a close look.

  Only her.

  Only Jaden.

  What if it wasn’t Stanley?

  What if this entire thing had been a ruse?

  What if her husband wasn’t out there at all?

  If that was the case, it would mean there was something else wandering around Which Village killing evil witches.

  And it could mean we were all in trouble.

  Chapter 11

  Jaden

  “Cookies. Check. Chips. Check. Pies,” I eyed the seventeen apple pies sitting in various places throughout my kitchen. “Check.”

  I sighed and shook my head. Fiona had really gone all out with her baking over the last few days. She was determined to sell all of her pies. I knew she could do it.

  She wasn’t the most personable witch, but she definitely baked a mean pie. I’d give her that.

  “Ready for this?” Natasha looked over at me. She’d arrived early to help me transport the pies. I still didn’t really have any idea how we were going to do it, but Natasha didn’t seem worried.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I shrugged.

  “Fiona is already setting up her booth,” Natasha told me. Natasha had lived across the street from Fiona for years, so she understood exactly how moody the witch could be. “We’ll meet her there.”

  “So, how is this going to work?” I gestured at the pies.

  “Easy.”

  Natasha pulled out a wand. I’d noticed that most of the witches around town didn’t actually use wands. For the most part, they just used their hands and carefully practiced spells.

  “A wand?”

  “Just for this spell,” she said.

  “Why this one?”

  “Because I’m going to do this.”

  Natasha waved the wand, swirling it around in the air. The pattern she used was very precise. She was careful to twist her wand with her hand just so. She whispered a spell as she moved, and instantly, every single pie lifted into the air.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Who has time to carry pies around?” Natasha laughed. “This is what the wand is for. Come on, pies.” She started walking, carrying her wand as she did. She twirled it a little and the pies danced along, following her outside and down the road.

  I stared, wondering what the heck I’d gotten myself into, but then I finally followed her.

  “Hurry,” Natasha called. “We don’t want to miss anything.”

  “I kind of thought we were going to drive,” I huffed, jogging up to her. Okay, so I was slightly out of shape. It wasn’t exactly easy staying in tip-top shape when you were busy doing research. I made a mental note to work out more and sit down less, but I knew that it was going to be an uphill battle.

  “No need,” Natasha told me. “We aren’t far.”

  It would probably take us less than half an hour to walk. She was right that it wasn’t far, but I still liked the idea of having a car nearby. I knew a few of the witches would travel by broom, but most of them would find other methods of transportation. There was nothing wrong with flying, but some witches still didn’t like to do it. After all, you couldn’t exactly fit your weekly groceries on a broomstick, could you?

  “So, what are you going to do first at the festival?” Natasha asked me, glancing over. It felt strange to be walking with her and having our parade of pies following us.

  “Are you sure that’s safe?” I asked, ignoring her question.

  “It’s fine.”

  “None of them are going to fall?”

  “No. Also, calm down. You’re far too uptight for a witch of your age.”

  “A witch of my age?”

  “Aren’t you almost 36?”

  “Yes?”

  “Then relax.”

  “You relax,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  “Oh, I’m relaxed,” Natasha grinned. “I’m relaxed and I’m ready. I’m going to start with visiting each and every pie booth.”

  “Are there going to be a lot of them?”

  “At least twenty. There’s going to be a contest, too?”

  “A contest?” I wondered if Fiona knew about that. Her pies were good. I bet if she was careful, she’d be able to win something easily. She was clever and her magic was very carefully planned. If she was methodical in deciding which pie to enter, I was almost positive she’d be able to win first prize.

  “A contest,” Natasha agreed.

  “What are the prizes?”

  “First prize is money, of course,” Natasha rolled her eyes.

  “What’s wrong with money?”

  “It’s just kind of boring. It also comes with some one-on-one time with the mayor, though.”

  “Like, a date?”

  “If you want,” Natasha shrugged. “I think if I got the prize, though, I’d use that time to pick Eliza’s brain. That woman knows so many spells that it would make your head spin.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Oh, yeah,” she nodded, laughing. “Like, an insane number of spells.”

  “I think if I won, I’d want her to tell me stories about my mom,” I admitted. I wasn’t sure why I was spilling my guts to Natasha. It felt kind of awkward and strange.

  Still, there were so many things I’d never had the chance to learn about who Alicia had been. When I thought of my mom, I thought of secrets. I thought of our fights and arguments. I thought of the fact that we’d both struggled to keep in touch.

  I thought of how I’d felt so unwanted by her.

  That didn’t seem to be the way Eliza remembered my mother, and I wanted to know more about that. Eliza had obviously been very important to Alicia, so if I happened to win the pie-baking competition, that was what I’d ask for.

  “Did you bake a pie?” Natasha asked.

  “No
.”

  “Then how could you enter the competition?”

  I could tell she wasn’t trying to be mean. She was genuinely asking me.

  “I helped Fiona. Maybe I’ll enter one of those pies.”

  I gestured behind us where the pies were following along. One of the smallest pies seemed to be lagging behind the rest, struggling to keep up.

  “That pie,” I pointed at the little one. “That’s the pie I’ll enter.”

  “It’s never going to win,” Natasha told me.

  “We’ll see.”

  We’ll see.

  Chapter 12

  Eliza

  “Everything is going according to plan,” Gregory told me.

  “According to plan,” Milly agreed, nodding.

  “Good. Ticket booths are set up?”

  “Done.”

  “Food is arranged and out?”

  “Yep.”

  “Judges for the competitions are ready?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then let’s get started.”

  I grinned and walked toward the stage at the center of the festival grounds. We’d blocked off three streets, as well as arranged to use an entire field for booths, stages, and games. There were portable toilets, resting tents, and even a couple of miniature swimming pools that had been hexed to stay perfectly cool regardless of how hot the summer weather got.

  There were already a couple of kids swimming and laughing the pools as their parents sat nearby looking tired. I choked back a smile as I made my way up the stairs that led to the stage. It was time to make the opening announcements, and I didn’t want anyone to think I was laughing at them.

  I took a deep breath as I reached the top of the stairs and walked to the center of the stage. There was no microphone or anything like that. It wasn’t necessary.

  Although I’d been an attorney for years, public speaking had never been my favorite activity. For some reason, having all eyes on me had always made me feel slightly nervous and a little bit sweaty.

  I wish Alicia was here.

  The thought came so suddenly that I stopped walking and paused for a second, feeling dizzy. Where had that come from? It was true, of course. I did wish that she was here. I wished she was with me every moment of every day, but a year of counseling with one of the coven witches had made me feel a lot better and stronger.