Magic & Murder (Starry Hollow Witches Book 1)

by Annabel Chase

  “Let me adjust your wreath,” Aster said. “If the wind blows hard enough, you’ll lose it completely.” I stood in my bedroom as Aster and Linnea put the final touches on my ceremony ensemble.

  “That’s happened to me more times than I can count,” Linnea added. “Witches love to show off and blow the wind around. Very atmospheric.”

  My brow creased. “Wait, the ceremony is actually outside?”

  “Of course it is,” Aster replied. “What did you expect?”

  “A cozy indoor gymnasium? A banquet room at a local hotel?”

  The sisters laughed.

  “We’re called the Silver Moon coven,” Linnea said. “All of our major events take place under the watchful gaze of the moon and stars.”

  “So that’s why the Maiden’s hat was silver with that circle in the front?” I queried.

  “It’s not a hat, silly,” Aster said. “It’s a circlet.”

  I snapped my fingers. “That’s right. A circlet. It reminds me of Wonder Woman’s but daintier.”

  “Now the key to surviving the ceremony is remaining quiet,” Linnea said, running a brush through my tangled dark hair.

  “Surviving?” I echoed. “Is it dangerous?”

  “Only if you consider Aunt Hyacinth’s wrath dangerous,” Aster said.

  “Which it is,” Linnea added.

  “Right, so not literal survival,” I said, and breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s a shame Marley can’t come. She’d get a kick out of the whole thing.”

  “Next year,” Linnea said. “When her magic manifests. There’s a special ceremony for new members.”

  “Isn’t that me?” I asked.

  Linnea frowned. “Yours is a special case. The new member ceremony is designed for young girls, welcoming them to womanhood.”

  “So mine is…a fake ceremony?” I asked.

  “No, no,” Aster assured me. “Nothing like that. An induction is just different. Plus, you’re a Rose. Descendants of the One True Witch get special treatment.”

  No kidding.

  “Are you sure I don’t need to wear anything under this?” I asked. The white shift dress seemed flimsy for a nighttime outdoor activity.

  “It’s not too chilly,” Aster said. “You should be fine.”

  “Just wear attractive underpants in case,” Linnea said. She hesitated. “You do have attractive underpants, don’t you?”

  “Depends on your definition of attractive,” I replied.

  Linnea bit her lip. “You’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure we don’t need shoes?” I asked. “What if we step on a pinecone or something? Those things are sharp.”

  “Shoes are unnecessary,” Linnea insisted.

  “How about a dab of gloss and then we’ll be all set?” Aster said. She whipped out a tube of pale pink gloss and smeared it across my lips.

  “I feel like you’re about to marry me off to a sea monster,” I said.

  “No need to worry about that,” Aster said. “The last Kraken was spotted more than fifty years ago. We’re pretty sure they’ve gone extinct.”

  I swallowed hard. Pretty sure?

  A knock on the front door alerted us to Florian’s arrival.

  “Time to go,” Linnea said, with an air of excitement. I guess it wasn’t every day they got to have a special ceremony for a new member of the Rose family.

  We emerged from the bedroom and went downstairs, where Marley was trying to keep PP3 from growling at Florian.

  “He isn’t used to having another male around,” Marley explained. “He’s very protective of us.”

  “Did he growl like this at your boyfriends?” Florian asked me.

  “I wouldn’t know,” I replied. “I never had any.”

  He appeared surprised. “Since your husband…You haven’t dated anyone?”

  I shook my head. “Who has the time?”

  Florian grunted. “You sound like Linnea.”

  “Nothing wrong with sounding like me,” Linnea said.

  “Have fun, Mom,” Marley said, stroking PP3’s brown fur. “I guess I’ll be asleep when you get home.”

  Somehow, I doubted that Marley would be able to fall asleep without me here. It was one of the reasons I never went out in the evenings. Her sleep schedule was more important to me than a fun night out.

  “Mrs. Babcock is outside,” Florian said. “She’s brought a batch of homemade cookies and a few games to play.”

  Mrs. Babcock sounded like a remarkable improvement over me.

  “And she’s a witch, too?” Marley asked.

  “No,” Florian said. “She’s a brownie.”

  I laughed. “A brownie that brings cookies.”

  Marley peered at me. “You don’t know what a brownie is, do you?”

  I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

  “A brownie is a mythological creature that likes to help around the house,” Marley said.

  Florian cleared his throat. “Not mythological, I think you’ll find. She lives in the attic of the main house.”

  “Traditionally, brownies only worked the night shift,” Linnea said, “but Mrs. Babcock has been with our family for so long, she’s willing to come whenever her services are required.”

  Florian opened the door and called to the brownie. A petite woman entered the room. Her white hair was pulled back in a bun and she wore wire-rimmed glasses and a plain brown dress with loafers.

  “You must be Marley,” she said, standing nearly at eye level with my daughter. “I’ve brought treats for us to enjoy while the grown-ups conduct their business.”

  Marley smiled. “Thank you. I like treats.”

  Mrs. Babcock winked. “I figured as much.” She flicked her hands at us. “Go on now. You don’t want to be late for your own ceremony. Things are well in hand here.”

  I took a final look at Marley before deciding it was okay to leave. To my great relief, she wasn’t wearing her usual fearful expression. “See you later.”

  Outside the cottage, three white horses awaited us.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, freezing in my tracks. “We’re riding horses?”

  “We can’t exactly drive a car into the middle of the forest,” Aster said. “Horses are customary.”

  “These are Bell, Book, and Candle,” Florian said. “I’m riding Book.”

  “Um, I’ve never ridden a horse before,” I said. “Is that a problem?”

  “That’s why we only have three,” Linnea said. “Bell belongs to me. And it seems only appropriate that you and Aster should ride Candle.”

  “Because my name is Ember,” I said, more of a statement than a question.

  I watched my cousins mount the horses with ease. I had no clue how to do that. I stood there, staring at the majestic creature. What if I pulled its mane too hard and upset it? What if we went galloping off the edge of the cliff into the ocean, only to discover that Krakens were not, in fact, extinct after all?

  I calmed my nerves. Now I understood why Marley was so anxious all the time. It wasn’t her intelligence. It was her idiot mother.

  “Are you ready, Ember?” Aster asked.

  I drew a deep breath. “How do I get up?”

  “Oh, of course.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Let’s make it easy, shall we?”

  She pointed her finger and made a circular motion. My feet lifted off the ground and I felt my body rise into the air. It was an unsettling feeling.

  “Hey,” I cried, nervous about falling to the ground. My body was jerked over top of the horse and dropped into the saddle in front of Aster. I felt like one of those claw machines on the boardwalk.

  “All comfy?” Aster queried. “Hold on tight.”

  I gripped the horse’s neck as it entered the woods. After a few minutes, my discomfort began to fade. Although it was a bumpy ride, it was fun to see the forest from a different vantage point.

  We arrived at a clearing where I spotted at least two dozen people around a circle of large stones.
The women wore white dresses like us and the men were dressed in silver cloaks like Florian. I noticed Aunt Hyacinth speaking to a tall woman in a floor-length white dress. A silver crown decorated with a moon sat atop her head and her long silver hair was tied back in a braid that extended to her bottom.

  “That’s the High Priestess with Mother,” Aster whispered as she dismounted. “She’ll be performing the ceremony.”

  I didn’t need to ask for help this time. Aster zigzagged a finger and I popped straight off the horse and onto the ground.

  A severe-looking man stood beside the High Priestess. Although he wore no crown, he had an air of importance.

  “Who’s that?” I asked.

  “Magnus Destry,” Aster whispered. “The High Priest. Don’t worry. You’ll get a chance to meet people. Everyone is eager to meet you.”

  “A warm Silver Moon welcome to my lovely niece,” Aunt Hyacinth said. I half expected her to be wearing a kaftan and holding a cocktail, even out here in the forest.

  “Do they always look so unhappy?” I asked. I observed far more frowns than smiles in the group.

  “It’s because of the Maiden,” Aster said quietly. “The coven is still grappling with her passing.”

  “Will they talk about her during the ceremony?” I asked. Maybe I’d learn something.

  “Definitely not,” Aunt Hyacinth said. “Tonight is for you, darling. The Maiden’s life was already celebrated in a separate ceremony.”

  “You weren’t invited to attend because you weren’t officially a member yet,” Aster explained.

  “So what happens now?” I asked, surveying the scene.

  “As soon as the sun has set, we’ll stand around the stone circle and begin the ceremony,” Aunt Hyacinth said.

  It only took a few minutes for the sun to dip below the horizon. The clearing darkened, and the only light came from the moon and stars above our heads.

  “Coven, take your places, please,” the High Priestess said. Her voice was warmer than I expected.

  Bodies shuffled into position. I stood between Linnea and Aster in front of the stone circle.

  “Summoner,” the High Priestess said, nodding to a man in a black cloak. He lifted a walking stick and pointed it at the circle until a burst of flames appeared within the stones.

  “That’s the biggest Aim ’n Flame I’ve ever seen,” I whispered.

  “It’s a blackthorn staff,” Linnea whispered.

  Whatever. As far as I was concerned, it was a giant, wooden Aim ’n Flame. I could use one of those for my new fireplace.

  “What’s a Summoner?” I asked.

  “The understudy to the High Priest,” Linnea answered quietly.

  “O’ wondrous Goddess of the Moon,” the High Priestess began. “We ask that you join us in welcoming a long-absent member of the coven. We are grateful to have Yarrow Rose walk among us once again. We thank you for your generous bounty.”

  I cringed at the mention of my birth name. “Ember,” I hissed.

  “Thank you, Goddess of the Moon,” everyone chanted. The wind picked up and I gripped the bottom half of my dress.

  The High Priestess produced a silver wand and dipped the end into the flames. She came toward me, smiling warmly. It was only after she stood directly in front of me that I realized she walked straight through the stone circle. Popcorn balls of fire! Her dress wasn’t even singed. How did she do that?

  “Yarrow Rose, we welcome you to the bosom of the Silver Moon coven. You have our allegiance and our protection.” She touched the tip of her wand to my forehead and drew some kind of design. I resisted the urge to cross my eyes and look.

  “We are honor bound to teach you the ways of the coven and to assist you in managing your magic responsibly.”

  Well, that was just smart business. The coven didn’t want me running around using magic willy-nilly and giving them a bad name. I was bound to destroy something. I’d be like magical Godzilla, knocking down buildings and leveling whole towns. Except mine would be accidental. I was pretty sure Godzilla’s moves were deliberate, though it had been years since I’d watched any of the films.

  The High Priestess returned to her position in the circle. I noticed a stout woman to my left, busily typing away on her iPhone. Talk about inappropriate texting.

  “What on earth?” I asked in a harsh whisper, elbowing Aster. She followed my judgmental gaze.

  Aster resisted the urge to smile. “That’s Gardenia, the coven Scribe. Don’t worry. She’s only taking notes on her phone. She keeps minutes of the meetings and handles correspondence.”

  Oh. Judgment withdrawn.

  The High Priestess held her arms up high and began to chant in a language I didn’t understand. The rest of the coven followed suit. I stood there, feeling like a cheerleader who didn’t learn the routine before the big game.

  The man in black retrieved his giant Aim ’n Flame again and pointed it at the glowing fire. “Extinguish,” he said, and the flames quickly melted away.

  Everyone clapped. Aster and Linnea hugged me.

  “Come on,” Aster said. “Let’s introduce you to everyone.”

  Someone handed me a cup filled with steaming liquid. Not a cocktail then. Darn. I brought the drink to my lips and tasted it. Some type of apple cider. I swallowed. Ooh. It had a pleasant kick after all.

  Linnea dragged me in front of an old woman with white hair and rounded shoulders. Clearly, no one had warned her about osteoporosis when she was younger.

  “Ember, I’d like you to meet Calla,” Linnea said. “She’s the Crone.”

  I jerked my chin toward Linnea. “That’s not very polite.” Not that I was one to talk. I was already having harsh thoughts about the woman’s insufficient milk drinking.

  “It’s not an insult,” Linnea said. “The Crone is a coveted title within the coven. Calla was a former High Priestess. She’s quite skilled in herbalism and magic.”

  Calla sounded like a useful member of the coven. Unlike me.

  “And I am the Mother,” another woman said, stepping forward. She looked around forty with high cheekbones and strawberry blond waves that cascaded down her shoulders.

  “Zahara,” Linnea said. “Explain the role of the Mother to my cousin.”

  “I’m responsible for coordinating rituals and overseeing coven projects and activities. I arranged tonight’s ceremony, for example.”

  “Oh, thanks,” I said. “It’s nothing like I expected. Very cool in the dark with the moon and everything.”

  “Yes, most of our rituals take place under a canopy of stars,” Zahara said. “Our magic is drawn from Nature’s energy so it seems appropriate.”

  “Really? That’s the source of the magic?” I asked.

  “For our coven, yes,” Zahara replied. “Not all covens are the same, mind you. Magic manifests differently in different witches.”

  “I wish I knew more about mine,” I said. “I can make it rain. That’s about the extent of my knowledge so far.”

  Zahara gave me a sympathetic smile. “It’s my understanding that you’ll be meeting with the Mistress-of-Runecraft. The first step in your magical education.”

  Runecraft sounded like a video game. “Why does everyone else seem to know my schedule better than I do?”

  Zahara lowered her voice. “Welcome to the family of Hyacinth Rose-Muldoon.”

  Aster came over to steer me away. “There are other people over here who’d like to meet you…” She didn’t finish her statement.

  The pounding of footsteps caused everyone to freeze in place. A howl pierced the momentary silence, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. Just because I knew there were werewolves here didn’t mean I was okay with seeing one. Or a dozen.

  Witches and wizards screamed in protest as a pack of wolves tore through the clearing, trampling the carefully laid stone circle.

  “Wyatt Nash, you know perfectly well we’re having a ceremony here tonight,” Linnea yelled, and stomped her foot for go
od measure. She turned to her sister. “He overheard me telling the kids before I went out. He came by to fix one of the gutters.”

  One of the wolves trotted over to Linnea and—sweet baby Elvis—a naked man stood right where the wolf had been. I clamped a hand over my mouth. No one else seemed remotely bothered by the man’s nudity.

  “It’s a full moon, Linnea,” the wolf-turned-man said. “This is our turf during the full moon.”

  Gardenia, the stout Scribe, waddled over, waving her phone in the air. “I have a record of the permit right here, Wyatt. The coven was granted permission to use this space tonight after sundown.”

  Wyatt barely glanced at the screen. His gaze was pinned on Linnea. “You look pretty in that white dress. Reminds me of our wedding.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And our wedding night.”

  Linnea shook her fist. “Get out of here, Wyatt, and take your filthy pups with you.”

  Some of the wolves growled in response and Wyatt quieted them with a fierce look.

  “Apologies for the interruption, everyone,” Wyatt said, and bowed with a flourish before shifting back into a wolf and rejoining the pack. They ran off through the woods, howling.

  “Okay,” I said, the image of Wyatt Nash’s bare butt burned into my brain. “Now it’s nothing like I expected.”

  Chapter 10

  "Mom, this library is amazing," Marley said. Her voice was so loud that I waited for a librarian to shush us.

  "I'm glad you approve," I said.

  Marley had insisted that her after-school activity involve a visit to the town library. She’d been disappointed by the offerings at the middle school library and wanted a larger selection. Same old Marley.

  She dragged me by the hand to the desk. There were two women behind the counter, hunched over a screen. They seemed to be debating something. The auburn-haired woman glanced up to greet us.

  "Welcome to the Starry Hollow library," she said. "How can I help you today?"

  Marley eagerly stepped up to the counter. "We'd like library cards, please."

  The woman smiled down at her. "Of course. We’re always happy to welcome new members. I just need to see your passports."

  Marley and I exchanged uneasy glances. Oops. We still didn’t have passports.