“Any potential side effects?” Begonia asked.
Paisley gave me a sheepish look. “Nausea and vomiting.”
Begonia patted my back. “The key word is potential.”
“I’ll try it.” I didn’t have much of a choice.
“Take it for a week,” Paisley advised. “If you’re not seeing the results you want, then try the next potion.”
I stared at the orange goo. “This is not going to be fun.”
“Do you want to take the other two now, just to have them accessible at home?” Paisley asked.
“I think I’ll wait,” I said. “It feels more optimistic to leave them here.”
“Agreed,” Begonia said.
“How much do I owe you?” I asked.
Begonia stopped me from reaching into my handbag. “The coven is paying, Emma. They see it as a worthwhile expense.”
“In that case, you mean Professor Holmes is paying,” I said.
She pretended to find something interesting on the nearest shelf. “The coven is my official answer.”
I took my orange medicine in a nondescript brown bag and we headed out for lunch.
Chapter 2
Following a leisurely lunch with Begonia at Toadstools, I decided to stop by Petals, the flower shop. Gareth, my ghost vampire roommate and former owner of my house, had requested that I restock his favorite flowers.
“You’re that new witch, aren’t you?” the owner said. I knew from Begonia that her name was Sybil.
“Emma Hart,” I said. “It’s nice to meet you. My friends tell me you’re a dryad.”
“I’m an ash tree nymph,” she said, “We’re called the Meliae. Technically, dryads are only oak tree nymphs.”
Oops. “Sorry,” I said.
She waved me off. “A common mistake. I hear you’ve taken over Gareth’s role as the public defender now.”
“I needed a job here. I was a lawyer in the human world, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch.” Except for the fact that I’d never practiced criminal law and knew nothing about the laws of Spellbound.
“Terrible news about Jolene, isn’t it?” Sybil said. “I hope you won’t be needing to defend someone for her murder.”
I froze. A murder? “Who’s Jolene?”
“Werewolf,” Sybil said. “So you haven’t heard then.” She seemed heartened to discover she was the harbinger of terrible news. “Poor dear is dead. She was found this morning in her house.”
I continued to select an assortment of roses, careful not to prick my fingers on the thorns. “That’s awful. What happened?”
“Don’t know,” she replied. “I heard the sheriff is talking to friends and loved ones now.”
“Was she elderly?” I asked.
“Oh no,” Sybil said with a dismissive wave. “A pretty young thing, about to get married to Alex.”
“Who’s Alex?”
She laughed. “You really don’t know anybody, do you? Alex is a rising star of the pack.” She lowered her voice. “Some see him as the natural successor to Lorenzo.”
I wondered if Lorenzo knew this. I didn’t think I’d be happy to discover members of my pack were prematurely planning my replacement.
“You live in Gareth’s old house, don’t you?” she queried.
“I do.”
“Thought so.” She inclined her head toward the flowers in my hand. “He used to choose the same ones.”
“Really?” I feigned surprise. “What a coincidence.”
“Is it?” She peered at me and I wondered if she knew the truth, that I could see and hear Gareth’s ghost. “What kind of witch are you anyway? I heard you’re not from the same coven as the witches in Spellbound.”
Well, she was very forward. “I don’t know anything about my coven. I didn’t know I was a witch until the council told me.”
“I heard it was that wayward angel that lured you here,” she said, carefully arranging tulips in a vase.
“Daniel didn’t lure me here,” I replied. “The whole thing was an accident.” I thought he needed my help and I did something stupid. Got out of my car and ran toward a lake, waving my arms like a lunatic. “He saved me from certain death.” I would have either drowned after jumping into the lake because I couldn’t swim or my car would have run me over.
“He used to come in here to buy flowers for Elsa Knightsbridge.”
“The mayor’s daughter?”
“Mm. And that redheaded witch, too.”
“Meg?” I’d met Meg my first day in town. She hadn’t seemed happy to know Daniel was within shouting distance.
She smiled. “So maybe you know a few people after all.”
“I haven’t met the mayor’s daughter,” I said. “Only the mayor.”
She whistled. “Truth be told, that Elsa is a piece of work. I don’t know why everyone was so surprised when he dumped her. I was surprised he started up with her in the first place.”
“People can’t always help who they fall in love with,” I said.
“It’s with whom they fall in love,” she corrected me. “Don’t they teach grammar in the human world anymore?”
“Standards are sliding,” I admitted. “As long as we’re understood, though, what’s the harm?”
She shook her head, disappointment etched in her smooth features. “Anything besides the roses?”
“Yes, a bouquet of those yellow flowers. They look cheerful.”
“They clash with the roses,” she said.
“That’s okay,” I said. “They’re not for me. I’m going to bring them to Alex and his family.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You’re a strange one all right. You said you don’t know him.”
“Do I need to know him to express sorrow for his loss? Don’t they teach empathy in Spellbound anymore?”
She considered me for a moment. “Alex lives in the Pines. Head due west out of town and you’ll run straight into it.”
“How much do I owe you?”
“No charge today. Gareth was a loyal customer. I expect you’ll be as well.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She gave me a curt nod. “Nice to know the standard for manners hasn’t gone downhill, too.”
Lorenzo Mancini stood in front of Jolene and Alex’s house in his finely tailored suit. I recognized the alpha of the werewolf pack from the council meeting in the Great Hall, where it was determined that I’d move into Gareth’s house and take over his job. Lorenzo was deep in conversation with a centaur, Sheriff Hugo, the town’s leader of law enforcement. The sheriff and I got a chance to know each other during the investigation into Gareth’s murder when I was accused of overstepping my boundaries. Needless to say, he wasn’t my biggest fan.
Lorenzo sniffed the air and turned toward me as I approached. “Miss Hart. I thought I picked up an unfamiliar scent.”
Sheriff Hugo grunted in my general direction. “What brings you out to this neck of the woods, Miss Hart?”
I held up the bouquet of yellow flowers. “I wanted to express my condolences to Alex.”
“What a thoughtful gesture,” Lorenzo said. “He’s inside with his family.”
Werewolves were everywhere. I was surprised the sheriff hadn’t cordoned off the house as a crime scene. The front door was open, so I went inside. I identified Alex immediately. He was being consoled by an older woman, possibly his mother. The woman turned and glared at me.
“You’re not a member of the pack,” she said. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “What are you doing here?”
I hesitated. Now that I was here, I felt stupid. “I was in town when I heard the news about Jolene. I wanted to offer my condolences.”
Alex lifted his head and looked at me. He noticed the bouquet in my hand. “Are those for me?”
I nodded and stuck out my hand. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know what the protocol is here for showing sympathy. This is what people do where I’m from.”
“Werewolve
s don’t give flowers,” the woman snarled.
Alex accepted the bouquet and handed it to the woman. “Would you be so kind as to put these in water? One death in my house today is quite enough.”
She bowed her head, a submissive gesture, and disappeared into the kitchen.
“Alex Ricci,” he said. “You must be the new witch.”
“Emma Hart,” I said. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“No, no.” He wiped the tears from his red-rimmed eyes. “It’s a nice gesture. I appreciate it.” He tilted his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Please excuse my mother. She’s grieving also. She loved Jolene like a daughter.”
I didn’t ask any questions. The lost look in his eyes told me he was still processing her death.
“I won’t take up any more of your time,” I said. “I just wanted to say how sorry I am.”
“Thank you, Emma.”
I hurried out of the house before his mother returned. The front porch was overflowing with bodies and I tried to nudge my way through them. Before I made it to the steps, the sound of sobbing drew my attention to the far end of the porch. The crowd parted just enough to reveal a girl on the porch swing. With her long, blond hair and unblemished skin, she looked no older than seventeen. She appeared distraught, her eyes red and swollen and her cheeks stained with tears.
“Is she hurt?” I asked aloud.
“Not hurt. Just hurtin’,” a man said. “That’s Kayla. She’s the one who found Jolene.”
Poor thing. She’d be forever scarred by a single moment. “Younger sister?” I asked.
“Jolene’s cousin. She’d been fighting with her own parents, so Jolene had taken her in. She’d always been like a big sister to her.”
And now she was gone. Although I didn’t have siblings, I’d lost my mother and father at a young age. I knew that kind of grief intimately—the loss of someone you loved and looked up to.
“I’m going to see if she’s okay,” I said. It seemed like the adults were preoccupied with comforting each other and Kayla had been brushed aside.
I threaded my way through the bodies until I reached the porch swing. Kayla glanced up at me, her brown eyes shining.
“Anyone sitting here?” I asked.
Wordlessly, she shook her head. I plopped down beside her and gently pushed against the floor with my feet so the swing moved. I’d always taken comfort in rocking motions.
“I don’t know you,” the girl said.
“Emma Hart,” I replied. “I’m new in town.”
Her brow lifted slightly. “The witch?”
I nodded. “How are you holding up? I heard you’re the one who found Jolene.”
Kayla sniffed and drew her knees to her chest. “Found her on the kitchen floor. I’d only been in the shower for about five minutes.”
“Had you seen her at all this morning?”
“‘Course. It was the same as any other morning. Alex left for work. I went downstairs and ate breakfast, then brought Jolene a cup of coffee.”
“In her bedroom?”
Kayla nodded. “Jolene’s been a late riser as long as I’ve known her. Sometimes she doesn’t want to get up…” She trailed off. “Anyway, I got into the habit of bringing her coffee to try and drag her butt out of bed. Been working too.”
“So after you stopped by her room and went into the shower, she went downstairs to the kitchen. Is that typical?”
“Not really. She usually hung around in bed a while longer, reading or doing a crossword. By the time I’d get out of the shower, she was still in her room.”
“But not today?”
“No. She went downstairs. I guess to get her breakfast.” She paused. “I thought maybe he was coming by again.”
“Who’s he?”
“Same as I told the alpha and Sheriff Hugo,” she said. “That angel I used to see skulking around here after Alex went to work.”
“Angel?” I echoed. There was only one angel I knew of in Spellbound.
“Daniel Starr.” She gave me a hesitant glance. “You know him, don’t you? I heard he trapped you here.”
“He didn’t trap me,” I said. Not on purpose. “What do you mean that he was skulking around?”
Kayla shrugged. “You must’ve heard about his reputation by now.”
Daniel’s history was difficult to avoid. I seemed to encounter bitter women everywhere I turned in Spellbound.
“From what I understand, Daniel’s affairs were quite some time ago.” And much to my dismay, he’d sworn off the opposite sex right in front of me only a couple of weeks ago. He viewed the sacrifice as his shot at redemption.
“I’m not saying they were definitely bumping uglies, but they seemed mighty comfortable with one another. If I were Alex, I wouldn’t have liked it one bit.”
“Did you ever mention Daniel’s visits to Alex?” I asked in a low voice. I didn’t want anyone to hear me asking questions, not after Sheriff Hugo’s multiple warnings the last time I got involved in a case. But this was Daniel she was talking about. I couldn’t let it go. I felt a sense of obligation to him, and probably a few other emotions I pushed down and ignored.
Kayla plucked at a loose piece of wood on the seat of the swing. “I didn’t, but now I’m wondering if I should have done.”
A shadow fell over us and I recognized its owner without so much as a glance at his hooves.
“Is this witch bothering you, Kayla?”
“No, Sheriff,” Kayla replied. “We were just getting to know each other.”
Sheriff Hugo narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t you have a training class to go to? Maybe learn to wield that wand of yours without injuring others.”
He was right. I had an afternoon class with the head witch, Lady Weatherby. She already seemed to dislike me. It would not be a smart move to show up late.
I gave Kayla a quick pat on the leg. “Take care of yourself. If you need someone to talk to…”
“If she needs someone to talk, that’s what the pack is for.” Lorenzo appeared beside the sheriff. “As I was just explaining to Sheriff Hugo, the pack can handle this matter just fine without interference.”
I resisted the urge to smile. “You mean you’re kicking the sheriff off the case?”
“Mr. Mancini knows perfectly well he doesn’t have the right to do that,” the sheriff said.
“And Sheriff Hugo knows perfectly well that pack matters are not covered by the town charter.”
“We don’t know that this is a pack matter…” Sheriff Hugo began, but Lorenzo held up a hand to silence him.
“Jolene was a member of the werewolf pack. She was found in her own home on pack land.”
The sheriff tried again. “But we don’t know yet…”
“Until there is evidence to the contrary, your work here is done,” Lorenzo said.
“What about the body?” I asked. “Can the pack handle an autopsy?”
Lorenzo’s eyes flashed gold. “You have no business here, Miss Hart. If and when there’s someone to defend, we’ll let you know.”
There was nothing more for me to say, so I excused myself and vacated pack premises.
Chapter 3
Class was in fifteen minutes, so I summoned Sedgwick. It was the fastest way to send an urgent message to Daniel.
You rang, my lady. Sedgwick appeared above me, flapping his wings and giving me his usual look of disdain.
“Stop pretending to be a butler,” I said.
Stop pretending to be a witch.
Hardy har. “I need you to take a message to Daniel.”
Can you write it down? He doesn’t speak owl.
I glanced around helplessly for an inkwell and paper. Not the kind of thing one tends to carry around.
“Just show up at his house,” I said irritably. “He’ll figure out that I need to see him.”
Sedgwick rolled his golden eyes. Fine, Your Majesty. Where does he live?
I faltered. “Um, I actually don’t know.” I’d only
ever seen him at my house or in town. And the lake, of course. The place where my life changed forever.
You go try not to die in class. I’ll figure it out.
“You make me miss my phone for so many reasons,” I said. Mostly because my phone never talked back.
Sedgwick flew off and I hurried to the academy, arriving with only seconds to spare.
“Miss Hart, so glad you could join us.” Lady Weatherby stood in the front of the class when I burst through the doors, panting and looking like an escaped mental patient.
I slipped into the end seat next to Laurel.
"Today we will be tackling practical spells," Lady Weatherby said. "Can anyone name one of them?”
Millie's hand was first in the air.
"Yes, Millie?"
"A water spell, a light spell, a summoning spell, and an unlocking spell." She folded her arms and smiled triumphantly.
Lady Weatherby cleared her throat. “Or four of them.”
“I was going to say a summoning spell,” Laurel mumbled.
"And which one of you would like to demonstrate the light spell?" Lady Weatherby asked.
Every hand shot up except mine. I had no clue how to do any of those spells. I was still practicing the basic defensive spells.
"Laurel, step up here and show Miss Hart how to do a light spell. It is, after all, one of the most useful spells we do."
Laurel bounced out of her seat and hustled to the front of the room. She held her wand vertically and closed her eyes. "Bless me with sight/bring forth the light."
The tip of her wand glowed with a pale light.
"Well done, Laurel. Can anyone offer words of improvement?"
Millie's hand waved in the air again. "She closed her eyes. You should never close your eyes when performing a spell."
So that rule applied off the broom as well. Good to know, although I wasn't sure how Lady Weatherby could have seen that Laurel's eyes were closed since she was facing us.
“Miss Hart, why don't you give it a try? I have a feeling this is a spell even you can do."
Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, I thought to myself.
That wasn't a vote of confidence, Sedgwick said. She thinks you can't do it.
Doom and Broom (Spellbound Paranormal Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 2