by K. J. Emrick
Careful What You Witch For
K. J. Emrick
S. Joseph Wells
First published in Australia by South Coast Publishing, December 2017. Copyright South Coast Publishing & K.J. Emrick (2012-17)
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
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Contents
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Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
More Info
About the Author’s
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Prologue
“Come on, Danny. Put out that fire and come inside with us.”
In the last hours of what had turned out to be a beautiful day, the sun was starting to drop below a horizon made of towering treetops, and the leaves of Gaston State Forest were a canvas of reds and golds and faded greens. Ah, nature, Danny thought to himself as he leaned back in the Adirondack chair around the fire pit with a deep, slow breath. He really loved the relaxing pace of the world up here. Such a big change from the city.
Danny Bellinger was glad they’d decided to take this trip to his cousin’s little cabin in the woods. Pendulum Lodge was the name of the place, spelled out in letters made from weathered driftwood right across the front. It was rustic, and it was wonderful, and for the next two weeks it was all theirs. This trip was going to be amazing. Shadow Lake was a little out of the way for them, and for a couple of the people in their group it was more than a four hour drive just to get here, but it was so worth it.
It was early October and work had slowed down for his accounting business, but he knew it was bound to pick up again with Christmas and tax return season right around the corner. That’s when people really thought about their money. Root of all evil or not, money really did make the world go round. So, the only chance he and his wife would have for a break was right now. It had taken him a little bit of convincing for her to see it that way, but he’d finally won her over. Eileen had always been a home body ever since they’d met in college. She never liked to go anywhere. Over the years he’d gradually gotten her out of that shell, but it had taken a lot of work and a lot of understanding on his part, and a lot of love. He smiled to himself as he thought back over their life together. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
As much as he wanted to go up to their private room and spend the night with his wife, he wasn’t ready to turn in yet. Right now, he was planning on enjoying some alone time here in the backyard of Pendulum Lodge, out here in nature. So the other five people in their group could just wait for him. The fire in the stone pit would go out on its own. The sun would set no matter what he did. For these last few minutes of the day, he was going to enjoy the great outdoors. Even if it killed him.
He waved to the others, all standing over there by the back entrance to the lodge, waiting for him to follow. His wife, Eileen, was as pretty as she had ever been, like she hadn’t aged a day since their wedding. Long honey-brown hair, almond eyes, a lot of her mother’s island heritage in her skin tone and her features. She was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt, oversized for her slender body, and she was starting to shiver. She preferred summertime when she could laze out on their porch in a bikini. It was one of Danny’s favorite times of year for the same reason.
Then there was their best friend, Eugene Forrester, and Eugene’s new girlfriend Rosemary. Sweet woman. She seemed to be treating Eugene well, and that was all Danny could ask for. Considering everything the poor guy had been through after he lost his wife to a car accident, Danny was glad he had someone new in his life. He was finally finding happiness again in the hands of the pouty-lipped, curly haired waitress. Funny to think she used to be just the girl serving them coffee at their favorite restaurant back in Ithaca, and now she and Eugene were practically inseparable.
The final couple on this trip weren’t actually close friends of anyone. Dahlia Black and Christine Roth were just acquaintances of Eugene’s but the more the merrier, as Danny’s father always used to say. This trip had come up and they’d asked if they could tag along. Eugene hadn’t hesitated to say yes, because that was just the kind of man he was. They were girlfriends, or so they said, but Danny had yet to see them so much as hold hands on this trip. They were fun to be around, laughing and drinking beer and cracking jokes, but they had practically ignored each other for the last three days.
In fact, the way Dahlia had been hanging all over Eugene, it was almost like the dark haired beauty was more interested in men than she was in her supposed girlfriend. That dress she was wearing now was revealing enough that she probably could have picked up anybody here, man or woman.
Except Danny. He was never going to be tempted away from his wife.
So, six people altogether. Close friends and strangers, all of them looking to have a good time. This was going to be a vacation to remember.
When he realized they were still at the back door waiting for him, Danny raised his half empty bottle of beer in a friendly salute. This chair was oddly comfortable, and the fire was warm, and he was drowsy and comfortable. “You guys go on ahead. I’m going to sit and commune with nature for a little longer.”
“You mean commune with another beer,” Eugene laughed. They knew each other so well. “You sure you don’t want some company?”
“I’m fine, Eugene. You guys go on inside. It’s getting cold out here. I won’t be too much longer. I promise.”
He said that last part to his wife more than to anyone else. He could tell from that mischiev
ous smile on her face that she would be inside, waiting for him in their room. In warm, fluffy pajamas… or maybe in nothing at all. Anything could happen in their own private room. When his cousin had told him about this little “cabin” in the woods, Danny hadn’t known what to expect. No description could have lived up to this.
Pendulum Lodge was more of a mansion, and Danny could only imagine the fortune his cousin had spent on the place. Five bedrooms, each with their own private bath, a common living area and a separate kitchen and dining area, and then a full basement for storage. It had a sloping backyard that led through the woods and down to the waters of Shadow Lake and from what Danny understood, the fishing here was amazing even at this time of year.
He came back to reality when his wife winked at him. Well. Maybe he wouldn’t stay out here for too much longer after all. Just long enough to finish his beer. Fishing would wait for tomorrow. His wife was looking for his attention tonight, and he was going to be only too happy to make that happen.
After everyone else had gone inside he kicked his feet up on the edge of the fire pit and tipped back his bottle of beer, letting the bitter dark brew slide down smooth and easy. Ah. Now this was the life. Maybe he could move here to Shadow Lake one day. Live in a place like this. Of course, he’d have to start making a lot more money than he did now if that was ever going to be a reality. He did all right for himself, but his savings were nothing compared to Eugene’s private fortune. If he saved, and scrimped, Danny figured he could live in a place like this someday.
Until then he could dream.
Birds chirped in the trees, and wind blew through the leaves, pulling a few off and swirling them around in colorful patterns as the sun sank lower against the horizon. It was nice, to just sit here and not have to worry about anything. Just sit here, and feel the breeze on his face as he closed his eyes, and listen to the birds…
He woke up sometime later with a snort. He didn’t even remember falling asleep, but now the sun was gone and the fire pit had been reduced to embers and the only real light back here was the security floodlamps on the back wall of the lodge. Oops. He definitely hadn’t meant to doze off. Was his wife still waiting for him? What time was it, even?
Something had woken him up, he realized now. Some noise that had reached through his fuzzy dreams and snapped him back to wakefulness. Something was wrong.
He sat up, and listened closely, but all around him the woods were eerily quiet. He needed to get inside. Right now.
Before he could move, someone appeared there beside him. The floodlights were behind them, and they were more or less just a shadow looming there beside his chair.
Danny brought an arm up to shield his eyes from the glare. His wife, perhaps? He was still groggy from that unexpected nap and it took his eyes a moment to adjust.
“Oh, hey. It’s you. I thought you went inside with the others. Guess you caught me, out here sleeping. Hey… wait… what are you…?”
A knife flashed.
Danny never got to finish his question.
Across the woods around him, shadows loomed dark, and this beautiful day came to an end for him.
Chapter 1
Friday nights in the Kilorian household usually weren’t very exciting.
Depending on your definition of exciting, of course.
Where most families would host parties or have marathon board game nights, Addie and her two sisters usually spent Friday evening taking stock of the items in their pantry. Inventory Night, was what Addie had taken to calling it. So no, not very exciting, unless you remembered that having the right emergency supplies on hand could be the difference between life and death.
For them, that meant more than a well stocked first aid kit or an extra set of batteries.
Her and her sisters had a special job here in Shadow Lake, and it always paid to be prepared. Discovering you were out of powdered snakescale after you needed it was never any good for anyone. It was really hard to remove an infestation of rock pixies without snakescale.
Their life was… a little different than most.
They were the protectors of Shadow Lake. The keeper of its secrets. The line in the magical sand between everything that was good, and everything that was not so good.
Plus, they were witches.
Right now, what Addie felt like was a stenographer.
“There’s only two bottles of rose essence left,” her sister Kiera called to her from the walk-in cupboard in the kitchen. “Best add that to the list as well.”
From her place at the long dining room table, in a wooden chair that was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, Addie scribbled ‘rose essence’ on her notepad. It went on the line under mercurochrome. Both of those were active ingredients in several different spells, base ingredients that the rest of the magic was built upon. Mercurochrome was also a very effective disinfectant for small cuts and scrapes. It was red, and thick, and stung a little when it was applied to an open wound. Their mother used to call it monkey’s blood, just to cheer her daughters up whenever she was treating a boo boo.
Addie smiled. She could still vividly remember her mother’s face if she tried hard enough. It was so much like her own, with the same delicate chin and high cheekbones, and a scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. It had been a long time since her mother had been around to treat her bumps and bruises. A long time since she’d seen either her mother or father anywhere except in photographs.
She had to wonder sometimes. If their parents hadn’t died when she was in high school, how different would everyone’s life be now?
Her and Kiera had taken over running the household after that. It had brought them closer together even as it meant Addie had to grow up faster than most girls her age. Kiera was already a grown woman at the time, but their age difference didn’t matter. If Addie had a best friend in the world, it was her big sister. The three of them—Kiera, her, and Willow—were all that was left of the family. They were always there for each other.
Which reminded her.
“Where’s Willow?” Addie called out, and when Kiera didn’t answer her, Addie set aside the pen and the list and went into the kitchen, poking her head into the pantry. “Kiera? Where’s Willow? She promised to help us this time.”
Kiera pushed aside several jars of homemade pickles on one shelf, organizing them to make room for canisters of dried rue and esfand. She smiled as she worked. “Darling Addie, you know your sister. Willow has found other enjoyments to occupy her time on Friday nights. You and I were never going to be enough for our little sister. She is still quite young in both body and spirit.”
Easy for Kiera to say, Addie mused. The oldest of the Kilorian sisters, Kiera was forty-two, with gray showing in the curls of her auburn hair. Addie was nearly half that age. Just twenty-four. Their parents had started their family early, and finished it late. Even so, Kiera looked old for her age, as matronly as a woman in her sixties. She always wore long black dresses that covered her from neck to ankle, from shoulder to wrist. A brooch with a woman’s profile carved in ivory sat heavily at her throat. Blue eyes mixed with lines of jade were sharp with the experiences of a lifetime.
And recently, Kiera had been worn down under the weight of a personal issue no woman should have to face. One she didn’t like to talk about.
“Well,” Addie said, straightening her oversized blue sweater on her shoulders, “Willow might be younger than either of us, but I’d like to think I’m still young myself, thank you.”
“Is that what you like to think?” said a voice at her feet. “If you’re so young then, why is it that you’re not out with that cute detective friend of yours, having fun like Willow?”
Addie glared down at the mouthy black and white furball walking between her legs, twitching his whiskers and flicking his tail. Doyle was just about the most annoying cat that Addie had ever known. He was also one of the bravest, in his own way. He might not look all that impressive with his patchwork fur of black and white, h
is three black feet and his one black ear, but he was far from normal. He came by that Irish accent honestly, descending from a long line of ancestors who originated from the Emerald Isles. It took a special cat to be able to talk but as Doyle was fond of pointing out, he was pureblood feline royalty.
He was also too sarcastic for his own good.
“Doyle,” Addie said to him patiently, “haven’t you ever heard the one about not biting the hand that feeds you?”
“Oh? Are you planning on feeding me something?”
“No. It’s a saying. It means, don’t irritate the people who take care of you.”
“Taking care of me?” he purred. “You just said you weren’t feeding me anything, remember?”
Kiera chuckled and went back to organizing the pantry shelves.
“That wasn’t my point,” Addie started to argue, and then gave up. There was no talking to Doyle sometimes. “Why don’t you do something useful and go watch for Willow to get here?”
“I don’t have to,” he said, sitting down and licking one of his front paws.
“Really. Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.” His expression was downright smug now.
“Well, Old Man, why don’t you tell me why you don’t have to go look for her.”
“Because. She’s already here.”
He looked over his shoulder, back toward the dining room, just as the youngest Kilorian sister came sweeping through with a wide grin on her face. She was certainly dressed for a night out, in tight jeans and a sleeveless shirt that clung to her curves. Willow had that sort of lithe, feminine body that honestly made Addie a little jealous, and a wild streak that got her into trouble more often than not. Her hair was a darker red than Addie’s, and her tan complexion was noticeably freckle free, which was something else for Addie to be envious of.