Six Ways to Spellday
Western Woods Mystery #6
Samantha Silver
Blueberry Books Press
Contents
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Also by Samantha Silver
About the Author
Chapter 1
I was pretty sure I had just died.
Since discovering a few months back that I was a witch and that there was a whole world out there where magic was simply a way of life, I had come close to having my life ended on more than just a couple occasions.
And yet, right now, I was sure I had died and gone to heaven.
“Ellie, this is the best thing I have ever tasted,” I said, closing my eyes and savoring the cookie as it melted in my mouth.
“Are you sure?” Ellie said with a grin. “Better than my cinnamon buns?”
“I never thought I would say this about anything, but yes, better than your cinnamon buns,” Sara, one of my roommates and best friends, confirmed.
“It’s the cream in the middle, it’s just divine,” Amy, my other roommate chimed in. “Not to say the cookie on the outside isn’t delicious; it is. But the cream just gives it a texture that makes it feel like you’re eating a cloud, not a whoopie pie.”
“I like the cookie,” I said. “It really feels like it’s melting in your mouth. But Amy is right. The passionfruit cream in the middle is so delicious, the whole thing is basically heaven on earth.”
“Alright, so the details can be argued over, but the overall idea is that it’s a good cookie?” Ellie said with a smile, and the three of us all nodded enthusiastically.
“Absolutely,” Sara said. “Can we look forward to ordering these at the café next time we’re there? Does that mean it’s re-opened?”
Ellie worked part-time at the local café, which had been closed for about a month now, ever since the previous owner and manager had been arrested for murdering one of the customers. It hadn’t been an ideal situation, to say the least, and Ellie had spent most of that time moping around the house and not doing nearly as much baking as I had hoped. Of course, it was understandable, but the fact that the three of us had been invited to taste test some cookies was definitely cause for celebration. I also hoped it meant Ellie was going to be able to go back to baking, her one true love.
“I actually wanted to run an idea past you guys,” Ellie said slowly. “I haven’t heard anything about the café. Apparently, no one wants to buy a business where the previous owner murdered a customer; everyone who might have been interested is too worried about the reputation being shot right off the bat. Instead of selling the business, the owner has put the building up for lease, so I think the odds of it ever re-opening are slim.”
“That’s stupid,” I said. “This is a tiny town. Literally everyone knows that the killer is in jail now, and that the café would be changing hands completely.”
“I know,” Ellie replied. “But all the same, no one has stepped up to take over the café yet.”
“Ugh, that’s the worst,” Sara said, shaking her head.
“Agreed,” Ellie nodded. “So, I was thinking, I don’t want to be dependent on someone else’s business my whole life. This last month, where I’ve had absolutely no income has made me realize just how unstable working for someone else can be. And remember how a little while back we met those witches from Pacific Cove, and Megan was starting a chocolate company of her own? Well, she inspired me to look into it, and I think I’m going to start selling my own baked goods.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? That’s awesome!”
“Only if I get free cookies for life,” Sara laughed.
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Amy nodded sagely.
“So you guys are on board with this?” Ellie asked, looking from face to face expectantly.
“Of course we are!” I exclaimed. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because almost all businesses in the magical world fail within the first year. Or because I don’t actually know the first thing about running a business, I’m just good at cooking. Or maybe because it means I’m going to have to spend all my time doing administrative stuff instead of baking. Honestly, I don’t even know if it’s a good idea myself. I’ve been mulling it over and I really want to do it, but I’m afraid I’m going to fail.”
“Well, when it comes to the business side of things, I can help,” Amy said. “I know exactly where in the coven library all of the books that you’re going to need are. I’ll be at the library later tonight, I’ll check them out and bring a few home for you.”
“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Ellie replied, shooting Amy a grateful smile.
“As for the rest of it, well, you have the personality of someone who will run a successful business,” I said. “You’re crazy energetic and outgoing, and you’re not afraid of hard work.”
“You wake up at four in the morning to go to work sometimes,” Sara pointed out. “You couldn’t pay me enough money to wake up that early. Tina’s right: you have the work ethic to make this work, and you’re no dummy. Plus, we can help you. I mean, ok, I can’t help you since the only thing I know how to do is ride a broom, but I’m sure if you run into any problems with the administrative side of things, Amy will help. She loves that sort of thing.”
“Of course I’ll help,” Amy nodded. “Whatever I can do.”
“And I’m not particularly skilled in anything, but I also don’t have a job, so I’m happy to do any grunt work that’s required,” I said. To my surprise, tears welled up in Ellie’s eyes.
“You guys are amazing. I love you all so much,” she said. “Come here, you’re all getting hugs.”
The four of us joined in a big group hug, and when we pulled apart, Ellie looked more determined than ever.
“Now, I haven’t ironed out the exact details, yet. I was thinking that I might try and make this company a local thing to start with. You know, start small and see what happens. I know it’s January and the weekend market isn’t exactly bustling this time of year, but if I can get something going now and maybe build a little bit of a following by summer hopefully I’ll be making enough money to fully support myself. I have enough savings that I can last until then.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” I nodded.
“I’m so relieved,” Ellie said with a smile. “To be honest, I was kind of preparing myself to hear all of you saying I was insane for even trying it, and that I was never going to manage it.”
“What kind of friends would say that?” Amy said.
“That’s right,” I nodded. “After all, there’s no reason whatsoever why you can’t be successful at something if you really put all your energy into it. What kind of friends would we be if we told you to give up before you even got started?”
“Besides, you’re no dummy,” Amy added. “I know it’s going to be hard for you, and that your favorite part of the process is going to be the baking, but you’ll be fine learning how to do the administrative stuff. I know you can do it.”
“You, along with the other gi
rls, are the reason why my life has been completely turned upside down with the broom flying competition,” Sara added. “Your encouragement and pushing me to get outside of my comfort zone and try is one of the reasons why I’m doing it. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t do the same to you now?”
“You guys are the best,” Ellie said. “I have a bit of a business plan set up, and I think I’m going to be ready to go to the market tomorrow and sell my stuff. I’ve already paid for a little stall, and I was going to spend the afternoon doing some more baking. I was thinking of doing these whoopie pies, some cinnamon buns in boxes to take-away, and maybe something else that people can eat while they’re just wandering through the market having a look.”
“Good idea,” Amy nodded. “Since it’s January and we’re in the middle of a cold snap, maybe something warm?”
“Like hand pies,” I suggested. “There aren’t really any fruits in season right now, but I mean, apple pies in January are always nice.”
“That’s right. Besides, I can always take the portal somewhere tropical and buy fresh fruits from there,” Ellie said with a wink. I blushed slightly as the thought hadn’t even occurred to me – having come from the human world, fruits and vegetables were transported by ship, and sometimes it took weeks, or even months for produce coming from South America to reach us in the United States.
Of course, in the magical world, all that stuff was done instantly thanks to portals. I had thought the fruit we had been buying recently was better than I would have expected in January, but my brain had never made that connection.
“Right. Yeah, of course,” I stammered, not wanting anyone to realize the mistake I’d made.
“So it’s settled,” Ellie said, clapping her hands together. “I’m going to start my own business.”
I couldn’t help but feel the excitement rising inside of me. If anyone was going to be able to successfully start a baking company, it was Ellie.
Chapter 2
As soon as Ellie declared to all of us that she was going to start her business, she went into overdrive. After all, she made the announcement in the middle of the afternoon, and the weekend market was to begin the following day, so she had just over eighteen hours to get everything she needed ready for her first attempt at selling baked goods.
“I have so much to do, I have so much to do,” she kept muttering to herself, over and over.
“Hey, relax,” I said, making my way to the kitchen where Ellie was working with a giant pile of dough. “I know it’s stressful, but you’re going to get through it. What else do you need done? I’m not doing a single thing this afternoon.”
Ellie shot me a grateful look. “I have a whole list over here.”
I made my way to the piece of paper she motioned to with her head – her hands were busy kneading cinnamon bun dough, after all – and had a look.
I had to admit, I was impressed. Ellie had a list of everything she was going to need to have organized by the next day, and it was extensive. She had obviously put a lot of thought into it.
There was the obvious - the baked goods, of which she had three different types. She had also scribbled in the margins what all of the ingredients cost, and what she had to sell her cakes for in order to be able to make a profit. On top of that, she needed to organize boxes for people to be able to take away the food, bags for easier carrying, large table to display everything, a name and logo for her new business, and a sign that advertised what she was selling. She also needed a price list, and business cards.
“You don’t have a name for your business yet?” I asked, and Ellie shook her head.
“No, I can’t think of anything. I keep coming back to Ellie’s Baked Goods, but that’s just so plain. I don’t really want to do plain.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I agree with that. Listen, if you want I can go online and order you a whole bunch of boxes and bags for tomorrow, and if I come up with a cool name for your company, I’ll let you know. How does that sound?”
“You’re an absolute miracle worker,” she replied. “What would I ever do without you?”
I shot Ellie a smile and got to work. I had to admit, as I opened the computer and started trying to find websites on the paranormal part of the Internet that supplied boxes and bags, I felt like I was actually being useful for the first time in a while. My magic skills were improving daily, especially with Amy and Ellie dedicating so much time to getting them up to scratch, but I still wasn’t good enough at anything to actually get a job that would be considered appropriate for a witch here in the paranormal world.
As I looked at dimensions and tried to imagine what sizes the various boxes would be when they were made up, I tried to think of a cool name for Ellie’s new business. I wanted to help her as much as I could, after all.
A few hours later, while the business still had no name, there were dozens of cinnamon buns, whoopie pies, and a couple different flavors of hand pies sitting on the counter cooling down, ready to be sold the following day.
The boxes and bags that I had ordered arrived a few hours later, just before I made my way upstairs and went to bed. Ellie was still in the kitchen, fussing about every tiny little thing, and I knew that she was going to be okay. She was stressed, obviously, but I if she kept working this hard there was absolutely no chance that she was going to fail.
I woke up early the next morning, just after five, popping upright in bed with a gasp.
“Intruder?” My familiar, Mr. Meowgi asked, immediately jumping up and arching his back, looking for a burglar
“No, no,” I said, stifling a laugh. “Nothing like that. I just thought of the perfect name for Ellie’s new company.”
“Well, that’s about a thousand times more boring. How am I supposed to be the most famous fighting cat in the world if there is never anybody for me to fight?” he grumbled.
“Maybe you should just appreciate the fact that you didn’t have to fight anybody just now,” I replied. “After all, there is something to be said for living safely.”
“Truly spoken like somebody who hasn’t studied the fighting arts,” Mr. Meowgi replied “I eagerly await my chance to show the entire world the skills that I developed in my training.”
“Alright, well, you get to wait a little bit longer, since I just woke up with a start, and now I’m going to go downstairs and start the day. Are you coming?”
“Of course not. I need my recovery sleep.” And with that, Mr. Meowgi curled himself up into a little ball once more, and by the time I had hopped out of bed and began slipping on my clothes, the sound of his light snoring reached my ears, and a smile crept up onto my lips.
I tiptoed down the hall, not wanting to wake any of my roommates, and looked at the clock on my phone. It was just after five in the morning. Ugh. This was way too early to be up, but my body was excited for Ellie, and I knew I wasn’t going to get back to sleep.
To my surprise, when I made my way into the kitchen, Ellie was still there, looking a little bit more frazzled than when I had left her last night.
“Have you been up all night?” I asked, incredulous.
“Maybe,” Ellie replied. “I just have too much to do; there’s no time to sleep.”
“What on earth have you taken for energy?” I asked.
“Oh, you know, this potion, that potion. A little bit of everything.”
The way she was moving around the kitchen, with jerky motions and her eyes darting from side to side, I knew she had had way too much of whatever it was.
“Okay,” I said. “Right now, you look like someone who has just escaped from an insane asylum, and nobody is going to want to buy anything that’s going to go into their mouth from somebody who looks like they’re going to try and stab them. You need to take a sleeping potion, and you need to go to bed, even if it’s just for a few hours. I’ll wake you up at nine, and you can be at the market and ready to sell by the time it opens at eleven.”
“I look fine,” Ellie replied. “And I can�
��t sleep. I have too much to do. I don’t even have a name for the business.”
“Well, luckily for you, I came up with one. I have your list of things that need to be done. Leave it with me, and go to sleep. I know there’s sleeping potion in the fridge, I made it the other day with Amy. Take it, because otherwise you’re never going to sell anything. And you do want this business to be successful, right?”
Ellie made her way to a small mirror hanging on the wall, had a look at her reflection, and burst into tears.
“I’ve ruined everything before it’s even started, haven’t I?” she asked. “Nobody is going to buy anything from me if I look like this.”
“There, there,” I replied, making my way to the fridge and pouring a few tablespoons of the sleeping potion I had made into a glass, taking it over to Ellie. “All you need is a couple hours of rest, and for whatever you took to get out of your system, and you’ll be back to normal. Here, drink this, and I’ll take care of everything.”
To my surprise, Ellie obediently drank the potion, and I led her over to the couch in the living room, laying her down with a comfortable pillow behind her head, and then placing a nice fleece blanket on top of her. By the time I was finished I could already see her eyelids fluttering as sleep began to overwhelm her.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Ellie mumbled to me as she began to slip away into unconsciousness.
“Just rest for a little bit; I’ll take care of everything.”
Less than a minute later, Ellie was fast asleep.
I made my way into the kitchen and found the list of things Ellie needed to do, and realized that in her mania, Ellie had gone even more insane than I thought.
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