Witch Kissed (Old Sarum Witch Cozy Mystery Series, #1)

by K. E. O'Connor

  “Anything else?” Gabriel sped out of the Charm Police headquarters towards the Demon’s Den. They got calls to the club at least once a month, but so far, they’d never been able to pin anything on the owner. But Gabriel knew Kristoff was not to be trusted.

  “Well, by all accounts, I don’t think it is two demons. I think it’s a demon and a witch,” said Chad. “It sounds to me like Ivy Thornheart is involved.”

  Gabriel looked over briefly at Chad. “What makes you say that?”

  “She fits the description. And someone reported her sister being there as well,” said Chad. “They never go anywhere alone. The fire magic being used has Ivy Thornheart written all over it.”

  Gabriel's fingers twitched on the steering wheel. “Why would they be in the Demon’s Den?”

  “Perhaps they fancied a drink and a dance,” said Chad.

  “I can’t imagine Bryony ever wanting to go there,” said Gabriel.

  “Is your girl too good for a place like that?” Chad grinned at Gabriel.

  “She’s not my girl,” said Gabriel. “But I do think she’s too good for a pit like the Demon’s Den.”

  “Gabriel, this is base, come in,” said the radio on the police car’s dashboard. It was Christiana Firefly.

  “Go ahead, base,” said Gabriel.

  “You’re not going to believe this, but the red bloods have woken up,” said Christiana.

  Gabriel’s eyes widened. “The magic on them has broken?”

  “Whatever magic was effecting them has gone,” said Christiana. “It happened just as you left base. Someone heard noises in one of the rooms and went to investigate and discovered the red blood trying to pick the lock on the door and get out.”

  “Keep them contained until I get back,” said Gabriel. “We need to investigate what’s going on at the Demon’s Den before I can deal with them. Use sedation magic on them if you have to so they don’t get stressed.”

  “Confirmed,” said Christiana. “I’ll make sure they stay nice and calm until your return.”

  “Thanks.” Gabriel looked over at Chad. “I wonder what triggered the magic dispersion?”

  “Perhaps the spell was only supposed to last a certain number of days,” said Chad. “A timed magical spell that broke down and vanished.”

  “Or somebody could have broken it,” said Gabriel.

  “Maybe the magic user who put this spell on them in the first place had a change of heart.”

  “We’ll have to figure that out later.” Gabriel pulled up outside the Demon’s Den. “We need to get to the bottom of whatever Kristoff is up to.”

  Gabriel and Chad exited the car and strode towards the entrance of the club. Even from outside, the acrid scent of burning wood could be detected.

  Gabriel looked up and down the road. He paused as he spotted three figures hurrying away from the club. Gabriel couldn’t be sure, but one of them looked like Bryony, her blonde hair a beacon in the gloom of the evening. A part of him wanted to chase after her and see what she was doing at the Demon's Den, but he had to focus on the task at hand. Turning towards the club entrance, he pulled open the double doors and walked through.

  “Looks like there’s been quite a party in here,” said Chad. Water was still pooled on the floor and smoke drifted from a number of recently extinguished fires.

  “Let’s locate Kristoff and find out what happened,” said Gabriel.

  As if he’d heard Gabriel, Kristoff emerged from a back room and strode towards him. “I wondered if I’d get a visit from the Charm Police.”

  “We’ve had reports of a disturbance in your club,” said Gabriel. “What’s been going on?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about,” said Kristoff. “A simple matter of an overexcited customer. They have been dealt with and no harm has been done.”

  “Dealt with how?” asked Gabriel, knowing Kristoff had his own rule book when it came to dealing with trouble.

  “By being asked to politely leave. Which they did.” Kristoff smiled smugly at Gabriel.

  “Your club looks like it’s taken quite a hit,” said Chad, kicking aside a piece of charred wood. “What happened in here?”

  “Someone got handy with their fire magic,” said Kristoff. “But their flames of desire were soon quashed. There is nothing you can do here to assist.”

  “Was anybody harmed?” asked Gabriel.

  “The only thing harmed will be my bank balance when I make the repairs,” said Kristoff. “I do not make a habit of harming customers; it’s bad for business.”

  “Who used the fire magic in your club?” asked Gabriel.

  Kristoff grinned. “I’ve never seen her in here before. I don’t know the witch’s name.”

  “So it was a witch?” asked Gabriel.

  “It could have been.” Kristoff shrugged his shoulders. “But like I said, no harm done. Even if I did know who it was, I wouldn’t want to press charges. Wouldn’t have you fine Charm Police officers filling in lots of paperwork on my account.”

  Gabriel frowned. “We had a couple of reports to say Ivy Thornheart was involved. Is that true?”

  “I know Ivy Thornheart well,” said Kristoff, a smirk drifting across his face. “I would have recognized her.”

  “So the Thornheart sisters weren’t in the club tonight?” asked Gabriel. “If I go and interview them about their involvement, they will tell me they know nothing about this incident?”

  “I couldn’t say what the charming Thornheart sisters will tell you.” Kristoff lounged against the bar. “For all I know, they may have been in here and I didn’t see them. This place gets crowded most evenings.”

  Gabriel shook his head, realizing he wasn’t going to get anything useful out of Kristoff. He liked to keep his club discreet and exclusive. And although Gabriel could never prove it, he knew certain underhand dealings went down here. He’d love to shut the Demon’s Den, but so far, the half demon had eluded him.

  “Shall we have a look around?” asked Chad.

  “I’m sure Mr. Dash won’t mind us having a brief look,” said Gabriel. “To make sure it is just the building that’s been harmed.”

  “Gentlemen, be my guest.” Kristoff tapped his knuckles on the bar. “And if you want a drink, help yourself. My courtesy always extends to law enforcement.”

  “Before you go,” said Gabriel. “You wouldn’t know anything about the red bloods who are in Old Sarum? They’re under the influence of some interesting magic.”

  Kristoff smiled. “I did hear a rumor that we have some tainted red bloods in the village. But they don’t interest me. I can’t imagine there’d be much fun had experimenting on red bloods. They’re too feeble to withstand my magic.”

  “So you have nothing to do with them being in their magical state?”

  “Innocent as charged,” said Kristoff. “Now, you must excuse me, I have a club to rebuild.”

  Gabriel watched Kristoff walk away. He wouldn’t be surprised to learn this slippery half demon was involved with the magic used on the red bloods. He’d probably get some perverse pleasure out of trying spells on people who couldn’t defend themselves.

  “Let’s do a circuit of the room,” said Gabriel to Chad. “See if we can find anything suspicious. But knowing Kristoff, there won’t be anything. He’s good at cleaning up his own mess.”

  As the two of them examined the room, Gabriel’s thoughts drifted to the sight of Bryony disappearing from the club. Why would she visit the Demon’s Den? Surely she couldn’t have had anything to do with what happened here tonight? However, her sister, Ivy, could well be involved. And Chad was right; wherever Ivy went, Bryony was never far behind, always keeping a lookout for her wayward sister.

  He’d have to pay a visit to the Thornhearts and find out if they knew anything about what happened at the club tonight. Gabriel cared about Bryony, but he couldn’t allow her to get away with criminal damage. He sighed as he focused on the mess in front of him; being involved with the Thornheart family was
complicated.

  Chapter 23

  “I can’t believe I’m free of my curse.” Agatha skipped ahead of Bryony and Ivy. “I feel like a new witch.”

  “You’ll be a dead witch if you keep making so much noise,” said Ivy.

  “But it’s great news,” said Agatha. “I should celebrate.”

  “What’s not such good news is who cursed you,” said Bryony gently. “Why would your mom do such a thing?”

  “Because she’s a mean, vicious dragon,” said Ivy.

  Agatha stopped skipping and her smile faded. “Yes, I’m going to have words with her about this. Mom led me to believe she’s weak and needs my help. I moved back in with her because she said she’d had a fall and hurt her ankle. But I saw her walking around fine on it when she thought I wasn’t about.”

  “She could be lonely,” said Bryony. “Maybe she wants some company and it was the only way she could think of to get you back in the house.”

  “She could have just asked,” said Agatha. “Mom didn’t have to curse me. It’s not fair that she expects me to spend my life alone just because she’s lonely herself.”

  “Are you going to curse her as revenge?” asked Ivy. “That’s what I’d do. A twisted dark curse that would have her wishing she’d never met you.”

  “Oh, no. Although what she’s done is terrible, I don’t want revenge. She is my mom after all,” said Agatha. “But I’m not staying with her. She’s deceived me several times now and needs to learn that’s not the way to keep her family close.”

  “Remember she has her dragon temperament to cope with too,” said Bryony. “Full dragons were never good at expressing their emotions. Perhaps your mom’s behavior is linked to her ancestry.”

  Agatha nodded. “I understand that. Sometimes my temper gets the better of me, and I can be impetuous as well.”

  “I’d never have guessed,” said Ivy. “Your behavior with the red bloods appeared so rational and level headed.”

  “I regret doing that to them,” said Agatha. “I hope they’re going to be all right.”

  They reached the entrance of the Love Cauldron and Bryony unlocked the door. As she stepped inside, she heard a low growling and a shriek alarm call from Sweetie. Bryony flicked on the overhead light swiftly. In the corner of the store, stood a shaking, pale faced red blood, Sweetie flapping over his head and Spike's salivating muzzle an inch from his groin.

  “He’s awake!” Bryony ushered the others into the store and locked the door behind them.

  “That’s amazing.” Agatha peered at the red blood. “And he looks unharmed.”

  “Seems like your lust fest with Kristoff didn’t only break the curse on you,” said Ivy. “We have a wide-awake red blood as well.”

  “Get these creatures away from me,” shrieked the red blood. “This monstrous dog has tried to bite me twice.”

  “He’s doing what he’s trained to do,” said Ivy. “Stop people intruding in our store.”

  “I didn’t intrude! I woke up here,” squeaked the red blood. His wild looking gaze lifted to Sweetie. “And why is there a buzzard in here?”

  “Sweetie isn’t a buzzard,” said Bryony. “She’s a beautiful hawk.”

  “I don’t care what she is, those talons will take my eyes out,” said the red blood. He jumped backwards, smacking his head on a shelf, as Spike nipped at him. “This dog is demented.”

  “That’s an accurate description,” said Ivy. “And I can’t vouch for Spike not biting you. He barks to the beat of his own demon dog drum.” Spike gave a menacing growl and inched towards the red blood, his nose jabbing into the man’s groin.

  “Please, get them away from me,” said the red blood. “They’ve had me pinned in this corner ever since I woke up.”

  Bryony held out her arm and whistled to Sweetie, who swooped across the ceiling of the store and settled on her wrist. “Good girl.”

  “And the dog?” asked the red blood.

  “He’s probably hungry,” said Ivy.

  “He can’t eat me!” said the red blood.

  Ivy sighed and clicked her fingers. Spike gave one last growl and stalked over towards her, drool sliding from his mouth and his red eyes glowing.

  “That dog looks rabid,” said the red blood with a relieved sigh. “You should put him down.”

  “I’d rather put you down,” said Ivy.

  “This must be quite a surprise for you,” said Bryony to the red blood. “Do you know where you are?”

  The red blood shook his head, his eyes still wide as he looked at the girls. “Not a clue.”

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” Bryony stroked her fingers through Sweetie’s feathers.

  The red blood swallowed. “Walking through my local park. Someone approached me and said something to me, and that’s it. Then I woke up here.” He looked around the store. “Where is here exactly?”

  “You’re in Old Sarum,” said Ivy. “It’s the oldest established magical community in the country.”

  “Magical community?” asked the red blood. “As in you’re a bunch of crystal waving hippies?”

  “More like we’re a bunch of magic wielding goddesses,” said Ivy. “Let me give you a demonstration.” She raised her hand.

  Bryony grasped her sister’s wrist and pushed her arm down. “This must be a lot for you to take in. Have a seat and we can explain everything.” She gestured to the sofa.

  “I’d rather go home,” said the red blood.

  “We can take you home,” said Bryony. “What’s your name?”

  “Jim,” said the red blood. “And you are?”

  “I’m Bryony. That’s my sister, Ivy, and our friend, Agatha. And you’ve already met Spike and Sweetie.”

  “You haven’t kidnapped me have you?” asked Jim.

  “Are you worth kidnapping?” asked Ivy.

  “No, I’m no one,” said Jim rapidly.

  “Figures,” said Ivy.

  “Is this your place?” asked Jim.

  “Yes, this is our store. And it’s full of magical dangerous things, so no touching,” said Ivy.

  Jim squinted at Ivy. “You’re strange.”

  “And you’re boring,” said Ivy. She looked at Bryony. “Let’s get him out of here.”

  “That’s the plan,” said Bryony. “Jim, are you sure you’re feeling quite well?”

  “A bit of a headache,” said Jim. “And I’m hungry. It’s as if I haven’t eaten for days.”

  “Well, you haven’t really,” said Bryony. “We gave you what we could, but being that you were unconscious the whole time you were here, it was difficult to feed you.”

  “How long was I out for?”

  “About a week,” said Bryony.

  “A week! People will be worried about me.” Jim clutched at his crumpled shirt. “And work! I was only supposed to be out for thirty minutes. I may not have a job to go back to.”

  “They’ll understand when you tell them the fairies stole you,” said Ivy.

  Jim scrubbed a hand across his face. “Why was I unconscious for such a long time?”

  “You were kissed by a witch who had a curse on her,” said Ivy. “The magic she was under must have impacted on your weak mortal shell and you collapsed.”

  “A cursed witch kissed me?” Jim’s eyes widened. “I’ll have an interesting time telling that to my doctor.”

  “You won’t tell anybody,” said Bryony. “When we take you back over the border, we’ll wipe your memory so you won’t remember anything. We do it with every red blood who comes into Old Sarum. It doesn’t happen often, but every now and again, one of you breaks through and we simply send you back in the right direction and make sure you forget all about your visit.”

  “The border?” Jim gave a bewildered shake of his head. “Where am I exactly? And no rubbish about a magic community this time.”

  “There’s no point in explaining it to you,” said Ivy. “You’ll forget it all.”

  “I am sorry for what happe
ned to you, Jim,” said Agatha. “I was the witch who came over the border and kissed you. You seemed like such a nice man, and you had a lovely smile when I met you. You were happy enough for me to kiss you.”

  “You’re the person who did this to me?” Jim glared at Agatha. “I don’t remember you.”

  “I didn’t mean to do you any harm,” said Agatha. “But you are fine now. I’m sure when you go home everything will be back to normal for you. I can put in a good word with your boss if that would help. Sprinkle a little magic on them so you don’t lose your job.”

  Jim looked at the three witches with alarm in his eyes. “I’ll just leave now.” He edged towards the door.

  “We’ll take you to the border,” said Bryony. “Don’t want you getting lost.”

  “I can find my way out,” said Jim.

  “No, you really can’t,” said Bryony. “Much safer if you stick with a local while you’re here. You never know when a hungry troll might pass by. I believe they like snacking on red bloods. At least that’s what your human fairy tales say.”

  Jim blinked at Bryony. “Witches, magic, and trolls. Maybe I’ve had a harder knock to the head than I realized. I’ll definitely go and see my doctor when I get home.”

  “That’s a good idea,” said Bryony. “I’m sure your doctor will give you some herbs and a poultice to take away that nasty headache.”

  Jim’s mouth fell open and he nodded dumbly.

  Bryony placed Sweetie on her perch in the corner of the store, unlocked the door, and gestured for Jim to go outside. “Let’s get you home.”

  They left the store and hurried through the streets with Jim wedged in between them.

  “This place is amazing,” said Jim, after they’d been walking for a couple of minutes. “Is it a recreation of a movie set? All those tiny cottages and whimsical looking places. It doesn’t look real to me.”

  “It won’t be in a few moments,” said Ivy. “Make the most of it while you can. You won’t be coming back.”

  “The tourists must love coming here,” said Jim.

  “Stop talking,” said Ivy. “Or the trolls will get you.”

  “It’s like a theme park,” said Jim. “Is that what this place is? It’s been created as a magical wonderland for visitors?”