The Trouble With Witches

by Kristen Painter

  “But…she’s not dead. Anyone can see that.”

  “You’re right, she’s not. Shadowvale won’t let her die. She’s too much a part of the magic that keeps this town going. She created Shadowvale. It’s her magic that gave it life. And so despite her spell to end it all, the town had other ideas. And so she remains. As do I, unable to complete my task.”

  Em wiped a hand across her mouth. “She’s alive because of the town?”

  “Yes. But the moment she leaves the boundaries of this place, the instant she steps outside of those gates, the town’s protection of her ends. And my job will be complete.” He looked at the house. “In the beginning, I did everything I could to make that happen. Now I don’t care if it ever does, although I do tease her about it a bit.”

  “That’s why she doesn’t like you. You remind her of the mistake she made. Not to mention her impending death, and how she’s basically a captive here.”

  He nodded. “Yes. And I can’t leave until my job is done. We’re stuck together.”

  Em sat back. “Wow.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Does all of that have something to do with why she doesn’t want me to live here?”

  “I can’t say it’s not related, but there’s more to it than that. But that story really is hers to tell.”

  “Thank you for sharing all that with me.” She looked sideways at him. “A reaper, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re really not dangerous to anyone else?”

  “Don’t misunderstand. I can wield great power when needed, but I have no need. I live very peaceably here. We all do, for the most part. But my sole purpose here is to collect Amelia’s soul. That’s all I’ve come to do. Bringing back a different soul would not go well for me.”

  “Can I ask you one more question?”

  He laughed. “Would it matter if I said no?”

  She grinned. “Probably not. How did you end up as her majordomo?”

  “Indigo House is a beautiful place, but when I arrived it had already begun to show signs of neglect. With nothing but time on my hands, I took it upon myself to change that. Eventually, your aunt started paying me. Then giving me directions on what to work on next. I’m sure she thought if I was occupied, I’d forget why I’d really come.”

  “But you won’t, will you?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. That’s not how a reaper is built.”

  “Well, I hope your job isn’t done for a very long time.”

  He smiled without sadness. “Me, too, Miss Em. Me, too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Deacon stared at himself in the mirror. Most curses didn’t change his appearance so drastically. Or at all. But this one…this was a doozy.

  He brushed his fingers over the spines on his cheek. Experience had taught him that he was immune to the side effects of the curses he took on. That was one upside of his own curse. But that didn’t negate the fact that he was going to have to remain like this until Frieda’s curse wore off.

  He glanced at the bed. Lying down would mean poking holes in the sheets and mattress. Not something he wanted to do. Sitting in any of the upholstered chairs would have the same result.

  There was one spot he could think of that would be okay for sitting. And now that Em had left, it would be safe.

  He went back downstairs and outside to the deck. The breeze whistled through his spines. Not an experience he had often, to be sure.

  He took a seat on the wicker glider, hoping his spines were mostly going through the small holes in the weave as opposed to making new ones. He stretched his arm along the seat, tipped his head back, and closed his eyes. Even with the cloud cover, there was some warmth coming through. It felt good.

  Today had been an interesting day. All because of Emeranth, who was easily the most stimulating person he’d met in a long time. Which was saying something, considering where he lived.

  She looked at Shadowvale with a completely different viewpoint than he did. That was because she was new to town. He understood that. But it was still curious to him how desperately she wanted in, while he so desperately wanted out.

  Why? What was she running from? It wasn’t his business. Everyone had baggage, and everyone had a right to their privacy, but he couldn’t stop himself from wondering.

  An ex, maybe? She was beautiful. It wouldn’t surprise him to learn that there was a jealous man in her past, still burned by losing her.

  That thought made him bristle in a way that had nothing to do with his current status. He felt oddly protective of her even though they’d just met. Maybe that was just something she inspired in those around her.

  Gracie was like that, so he understood. His little sister had an effect on people that made them want to give her things and be extra kind to her and protect her. It was lovely, except when it wasn’t. Like all the overzealous boyfriends he and his brothers had dealt with throughout the years.

  Now Gracie mostly kept to herself. Not just because of how men responded to her, but more so because of her particular curse. Keeping some distance from others was an easier way for her to live.

  Although he knew that was getting old for her. As much as she seemed excited about the prospect of a party on Saturday, she might not be when she saw how many people were there. He sighed, a little worried about how that was going to go, but everyone in town abided by the general rule of not touching others.

  Except that it was Gracie’s birthday. And such an occasion could make people act differently than they normally would.

  He and his brothers would just have to be extra vigilant.

  Or maybe one of the witches in town could put a little spell on Gracie to keep her curse from working temporarily. Was that possible? He didn’t know, but it was worth talking to Amelia about.

  He groaned. Amelia. He was going to have to call her and tell her today had been a bust.

  A soft squeak was followed by, “Hey.”

  He opened his eyes. Gracie had the screen door open and was leaning out. “Hey.”

  “You hungry? I was about to make myself a sandwich. I could make you one, too.”

  He nodded. “I could eat. Thanks.” He normally made his own lunch. He wondered if Gracie was up to something.

  She smiled a little too big. “Turkey or roast beef?”

  “Roast beef.” Definitely up to something.

  “Coming up.” She went back in, then popped out again a second later. “Em’s nice.”

  “She is.” He wasn’t sure where that had come from, but now his suspicions about Gracie’s sandwich offer felt more on point. He decided to test the theory. “Do we have any of that grainy mustard left? If so, I’ll take some of that on my sandwich.”

  She laughed. “You’re changing the subject.”

  He’d been right. “Actually, you’re the one who changed the subject. We were already talking about sandwiches.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Well, I like Em. She’s nice and not that much older than me, and I think we could be friends.”

  “She’s probably not staying.” Reason enough for neither of them to get involved with her. Not that he was considering it. “Just so you know.”

  Gracie took a step outside to see him better. “That’s not what she said. The way she talked, she’s trying to move here.”

  “I know, but Amelia doesn’t think Shadowvale is a good place for her. And Amelia usually gets what she wants.”

  Gracie folded her arms. “How about that. Someone trying to dictate what’s good for another person.”

  He sat up, alerted by the sudden edge in her voice that the conversation had taken yet another turn. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She shrugged. “You know what it means. You guys are always trying to tell me what to do.”

  “Gracie, we’re not trying to tell you what to do. We’re trying to protect you.”

  “Yeah, I know. But that’s not always what it feels like.”

  He frowned. �
�I’m sorry. I’ll try to be better about that.”

  “Thanks. But tell Shep and Bishop, too, will you? Bishop already said he isn’t going to leave my side at the party. I’m going to be twenty-five. Not even remotely a kid anymore. I love him, but a girl needs to breathe, you know? I’d like to be able to talk to people without one of you hanging over my shoulder.”

  “I can understand that.” Although he wondered if by people she meant those of the male variety. Was she sweet on a guy? Who could it be? “I’ll tell him to give you some room. We all will.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. Sandwiches coming up.”

  As she went back inside, he stared into the woods behind the house. He and his brothers were going to have to be less obvious about protecting her. They’d have to find a way to give her space.

  And if a couple people forgot themselves and touched her…well, it had happened before, and they’d all lived through it. They’d deal with it again.

  But the idea of letting Gracie just be was hard to wrap his head around. The four of them were all the family they had. Their bond was tight. And with good reason.

  Truth was, Gracie was the tether that kept him in Shadowvale. He was sure his brothers felt the same, not that either of them had expressed a desire to leave.

  Shepherd seemed content in charge of the fire department. Bishop had his tree-trimming service. Gracie ran the house and handled the books for Bishop, plus a few other small businesses in town. That let her work from home.

  And helped keep her isolated.

  Poor kid. No wonder she was itching for a change.

  The door opened, and she came out with a plate for him in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other. “Here you go. Lunch is served.”

  “Thank you. I could come inside and eat with you.” He took both from her, careful not to make contact.

  “And put holes in my kitchen chairs? No, thank you.” She winked at him. “Besides, I’m working at my desk. The dry cleaners just sent their quarterlies over.”

  “Okay. Thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome. Maybe tomorrow when you’re yourself again, the three of us can have lunch at the diner.”

  “The three of us?” He really hoped she meant the two of them and Bishop.

  “You’re giving Em the rest of the tour, aren’t you?”

  No such luck. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Great. It’s a date!”

  “It’s not a—” But she’d already disappeared back inside. In fact, she’d gone so quickly he was certain she’d done it just so he couldn’t argue.

  It wasn’t a date.

  He frowned, staring down at his sandwich and chips. Clearly, sweetening him up with lunch had been all about the real lunch Gracie wanted.

  He understood her wanting to get out of the house, but she also wanted to get him and Em together. He could feel it. Sense it, really.

  She’d done this same thing with Shep and Nasha. You’d think the way that had gone would be lesson enough for her to stop trying to fix her brothers up, but apparently it wasn’t.

  Well, he wasn’t about to get involved with Em. For one thing, she was a little out of his league. Sure, he knew he was a decent-looking guy, but she was a different level of pretty. Secondly, she was Amelia’s niece, and Amelia probably had very different ideas about who Em should be with.

  Lastly, Em wanted to be in Shadowvale, and he didn’t. What was the point of attaching himself to someone here when he wanted out? It would only end badly.

  And there was enough in Shadowvale that ended that way as it was.

  He took a bite of his sandwich. Roast beef with grainy mustard, just the way he liked.

  Well, Em might be getting the rest of her tour, and Gracie might be getting her lunch out tomorrow, but he was not about to be suckered into anything else where the two of them were concerned.

  For all he knew, Em and Gracie were in this together.

  Maybe he’d get lucky and someone else would need some curse relief.

  He snorted. Wasn’t often he had a thought like that.

  Crazy what women did to a guy.

  Maybe instead of calling, he should go over to Amelia’s and talk to her in person. He lifted his sandwich for another bite and caught sight of the spines.

  He groaned. He’d actually forgotten about them for a second.

  He wasn’t going anywhere.

  Except out to lunch with Em and Gracie tomorrow.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Despite the overcast sky, the afternoon was still bright and warm in that way of early-spring days that teased summer’s impending arrival. Really, it was lovely, and Em was surprised she wasn’t missing the sun more.

  She took her chocolate cupcake, which she’d decided would be lunch, and went into the garden. If she ate it while she walked, that practically made it calorie-free.

  Of course, she would have rather spent time with her aunt, or even had lunch with Beckett the reaper, but he was doing a wine inventory, and Aunt Amelia wasn’t readily available. Em was sure she was in the house somewhere, but wandering around in search of her seemed impolite.

  If Aunt Amelia had things to do, Em didn’t want to get in the way of that. Being a pest wasn’t going to win her any points toward staying. Aunt Amelia would find Em when she was ready.

  So the garden it was. Not a hardship. The place was abundant with beautiful plants, gorgeous flowers, and the loveliest, green floral scent.

  Em wasn’t sure how the garden grew so well without the sun, but her knowledge of plants was minimal. Maybe it was Amelia’s doing. Some kind of spell that kept things green and growing, no matter the conditions.

  That would be a good spell to learn. Really, any spell would be a good one to learn. A witch had to start somewhere.

  She peeled back a little of the paper sleeve holding the cupcake and took a bite. The perfect bitterness of the dark chocolate mixed with the creamy sweetness of the frosting made a wonderful mouthful. She let out a little sigh of pleasure. So good. She could see daily trips to Black Horse Bakery becoming a thing if she moved here.

  When, she corrected herself. When. Not if. Because she had to think positive. She had to cling to the hope that this was all going to work out.

  That hope was all she had right now. She didn’t even want to think about leaving. Where would she go? She had no ready answer to that question.

  A stone bench sat by the garden pool. Em took a seat and stared at the water, trying to think about her next steps while she devoured the remains of the cupcake.

  Maybe Nasha was hiring. Couldn’t hurt to ask. Em hadn’t seen any staff in the store with her, but she couldn’t be producing all those goodies on her own, could she? The woman had to have some kind of help. Unless she was using magic, too. No way to know if there was a chance for a job except to ask.

  Em sat up a little straighter. Maybe what she ought to do was finish this cupcake, then change into something more professional and head back downtown to do some serious job hunting. She would check every single shop if time allowed.

  She nodded. She would, too. Every single one. Somebody had to be hiring. Even a part-time position would be better than nothing. And that could lead to more. Or maybe she could find two part-time jobs. That would be okay. Even three. She’d work as much as she could.

  Building up her reserves so she could get a place of her own and start her life anew was what mattered. Not how hard she had to work or what kind of jobs she had to take. She wasn’t a proud woman. Not where self-preservation was concerned.

  This was a good plan. She felt encouraged. Buoyed, really. Aunt Amelia, and to some extent Deacon, might not want her to stay here, but they’d just have to get over it.

  She was going to get a job, and she was going to put down roots and learn to be a witch and change her life.

  She popped the last of the cupcake into her mouth, folded up the paper wrapper to throw away in the house, and got to her feet to go back inside. Nothing was going to stop her.


  She turned toward the house and froze.

  She was pinned by the gaze of the biggest tiger she’d ever seen. Her pulse jumped. Was it real? It certainly looked real. Just like the gates had appeared to be locked.

  She couldn’t tell and didn’t want to find out if she was wrong, so for what seemed like an eternity, she and the tiger just stared at each other.

  Its nostrils flared. Like it was sniffing her.

  That looked very real.

  “Please don’t eat me,” she whispered. “Please be a magical hallucination. Or something equally magical that also isn’t dangerous. I really don’t want to die today.”

  The tiger didn’t move.

  She gathered her courage and whispered as loudly as she dared, “Beckett.”

  The minutes ticked by, and he didn’t show. Not that she’d expected him to hear that, especially while he was in the wine cellar.

  “Nice kitty. Pretty, pretty kitty.” A bead of sweat trickled down her back. Her voice was as trembly as the rest of her. “I am not delicious. I promise. Please don’t eat me.”

  “Thoreau.” Aunt Amelia’s voice rang through the garden. “Emeranth is a friend.”

  The tiger turned to look at Amelia, then let out a whuff and lay down.

  Em almost fainted with relief. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried to exhale the quivers from her body. “You know this tiger?”

  Amelia walked toward them. “He’s my companion.”

  Em swallowed. “You might have mentioned that sooner. You know, before I came out here and almost became his lunch.”

  Amelia stooped to scratch the tiger’s head. “Thoreau wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “I’m glad you think that. He was looking at me like he was hungry.”

  “Nonsense. He’s fed on a regular basis. He was just trying to determine who you are. That’s all.” Aunt Amelia smiled. “But my apologies all the same. I should have told you. I’m sure running into a beast like Thoreau gives one pause.”

  “If you’re talking about my heart, then yes, it definitely paused.” She glanced at the enormous cat. “How did you end up with a tiger as a companion?”