Brewing Trouble: A Witchy Mystery (Tree's Hollow Witches Book 2) Read online

  “Good job, Lady. You’ve let a hippie-dippy woo woo into our room.” Jezebel said before flopping on the bed.

  “Ooooh. I like her. She’s sassy.” Esme said before reaching out and scratching Jez under the chin.

  To my surprise, the cat started to purr loudly. She even rolled over and let Esme rub her belly for a few seconds before clawing her arm.

  “Maybe next time I’ll bring Herb over so you guys can have a play date.” Esme cooed at Jezebel.

  “So, you’re a witch too?” I asked Esme.

  “Yes. Now, let’s go.” She responded. “Put your shoes on, and maybe think about changing out of your pajamas. The night is young!”

  “I just put my pajamas on.”

  She just looked at me through squinted eyes and began to tap her foot impatiently.

  “Fine.”

  “I’m coming too,” Jezebel announced as she stretched and jumped off the bed.

  I pulled a pair of jeans and a black concert t-shirt out of the small dresser in my room. As I was aware that there might be a guest trying to sleep in the room underneath mine, I did my best to avoid stomping petulantly into the bathroom to get dressed.

  It occurred to me while I was pulling up the zipper on my jeans that I had no idea where this mysterious floating witch was planning on taking me and my familiar. I had to be at work in the morning, so I hoped that Esme would be amenable to using a time spell to keep our little adventure contained to a reasonable hour.

  “Shake a leg, Sister.” I heard Esme call from the other room.

  “Yeah, come on Lady,” Jezebel added.

  When I came out of the bathroom, I searched around for my shoes. It always amazes me how I can take them off and then forget where I put them five minutes later. This time, I’d kicked them back over by the door after removing them.

  “You’re going to need something a little sturdier than those,” Esme said as she scowled at my black ballet flats.

  I searched around my room for a moment and found my boots by the closet door. “Will these work?” I asked with a little more attitude than I intended.

  “Well look at her.” Jezebel chimed in. “She’s gettin herself a backbone.”

  Esme looked at my familiar and smiled. “Yes, Lenny darling. Those will be perfect.” She said to me.

  Once I was completely dressed, Esme started to climb back out the window.

  “Whoa, wait a minute. I can’t fly, and neither can Jezebel. We can just use the stairs. It’s much easier and safer.” I said as I rushed across the room to pick up Jez.

  “I’ve got you. Don’t be such a worry wort.” Esme said as she finished climbing out the second-floor window.

  “Yeah, Lady. I’m not missing out on my chance to fly just because you’re a big baby.” Jezebel said as she wriggled free from my arms.

  She hopped up on the windowsill, and I watched as Esme waved her hand over Jez’s fur and mumbled something I couldn’t quite hear. A moment later, my cat’s paws levitated off the wooden sill. Jezebel sashayed out the window in midair.

  “I still don’t see why we have to sneak out like a couple of misbehaving teenagers,” I said as I ambled to the window. “We’re grownups, and if we want to go out, we can just use the front door.”

  “Are you going to be a party pooper all night, or are you going to let me work my magic?” Esme asked.

  I decided right then that I didn’t want to be such a stick in the mud. I fled my old job and the city without so much as a second thought, so I knew I had it in me to be spontaneous. My new relationship with Nathan was making me feel like I needed to take things more seriously, but that was silly. I didn’t need to start acting like a cloistered nun just because I had a boyfriend.

  Just then, my pocket buzzed. I pulled out my phone, and it was a text message from Nate.

  Made it home safe. I’ll sleep well knowing you’re my girlfriend and that you’re home safe and sound too. Goodnight, Sweetie.

  Oh boy.

  By the time Esme had put her spell on me, and I’d floated down to the garden below my window, my stomach was in a knot. My phone buzzed again, and I looked at the screen with trepidation.

  Oh, and I love you, Lenny Brewer.

  I don’t know how it was possible to be so happy and so completely nauseated at the same time, but I totally had that going on. I typed out my message and hit send before I could think about it too much.

  Goodnight, Babe. I love you too.

  “It’s not like you’re going out with another dude,” Esme said from behind me.

  I jumped three feet in the air because I hadn’t realized she was standing right behind me. Esme and Jezebel had a good laugh at my expense.

  “Why would you say that?” I asked.

  I was uncomfortable with the feeling that this other woman, this other witch, could read me so well. There was nothing about the text messages that indicated anything was going on with me, but she could somehow sense that I was distressed.

  “You’re that particular shade of green that people only turn when they’re feeling so guilty that they’re sick to their stomachs,” Esme answered and then started walking towards the road.

  “I have a car.” I offered.

  “Don’t need it. Besides, it’s too beautiful of a night to be stuffed in a car.” Esme answered.

  “You’re going to carry me if this broad drags us halfway through the wilderness,” Jezebel said from between my feet.

  Why do cats always walk there?

  “You wanted to do this.”

  “I’m a cat. I didn’t exactly think this through. I just wanted to watch you squirm when we went out the window. So, I guess you’re practically married now, huh?” She said and darted out of the way just as I was about trip over her.

  “What do you mean?” I wondered if my cat could read me too.

  “Well, you’re worried that you’re doing something wrong because you’re out with this Esme chick and you didn’t clear it with the hubster first.”

  “No, we’re not practically married. We just became an official couple. And, how do you guys know what’s going on in my head?” I wondered if Esme was using some sort of mind control.

  “It’s written all over your face, Lady. Don’t ever take up poker.” Jezebel said and then sprinted up towards Esme who was in the lead by at least twenty feet. “Hey, other lady. Wait up.”

  I watched them walk for a while from a distance and took the quiet time to think about why I was worried I would upset Nate by being out with Esme. I knew most of it was because I hated withholding information from him. I felt like I should have at least told him I was walking off in the middle of the night with a woman I’d just met. But, was there something else? Was there a deeper reason this bothered me so much?

  Then it hit me. Devon had taken my money without telling me and then asked for forgiveness later. His secret could have destroyed my life, but I had to remind myself that I wasn’t Devon. Just because I didn’t tell Nathan every move I made or ask him permission to hang out with a new friend didn’t mean I was like my ex-boyfriend.

  Not to mention that this little trip with Esme would probably be the first thing I told Nathan about the next time I saw him. It’s not like I had a reason to believe he’d be upset about it. Nate was just about the most chill guy I knew. He was protective, yes, but he was not a jealous or controlling man.

  After coming to these conclusions, I was finally able to relax. I quickened my steps to catch up with Esme and Jezebel. Once I was walking in stride with them, I looked around at our surroundings. I’d never driven or walked in this direction before. Most of the town surrounding the bed and breakfast and the area around Tree’s Hollow were still completely unknown to me.

  Esme turned and started to walk down a gravel access road. It’s good that there is a bright moon because we’d long left any lights coming from the town or streetlights. I got nervous mostly because every step we took on the gravel road echoed through the trees around us and sound
ed as if someone followed us.

  “Where are we going?” I ask Esme. “Are we almost there?”

  “Shhhh.” She says gravely. “They’ll hear us.”

  My heart began to pound in my chest, and for the first time, I considered that I had no idea who Esme was. She could be crazy or evil and could have brought us out here to sacrifice me or something. Or worse, she could feed Jezebel and me to some horrible creature. Maybe this is why going with her felt so wrong. Perhaps my intuition was trying to warn me of danger.

  “Who? Who will hear us?” I whispered desperately.

  “Oh my god, Lenny you should see your face,” Esme said and then laughed. “No one. Please calm down before you have a heart attack. There’s no one else out here, and this is Illinois. There aren’t even any bears or big cats in these woods.” She laughed until she chortled and then took a long deep breath to calm herself. “Okay, so there aren’t regular bears and big cats out here.”

  “What does that mean?” I was near tears, and I kinda wanted to punch her right at that moment.

  “I’ll explain that later. But, anything that’s out here isn’t a danger to us, Lenny. We’re daughters of nature. You need to come out here regularly to recharge your magical batteries.” Esme said just as we arrived at an abandoned two story cabin that looked like something right out of a horror movie.

  Chapter Three

  “Okay, no,” I said to Esme once I got a good look at the place.

  “What do you mean, no?” She replied. “You don’t even know why we’re here.”

  “Whatever it is, I don’t want to be involved,” I said and started backing away from the dilapidated structure as if it could reach out and grab me.

  “You’ll be okay. We just have to knock three times for Madam Piggot. Trust me, it looks very different once you’re inside.” Esme said.

  She started walking up the front steps to the cabin, and Jezebel, the little traitor, followed right behind her. When she got to the top, she turned around and looked at me.

  “Well, are you coming?”

  “What happens if we knock twice? Or if we knock four times?” I ask without moving from my spot.

  “Then you get someone else. If you want Madam Piggot, you knock three times.” Esme put her hands on her hips and started to tap her foot impatiently again. “Now come on. She likes it if the new person does the knocking. So, I need you to get your witchy butt up here.”

  “Who is Madam Piggot?” I asked as I walked up the cabin’s steps.

  “Oh, my gosh, Lady,” Jezebel said. “You really need to take a chill pill. I’d tell you if there was anything wrong here. I’m your familiar. It’s my job to help protect you.”

  “I think she forgets some of the rules. We shouldn’t make fun of her because she’s so new.” Esme said and then started laughing anyway.

  Jezebel laughed too, and for a few seconds, the two of them had another hearty chuckle at my expense. Then, I felt the knot in my stomach relax, and I joined them in their reverie. It felt good, and we laughed until we were crying. It should have been enough to wake the dead.

  “You can’t wake the dead that way out here,” Esme said once again having read my mind. “You have to knock.”

  Jezebel nudged me forward and lifted my hand up to rap three times on the old, decrepit door. I did as I was told and struck the soft wood with my knuckles exactly three times. When the door swung open, an olive-skinned woman with long, wavy dark hair greeted me with a smile.

  One thing was clear right away. She was a ghost, but it was striking that the woman was more substantial than the ghosts I’d interacted with in the past. I imagined that if you viewed her from a distance or in low light, you’d be hard pressed to tell she wasn’t one of the living. But, here when I was face to face with her, it was apparent.

  She was slightly transparent, but it didn’t detract from her stunning beauty or the abundant energy that she exuded. Her dark crimson dress even crinkled audibly as she stepped back to allow us entrance.

  “You’ve brought someone new tonight, Esme.” The fortuneteller said as she looked me over. “One of your own, I see.” She turned to me. “I’m Madam Piggot. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lenora.”

  “How do you know my name?” I asked with genuine curiosity. “Did Esme tell you we were coming?”

  “My job is to know things, Lenora.” She said. “And, now that we’re acquainted, you can call me Kizzy.”

  She showed us into her parlor, and Esme took a seat at the table in the center while Jezebel and I sat down on a red velvet fainting couch that was pushed up against the wall under a window.

  The smell of cinnamon wafted into the room from a nearby kitchen, and it was hard for me to believe that this was all an illusion. We must have been standing around in a run-down cottage talking to ourselves.

  But then again, what is reality? My understanding of it had been severely altered by recent history. So maybe perception was reality, and everything I was seeing was real.

  Madam Piggot, Kizzy, took the seat across from Esme. While Kizzy pulled a deck of cards out of a cloth bag, I looked around the room. On the other side of the table was a huge fireplace that took up at least half of the wall. The hearth was made of dark gray bricks, and the frame was cobbled together out of large, smooth river stones. There was a mantle with heavy copper pots hanging from hooks, and the whole thing gave the impression of something that belonged in a fairytale castle’s kitchen.

  The mantle was decorated with a collection of candles, crystal skulls, and dried flowers. I thought the dried flowers and candles could be a fire hazard, but then I reminded myself that this was all an illusion.

  “The flowers aren’t real anyway. They were artificial and pretty hard to set on fire.” Kizzy said.

  “How do you guys do that?”

  “You’re too open, Lenora. You’ve got to learn to close your mind and spirit off from others a little bit. Not entirely, mind you, I don’t want you building a wall, but a shower curtain or one of those room divider screens wouldn’t hurt anything.” Madam Piggot said with a smile.

  “Are we still talking about my thoughts?” I asked.

  “Lady, half the time I can read your mind, and I’m a cat.” Jezebel piped in.

  “Thanks for the moral support,” I said with a shrug.

  “Don’t worry, Lenora. I can help you.” Kizzy said cheerfully. “Did you bring the goods?” She asked Esme with an outstretched hand.

  Esme pulled two silver coins out of her purse and placed them on Madam Piggot’s palm. I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but I’d learned to just observe and accept at this point in the evening. I’d ask Esme about it later, though.

  Kizzy shuffled the cards in her deck and let Esme draw a few out. I leaned in to try and see the pictures on the cards, but when I looked up, both Esme and Kizzy were giving me the stink eye.

  “It is not done this way,” was all Madam Piggot had to say and I went back to looking around the room.

  I did my best not to listen in on their conversation, and instead, I got up and walked across the room to a curio cabinet that stood next to the staircase that led up to the second level of the cabin. Each shelf held a variety of treasures and odds and ends.

  There were books on the bottom shelves that looked practically ancient, and lining the shelves in front of them were more crystal skulls in an array of colors. The middle shelves contained a few more books and in front of those were old pictures in tarnished silver frames. Some of the pictures were black and white photographs, and two of them were miniature oil paintings.

  The second shelf from the top was lined with an assortment of glass bottles. They ranged in color from pink to black and came in several different sizes. Two were tall and skinny, three were short and round, and a handful of them were so small that they could be considered vials instead of bottles.

  I found the top shelf was the most curious of all. I had to stand on my tiptoes to see it well. There were
a few more dried flowers, but these looked completely real. Some were roses, and I swear I could smell them. Mingled in with the flowers were chunks of quartz, amethyst, and obsidian. In the center of this carefully crafted display was a white porcelain cat.

  The little figure looked out of place with the rest of the items, and it was so entrancing that I reached out to touch it. I was surprised to find the surface cool and smooth, and then I remembered sitting on the fainting couch. It was as real as sitting on any other furniture not found in a ghost house.

  I looked over and took in the sight of Esme sitting at the table with Kizzy. My head started to spin a little as I tried to wrap my mind around what I was seeing and experiencing.

  Fortunately, the fainting couch was a few steps away, and I joined Jezebel on it again. Her soft fur was warm and soothing as I stroked her back and scratched behind her ears.

  “So, I’m going to meet him soon?” Esme said enthusiastically.

  “Dear, you’ve already met him,” Kizzy said and looked at her cards. “Several times in fact.”

  “It’s not…” Esme trailed off. “It can’t be.”

  Madam Piggot just laughed and turned to me. “You’re up, Dear.”

  Esme looked thoroughly annoyed as she stood up from the table. She dug into her pocket and pulled out two silver coins.

  “You’ll need these.” She said in a huff.

  I took the coins and sat down at the table. Kizzy extended her palm, and I placed the coins in her outstretched hand. She shuffled the deck of cards, which I could now see were decorated with stars and other nature symbols. They didn’t look like playing cards, but the cards didn’t appear to be a tarot deck either.

  “My Mother’s unique deck,” Kizzy said. “Now let’s work on making your mind a little harder to read.”

  She had me draw seven cards from the stacks after splitting the deck into thirds. I couldn’t interpret the cards at all, but I guess that’s how Kizzy had made her living. If everybody could read the cards, they wouldn’t have had to pay her to read their fortune.

  Kizzy read the cards and told me the story of a trusted lover betraying me. She said that I’d run from one life into a new one and that I’d been through a spiritual transformation in the process.