Party Hexed: Cozy Witch Mystery (Witches of Winterfield Book 4) Read online

  She said a little prayer in hopes that the change hadn’t turned him into a monster. Carly wanted him to be good like her, and if he wasn't, his appearance would allow him to be a dangerous hunter.

  Carly spoke the first part of the incantation and then took the lid off the tiny vial. She put her finger over the opening and tipped it upside down so that the pad of her index finger was covered in the mixture. Next, she rubbed some of it on his forehead and then across his lips.

  Her finger absorbed some of the liquid, and Carly could feel a bit of Linestra’s power surging through her veins. It was an intoxicating feeling, but she had to focus.

  Carly recapped the vial and recited the rest of the incantation. Once the ritual was done, she stepped back and waited. The vial of blood and oil still pulsed with energy in her pocket, and Carly knew that once this was done, she had to find a safe place for the rest. It could be useful in a future emergency, but it could also draw in a dark vampire who craved the Vampire Queen’s power.

  She rolled the vial between her fingers nervously as she waited. It had been a few minutes, and Carly started to panic. If Linestra’s blood couldn’t bring Nick’s consciousness back, that would mean he was beyond help. It would mean that she hadn’t saved him after all.

  Just as she was growing despondent, Nick stirred. At first, all he did was cough a little, but then he sat up abruptly and rubbed his eyes.

  “Carly?” He said once he looked over at her. “Why am I in a coffin? And, why am I so thirsty?”

  He was still dazed, but Nick was awake. She hurried over to him and hugged him tight. Carly was so happy that she nearly broke down into tears.

  “You’re okay. I’m so relieved.” She said with her face buried in that space between his shoulder and neck. “I was worried you’d never wake up.”

  She helped him out of the coffin and led him gently upstairs. Nick was weak and thirsty, so Carly was going to have to take him hunting soon. If he let the thirst get too strong, Nick wouldn’t be able to control himself.

  They got in the car and drove to the edge of the woods. Carly would help him hunt a deer and teach him how to feed without killing or causing pain. He would need help to stay in control the first time, but once the thirst was satisfied, he’d understand how to govern his own nature.

  A few hours later, Nick felt stronger. He was fascinated by the transformation he’d undergone. He’d felt attracted to Carly before, but now the pull between them was like gravity. There was a natural and unbreakable love between them that neither one could explain, but Carly suspected it was a gift from Linestra.

  They ran in the moonlight and played like children. Neither one could get enough kisses from the other. There was only one problem.

  Nick couldn’t remember who killed him.

  Murielle looked at the items on the floor in front of her. She was grateful that the woman had included a stick of chalk in the bag because Muri couldn’t find a pen or pencil anywhere.

  It started to get late, and she knew she had to get out of the library’s basement before anyone came looking for her. The last thing she’d wanted was for Luke or Belladonna to get trapped down there with her.

  She used an elastic band she’d found in her purse to put her hair in a bun on top of her head. It was one of those big buns that looked like a pineapple. Muri had seen a few of the women on the island wearing their hair that way, so she figured it was best. Next, she stuck the different feathers from the bag into the bun to create a makeshift headdress.

  Muri found an outside wall and drew a door with the chalk. As if the dark magic could sense what she was doing, Murielle could feel it winding its way down the stairs towards her like a snake ready to strike. So, she also used the chalk to draw a circle around her feet that connected with the base of the door drawing.

  “Here goes nothing,” Murielle said aloud as she dumped the last item from the bag into her hand.

  After she had shoved the handful of hallucinogenic mushrooms into her mouth, Muri was never so happy that she’d left a half-drunk bottle of diet soda in her purse. They tasted foul, and it took every ounce of physical strength she had to keep them in her stomach.

  She sat down in the circle with her ankles crossed. The island woman taught her a chant that Muri began to whisper repeatedly while she waited for the mushrooms to kick in. Soon, her words started to run together into a string of gibberish that even Muri no longer understood.

  Murielle opened her eyes and looked around the room. Though she knew she was still in the library basement, her surroundings looked as though she’d been transported somewhere entirely different.

  The floor was now a massive, flat rock in the middle of a slowly meandering river. There was nothing around her but water for several hundred feet. The only exception was the door hovering in front of the rock. Muri stood up and looked down at her feet. The rock sparkled in the sunlight while the river shifted back and forth from being made of water to being made of air.

  Murielle stepped forward and tried the knob on the door. Much to her dismay, it was locked. She tried the door again, and this time she shook the knob in frustration. Nothing happened.

  It seemed as though she would either be stuck on the rock or in the library basement forever. Muri could almost see the expanse of time and space stretching out in front of her for eternity.

  When she was about to give up, a friendly otter swam up and sat down beside her on the rock. She looked at it, and the otter looked back at her with sympathetic eyes.

  “Do you have a fish, Mate?” It asked in a perfect Australian accent.

  Murielle was about to apologize and tell the otter no, but she looked down at her hand and saw a big, fat fish clutched in her fist.

  “Here you go.” She said and gave the shiny fish to the talking otter.

  “Thanks.” The otter responded before he started to munch on the fish. “Say, have you tried knocking?”

  “Huh?” Murielle was confused as to why she would knock on a fish.

  “On the door. Have you tried knocking on the door.” The otter suggested before he jumped off the rock and swam away in the river of air.

  Murielle stood up, dusted the glitter off her pants, and stared at the door. She reached her hand up and knocked on the door three times. Much to her delight, it opened, and she was able to step through to the sidewalk outside of the library.

  Twelve

  A week later, they were no closer to solving the murder, but they did have a fantastic party planned. Despite Ben’s protests, Luke was now watching Mattie like a hawk, but between Officer Terry and Officer Cornwall neither had anything concrete on Mattie.

  The idea of going back down into Alex’s basement to confront the vampire had been discussed, but Ben had decided to seal the place up and wait for Granny Pepper and Aunt Sumac to come back. Nobody wanted to do battle with an evil, ancient vampire when the town was down three Nightshade witches.

  Belladonna didn’t recall there being another way out of the dungeon, so they all hoped they’d be safe if they boarded up the windows and doors to Chief Frost’s house. Ben, Luke, Murielle, and Belladonna all worked together at night to get it done when no one was watching. Thankfully, no one had asked any questions yet. The Frosts did not have nosey neighbors.

  Nick still couldn’t remember who’d attacked him, but his memories had started to come back. Belladonna called her Granny and Aunt every day, but they just kept telling her that the answer would come soon.

  The party was almost upon them, and Bella was scared to death that it was when Lexi had planned to strike. Murielle and Luke decided that the night before the big event was a good time to throw Ben and Belladonna an engagement party. The meeting hall would already be decorated, and Carly and Jessie could practice making the appetizers they’d intended to serve at Brynhildr’s campaign rave.

  “You’re serving food at the rave?” Belladonna asked when they told her about the plan. “Nobody mentioned it to me, and I’m supposed to be the head
of the party planning committee.”

  “We figured you had enough on your plate,” Jessie replied sweetly and offered Bella a cake pop.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s a cake pop, silly. They’re for the rave and a few for your party tonight. It’s a special recipe.” Jessie said and plucked a purple and yellow one from the rack for herself.

  “What do you mean special?” Belladonna asked with a raised eyebrow. She hadn’t forgotten the “special” drink Jessie brought to Muri’s bachelorette party.

  “Old elf ingredient. I learned how to use it from my grandmother.” She said with a huge smile.

  “You drugged the cake pops.” Belladonna teased.

  “I didn’t drug them. It’s not a drug. Elves don’t use drugs. It’s just special.”

  Belladonna ate the cake pop in two bites. “You’re making my wedding cake, right?” She had to admit it was the most delicious cake she’d ever had.

  “I’m at your service Belladonna.”

  Bella giggled a little bit. “Oh, my.” She felt more relaxed and happy than she’d felt since her family had left to research the way to restore her magic. “Jessie, you drugged the cake pops.”

  “It’s not a drug.”

  “Okay, well it’s not a drug, but you can’t serve these at the party. They are delicious, but…. You know…”

  Belladonna couldn’t put the words together, but Jessie got the idea. She looked a little crushed, and she’d already made half of what she needed.

  “Can we still have them at your party?” Jessie asked hopefully.

  “Sure.”

  The hall was beautifully decorated. Belladonna thought for a moment that they may have gone overboard with the sparkles and glitter, but upon further contemplation, she decided that it was perfect.

  There was a DJ booth that looked like something from a rocket ship at one end of the hall. Jessie happened to know a somewhat famous DJ from back home, and he’d enthusiastically agreed to work the big event.

  “He’s always had a bit of a crush on me,” Jessie told them with a tinge of blush that climbed from her neck up to the apples of her cheeks.

  A few tables were set up in the entryway, and that was where the food was going to go on the big night. The side rooms were where guests could go to grab a drink and get away from the music and dancing for a few minutes.

  For Belladonna and Ben’s engagement party, these rooms held both the food and drinks. Jessie, Carly, and Nick had whipped up a feast for their friends. Nick was overwhelmed with happiness to be back in the kitchen cooking again, but he was still unsure of who had attempted to murder him.

  He'd visited Linda and apologized to her for not remembering. He was certain it wasn’t her that had tried to kill him, but until he could remember exactly who had attacked him, he couldn’t get her out of jail.

  Granny Pepper and Aunt Sumac arrived for the engagement party. Belladonna hoped they had some information that would help restore her magic.

  “No, dear. We’re so close to a breakthrough, but we’re going to need a little more time.” Aunt Sumac said gently. “We just wanted to be here for you tonight. After this, we’ve got to go back.”

  The party was pleasant but subdued. Murielle and Luke decided that when the current mess with Leonard’s murder was all cleaned up, they’d have to throw another party. Their friends deserved a happier celebration.

  “I shouldn’t have pushed it,” Murielle said to her new husband.

  “You just wanted to show them how much you love them,” Luke answered.

  He gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and wrapped her in his arms. Luke was doing his best to concentrate on Muri and the party, but something sinister pulled at him. He’d felt this before at the barbecue. There was something in the air that tried to force him to shift. Luckily, he’d sensed it ahead of time, and Luke was able to keep it pushed down. Jessie’s cake pops were helping keep him calm as well.

  What none of them realized was that they’d made a huge mistake. The strangulation tools left in Linda’s house were just a distraction. If the toxicology reports had come back, Ben would have known that it was poison on the tip of Leonard’s cigarettes that killed him.

  While the friends celebrated, the poisoner had snuck into Big Buns Bakery where all the food and drinks for Brynhildr’s party were stored. The hooded figure was almost gleeful about spiking the tea, soda, and appetizer preparations with the powder they’d spent the last two weeks making.

  The recipe was from an old voodoo man in New Orleans, and this particular magic poison was guaranteed to turn the Mayor’s campaign bash into an evening no one in Winterfield, or the world, would ever forget.

  Thirteen

  By the next afternoon, Belladonna felt much better. All they had to do was make it through Brynhildr’s party, and then they could raid Chief Frost’s house and confront the twisted vampire in the basement dungeon.

  The whole town buzzed with excitement and energy. For the most part, the party was already set up. Carly, Jessie, and Nick spent the day assembling appetizers and taking them from the Bakery over to the meeting house. Belladonna had a full day of clients scheduled who actually showed up for their appointments.

  Business had started to pick up again after the snake and pasta incident, and on the day of the party, clients were more concerned with getting their hair done than they were with a little magic snafu. Bella made sure that she did all of the hair styles by hand and whenever magic was needed, Francine stepped in and helped her out.

  Ben and Luke spent the morning setting up road blocks at the three entry points into Winterfield. The last thing the town needed was people from the outside sneaking into the party because they’d heard rumors about the rave. Brynhildr wanted this party to be for residents only, and that was also her way of controlling what the world heard about the event.

  After lunch, they swept the town for any suspicious activity. It would have been faster if Luke and Ben had split up, but if Lexi’d had any plans, that would have played right into them. Together they checked every street, the cemetery, and the old church on the outskirts of town.

  Both men were a bit nervous about the ghost in the basement, but the preacher’s spirit didn’t even make an appearance. Back at the temporary police station, Officer Lucy Cornwall kept an eye on Linda and made sure that no unwelcome visitors stopped in for a visit.

  Everyone was surprised by what a quiet day it was. That made sense, though. Lexi would wait to strike when people’s guards were down. Belladonna’s intuition kicked back in just in time for her to get the sense that something was going to go horribly wrong at the party tonight.

  When her last client left for the day, she grabbed Francine and towed her up to Brynhildr’s mansion. Bella wanted to at least attempt to convince the Mayor that not postponing the party was a bad idea.

  “But you’re in charge of the planning. You’re coming to me at the last minute and asking to postpone?” There wasn’t a hint of annoyance in Brynhildr’s voice, and yet Belladonna could tell she was not on board with the idea. “Belladonna, I have three national newspapers waiting for the story tomorrow. Please, get Sumac and Pepper back here. I know your coven can protect the party.”

  Belladonna didn’t tell anyone else besides Francine about her bad feeling. She figured since the party would go on, there was no point in risking a self-fulfilling prophecy.

  Belladonna and Murielle decided to get ready for the party at Bella’s house for old time’s sake. That meant that Ben was banished to Luke and Murielle’s place unless he wanted to go home. He decided to go have a beer with Luke while they waited for their women to get dolled up. Olwen happily went along as well. Ben could tell that the dog missed Bella’s mother, and he hoped she’d come for a visit soon. For now, his pet seemed happy to settle for his company.

  The original costume Bella had chosen for the party still hung in the closet. It was a mermaid dress with sparkly scales lining the skirt, but it restricted her mo
vement too much. Something deep inside her told Belladonna to choose a dress that helped her stay more mobile.

  In the end, she settled on her favorite little black dress. It fit at the waist and flared out at the bottom. Bella had a mini petticoat she wore underneath it to keep the skirt bouncy.

  “It needs something,” Murielle said as she studied her friend's choice.

  “Okay, what do you have in mind?” Belladonna relented because she knew Muri wouldn’t let her leave until she let her spruce up the dress a bit. “I’m more worried about where Granny and Aunt Sumac are. I wish they’d get here.”

  “Close your eyes. I’ve got an idea. And, Belladonna, try to stop worrying. You know that it changes nothing. Everything will work out.”

  Belladonna closed her eyes. She heard Muri walking around her in a circle and could hear her wand whipping around in the air.

  “Okay. Open up.” Murielle chirped.

  Belladonna gasped and clapped her hands in appreciation. Her friend’s design lifted her spirits and made her forget her fretting for a moment. Murielle had embossed a sparkling, rainbow snake into the dress. It’s head looked over the shoulder, it’s body wound around the bodice of the dress, and it’s tail dipped down over the skirt.

  As she moved, the snake appeared to dance. “But, the rainbow shimmer in my hair is gone.” Belladonna lamented. “I can’t bring it back, either.”

  “I’ll give it a shot,” Murielle said and waved her wand in the air before Bella had a chance to protest.

  Belladonna could hear the music thumping from the meeting house before the car even made it to the parking lot. The party had just started, but as Ben and Bella arrived, they saw Nick, Jessie, and Carly carrying the food into the building.

  They hurried over to help their friends take the rest of the food into the meeting hall. After everything had been set up, Luke announced that he was starving and started to reach for a feta puff.