“Yes, and you’ll need to eat. Remember, this is you using your energy to manipulate all of the energy around you. It takes some serious calories to do that. Plus, you naturally have a higher metabolism.”
“Get out,” I said.
“And speaking of that, I’m starving. Now that everything is ready for the shop to open tomorrow, let’s go get some food?” Rowan asked.
I was about to answer when a woman walked into the shop. “Oh, we’re closed,” I said. “We’ll reopen tomorrow.”
“I’m not here for ice cream,” she spat. “I’m here to get a look at the little trollop who murdered my husband.”
“You were married to Lukas?” I probably could have handled her a little more gently, but she caught me off guard. What she said next made the whole situation absurd.
“I’m technically his ex-wife, but we were going to get back together as soon as he divorced Laney. He promised me they were over and he and I would be back together soon. Then you had to come along and try to steal him. I still can’t believe you killed him just because he turned you down! How are you not in jail?!” The crescendo of her voice raised until she was practically shrieking the last part.
“Kandice, stop,” Rowan said.
He stepped forward to put himself between me and the hysterical Kandice. I instinctively took a step back and almost tripped over Voodoo.
“She killed him! She killed the love of my life!”
“Please calm down,” Rowan said in a voice that sounded like melted caramel, and I knew he was using some sort of magic on her. “Allegra didn’t kill Lukas. That’s why she’s not in jail. You should go. The store isn’t open, and this isn’t productive.”
“This isn’t over,” she growled, but to my relief, she did turn to leave.
“How many women in this town think that they were Lukas Roth’s one and only love?” I asked. “I had the housekeeper at the inn come at me the same way.”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” Rowan said.
One thing I did know, I had to get to the bottom of who actually killed Lukas Roth. It was evident that I wasn’t going to get a moment of peace in my new town if I didn’t clear my name.
Chapter Six
We went back to Mama’s Fat Cakes to get some lunch, and while the smell was heavenly as we walked in, this time it didn’t almost make me pass out. I was hungry again by now, but my blood pressure didn’t shoot up as I tried to figure out what I could have to eat that wouldn’t ruin my diet before I blacked out from low blood sugar.
I plucked the menus from the napkin holder and handed one to Rowan. When I opened it and looked at the pictures of the food and the descriptions, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.
“You look happy,” Rowan commented.
“I can have anything I want,” I said. “I’m not used to that.”
“You really never cheated on your diet before? Not even on your birthday or holidays?”
“Nope,” I said resolutely. “I didn’t believe in cheat days. It takes a lot of work to keep your body fat percentage as low as mine is. There’s no room to cheat. Not even once.”
“That takes a lot of discipline,” Rowan said.
“Or insanity,” I countered with a smile.
“I’m just saying that I think you’re going to become a wickedly powerful witch. Not only do you have all of your natural ability hidden in there somewhere, but you’ll be able to master ceremonial magic if you want.”
“Do I need to?”
“No, but you’d be a rock star at it.”
I mulled over what he’d said while I continued to peruse the menu. It was harder to make a decision than I thought. It had been years since I sat down at a restaurant, looked at a menu, and just chose what I wanted.
What did I want?
That question was a revelation. Other than obsessing over my fitness career, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d asked myself what I really wanted.
Wait, that was a lie. I’d asked myself the night before in the ice cream shop. I’d picked a flavor. But, before that, I couldn’t remember a time when I really thought about what I wanted.
My decisions were based on what would be good for my career and what would be good for my relationship with Dane. Which usually boiled down to what was good for Dane. The truth was I had no idea what I wanted, but it was high time for me to start figuring it out.
“I don’t know what I want,” I said and sat the menu down. “What do you like?”
“When we were little, you loved when my mom or Mrs. Miller would make you grilled cheese and tomato soup. You liked to dunk the sandwich in the soup.”
“Oh, right. Do they have that here?” I asked.
“They do,” Rowan said.
I searched through the menu and found the soup and sandwich combo lunch specials. “I think I’ll start there,” I said and put the menu back.
“Start there? As in you’re going to have a second lunch or possibly dessert?”
“I mean with figuring out what I want. When I said I didn’t know what I wanted, I didn’t just mean for lunch. I haven’t really made any decisions based on what I want for a long time. I think it’s time for me to start doing that.”
“Oh, cool. That was fast,” Rowan remarked with a Cheshire Cat grin.
“What? What was fast?”
“You wanting to explore your desires. It’s part of coming into your power. It’s happening already.”
“You make it sound lewd,” I blushed again.
“That’s not what I meant,” Rowan said, but I could have sworn there was a bit of red in his cheeks too. Did I make him blush? “If I call them wishes, is that better.”
“Yes, let’s stick with words like wishes for now.”
“Whatever we call it, you caring about what you want is just the beginning.”
I leaned over and whispered my next question. “So, are you like my spirit guide? You seem to be very invested in helping me figure this all out.”
“I guess in a way, I am. You need one after all. We can’t have you stumbling around shooting off your new magic half-cocked. Someone has to guide you. I’m a logical choice given how close we were.”
“So, you drew the short straw?” I teased.
“I volunteered.”
I was about to ask him if there had been some sort of committee meeting on the topic when Bethany walked into the diner. It became obvious that she was looking for me when she spotted me and started walking toward the booth. She saw my lunch companion and for a split second, the jealous daggers came out again.
“Having lunch together too.” She tried to sound casual and failed miserably. If there was something between Bethany and Rowan, and he was going to be my witchcraft guru, we were going to have to work something out.
“Would you like to join us?” Rowan asked smoothly, “We were just having a chat as to how to help Allegra fit into her new town better.” It wasn’t technically a lie.
“It’s not really a new town. More like coming home,” I said.
Bethany appeared to be thinking over Rowan’s offer. I could tell she didn’t want to leave us alone together, but she was obviously on duty. And she was supposed to be working a murder case.
“I really can’t,” she finally relented. “I just got word from the coroner, and I need to hit the street and talk to some people.”
“Oh,” Rowan perked up as much as I did. “Did you get a cause of death?”
I could kiss him for asking that. I wanted, no needed, to know too, but there was no way Bethany would tell me. She seemed to be pretty smitten with Rowan, so I hoped she would answer.
“I suppose how he died is information my office will be releasing to the public anyway,” Bethany began. “We weren’t sure at the scene, but barring anything shocking from the toxicology report, it looks like he was strangled. Well, strangulation is what killed him. He was hit over the head from behind first. By someone much shorter.” Bethany looked at me, and I knew w
hat she meant. I was still a suspect.
“They had to hit him over the head to subdue him so they could strangle him,” I mused, and that only made Bethany stare at me harder. Like I would really just lay out how I’d killed a man in the diner?
“Any leads?” I asked.
“I can’t really say,” Bethany retorted. “But, Rowan, I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything around town? Something that might help me clear your new friend?”
The spite in the last words dripped off her lips like venom. She wasn’t even concealing her jealousy. I fought the urge to roll my eyes because it wasn’t fair, and I understood how she felt. I was a little envious that they even had a history for Bethany to feel jealous over us.
“Kandice came into the ice cream shop earlier and accused Allegra of killing him. She was really upset. Said that she and Lukas were planning to get back together.”
“Huh,” was Bethany’s only response.
“I had a housekeeper at the inn say practically the same thing to me too. Apparently, she was having a relationship with him as well and thought they were going to be together. Both women were more than a little upset,” I said.
I didn’t want to accuse two women who might have been completely innocent, but they hadn’t had any problem accusing me. I also didn’t want to send Bethany on a wild goose chase, but she did seem at a loss for leads. My guess was that she didn’t have much experience investigating murders. Small towns like Knox Hills tended to not have much crime. At least not serious crime.
“I’ll look into it,” Bethany said. “You need to stay out of the investigation, and that goes for you too, Rowan. For now, Allegra is still a suspect, and you shouldn’t do anything to make her look more guilty.”
After lunch, we decided to go back to my house so that Rowan and Voodoo could help me more with magic. Rowan said he thought my powers would emerge quickly, and I needed to learn how to harness them.
“Mrs. Miller is a witch too, isn’t she?” I asked on the drive back.
“She is.”
“I saw her garden change right before Voodoo showed up. It was almost like I could feel a memory scratching at the back of my brain, but she didn’t say anything to me when I arrived at the house.”
“Remember, I drew the short straw,” Rowan said as he turned into the driveway.
“Right. So now that everyone knows you told me, that means the witches aren’t going to hide what they are from me anymore?”
“Most of them won’t, but they still won’t practice magic out in the open where regulars can see. You’re not going to suddenly walk around and see witches randomly casting spells on the streets.”
We went inside and I helped Rowan move the coffee table out from the center of the living room floor. He went into the kitchen and came back with salt, candles, and a handful of herbs.
“So we’re starting with ceremonial magic?” I asked.
“It’s cool that you recognized that just from me gathering supplies,” Rowan said with a proud smile. “But not really. I’m going to teach you how to cast a circle, and while it is ceremonial, that will be the extent of it. I’m going to save more complicated stuff for later.”
“And you can technically cast a circle without the ceremonial stuff,” Voodoo added as he trotted into the living room. “You can use your energy to cast a protective circle, and that’s one thing I can help you with.”
I watched as Rowan made a circle with the salt and then another inside with the herbs. He put down four black candles and four white as well.
“The herbs are lavender,” Rowan explained. “They protect you from evil spirits.”
“Evil spirits are a real thing then?” I asked. “I guess I never really believed in ghosts and stuff.”
“I know you believe in them. You’ve seen ghosts before. You’ve just blocked it out,” Rowan said.
“My guess is that you continued to see them even when you weren’t practicing,” Voodoo added. “You probably just explained it away.”
I thought of all of the times I’d seen something out of the corner of my eye or felt something moving in the dark. I had explained it all away, though. I’d told myself that my mind was attaching meaning to experiences I was only having because I was tired, or I’d imagined entirely.
“You mean those were all ghosts?”
“Happened a lot, huh?” Voodoo asked. “You can deny your nature, but you can’t deny the spiritual world around you. It exists whether you believe in it or not.”
“Okay, so the lavender protects from evil, but what about the black candles? People in the movies are always using those for black magic.”
“You can use them for dark magic, but it’s all in your intention. With ceremonial magic, you set the intention for the tool not the other way around. At least that’s the way it should work,” Rowan said.
“And the salt is for protection too? The movies got that part right?”
“Yes,” Rowan said. “Salt is a powerful tool for protection and for cleansing. You should carry some on you at all times.”
“Okay, so standing inside the circle protects me. When do I use that?”
“You cast a circle whenever you’re doing magic. That’s why we started with it. If you’re casting a spell, doing a ritual, or summoning spirits, you need to cast a circle first,” Rowan said.
“What if I have to do magic on the fly?” I asked.
“Well, it’s always better to cast a formal circle when you can, but sometimes you have to just use your energy to do it.”
Chapter Seven
After some more practice casting a circle, Voodoo, Rowan, and I had some dinner. Rowan went home after dinner, and all I wanted to do was fall into bed. We’d had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and I stuffed myself with three plates plus garlic bread. I was just starving after using magic, and I couldn’t believe how much I’d eaten.
Stuffed with delicious carbs and happy as a fat cat in the sun, I went upstairs to check out the bedrooms. There were four bedrooms in the house with two on each side of the hallway. The master and the smallest bedroom were to the left, and to the right were the two middle-sized rooms and a bathroom.
The first bedroom on the right had been my room when I stayed with Uncle Leo. I went in there first and found my old twin bed right where it had been before. The quilt, made by my grandmother, was still the bedspread. The scene took me back.
I could remember lying on that bed reading novels late into the night.
But they weren’t novels, were they?
My memory had replaced the books with novels, but they had actually been spell books and old family grimoires. I looked to the old oak bookcase next to the window, and sure enough, it was lined with black, purple, and ruby red leather-bound books.
Every summer I’d spend hours a day poring over those tomes in the hopes that while I was in Knox Hills, my magic could catch up with Rowan’s. He got to study magic year round, but I could only be a witch, and be myself, when I visited my uncle.
It was easy to switch back and forth between the two lives when I was young kid. I could keep Leo, and Knox Hills’, magical secret. It was when I got older and became a teenager that I started to resent having to stop using magic when I went back to live with my mother.
Instead of holding out for eighteen or even asking my mother to live with Uncle Leo, I began to resent him and the magic. It was a typical teenage move, I guessed.
I wished I could take it back and have made a different decision. That wasn’t possible though. All I could do was stick to my vow to make the most of what I’d been given.
When I crossed the hall into the master bedroom, I expected to find it as I’d last seen it. At some point, Leo had the room completely remodeled.
The furniture was all new, and the mattress and foundation on the bed were still wrapped in plastic. There was a note in the middle of the bed. I picked it up and read it.
You’re welcome to your old room if you’d like, but this is my
gift to you, Allegra. Someone as magical as you needs a good night’s sleep.
There was a new door in the wall that separated the master bedroom from the small bedroom. I walked through and discovered that the smallest bedroom was a bedroom no more. Leo had turned it into an ensuite bathroom. There was a large, clawfoot soaking tub, a walk-in rain shower, and a double vanity with marble countertops.
“Wow, Uncle Leo,” I whispered. “I don’t think I’ll be taking my old room. Thank you.” I hoped wherever he was, he’d heard me.
The walk-in closet had been redone too with built-in shelves and racks. I found clean sheets and a brand new bedspread. After taking the plastic off the bed, I made it up and got ready for bed.
“So does this mean I can’t sleep on the bed?” Voodoo asked as he moseyed into the room. “I guess I could take one of the other rooms.”
“You don’t have a doggie bed?” I asked.
He just sort of looked at me and blinked.
“Well, I don’t know,” I said defensively. “I’ve never owned a talking dog before.”
“You don’t own me. We’re more like partners.”
“Sorry,” I said.
“You’re forgiven if I can sleep on the bed.”
“It is a king size. Sure, why not?”
Voodoo let out a happy little bark and jumped up onto the bed. After circling a few dozen times, he made himself comfortable on the side I hadn’t chosen.
By the time I woke up in the morning, he was snuggled up against my back. I was momentarily disoriented when I woke up, but it all came rushing back pretty quickly.
I’d forgotten to set an alarm, and I’d slept until almost seven thirty. I hadn’t slept that late in years. I was usually up at dawn to get my first workout in before breakfast.
I stretched and Voodoo gruffed and rolled over. “Don’t roll any more, you’ll smash me,” he said.
“I’m not going to smash you,” I said and sat up. “Are you calling me fat?”
He just sat there and blinked at me.
“Breakfast, then?” I asked, realizing I was being a little silly.
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