Spooky Spice Cake Curse

by Addison Moore

  “I can’t take it,” he says. “Those boys are getting way too close. And why is she showing so much skin? She would have shown less had she worn a bathing suit.”

  “She’s not Amish,” I tell him.

  “It’s not too late to convert,” he mutters.

  Meg chuckles at the thought. “It’s a dance. Their bodies are moving, and the room is crowded. They’re bound to bump into one another.”

  Everett shakes his head. “It seems awfully coincidental they keep bumping into her in all the wrong places.”

  He starts to take off, and Noah holds his arm out. “I’d better handle this. If you go rogue, Evie may never speak to you again.”

  Meg scowls at the crowd. “I’ll do it. Those boys might want to pick a fight with you, Noah. Teenagers don’t really care if you’re packing heat.”

  Noah glares at the boys in question. “I’ll make them care,” he says as he takes off.

  “See that?” I nudge Everett. “Noah really does care for Evie as much as we do.”

  Meg nods. “And if that kiddo you’re baking in your belly is his, he’s going to make a great daddy.” She slaps Everett on the shoulder. “How are you holding up under all the baby pressure, Judge Baxter?”

  “I’m not feeling any pressure at all.” His eyes soften as he looks my way. “You’re going to be a great mother, Lemon, no matter where the paternal chips may fall. And I plan on being a great father to that child as well.”

  “As you will be.” I wrap my arms around him just as the music shifts gears, and soon we’re dancing right along with the rest of the room. “Thank you for loving me so completely, Everett. I don’t know how I’d get through any of this madness without you.”

  He winces. “You’d have Noah.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know, you seem to have the power to center me and help me find my peace. And that’s what I’m so very hungry for—peace. With the exception, of course, of the utter chaos you bring.”

  “Chaos?” He lifts a brow, amused, and I marvel at how the twinkle lights make his eyes siren out all that much more like cobalt calling cards. “Please tell me about this chaos I bring into your life,” he teases. “It’s not Evie, is it?”

  A laugh bubbles from me. “Nope. The chaos I’m thinking of comes from you exclusively, takes place behind closed doors, and I happen to enjoy it.”

  A dark laugh thunders from his chest.

  His lids hood low. “Expect some major chaos to ensue in just a few hours. That dress is doing things to me that I won’t recover from for days.”

  “Is that right?” I can’t help but laugh. “In that case, I’ll do my best to help you recover as quickly as possible. If you like, the dress can stay on.”

  “I’m issuing a bench warrant for the removal of that dress. And as the presiding authority, I’ll be the one to remove it.”

  “Does that mean I’ll be taken into custody and quickly ushered into your chambers?”

  “Your chambers or mine. Lady’s choice.” He presses out a short-lived smile. “Speaking of choices, I think I found the perfect property for us to build a brand new life. But I’m not making a move without your approval.”

  “You did? Where is it? Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  Noah comes up and gives Everett a tap on the shoulder.

  “No,” Everett gruffs without so much as turning around.

  “It’s Evie.” Noah shrugs. “She got wind of the fact I was keeping an eye on her and I lost her.”

  “You lost her?” Everett growls as he inspects the crowd.

  “It’s fine, Everett,” I say, trying to coax him back into my arms. “She’s probably giving her friends a private tour of the B&B.”

  “Yes.” His lips cinch. “But which friends? I’d better check things out.” He bullets out of the conservatory before I can stop him, and Noah swoops in and seamlessly takes his place.

  “Smooth, Fox.” I give his ribs a tweak. “Real smooth.”

  “I’m not playing around.” His dimples dig in deep. “I miss you, Lot. I miss this.” He warms my back with his hands.

  “I miss it, too.” Tears come to my eyes, and I quickly bat them away.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “No, it’s okay.” I can hardly look up at him, I feel so bad. “I want to know what you’re feeling. We might be having a baby together. You’re one of my best friends. And you’re more than that, and you know it. Nell said I have two soulmates and that you’re one of them.”

  “Who’s the other?” He gives a lopsided grin. “Kidding. You don’t know how happy that makes me, Lottie. I’m not giving up on us. I can’t. And I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you, because I’m not. Everett—he never pressured you. And I can’t be that guy. Just know I’m always here for you. No matter what you need, no matter what time it is, no matter how small you might think the need is. I’m your guy. It’s my honor to be there for you and the baby.”

  A smile warms my face. “Thank you for that. A while back you mentioned you had some names picked out. Care to share?”

  He winces. “I was just tossing spaghetti to the wall. Nothing serious. But I was thinking about the fact you’re named after Carlotta. If it’s a girl, maybe you could consider—Carlotta? You don’t have to call her Lottie. She could have another nickname.”

  “That’s interesting.” A frown takes over without my permission. “What nickname?”

  “I did some research, and Carlotta is the female version of Charlie in Italian. So you could go with Charlie, but change the spelling to feminize it. Or you can go wide—Carly, Harlie, Harlo, Coco, Cece, Cat—heck, you can even go with Lyla. There are a million variations.” He brushes his finger over my nose. “Regardless, I know that he or she will be just as special as their mom.”

  A loud, inhuman scream garners my attention, and I look past Noah’s shoulder in time to see Thirteen glowing like an onyx flame, his fur spiked, his green eyes bulging with fear.

  “Lottie.” Thirteen howls as he flies right through me, and my chest bucks, causing me to inadvertently stagger away from Noah.

  And right on the supernatural cat’s heels comes Duke, flying through the air with those illuminated amber orbs he sees the world through—as he dives right through Noah’s chest. But Noah doesn’t stagger. He flies through the air backward until he hits the glass wall and crashes to the ground with a thud.

  The room lights up with screams of terror as Duke chases Thirteen through the crowd, knocking down young men and women alike until the conservatory devolves into utter madness.

  I dash over to Noah and help him to his feet.

  “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine.” He squeezes his eyes shut a moment. “The teenage version of me would have paid money to have that happen.”

  The chandelier gives a violent rock up above as Lea lets out the cry of a banshee before hopping down and landing right on Duke’s back. That machete in her hand moves in quick, even motions as she does her best to decapitate the poor pooch—and succeeds.

  Good thing for Duke, it’s not a lasting condition. This isn’t her first rodeo when it comes to utilizing her slicing and dicing skills for nefarious purposes. She’s been known to collect her fair share of heads and tails. And seeing that it brings Lea such great pleasure, neither Greer nor Winslow has bothered to reprimand her for it. I’m not sure what that says about their parenting abilities, but I’m positive it’s not a good thing. And it certainly makes me wonder what destructive behavior I’ll let my little sugar cookie get away with just because it makes them smile. Here’s hoping there’s not a felony attached to that good time.

  The DJ struggles to regain control of the room once again as a flicker of lavender light begins to percolate near the ceiling.

  “Oh my God,” I whisper as I stare up at the supernatural phenomenon, wondering if Iona or Annabeth Canterbury will pop out of the woodwork next and give us all the scare of our lives.
<
br />   Noah pulls me in close. “I’d better make sure these kids are okay. Why don’t you find somewhere safe to stand, in the event there’s a stampede to get out the door?”

  He takes off just as Greer Giles floats over to my side in all of her ethereal glory. Her long, dark hair shines like a solar system all on its own, and her sharp beauty is only magnified by the strange glow filling the room.

  “What’s happening?” I pant as the entire room comes to a standstill, and all faces turn to the ceiling as that aura of supernatural light enchants them. “Oh my word, everyone can see it.”

  Greer lets out a ghostly moan. “Oh, Lottie. This can’t be good. Do you think Duke has brought this on somehow?”

  Winslow zips over with his face glowing in the reflection of this celestial phenomenon.

  “No,” he says as he circles his arms around Greer as if he were protecting her from the evil among us. “This has nothing to do with that poor beast and everything to do with that wretched curse.”

  “Lottie,” a ghostly voice whispers from my right, and I turn that way. “Come, Lottie.”

  A familiar form begins to materialize by the door.

  “Nell!” I zip over without hesitation as the DJ turns up the music and the party seems to get going once again.

  “Oh dear.” Nell forms fully as the wrinkled old sweet woman I’ve known all my life. Actually, while Nell was still alive, I didn’t have any idea she was my grandmother, but around the time of her death, the truth came out about my birth—and about my transmundane status.

  Nell gleams like the star from heaven she is. The lavender hue in her hair and eyes has always been a part of her, but tonight, under the supervision of that strange aura lighting up the conservatory, it looks that much more pronounced. “Come, Lottie.” She holds out her hand, and I take it as she navigates us out of the room, past the crowd dancing outside on the patio until we hit the dark end of the woods and we’re all alone, just Nell and me—and it is bliss.

  She presses out a warm smile. “You’ve done it, Lottie. You’ve ventured where I forbid you to go. But I think we both knew you would. Your thirst for justice is a siren song you simply can’t resist.”

  “I’m so sorry, Nell. I didn’t mean to. Please tell me this can be fixed.” My hand flies over my belly. “Please tell me my baby is going to be just fine.”

  Her face fills with worry, and it sends a chill up my spine.

  “I don’t know, Lottie. I don’t know what will happen. But this force, it’s growing stronger—and the consequence just might be that your powers will grow stronger, too. One thing is for sure, it’s growing bolder. And I’m fearful you’ll be caught in the middle once it hits its crescendo.”

  “Nell, there are rumors that this thing, this curse—Lea said it started with some woman who belonged to the Magiskas. That her daughter was impregnated and rejected by Bartholomew Hearst and that her mother put a curse on his entire family. And then, just the other day, Fester Hamilton said the curse was brought on by a woman who was transmundane. He said he heard about it from another woman who could read minds.”

  She nods. “A telesensual.”

  “Yes. Nell, you know about this?”

  “I’ve been doing a little digging myself. And they’re both right in a way. There was a woman who was infuriated that her daughter was cast aside, as was her daughter’s child because they didn’t come from the stock that Bartholomew wanted. The woman’s mother was transmundane indeed. She was powerful, Lottie.”

  “What were these women, Iona and Annabeth Canterbury? Were they truly transmundane?”

  She nods. “But they weren’t called Magiskas. They came from a little known branch of our people called the Beguilers. The Beguilers’ power to charm is potent. And by charm, I’m not just talking about in the amorous sense. You could charm a whirlwind to come forth, objects to move at will, people to bend to your will—an earthquake, a fire.”

  “A curse,” I say breathless.

  “That’s right, Lottie. And it has ensnared so many of those in the Hearst family. It has the power to harness those that pry around the Hearsts as well.”

  I nod. “Such as with this murder case. And Ichabod was murdered. Someone’s head just doesn’t fall off. There was a murder weapon. Duke wouldn’t be here if this was some bizarre accident. Nell, I can solve this crime. I’m almost to the bottom of it. I have strong clues that implicate a short list of people. This is no supernatural event.”

  “Lottie”—she takes up both of my hands, her face melting with sadness—“I have no doubt you can do this. But sometimes it’s simply not prudent. Now what is this business between Carlotta and a dog? She’s come asking for supernatural favors that she knows I can’t give her.”

  I guess I found that higher authority Carlotta was talking about.

  “Never mind Carlotta,” I tell her. “She’s in over her head, or should I say over her heart? She’s grown far too attached to a ghost that’s come back to help.”

  Nell rolls her eyes. “Do watch after her, dear. Now how is the baby?”

  “It’s healthy.” I blink back unexpected tears.

  “And how are Noah and Everett handling everything?”

  “As good as can be expected. Tensions have been a little high.”

  “You tell them I have a message. Both Noah and Everett will fare well in this scenario. It all works out, Lottie. The fact that they’re both your soulmate is highly unusual but it surely doesn’t mean it has to end in tragedy. Enjoy all that life gives you, Lottie. Enjoy each day, savor it as if it were your last. If you don’t stop playing with this spiritual fire, it just might be your last indeed.” She fades away until my hands are holding nothing but air. “Don’t let that happen, Lottie. Don’t.”

  And just like that, I’m alone in the woods.

  “Lemon?” A voice echoes from behind, and I carefully excavate myself from the forest until I see Everett bolting for me. “Lemon.” Everett pulls me in with all his strength. “You scared me. Are you okay?”

  “It was Nell—she was here,” I say, still stunned from her parting words.

  By the time we get back into the conservatory, the lavender aura is gone and the dance seems to be winding down.

  Something wicked has settled upon Honey Hollow, upon this very B&B, and all arrows point back to someone from my own transmundane family, a Beguiler—someone with powers so strong her wicked influence has lasted generation after generation.

  A headless rendition of Duke whips by with little Lea floating to the ceiling holding the headless pooch by the ears.

  There might be a curse, but I know for certain there was a murder.

  And I’m not going to let some transmundane Beguiler bully me out of getting to the bottom of Ichabod Hearst’s homicide investigation.

  There’s a killer out there just hoping I’ll be spooked into submission.

  Little do they know, it takes a heck of a lot more than some curse to make me shiver in fear.

  I’m not standing down, I’m standing up for justice.

  The night comes to an end, and true to his word, Everett makes good on that bench warrant.

  He causes just the right amount of chaos well into the night.

  And all is right with the world—almost.

  Chapter 15

  There’s just one more sleep until Halloween, and every costumed cutie under twelve has come through the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery—and they keep coming at a steady clip.

  “Lily, I just pulled out another batch of pumpkin cookies with sprinkles,” I tell her as we send another group of children off to the Honey Pot Diner.

  “You can save them,” Lily says as she heads to the register. “Everyone is asking to have your spice cake instead.”

  “I’d like to think it’s because it’s delicious,” I mutter mostly to myself. “But I know better.”

  The spice cake is indeed delicious, and it’s been the single barrier between my nausea and me this morning. But the kids stream
ing through aren’t looking to stave off a churning stomach. They’re looking to bite into a bit of murderous history, seeing that it’s the very last thing Ichabod Hearst ate.

  But that murderous detail certainly isn’t putting anyone off to my delectable dessert—certainly not me. I polished off an entire eight-inch round cake all by myself this morning and paired it with some ranch dressing that nearly fell out of the fridge when I was retrieving the cake. It’s almost as if that dressing was demanding to be a part of the experience, and who was I to deny it that honor?

  Anyway, it wasn’t as good as one might think it would be, but it did highlight the fact I need to keep more fried pickles on hand for my morning sickness emergencies. In fact, just to stave off another wave, I think I’ll partake in that yummy goodness now. I quickly land a hefty slice of spice cake on a plate and pour myself a cup of my mocha hazelnut coffee—decaf, of course—and just as I’m about to indulge, Noah walks through the door with a grin on his face.

  “Lottie Lemon, fancy meeting you here.” He gives a playful wink.

  “What has you in such a good mood, Detective Fox?” I give a playful wink right back.

  “I think I finally have a bead on who the killer might be.” His expression grows somber a moment. “That, and I spoke to Everett this morning and we talked a bit about a surprise we’re working on for you.”

  A sickly moan escapes me. “What surprise?” I land my hand over my belly. “Haven’t I had enough surprises so far this year?”

  Before he can answer, Carlotta swoops in and brings not only the crisp autumn breeze with her, but a sparkling ghostly pooch named Duke, too. Thankfully, he has his head attached once again, which is more than I can say for his old owner.

  “Have you told her? Have you told her?” Carlotta’s hair is windblown, and her black and white checked coat sits slightly askew. “I’m going to get my own floor! That means I can set up that personal gym I’ve been wanting, and my own luxury bath, oh, and I’ll need a top-of-the-line office.”