Back Room Bookstore Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1 - 12

by Susan Harper

  “Supportive, or just nosey?” Abigail asked.

  “I beg your pardon?” Nud asked.

  Monica quickly explained. “Nud, the pamphlet I mentioned that we found—the one written in Cinur—we found it in Xana’s desk.”

  Nud’s eyebrows raised. “You found a pamphlet written in Cinur in that witch’s desk?”

  “Yes,” Monica said. “She also made a…subtle…comment about me seeing a mortal.”

  Nud looked down at Abigail. “Do you still read Cinur, young witch?”

  “I can recall a little of it,” Abigail said.

  “Did you see the brochure?” he asked. “What did it say?”

  “Like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve seen anything in Cinur,” Abigail said. “But it was definitely something talking about Remembrance. I think there might be a small gathering it was promoting.”

  “Wait, Xana and that other referee, Walter, said something about a meeting,” Monica said. “You don’t think it was a Remembrance gathering, do you?”

  Nud stomped his hooves. “I’ll be darned if I let a Remembrance gathering happen in my town!”

  “We don’t know for sure if there is a Remembrance gathering happening,” Abigail said. “Surely no one is that stupid. Being a member of Remembrance has been heavily punished by the Sorcerer’s Council for centuries.”

  “Something being illegal cannot change people’s cold hearts, Abigail,” Nud said. Nud put his hand over his mouth. “I told Xana that Trapper was a half-breed! If she is a Remembrance admirer… It was like I painted a target on that poor boy’s back!”

  “We need to figure out where this gathering is happening,” Monica said. “That’s where we will find Xana, and we can confront her about Trapper. She’ll be spending her days in prison.”

  “If we wind up finding a Remembrance gathering, there will be a lot more witches and wizards coming to face the council this evening,” Nud said harshly. “I’ll summon the other councilmen. We’re going to put a stop to any sort of resurgence of that wicked cult before it can begin.”

  “Good,” Monica said, drawing her wand. “I’ll be coming with you. I want to see this through. Let’s take care of Xana before she or her fellow Remembrance groupies can hurt anyone else.”

  14

  Thankfully, Abigail had gotten a pretty good look at the brochure they had found in Xana’s desk. While she was not exactly highly skilled at reading Cinur, she knew enough to determine that the meeting was happening at a cabin in Wysteria. Imelda and Madam Warz were among those councilmembers summoned by Nud, along with four wizard authority members. Upon hearing from Monica that they were planning on busting up a potential Remembrance gathering, Mona and their Aunt Wilma arrived at the courthouse around the time they were all gearing up to locate Xana and her fellow Remembrance members.

  Nud spoke to the small crowd of witches and wizards that had gathered. “I am very pleased that so many witches and wizards came when I alerted my fellow councilmembers to this call. I know the history of Remembrance is a touchy subject for your kind. They were formed initially to help witches and wizards after an alarming number of witches were burned during the trials that swept across Europe as well as the hangings that took place in Salem. Remembrance, named as such because they were formed in remembrance of these unjust persecutions, had originally been intended for good. But they drifted far from their intended goals and became a hate group of the worst kind. Harming innocent people, mystic and mortal alike, to help their so-called cause. Their hate spread rapidly, and I am truly moved that so many of you jumped at the opportunity to take a stand against any resurgence of that hate group.”

  “Of course, Nud,” Imelda said. “Believe me, we will not stand for a Remembrance group starting up in Wysteria.”

  “Good,” Nud said.

  Madam Warz, Monica noticed, had a blazing look in her eye. “Are you all right?” Monica whispered as all the witches and wizards present began mounting their broomsticks. There was a group of cabins not far from the centaurs’ herding grounds and based off some gossip that had been reported to the council earlier that day, they were fairly certain the whispers they had heard earlier were related to the Remembrance gathering Abigail had read about in the brochure.

  “I will be once we capture Xana,” Madam Warz said bitterly. “I was finally getting to know my son, and that witch killed him. She better hope one of you grabs her before I do.”

  “Easy, Madam Warz,” one of the members of the local authority said. “There is protocol, Councilwoman.”

  “Yes, yes, I know,” she said, kicking off on her broom until she floated above everyone. “Well, are we off or not?”

  “Of course,” Nud said. “I will bring up the rear as I suspect you will all get there before me.”

  Monica kicked off on her broom as well, Abigail seated on the back. “I can’t wait to catch this crazy witch,” Mona huffed. “I can’t wait to see her day in court after Deimus wound up taking the blame for this nonsense.”

  “Yes, we’re here for you, my dear,” Aunt Wilma said with a smirk. “Believe me, she’s not getting away with this.”

  The group added up to a total of eight witches and five wizards along with Nud and various familiars. It was a good group to be taking on what they all assumed would be a fairly small gathering of fanatics. They flew past the centaur herding grounds, and Monica could see Nud falling a bit behind. She suspected that he was going to go warn the centaurs to remain indoors in the event any of the Remembrance cultists made a getaway in the herd’s direction.

  “Cabin up ahead!” Imelda called, and the witches all gathered in the air in a circle.

  “Post murmum!” Aunt Wilma called, pointing her wand toward the cabin.

  A purplish hue appeared over the cabin, and they were all able to see shadowy figures inside the structure. “There’s Xana,” Abigail said. “I can tell by the way she’s walking.”

  “Excellent job, Abigail,” Wilma said.

  “Yes,” Imelda said. “I count seven bodies. That’s more than I was expecting.”

  “Yes, well, even with Nud still behind at the centaur herding grounds, there are still thirteen of us plus our familiars,” one of the wizards said. “Let’s not waste any time putting a stop to this nonsense meeting.”

  “Agreed,” Madam Warz said bitterly, and they all soared toward the cabin, Aunt Wilma’s spell now completely faded.

  They landed outside, and Imelda cast a spell with her wand to cause her voice to echo within the cabin. “By order of the Sorcerer’s Council, we demand you all cease this illegal gathering. We are aware you are attempting to meet as members of Remembrance. This will be your final warning to surrender peacefully.”

  Monica could hear stirring from within the cabin. She wondered nervously whether or not they were actually going to heed Imelda’s warning. Evidently not. The cabin seemed to blow up from all sides, sending giant logs in all directions. When the smoke cleared, Monica could see the group of seven witches and wizards standing with their wands out. “We will not be silenced!” Walter called. “The time for Remembrance is now!”

  Monica shuddered at the thought that creep had been interested in her earlier. Magic spells were cast in all directions by both sides as the authorities attempted to apprehend Remembrance members. Madam Warz went after Xana, who had dared to attempt to escape by broom. Monica watched briefly with a satisfied smirk to see Madam Warz catch the back of Xana’s broom on fire with a simple spell, causing it to start bucking around in circles.

  Just when Monica was confident that this was going to end quickly, additional spells came from the woods. Apparently, there were additional members of Remembrance who had yet to arrive at their cult meeting. Before Monica knew it, they were greatly outnumbered. Magic blasts continued in all directions, and some of the authorities were starting to be backed up into the woods, Monica and Abigail included.

  “Hey, pretty lady!” a voice called as Monica was cornered by Walter. “You r
eally on their side?”

  “Regridior!” Monica called, pointing her wand directly out in front of her. Unfortunately, her wand blasted backward and she went flying back into a tree.

  Walter gaped at her. “You’re an unnatural witch, aren’t you?” he asked as he stepped forward. Monica’s wand had left her hand during her tumble, and now she was laid flat out on the ground, a bit dizzy after having hit her head on the tree she had been thrown into. “Disgusting!” Walter snapped. “You’re almost as bad as mortals. I should have sensed it, you piece of filth.”

  Monica frowned. She had been picked on a bit as a kid for being an unnatural witch, but she had never heard such hatred from someone before. She was still a mystic, whether she was born with a sufficient amount of magic in her or not. “You must be joking,” Monica said, starting to stand, but he pointed his wand right at her.

  “Unnatural witches should be cast out to the mortal world! Cut off from us purer mystics,” he said.

  “Regridior!” a familiar voice called, and a purplish blast went right by them and zapped Walter, sending him flying back.

  Mona stepped out from behind the trees. “Don’t you dare talk to my sister like that, you jerk!” Mona shouted, her wand sizzling on the end.

  “Thanks,” Monica said as her sister helped her stand.

  “You know you shouldn’t try a regridior spell under pressure like that,” Mona said. “It always backfires on you.”

  “I know, I know,” Monica said.

  “Are you all right?!” Abigail yelped, coming running from beyond a few trees.

  “Abs, do you have blood on you?” Monica shrieked, picking up her familiar.

  Abigail snickered. “I bite hard.”

  “Geez, you crazy cat,” Lenore said from the tree branch where she was currently perched.

  Monica heard a crashing sound, and she looked up to see a bunch of centaurs and onocentaurs running through the trees, bows and arrows at the ready. “Careful!” Nud called to them as they ran together. “Make sure you only shoot at Remembrance members!”

  Monica heard a shrieking sound and looked up to see that Xana was on her broom once again, but this time, she was the aggressor going after Madam Warz. “I may be crappy at spellcasting, but I can fly,” Monica said, putting her fingers in her mouth and letting out a loud whistle. Her broom came zipping through the trees just as Monica jumped up, the thing flying right under her as Abigail too jumped on.

  They flew up into the air, aiming right at Xana. They collided quite intentionally, and they all went fumbling through the air. Somehow, Abigail wound up on Xana’s broom. Madam Warz whipped around, her wand drawn. “Thanks for the backup, Ms. Montoya,” Madam Warz said.

  “Ah! Get this cat off me!” Xana wailed, trying to pull Abigail off her. The cat had latched onto Xana with her claws. Xana finally managed to yank Abigail off by the time the cat had worked her way up to Xana’s face, and she tossed her.

  “Abs!” Monica yelped and dove after Abigail, just barely catching her familiar before she hit the ground, immediately pulling up on her broom and zipping back up towards Xana and Madam Warz, who were now engaged in a mid-air wand duel.

  Madam Warz was hit, and her broom started spiraling out of control. “Whoa, get me over her!” Abigail insisted, and Monica zipped in that direction, getting Abigail close enough to jump down to Madam Warz, helping the elderly witch to stabilize her broom.

  Xana hissed in Madam Warz’s direction. “Nasty old witch!” Xana called. “Breeding with a filthy centaur! We’re the superior species! You defiled yourself, you old woman! Why fight me? I did you a favor getting rid of that filthy child of yours!”

  “Excutite!” Madam Warz snarled, her wand pointed upward.

  The spell hit Xana, and she began shaking crazily until she finally fell off her broom, landing on a centaur’s back, who proceeded to buck until she fell to the ground, still shaking a bit. Madam Warz and Abigail landed. “You killed my boy,” Madam Warz hissed. “And guess who will be overseeing your sentence, you rotten witch?”

  Imelda landed nearby just as Monica did. Imelda grinned. “Believe me, Warz, not one of us will go easy on this one.”

  Xana was still being affected by Madam Warz’s shaking spell, so she was unable to stand upright. “Interesting spell,” Monica said with a grin. “I’ll have to learn that one.”

  “Stupid… None of you…understand! Remembrance… It’s back… We’re hardly a fraction of…the whole…” Xana said as her face shook, hardly able to form proper sentences.

  Nud came trotting over, looking very alarmed. “What do you mean by Remembrance is back?” he demanded, and Xana began laughing manically from where she continued to tremble on the ground. “Someone get this crazy witch out of our sight.”

  Another familiar centaur came hurrying up. It was Boots, and he had just returned his bow to his side. He looked at Warz. “Luna, are you all right?” he asked.

  Madam Warz’s face turned pink. “Boots!” she exclaimed in surprise. “It has been a while…”

  “Yes,” he said, frowning. “Are you all right? You would have broken your neck if it had not been for that girl’s familiar!”

  Madam Warz looked down at Abigail. “Yes, I suppose I would have if you had not balanced out my broom. That was an impressive and very dangerous jump you made there, Ms. Williams.”

  “Well, it’s not like I was going to let an old bat like you fall,” Abigail said.

  Monica rolled her eyes. Abigail’s manners could use some work. Madam Warz laughed as she looked up. “We were terribly high up, weren’t we? That witch would have killed me.”

  Imelda nodded. “No doubt,” she said. “Perhaps after we take care of Xana and her fellow Remembrance buffoons, we should discuss Abigail’s current sentence. Saving the life of a member of the Sorcerer’s Council is surely worth some sort of award, yes?”

  “Agreed,” Madam Warz said.

  Monica smiled, feeling incredibly satisfied as she watched Xana and the others being carted off. She spotted Misty and Boots standing with Madam Warz, who was chatting away with the two of them like they were family. It was a very satisfying ending to Trapper’s case, but there was something stirring in Monica that made her sick, and that feeling only increased as she spotted Walter being taken away.

  15

  “So, tell me again,” Holly said, her eyes glistening from where she stood behind the counter at Backroom Books. “What spell did your sister use to take down that creep?”

  Monica smiled, but her smile quickly faded. “The same one that backfired on me, unfortunately,” she said.

  “Why did it backfire on you?” Holly asked.

  “There are certain spells that are just harder for unnatural witches,” Monica said. “I have to get the wand movements just right or they can backfire. Mona can be a lot less exact with her spells since she was born with more magic in her blood than me.”

  “That’s kind of a bummer, isn’t it?” Holly asked as Abigail hopped up onto the counter, causing Holly to start mindlessly scratching Abigail behind the ear.

  “Yeah, well, I’m used to it,” Monica said. “It’s why I focus more on stuff like potions and flying. That doesn’t require a lot of natural magic to do. Even trolls with enough know-how can pull off simple potions.”

  “I’ve seen your potion work firsthand, and you do a great job,” Holly said.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  Abigail looked at Monica with a sideways glance. “Monica, are you all right? You don’t normally let something silly like a spell backfiring get to you like this.”

  “Something about this one really bugged me,” Monica said. “I guess it was Walter. The way he talked to me. Kids used to pick on me in school for being an unnatural witch, and it never bothered me or anything. This was different, though. Abigail, that man hated me. Hated me so much that I could tell he wanted to hurt me just for being…me. I know there’s always been a little prejudice in the wizarding community against non-hu
manoid creatures, that there has always been some animosity between groups, like an unspoken hierarchy, but I have never experienced anything like that before. It was really unsettling.”

  “I’m so sorry, Monica,” Holly said. “That was so cruel of him.”

  “He said I was disgusting. A piece of filth. That I should be banished from the land of the mystics,” Monica said. “I just didn’t realize that there were people who actually thought that way about mystics like me.”

  “Don’t let it get to you,” Abigail insisted. “Mystics like Walter are crazy.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Monica said with a sigh.

  The back door opened, and a letter came zipping out and landed right on the counter. “It’s for you, Abigail,” Holly said.

  “Open it for me!” Abigail exclaimed. “I don’t have thumbs.”

  Holly tore open the letter and began to read. “Abigail Williams, the Sorcerer’s Council has decreed that your sentence shall be reduced by nineteen years as reward for your service to Councilwoman Warz.”

  “Nineteen years!” Abigail exclaimed excitedly. “That brings me down to one hundred and fifty-five years left as a familiar!”

  “Way to go, Abs!” Monica cried, clapping her hands together. “That’s so great. I’m happy for you, Abigail. The Sorcerer’s Council are starting to see that you aren’t the same witch you were back then.”

  Abigail nodded approvingly in Monica’s direction. Holly smiled. “So, I have some news,” Holly said, hurrying towards her purse that was stuffed under the counter. She pulled out an envelope. “Got this in the mail yesterday from my adoption agency.”

  “Wait, what is it?” Monica asked.

  “It’s a letter about my dad!” Holly said. “It’s not much. Just a name. That’s all they have. But I know my dad’s name… It’s crazy. He might be able to answer questions and stuff.”