A Whole Lotta Witchin Goin On

by Constance Barker

  “It’s for Hazel,” Becky said to me and I instantly felt ashamed. I also wanted to do everything in my power to help find Hazel, but I didn’t know if this was going to be worth the risk. It worried me that Becky and Fern were willing to do something so reckless. Especially when they had always been the cautious ones.

  “I know it is,” I replied. I felt a bit better, more stable in a way being at the museum. It felt like it was where we needed to be. I could hear the party through the walls. Muffled music, clinking glasses and the occasional loud laugh here or there. Each sound reminded me how close we were to the rest of the world, a world that would not react well if they saw us in here. Despite that, I helped set up for the location spell.

  “What was lost can now be found. We see the sights and hear the sounds. What was lost can now be found.” We chanted the now familiar spell, but this time under our breaths. Slowly, a fuzzy and faint image of Hazel appeared in the goblet. We continued chanting, still as quietly as we could but with more intensity than before. The details got clearer and clearer as we continued until one of the candles toppled to the floor and the spell was interrupted.

  “What was that?” I asked panicked. If a party goer had wandered off and ended up in the employee room, I couldn’t even imagine what they would think or what they would do when they found us.

  “It’s only me,” A familiar voice purred.

  “Moody! What are you doing here?” I shouted. Becky clamped a hand over my mouth to keep me from yelling too loudly.

  “You may not have wanted to bring me, but that doesn’t mean that no one did.” Moody wound her way around the candles, before slinking around our legs as well. She blew out the candles as she passed each one leaving us in darkness.

  “What are you talking about?” Fern asked through gritted teeth. We had lost our vision of Hazel in the goblet when we were so close to it before Moody interrupted. I couldn’t imagine that Moody would ruin our chances like that just because she was angry with us about not getting to join us at the party.

  “She came here with me.” A voice said as the light switch flicked on. For a moment I couldn’t reconcile what I had heard with my reality.

  “Hazel,” Becky said in a whisper. My back was turned to the doorway, but Becky and Fern were facing it. My eye’s adjusted to the light and I could see their shocked faces looking at the space behind me.

  “Hazel?” I said it as a question as I turned around. Moody was sitting at Hazel’s feet, looking very happy with herself. Hazel was smiling at the three of us. I could see concern in her eyes but she looked much better than the haggard mess she was when we last saw her.

  “I’m sorry I left so suddenly,” Hazel said raising her arms apologetically. Nothing made sense to me and my head was reeling to try and make it make sense. How was Hazel here in the first place, but how was she here with Moody?

  “Where did you go?” Fern asked. She looked almost angry, and I wasn’t sure about what specifically. I couldn’t have gotten past my confusion to be angry, but Fern seemed to be able to figure it out quickly.

  “I had to meet with some people,” Hazel replied calmly. “With the comet on the way we needed to make sure everything was in order.”

  “Who’s we?” I asked, sharing a confused look with Becky. “This doesn’t make sense...Hazel are you okay?” I moved towards her.

  “I’m okay, sweetheart, I promise,” Hazel said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you all so much. I was called away and I couldn’t say no.”

  “Called away by who?” Becky asked. She and I had moved towards Hazel, each of us had a comforting hand on either of her shoulder.

  “The council.” It was Fern who answered, not Hazel. She stood further back from us, not yet going up to Hazel.

  “The council? The witch council?” Becky said, putting the pieces together.

  “The one and only,” she replied with a smile.

  “How long have you known?” Fern asked. She was all suspicion, and frustration. She had been through a lot at work looking for Hazel and to find out she hadn’t gone missing she must have felt betrayed.

  “I’ve had my suspicions about you and Mazie for as long as I’ve known you both, but I wasn’t sure of anything until I saw Mazie’s eyes shift with mine in the diner,” Hazel admitted. “I’ve known about Becky the moment I saw her.”

  “How is that possible?” I asked for Becky who seemed dumbfounded.

  “Mostly because I recognized her,” Hazel started, she seemed to be holding back tears. She looked directly at Becky as she spoke. “She’s the spitting image of her mother, my daughter.”

  “What?” Becky asked. She sounded like someone had knocked the wind out of her.

  “I’m your grandmother,” Hazel said pulling Becky in for a hug before she could say anything in response. For the time being, it didn’t seem like Becky had anything she could think to say in response.

  “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Fern asked. “To any of us?”

  “I knew that Becky was hiding from that hunter, Gareth, I didn’t want to bring more attention on her until she was safe,” Hazel explained. “I’m one of a few witches that can be recognized, mainly because I’m a member of the council, which grows smaller and smaller every year. I didn’t want to run the risk.”

  “What about when he was gone?” Fern was on the verge of full on shouting at Hazel.

  “I am so sorry.” Was Hazel’s response. This time it was more to Fern than either Becky or I. Fern seemed to crumble as she raced into Hazel’s arms. The stress of searching for her, the campaign for Sheriff and the difficulties at work all meant nothing to her when faced with the relief of seeing Hazel.

  “This is all very nice,” Moody said interrupting the moment. “But, you aren’t exactly being quiet and I suggest you clean up the mess that make you all look like a part of the occult before someone walks back here.” Despite cleaning up being the last thing any of us wanted to do, Moody was right for once.

  “Do you know where my mother is?” Becky asked quietly picking up a candle. Hazel shook her head sadly.

  “I’ve been looking for Isabelle for a long time too,” Hazel said. I could hear Becky repeat ‘Isabelle’ quietly. It was the first time she had heard her mother's name. “I will tell you her story, or at least what I know about it soon, I promise.”

  “How long have you been on the council?” I asked, feeling the need to change the subject.

  “Since I was very young. The Council meets every fifty years to try and bring balance. I’m sure you have heard about the trouble that will be coming from our ghostly friends who are in the dance hall right now.” We all nodded. The fear of what was to come had been weighing on us more than we would have admitted. We had all chosen to focus our energy on Hazel, instead of invisible troubles. “We try to stop those tragedies from coming, but we’ve never been able to. Nature requires balance.”

  “Are we to expect trouble then?” Fern asked. Hazel nodded gravely, a weight seemed to press on the room. Fern turned towards me. “Mazie, you felt like we needed to be in the museum tonight, I’m sorry we doubted you.”

  “Mazie is very gifted in that way,” Hazel said. “Her intuition is more than just that. In the same way that your sensitivity is more,” she said looking at Becky. “And the way that you can produce visions with a touch.” She looked at Fern.

  “If you weren’t sure, how do you know all of that?” Fern asked.

  “It’s the comet. She can feel our powers,” I said, leaning into the intuition I felt for the first time. It would explain why these gut feelings had been so much more active lately, the comet must have made them stronger. As I focused I could feel the warmth of Hazel’s power emanating off of her. I could feel Becky and Fern's power as well. I even felt Moody’s energy, a frantic and slight power as I picked her up in my arms.

  “I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I would love to teach you all some things,” Hazel said as we began to head back to the main hall of
the museum. “We’ll all need to pick up some new skills if we are going to get through what’s coming.”

  “I don’t think any of us have had guidance before, and I can’t imagine any of us wouldn’t want it,” Fern said. Becky and I both nodded in agreement.

  “No one’s ever had any insight into my powers before,” I said. I had always wondered what my special power was and I couldn’t believe that I had not thought about my intuition as mine. It felt foolish now. We went though the doors to the main hall and were treated by a magnificent ball. It felt something like the quiet before the storm, especially with the vision of the Colonel, Mary Jane and even Little Timmy on the dance floor. A reminder of what was to come.

  “Becky,” Jimmy Jack stuttered coming up to us. “I’m glad Hazel found you, we saw her when she came in looking for you three.” He looked odd in a suit, uncomfortable like it was restricting him. It didn’t help that he was turning red from talking to Becky. “Would you, uh, would you like to dance with me?” He asked her, looking like he might pass out regardless of what her answer might be.

  “I’d love you — to,” Becky stammered, her eye’s widening with panic. “I’d love to,” she corrected herself quickly, her own face turning a deep red. The two went onto the dance floor and awkwardly danced near each other. It was both a joy and painful to watch.

  “It’s good to have you back, Hazel,” Fang said, never more than a few steps away from his son. Hazel smiled at him warmly.

  “It’s good to be back,” she responded. I wondered how she had explained her disappearance to Fang and Jimmy Jack. She couldn’t exactly tell them that she was away at the witches council trying to stop an evil from coming to our little town. In just a few moments, our entire world had been changed. Our place in Stillwater had shifted, and now not only was Fern a protector of the town, we all were.

  Get the next Stillwater Witch Sisters Book:

  The Beast Cometh

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  Catalog of Books

  The Witch Sisters of Stillwater

  Hoodoo and Just Desserts

  A Shade of Murder

  That Ol’ Black Magic

  The Sinister Case Series

  The Sinister Secrets of the Snake Mirror

  The Sinister Secrets of the Deadly Summoner

  The Monkey’s Eyebrow Tea Room Series

  A Tiny Bite of Murder

  Murder on the Ghost Walk

  The Grumpy Chicken Irish Pub Series

  A Frosty Mug of Murder

  Treachery on Tap

  A Highball and a Low Blow

  Cursed With a Twist

  The Chronicles of Agnes Astor Smith

  The Peculiar Case of Agnes Astor Smith

  The Peculiar Case of the Red Tide

  The Peculiar Case of the Lost Colony

  Old School Diner Cozy Mysteries

  Murder at Stake

  Murder Well Done

  A Side Order of Deception

  Murder, Basted and Barbecued

  The Curiosity Shop Cozy Mysteries

  The Curious Case of the Cursed Spectacles

  The Curious Case of the Cursed Dice

  The Curious Case of the Cursed Dagger

  The Curious Case of the Cursed Looking Glass

  The Curious Case of the Cursed Crucible

  The We’re Not Dead Yet Club

  Fetch a Pail of Murder

  Wedding Bells and Death Knells

  Murder or Bust

  Pinched, Pilfered and a Pitchfork

  A Hot Spot of Murder

  Witchy Women of Coven Grove Series

  The Witching on the Wall

  A Witching Well of Magic

  Witching the Night Away

  Witching There’s Another Way

  Witching Your Life Away

  Witching You Wouldn’t Go

  Witching for a Miracle

  Teasen & Pleasen Hair Salon Series

  A Hair Raising Blowout

  Wash, Rinse, Die

  Holiday Hooligans

  Color Me Dead

  False Nails & Tall Tales

  Caesar’s Creek Series

  A Frozen Scoop of Murder

  Death by Chocolate Sundae

  Soft Serve Secrets

  Ice Cream You Scream

  Double Dip Dilemma

  Melted Memories

  Triple Dip Debacle

  Whipped Wedding Woes

  A Sprinkle of Tropical Trouble

  A Drizzle of Deception

  Sweet Home Mystery Series

  Creamed at the Coffee Cabana

  A Caffeinated Crunch

  A Frothy Fiasco

  Punked by the Pumpkin

  Peppermint Pandemonium

  Expresso Messo

  A Cuppa Cruise Conundrum

  The Brewing Bride

  Whispering Pines Mystery Series

  A Sinister Slice of Murder

  Sanctum of Shadows

  Curse of the Bloodstone Arrow

  Fright Night at the Haunted Inn

  Mad River Mystery Series

  A Wicked Whack

  A Prickly Predicament

  A Malevolent Menace