Love Hexed: Cozy Witch Mystery (Witches of Winterfield Book 5)

by Sara Bourgeois

  Belladonna’s familiar quickly snapped to attention when she registered the danger they were all facing. Sterling darted up the stairs, and Elsbeth followed. Bella was so deeply asleep that she might as well have been in a coma. The room was as silent as the grave. Even Olwen’s loud, rumbly dog snore has gone quiet.

  Sterling jumped up on the bed and started rubbing against Belladonna to wake her. Elsbeth called out to Bella several times, but she remained asleep. All of the commotion did wake Olwen who promptly jumped up on the bed and started licking Belladonna’s face.

  “What can we do?” Elsbeth asked the animals.

  They just looked at her with their heads cocked to the side. Elsbeth paced around the room for a few minutes as her transparent feet fell silently on the floor.

  The only way to wake Belladonna was to counter the voodoo magic. She was going to have to cast a spell. Elsbeth had to hope that the priestess hadn’t anticipated a dead witch coming to Belladonna’s aid. If she’d set a witch trap, they’d both be stuck.

  Elsbeth did the first thing that came to mind. She started to hum and stamp her feet. As the vibrations she produced connected with the atoms in the air around her, the sound grew to a deafening din. Fortunately for the neighbors, the noise was contained in the house by the spell.

  But inside the room where Belladonna slumbered, the vibrations reverberated off the walls. Elsbeth used her magic to direct the sound right to Bella. This was intended to help her wake faster and to keep the roaring sound from breaking the animals’ ear drums.

  The sound grew so loud that it started to shake the house, and then the earth beneath them began to quake. When Elsbeth was confident that the house would rip in two before she could wake Belladonna, the sleeping witch finally stirred.

  Belladonna stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She was completely oblivious to the chaotic noise that had roused her from her slumber. After rubbing her eyes with her fists, Belladonna noticed Elsbeth standing next to her bed.

  “What’s going on?” She asked sleepily.

  “You’re under a spell. There’s a Voodoo Queen in town, and she’s at the site of my old house getting ready to put a spell on everyone in Winterfield.” Elsbeth answered.

  “We have to get to her then. We’ve got to stop her.” Belladonna said and jumped out of bed.

  “I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do. I’m not sure we can stop her in time, and I’ve drained myself trying to wake you.” Elsbeth said sadly.

  “Well, what can we do?”

  “We could try to protect as many people as possible from her spell. That way you’d at least have some allies in town to help defeat her. If we try to stop her and fail, everyone will be under her control. I can’t fight her alone, Bella.” Elsbeth said.

  “We’ll start across the street with Luke and Murielle. I’ll call Carly, Jessie, and Francine and have them meet us there.” Bella began to put on her shoes. “Where are my Aunt and Granny? I thought for sure they’d show up if Granny sensed something like this was going down.”

  “Belladonna, Sweetie. They can’t get in. The priestess’s magic is keeping them from knowing what’s going on in Winterfield, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to get into town.”

  “How do you know all of this? Wait, never mind. That doesn't matter.” Belladonna was now headed down the stairs with Olwen, Sterling, and the ghost of Elsbeth Tory in tow. “We’ll protect as many people as we can, and then we’ll try to make a hole in her magic to let Granny and Aunt Sumac through.”

  In a flash, Belladonna was out the door and across the street. She dialed Carly’s cell phone number while she banged on Murielle and Luke’s door.

  “Carly, yeah, this is Bella.” She said into the phone. “I’m at Murielle’s place. Call Jessie and get her here. Also, Nick and Francine. Call anybody else you can think of and get them all over here as fast as you can. I don’t have time to explain. Just do it.”

  She hung up the phone just as a very perturbed looking Luke answered the door in a flannel robe. Murielle popped up behind him moments later.

  “I need to come in.”

  “Bella, it’s the middle of the night.” Luke groaned.

  “Move it, Sweetie,” Murielle said and nudged her husband out of the way with her hip. “Come in, Belladonna.”

  The entire entourage followed Belladonna into the house. Bella explained to a stunned Luke and Muri what was going on. They nodded their heads and listened intently while Olwen and Sterling made themselves comfortable on the periwinkle sofa.

  "I have to protect as many people as possible before her ritual is complete. Elsbeth tells me that Granny Pepper and Aunt Sumac can't get through the barrier that the priestess has placed around Winterfield. So, I'll have to try to make a hole in her magic field before it's too late."

  "Why can't you just stop her? Why don't we all just go up there and put an end to this? I'm sure you, my wife, and Elsbeth can take her on." Luke said and clenched his fists."

  "It's too big of a risk. If we fail, the whole town will be under her spell, and no one will be able to get in or out. Elsbeth can't take her on alone. She was a powerful witch when she was alive, but sometimes it takes our powers awhile to transfer to our spirits. We have to relearn a lot of things when we cross over." Bella replied.

  "Well, that's enough discussion. Belladonna, I trust your decision. Let's get started." Murielle said.

  Belladonna finished the blessing on Murielle just as Carly, Jessie, Nick, and Francine arrived. Murielle joined in and helped Bella bless the others. When she was done, they all headed for the edge of town. The non-witches in the group weren't sure how they could help, but no one really wanted to be alone with a Voodoo Queen trying to wreak havoc on them all. Especially since none of them knew why she was attacking Winterfield.

  They got to the edge of town and Belladonna and Muri inspected the magic barrier. It wasn't visible to the naked eye, so they had to use a locator spell to find the edge. Belladonna was able to identify the magic as a Voodoo protection spell worked in reverse. It had turned the entire town into a kind of trap, but it also protected the priestess from Winterfield's residents. It was more like a magical Jell-O mold than an empty dome.

  Bella used a light spell to illuminate the magic so they could at least see the end. She and Murielle concentrated all of their power on a small spot on the green wall. As hard as they tried, they were only able to weaken the spell but not break through it.

  Then, they ran out of time. Something in the air shifted, and Belladonna stopped trying to break through. When Muri noticed that Bella was no longer trying to make the hole in the barrier, she stopped as well.

  "What's going on Bella. Let's keep trying to get through. We're going to need Aunt Sumac and Granny." Muri said and raised her hands up to start blasting again.

  "Nah. I don't think that's a good idea. Sister Oshun doesn't mean us any harm. We should go talk to her. We'll need to bring offerings and thank her for saving Winterfield." Belladonna said and started to walk home.

  "Belladonna wait. What are you talking about?" Carly said and tried to block her path.

  Bella walked around her. "I've got to get home and get some jewelry and scented oils for the new Queen."

  "Oh no," Jessie said. “She didn’t do the protection spell on herself. The Voodoo Queen’s magic got to her.”

  “Hey guys, where’s Ben?” Nick asked.

  Six

  “Give me the jar of eye of newt.” Granny Pepper demanded.

  “Ewe gross.” Aunt Sumac made a gagging sound.

  “Just give it to me. We’ve got to use some old-school magic for this one.” Granny Pepper said.

  “I can’t hand it to you. You’re a ghost.”

  “Right, yes. Sorry. I’m a bit flustered.” Pepper admitted. “You’ll have to open it.”

  Aunt Sumac gave her Mom the most disgusted look she could manage, but Pepper wasn’t swayed. That’s when it hit Sumac that she hadn’t seen h
er Mother rattled very many times in life. If Pepper was worried, things were bad.

  The Voodoo Queen's magic was supposed to keep Belladonna's family from being alerted to her predicament, but it hadn't worked. Their family bond was too strong.

  It wasn't apparent to Granny and Sumac what was wrong with Bella, but they sensed right away that something bad was happening. They'd used their magic to get to Winterfield fast, but now they found themselves shut out.

  The car that Aunt Sumac had recently "acquired" was pulled off on the side of the road. The two witches were standing in the middle of the deserted country road trying to figure out the magic that kept them from getting into Winterfield.

  It wasn't ancient magic, but it had threads of the old world running through it. Granny hadn't encountered such a spell in a long time. It wasn't dark, so it had escaped the banishment of the black magic years ago, but it could still be evil. That was what worried her so much. Even if they did defeat it, the spell could still come back around and bite them. It was like pulling on the tail of a venomous snake.

  "What else do we have in the car?" Granny asked.

  "Not much. We left in kind of a hurry. I think there are some candles in the trunk and maybe a chunk of amethyst." Sumac replied.

  "Get them."

  The two women worked together trying to open a portal through the seal. It wouldn't budge. Even when they did start to weaken it, more magic would spill over onto the vulnerable spot and make it stronger.

  "Scar tissue." Pepper mused.

  "What?"

  "It's like scar tissue. Every time we get through a little bit, it get's stronger. We're going to have to figure out another way." Pepper said.

  Whatever Sumac was doing with the amethyst and the black candle, it cleared the haze covering the magical barrier. Now Pepper and Sumac could see into the town, but they still couldn't communicate with whom they could now see on the other side.

  As the road on the other side of the barrier came into focus, they could see Belladonna and her friends on the other side. It appeared that they were also trying to punch a hole in the magic.

  Sumac pounded on the force field like surface and called out to her niece, but Bella couldn't hear or see them. In a frenzy, she tried one last time to break through, but all it did was drain her energy.

  Granny Pepper and Sumac watched helplessly as Belladonna appeared to change right before their eyes. It looked like she gave up. Belladonna turned and walked away while her friends hurried along behind her.

  The look on the other people's faces told Pepper that something was very wrong. Another thing she noticed was that Ben was not around. It seemed unusual that something like this would be happening and he wasn't at Bella's side.

  No one else was around either. Pepper scanned the streets of Winterfield as much as she could from her limited vantage point, but there wasn't one other person out in the streets panicking or attempting to help. It appeared that the rest of the town, and all of the other witches, were still tucked comfortably in their beds.

  "This is real bad, Sumac."

  "Where is Ben?" Sumac whispered.

  "I don't know, and I don't know what just happened to Belladonna, but I have a feeling that we need to get in there sooner rather than later. There's nothing we can do from out here."

  "But, what is this?" Sumac gestured towards the shield keeping them out.

  "Voodoo." Pepper replied. "It smells just like Voodoo."

  Joe Rice woke up in his hospital bed with a splitting headache. His chest felt as though there was something massive sitting on it. It reminded him of the way he assumed Giles Cory felt as they tried to press him into a confession.

  He tried to sit up because to his weakened body, that felt like it might help. That’s when he realized that he was also dizzy. Joe actually saw stars swirling around his head like bright white points of light when he tried to pick himself up, and he immediately fell back against the pillow.

  Joe tried to push the call button for the nurse, but for some reason, it wouldn’t depress. He tried again and again, but he couldn't make the button work. Joe knew that he was feeling weak, but that was still no excuse for his inability to work a simple button.

  "Ah, I'm in a dream." He said to the empty room.

  The assumption was that acknowledging his dream state would rouse him, but that theory did not play out. Instead, the weight on his chest grew heavier, and he started to take quick little breaths.

  "Okay, Joe. Calm down, you're going to give your ticker another attack." Joe said to himself. "And stop talking to yourself before someone walks in here and thinks you need to be up on the top floor with the loonies."

  "Oh, you're not crazy, but you're going to wish you were by the time I'm through with you." The black man in an even darker tuxedo stood at the foot of Joe's bed. He held his top hat in his hands, and Joe marveled at the intricate skull painted in white on his umber skin.

  "Who are you?" Joe asked calmly.

  He'd been through the war, came home to a country that hated him, and built a life without ever tapping into his full powers. It was hard to rattle Joe.

  "I'm the Reverend Midnight, and you're the ancestor of the man who cursed me. So, it's your job to pay the price." The man's visage flickered for a split second.

  "You're the guy my Daddy talked about. How are you here?" Joe was still as cool as a cucumber.

  "I've had a lot of time to fight and claw my way back to a reality where I could affect yours." Reverend Midnight said and stepped around to Joe's bedside.

  Joe looked away from the Voodoo King for a moment and saw a beautiful angel in the corner of his room. She was bathed in the loveliest white light. Her wings shone with strength and love. Without a word, she took a step forward and reached out for Joe. It was almost as if she couldn’t see Reverend Midnight in the room with them, but he could see her.

  “Oh, no. Not today, Joe Rice. I’m here to snatch you from the loving arms of death. You’ll not be crossing over today.” The Reverend put his incorporeal hand through Joe’s chest.

  He squeezed his heart and repaired the damage. He made Joe’s heart as healthy as a twenty-year-old's so that he could continue to torment him for as long as needed. Reverend Midnight hadn’t anticipated Joe’s heart being weak when he’d started using his magic on him.

  It was a slip up that almost cost him his chance at revenge. Now, though, he could feel the organ beating strongly in his hand. He turned and faced the corner of the room where the angel stood, and she’d retreated to her place on the other side.

  Joe felt the weight lift off his chest. He’d never find out that the heaviness he’d felt when he woke up was a second heart attack lying in wait. The doctors knew it was a strong possibility, and they wanted to operate soon, but it wouldn’t have been fast enough. Before they would have even gotten the consent forms signed, Joe would have been dead.

  It’s kind of like an aftershock that’s stronger than the initial earthquake. Another massive heart attack followed by a massive stroke that would have killed him instantly was moments away for Joe when Reverend Midnight arrived at the foot of his hospital bed.

  Now, he would live. As Joe watched the angel fade from view, he knew that it was not necessarily a good thing. His time had come and gone, but instead of feeling gratitude for the extra days, he felt a profound sense of loss.

  Something told him that on the other side of the gateway the angel would have guided him through was his father, mother, and baby brother who’d all passed on before him.

  He felt another weight now. It was the weight of all of the people he wouldn’t see today. It was the pressure of more days in the hospital and a long, painful recovery.

  Reverend Midnight disappeared, and Joe felt fatigue drag him down into a deep sleep. As he closed his eyes and started to drift off, someone else appeared beside his bed. It was someone who hadn’t visited his dreams since he was a teenager. She visited frequently then.

  In the days and months
after she died, the woman would appear to him almost every night to help Joe sleep through his despair. As the months turned into years, she came less and less often. Her ghost came and comforted him just once during the war, and after that, she came no more.

  “Hi, Mom.” His voice was scratchy with thirst, but she held his hand as he drifted off.

  Seven

  Ben sat in his house and stewed. He’d been thinking about calling Belladonna and begging her for forgiveness, but all of a sudden, he felt more like calling her and asking for the ring back. Maybe he could get his money back.

  There was no way he could marry a woman he didn’t really know. He thought he’d known her, but tonight she showed a whole other side of herself that he couldn’t stand. She was catty and jealous. The woman he’d almost married was far more immature than he’d ever imagined.

  “Am I really not even allowed to think about my dead wife?” Ben asked his empty living room.

  It seemed ridiculous that Belladonna would fling accusations at him over his thoughts. This had been particularly true since what he was thinking about was how happy he had finally become.

  Ben began to believe, not at all because of anything real, that he'd dodged a bullet. He thought to himself how Belladonna must be one of those women who gets jealous of her own children if their father pays too much attention to them.

  He'd seen it many times working in the city. One jealous parent would become enraged when the other parent showed what they perceived as more affection towards the kids.

  These episodes usually ended with screaming, breaking things, and a call to the police. Well, Ben thought to himself, that wouldn't happen to him.

  He was settled down in his favorite chair ready to spend the night alone in his house. Ben convinced himself he rather liked it. Staying in the guest room at Belladonna's house wasn't that great after all.

  Ben went into the kitchen cabinets and found all the ingredients he needed to make an Old Fashioned. Once his drink was poured, he sat back down in his chair and flipped on the television.