Witch Myth Super Boxset: A Yew Hollow Cozy Mystery

by Alexandria Clarke

  I pushed off the wall and followed her out. She sidled through a back door and into the side yard of the house, where there was no cover for me to tail her without being noticed. I propped the door slightly open with my heel, spying on Nora through the crack at the hinges. She joined her friends, who pumped their fists at the sight of the pilfered booze, and the quartet stole away from the party toward the driveway. When they had enough of a head start, I left the cover of the house behind, hugging the wall to stay in the shadows.

  The kids hopped into a black Range Rover at the front of the valet line, whispering and giggling to one another. Nora settled for the passenger seat, responsibly buckling her belt. As the car trundled down the gravel driveway, Winnie appeared beside me.

  “What now?” she asked, looking after the Rover.

  Without answering, I stunned the valet attendant with a quick hex. The witch’s mark on my calf responded in kind, twinging as I stole a pair of keys from the valet stand and slid into the driver’s seat of the matching vehicle. It was a sleek sedan with luxurious leather seats and a power button. I jammed my index finger into the button to start the car, revved the engine, and peeled out in an attempt to catch up with the teenagers. My calf stung like a fresh burn, but I ignored it in my haste.

  Winnie materialized in the passenger seat beside me, holding on to the dashboard as we careened through the neighborhood. “I guess the aura blockers wore off just in time.”

  “Good thing.”

  I gunned the engine, putting on an extra burst of speed. Whoever was driving the teens’ getaway car had a lead foot, but as we crested a hill, the Rover’s tail lights appeared at the bottom of the road. They were heading out of town, in the opposite direction of the high street, where the houses grew farther and farther apart before giving way to endless rolling hills and green grass. In ten minutes or so, the Rovers passed under an extravagant stone welcome gate guarded by two gargoyles. The accompanying sign read Windsor Falls Preparatory School.

  “Really?” I grumbled, turning off my headlights to avoid detection as I steered the sedan after the teenagers. “Who goes to their own high school to party?”

  The school itself was a daunting structure of stone masonry, looming above the land like a castle fortress. I ditched the sedan behind a maintenance building, chucked my heels into the passenger seat, and proceeded barefoot. Nora and her friends were easy to keep track of. They whooped and catcalled gleefully as they skipped through the campus. The click of the girls’ heels on the stone walkways echoed through the halls. I shadowed them at a safe distance until we all arrived in a grand courtyard with a giant water fountain. The girls shucked off their shoes to dip their feet in the pool as Mark struggled with the champagne bottle.

  “He’s going to blow his eye out,” Winnie mumbled, watching as the lanky boy steadied the bottle between his knees. Thankfully, Isabella snatched it from his grasp and expertly wiggled the cork free. They all cheered at the effusive pop, and Isabella quickly sipped from the top to catch the escaping foam.

  “To freedom from that boring party,” she toasted, lifting the bottle into the air before passing it to Lexi.

  “To Nora’s excellent thievery,” Lex added, nodding at Nora before taking a swig.

  Nora saluted, hiked her dress up to her knees, and hopped into the fountain’s pool. Lexi passed her the champagne bottle as Nora waded around, happily dodging the spray from the waterfall that poured over a large stone arch in the center of the pool. Mark rolled up his pant legs to join her. Isabella dipped her hand in the water to splash the outnumbered boy.

  I settled in to wait, casting a quick illusionary ward to hide myself from the teenagers should one of them happen to look my way. For another forty-five minutes, the group of friends chatted about everything under the sun, from the approaching homecoming dance to Duncan’s unfortunate grounding to their test in English Literature on Monday. Just as my eyes were beginning to drift shut, the click of boots behind me jolted me awake.

  It was a security guard, patrolling the school grounds to check for harmless hooligans like the teenagers in the courtyard. His eyes passed right over me, guarded as I was by the illusionary ward. He followed the kids’ voices toward the courtyard. If he found them, I would never get the chance to get Nora alone. I readied myself to cast another hex.

  “Wait!” Winnie ordered in my ear. “We can use him. Protect Nora and let him chase off the others.”

  “I knew I kept you around for something,” I mumbled back.

  In one quick movement, I dodged around the security guard and emerged into the courtyard before him. Nora was closest, so I took care of her first, firing an offensive spell at the nape of her neck. She toppled backward, falling off the low bordering wall of the pool. Isabella and Lexi rushed to her aid, blaming the half-empty champagne bottle for Nora’s tumble. Mark, on the other hand, froze suddenly as the beam of the security guard’s flashlight tickled the edge of the courtyard.

  “We have to go,” he hissed, tugging at Lexi’s forearm.

  “Get off, Mark!”

  “You wanna get caught? Security’s just around the corner!”

  “Crap!”

  Isabella helped Nora to her feet, but she was unsteady. Mark grabbed Lexi’s hand, yanking her out of the guard’s line of sight.

  “Hey!” the guard called out in a gruff voice.

  Isabella panicked. She gave Nora’s hand a halfhearted tug before letting go, her eyes fixed on Mark’s retreating back. “Come on, Nora!”

  In the split second between Isabella’s exit from the courtyard and the security guard’s entrance, I cast an illusionary ward over Nora. She disappeared from view, taking on the appearance of her surroundings as the security guard rushed around the fountain and sprinted after the fleeing teenagers. A jolt of triumph flooded through me. Finally, I had Nora on her own.

  She sat down on the edge of the pool, cradling her head in her hands. The jinx I’d hit her with wasn’t a fun one. It gave the victim a nauseating case of vertigo and a wicked headache. I felt bad for employing it, but if I was going to go through with Morgan’s test, Nora had more than a headache in store for her. I lifted my hands, summoning my craft, and my fingertips glimmered with the dark green light of my aura, but Winnie’s hand sunk through my forearm, stopping the flow of magic.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded, stepping out of her reach.

  Winnie’s expression was startled and sad. “I’m leaving.”

  “You’re leaving? What do you mean—?”

  When her body shimmered without warning, flickering on and off like a faulty light bulb, I abruptly understood. The otherworld was calling to her. Winnie was passing over.

  “No,” I gasped, my attention straying from Nora. “You can’t go! I need you.”

  Transparent tears flowed down Winnie’s cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Gwenlyn.”

  “No!”

  A cloud shifted overhead, revealing the bright light of the moon. It shone down on Winnie, and she nearly disappeared in its silvery glow. She reached out to caress my cheek, but all I felt was the frosty touch of her nonexistent fingers.

  “I’m so glad I got to know you,” she murmured as I began to cry. “All my life, I felt like I was missing something. It was you, all this time.”

  “We’re not finished,” I sobbed, sinking to my knees. The silk dress pooled around me like a puddle of liquid emeralds. “You said you were here to help me cure the coven. The curse isn’t broken yet!”

  Winnie flickered out of existence and back in again. “I’ve done my part. The rest is up to you. I wouldn’t be leaving if you couldn’t do it on your own.”

  “Winnie, please.”

  She floated down to my level, taking my face between her frigid, immaterial palms. “You can do this. Get the girl. Bring her home. Save the Summerses. I love you.”

  “Winnie—”

  The moonlight shone down, almost as if opening a portal between this world and the next one. Winnie faded ever-s
o-slightly.

  “Say you love me too.”

  “I love you,” I choked out.

  My own dimpled face grinned back at me, and I flashed back to the first night Winnie and I had met. In a little over a month, she had grown to mean everything to me, and now I couldn’t bear the idea of letting her go.

  “See you later, sis,” she said.

  When the moonbeams swallowed her and the last outline of her face was no longer visible, my emotions overflowed and ran wild. I heaved for breath, crouched on all fours in the courtyard, as sobs wracked my body. The rough stone scraped against my knees and hands, but the pain of saying goodbye to Winnie was immeasurable compared to something so trivial.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  My head snapped up at the sound of the soft voice. The girl in the red dress, Nora, stared at me from her spot on the edge of the fountain.

  “You…you can see me?” I stuttered. At some point during Winnie’s passing, I’d forgotten to maintain the ward that kept me out of sight.

  The girl nodded and winced. The jinx was still in place. “I saw you at my parents’ party too. You’re like me, aren’t you?”

  I swallowed hard, trying to regain my composure. “Yeah, I’m like you.”

  She heaved forward like she was going to retch but managed to hold her nausea at bay. “You followed me. You attacked me just now. What do you want?”

  At the sight of her challenging stare, an angry determination rose within me. Panting, I lifted myself from the ground and wiped the tears from my eyes. The train of my dress trailed behind me as I approached the younger girl. She glared up at me, and I saw the comprehension in her glazed eyes. She knew I was not here to be kind to her.

  “I’m sorry,” I told her.

  Green witchcraft exploded, setting the courtyard alight. My leg felt as though someone had set it on fire, but my energy circulated through the witch’s mark and amplified itself. A sinister satisfaction flowed through me as Nora crumpled at the foot of the fountain. She fought valiantly, casting her rosy pink aura as far as she could, but she was no match for the burst of dark power that rushed through me from the witch’s mark. As our colors combined, bathing the courtyard in a queasy hue, she collapsed and passed out. I heaved for breath, staring down at the girl as the witchcraft settled and the power dissipated from my aura. Winnie was gone, but I’d done my part. Nora was mine.

  Many thanks to everyone who read my story!

  Writing is the best way I know to express myself, and I’m so glad that you all have rewarded me with the opportunity to share my imagination with you. As an author, I learn and evolve from the input of others, so if you have a spare moment and you enjoyed the story, please leave a short, spoiler-free review of the book. As readers, your personal opinions are often the best references for a writer. Your commentary allows me to further provide you all with fun, engaging material.

  I would love if you could leave a review: Click Here to Review!

  Again, thank you all for diving into mine and Morgan’s world. May we meet again!

  All the best,

  Alexandria Clarke

  Witch Myth Wildfire: A Yew Hollow Cozy Mystery- Book 1

  Prologue

  Grass folded underfoot as the three women tread carefully through the woods, but their footsteps didn’t make a sound as they swept across the ground. An eerie silence enveloped the trio, but none of them were bothered by it. On the contrary, the cone of quiet that followed them through the forest comforted the tense women. All three wore dark clothing to blend in with the nature around them, and they slithered so expertly amongst the trees that not even a seasoned hunter would have spotted their stealthy advance. The leader, who had taken point, had an easy air of nonchalance that translated to all of her movements. Almost all of them. Out of character, she stumbled over a tree root. At once, her dual escorts reached out to steady her.

  “I’m fine,” she barked in an undertone. Up close, it became obvious that she was not fine at all. Her green eyes looked sickly, red, and watery in the pale sun. Dark circles drew half-moons below them, sinking the sockets deep into her skull. Her usually golden brown hair was limp and oily. It hung in loose clumps around her pale face.

  To her left, one of the other women—a willowy figure with impossibly long fair hair and solid gray eyes—appeared similarly afflicted, her delicate shoulders rounding with every step forward. She rested a hand on a nearby tree. A shimmering light the same color as a blue summer sky grew beneath her palm. The tree shook its leaves. A few rained down from above, lighting upon the women. The blonde sighed with relief, straightening a little as she joined hands with the leader. The other woman’s cheeks flushed, a welcome change from her previous pallor.

  “Thank you,” the leader said. “But save your strength and don’t burden the trees. It’s likely we’ll need their help on our return.”

  The third woman, who appeared to be the youngest, looked healthy and well. Her hands hovered behind her companions in anticipation of catching them should they succumb to whatever illness weakened their systems. While the leader and the blonde shared certain features—the same shapes along their noses and brows—the third woman bore no resemblance to them. From the outside, there was no blatant explanation as to how the three unique women had become travel companions.

  They neared the edge of the woods, but just as the third woman made to step beyond the shadow of the trees, the slender blonde pulled her back under the cover of the leaves. Instinctively, all three women stilled. No one questioned the blonde’s actions as they waited beneath the gently whispering leaves. Time passed. Then, from a long way off, the thunderous sound of hooves shook the ground. It grew louder and louder until a lithe rider on a golden mare with a black mane galloped right past the trio’s hiding place. As the rider faded in the opposite direction, the leader emerged from the trees.

  “That was her, wasn’t it?” she asked no one in particular. She didn’t require an answer. The small rider had left a sweet taste in the air, her rosy golden aura wafting along behind her like a condensation trail. The three women could not mistake her for anyone but their target.

  “She’s so young,” the blonde remarked. “I wouldn’t have expected it for—”

  “For someone so powerful,” the third woman finished for her. “She’s dripping with energy, isn’t she? Have the two of you ever felt anything like that before?”

  The leader shook her head. The small movement disoriented her, and she steadied herself on the third woman’s dependable forearm. “Let’s go,” she said, and though her tone was calm, the words were clearly an order.

  The women commenced their journey, hurrying along the tree line. They followed the young rider not by the grass that had been disturbed by the horse’s hooves but through a feeling or instinct that one of lesser knowledge would not be able to comprehend. It was a force that existed on a plane that only a select few had access to. The trio was well-versed in this energy. Though each of them interacted with it through different methods, all three embodied it in every movement. Every breath. Every moment.

  After some time, they happened upon the young rider again. She had dismounted in the middle of a wide meadow. Her mare grazed nearby, and the girl had all but disappeared as she lay down among the tall wildflowers. The trio halted, and the youngest woman—the healthy one—trailed her fingers through the air around them. A dark green mist appeared from her hands, circling around the women and solidifying like a shield. They could see through the unearthly fog without hindrance, but anyone else who might glance in their direction would only see the shadows of the woods. The young rider, however, propped herself up on her elbows, looking around as if she sensed that something was amiss. Her bright green eyes honed in on the women, startling the trio.

  “Can she see us?” the youngest whispered.

  “No,” the leader murmured, but even as the word left her lips, she could’ve sworn the rider made eye contact with her.

  “Curiou
s,” the blonde muttered, distracted. “She looks like Cassandra.”

  “Except for the eyes,” the leader said.

  The youngest shuffled nervously from one foot to the other. “Shall we get this over with?”

  The leader stilled the youngest’s hand as the green fog thickened. “Not like this,” she said. Her gaze never strayed from the girl in the meadow. “We’ll keep an eye on her. When the time is right, we’ll make her one of our own.”

  “No one can know,” the blonde said. “Not her friends or family. They’ll come looking.”

  The leader’s lips pursed in a tight line, and a dark blue haze involuntarily grew at her own fingertips. She stared across the wildflowers, fixated on the girl.

  “I can ensure that they won’t.”

  1

  On such a beautiful fall day in late September, when the sky was clear and the temperature was perfect and all of the other students were enjoying recess outside, there was no reason for a rambunctious fourth grader to be pinned in by the solemn brick walls of Saint Anne’s Preparatory School for Girls. She sat in the hallway beyond the headmistress’s office, scuffing the toes of her saddle shoes against the shiny waxed floor. There was a window above her set at an adult’s chest level. She tipped her head against the brick, mussing the braid that pulled her bright auburn hair tight against her scalp, and sighed at the sight of the blue sky. Out of her line of vision, the other kids yelled and giggled in the schoolyard. She envied them, even if she didn’t necessarily want to be playing with them. The other children always excluded her, something that frustrated and angered her. It was one of the various reasons that she had transferred schools so many times. Her father and stepmother had meant for this institution, with its ivy-covered walls and plaid collared uniforms and borderline abusive instructors, to whip her into shape. After all, what better way to reform a problematic child than sending her to boarding school in an entirely different state?