Baffling Blend

by Kennedy Layne

  Leo remained quiet as I descended the spiral staircase, leaving my already fretful mind focused on the dire part of his previous comment. After quickly getting the coffee machine started, I walked across the hardwood floor without my slippers to retrieve the grimoire. The cold shiver that traveled up and down my spine had nothing to do with the cold seeping through my feet.

  “Grass,” I whispered to myself in dismay, finally connecting the dots as to why Leo was so concerned with the ingredients. “There was also a pestle full of dirt. Leo, does that mean…”

  Whatever you do, don’t say another word until I open my delivery from Catnip Meowbox. There’s only so much stress this body of mine can handle without my medicine.

  I took Leo’s advice. Not another word came out of my mouth as I sat on the couch and wrote down everything I could remember from my vision. It definitely hadn’t been a dream, because that experience had left me feeling as if I’d actually been a part of the dark magic that was clearly being used against my mother.

  I mean, what is it with witches and the lure of dark magic?

  “Well, they—”

  That wasn’t a literal question, Raven. Oy vey, I don’t think this box has enough catnip to take the edge off. I have no choice but to break into my emergency Honduras stash.

  “We really need to think this through, Leo,” I whispered once I’d gotten everything written down. Looking over the list, the dire predicament we were in became even more ominous. “I need to call Mom. She has a right to know that her life is in danger.”

  There’s no sugarcoating this, Raven. Someone wants your mother dead. D. E. A. D. Trust me. I get it. The Mistress of the Dark has that effect on people. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of the numerous ways the deed could be done without anyone being the wiser. I don’t follow through obviously, but the urge to do so is there almost every second of the day.

  “Leo!” I exclaimed, not understanding how he could joke at a time like this. “My dreams have been coming true. Mom’s life is literally at stake!”

  It’s best not to bring that tiny detail to her attention. We have no choice, Raven. It’s time.

  “Time for what?” I asked, my chest tightening in fear for my mother.

  Solving other murders, finding missing familiars, and locating kidnapped reindeer were things that I could handle. We’d had a lot thrown at us in the last year, but we’d always managed to pull through.

  Having a vision of an unknown witch attempting to use dark magic to cause my own mother’s death?

  I couldn’t even fathom that coming true.

  We need to bypass the Mistress of the Dark. It’s time to bring in the Wicked Witch of Windsor.

  “Aunt Rowena?” I was already shaking my head in denial of such a suggestion. “You want to call the one woman who has reason to hurt us? We turned our back on the coven war, Leo. What would ever give you the idea that she would want to help us?”

  Fine. I’ll confess. I can’t remember.

  “You can’t…” I set the pad and pencil down on top of the coffee table. I would have loved to chalk up my most recent revelation to being sleep deprived, giving me a chance of actually being wrong in my conclusion. “Leo, is your memory blipping again?”

  It not only blipped, but it completely malfunctioned. It’s your fault. I’m sleep deprived, and my catnip farm in Alaska that you gave me for Christmas hasn’t even been planted yet. All I know is that we need reinforcements, even if it comes in the form of the Wicked Witch of Windsor. Just saying those words aloud tells me that Armageddon has arrived, and my demise won’t ultimately be in the squirrelpocalypse. Write this down on your pad: Skippy, it is with great sadness that you read this letter after my demise by another…

  Chapter Six

  “I should probably come home,” Liam said grimly over the phone after hearing what had taken place in the middle of the night. It was now eight o’clock in the morning, and I had somehow made it to the teashop without falling asleep at the wheel. “My sister is feeling better, and you—”

  “Will be just fine,” I gently finished for him. What I really wanted to do was scream into my cell phone that he needed to drive home immediately, but I managed to refrain from the nagging impulse. Him being with his sister during her recovery was important, more so than babysitting me. “I called Aunt Rowena and left a message on her phone. Rye is supposed to meet me here in a few minutes. Leo and I have things covered.”

  We do? I still have things to add to my last will and testament for Skippy.

  “Are you sure it’s wise to involve her?” Liam asked, knowing the lengths I’d gone to in order to stay out of the coven war. “What if your aunt tries to use this situation to her advantage? To turn you and your mother? What did you tell her exactly?”

  “I only told her that I had a dreamcatcher that might have belonged to a long line of witches,” I replied, frowning when I thought back to the message that I’d left Aunt Rowena. Exhaustion could certainly cause the mind to play tricks. “I think. Leo, did I mention anything about my premonitions?”

  Did you really just ask a familiar with memory issues what happened an hour ago? Hey, do you remember where I put that triple acorn that I stole from Skippy? I should leave it to him after my death. It’s the right thing to do. It might very well be a religious icon for squirrels.

  “I have the situation under control,” I reassured Liam while pointing toward a teacup on one of the display shelves. Leo’s whisker twitched at the effort that he would have to put in to retrieve the triple acorn. “Don’t you dare break anything, Leo.”

  “What does Leo have to say about all this?”

  “Oh, you know Leo. He thinks we’re all about to die,” I offered up, only half-joking. The throbbing that had taken up residence in my temples picked up its tempo. “I’ll call you after I speak with Rye and Aunt Rowena. There has to be a reasonable explanation as to what is going on.”

  “You didn’t give away your only ace, did you?” Liam was referring to the fact that I now had knowledge that Rye had either stolen my dreamcatcher or he had one similar. “Play your cards close to your chest.”

  “I will,” I promised. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  I walked across the teashop just in time to stop Leo from hoisting himself up on the shelf, thus sending it tumbling to the ground with all its contents.

  “I’ll get it, though you should leave it in hiding. We’re not going to die, and neither is Mom.”

  I see your fifth cup of coffee is bringing back your optimism. I’d love to know the witch or wizard who put the magic in that little bean.

  “The same witch or wizard with a familiar who did the same with catnip,” I countered wryly, handing over the triple acorn to Leo. He carried it in his mouth over to his cat bed in the display window. “I think I have a plan.”

  I know exactly what your plan is, and my belief that we’re both going to be personally greeted by Ivan outside of his domain hasn’t changed. I was so looking forward to our poker game next week, too.

  Ivan was our local grim reaper who just so happened to host a supernatural poker game every Wednesday. Leo had waited a long time to be part of such a group, and one would think that a friendship such as that would warrant a warning or two.

  It probably goes against the grim reapers’ union guidelines or something. Ivan is a stickler for the rules, you know.

  “The only thing I know is that there is a blonde witch somewhere out in the world that wants to hurt Mom.” I took a moment to fill up two pitchers of water from the back, returning through the ivory-colored fairy beads to top off the electric kettles. The shop was open until two o’clock today. I wouldn’t shirk my duties as a business owner, just as I wouldn’t dodge my obligations as a daughter. “Do you remember when Nan utilized All Hallows’ Eve to communicate with me? She left me a warning not to take off the black tourmaline that Liam had given me for my birthday.”

  I’d been drawn to a particular stone, hav
ing mentioned it quite often to Liam in our conversations. He’d taken it upon himself to track down a black tourmaline with silver filigree that gently protected it on a necklace worn originally by none other than Sarah Good. She had been a very special witch back in Salem in the 1600s, so there was no telling just how much power was contained within the stone.

  “I haven’t taken the necklace off since,” I reassured Leo, who had all but collapsed in his bed after having about an hour or two of sleep last night. “I have to believe the warning was to protect us, even in this situation. I figure that we’ll ask Rye about the dreamcatcher before Aunt Rowena calls back or shows up out of the blue. The roads weren’t that bad this morning, all things considered.”

  I waited for Leo to respond with some witty comment about Aunt Rowena’s broom, but one quick glance told me that he’d fallen asleep with his cheek on top of the triple acorn. His tongue was hanging out and his front right paw was hanging down loosely from his bed. I was definitely jealous, but there was hope on my horizon.

  My phone dinged with an incoming text, but I finished getting the tea and coffee samples ready, making sure that I filled my own mug to the brim. There was no need for cream and sugar today. At this point, I might even agree to an IV direct from the brewer.

  Heidi was the one who had texted, checking in to see if I needed her here yet. She’d gone into her office for a few hours after having received a frantic call last night from Monty about something he’d forgotten and left off his taxes. He was worried it would trigger an audit, even though Heidi had reassured him that was not the case. I replied that she should douse the flames of panic before coming over to the shop. She also had dinner plans with Jack that I would do my best not to ruin, if at all possible.

  The bell above the entrance chimed, pulling my attention from my phone to the front of the shop. The palm of my hand hadn’t heated in the slightest, telling me that somehow Rye was still not a threat to me or my way of life here in Paramour Bay. What did shock me was that in his hand was a very familiar dreamcatcher—the same one that had been at the cottage when Leo and I had left this morning.

  “Where exactly did you get that?” I asked warily, making sure to put down my coffee so that I didn’t spill the hot beverage over the rim. “And how did you know that was why I was calling you this morning? Unless you’ve already spoken to Aunt Rowena. I mentioned a dreamcatcher to her in my message.”

  Rye was around my age, give or take a couple of years. He was what Heidi would commonly refer to as tall, dark, and handsome. I personally preferred Liam with his charming smile and the way he had made my heart still flutter when my name fell off his lips. It still astounded me at how easily he accepted my differences from the average fare. He even embraced them, silently accepting that there were certain things that only I could handle, such as the man walking toward me.

  “It’s not what you think, Raven.”

  “Well, I doubt you know my thoughts since they seem to be traveling a million miles a minute in random directions.” I slipped my phone in the pocket of my broomstick skirt, preferring the loose material over jeans. Leo and I had gone over and over on how to broach the subject. Considering I was a horrible liar and there was only so long that I could go without sleep, my options were limited to the truth. “I’m going to let you know what took place, and then you can fill in the blank spaces that you and Aunt Rowena are obviously responsible for. How does that sound to you?”

  Rye walked through the teashop with determination, though he was mindful of the china displays on the high-top tables. He set the dreamcatcher down on the counter with a thud and made an announcement that I wasn’t expecting.

  “Rowena isn’t coming,” Rye stated matter-of-factly. “She gave me a spell that will block the power of the artifact that you have in your possession, but it won’t work unless the two relics are linked. She’s doing what she can to find out who brought these twin dreamcatchers to Paramour Bay, so we’ll just continue to let her do her thing.”

  Oh, I was definitely going to need my coffee now. I did my best to pick up the mug without spilling the contents, taking a gulp big enough to help me through the list of questions that were burning the back of my throat. I held up my hand when he would have continued, not wanting to get ahead of ourselves.

  “Stop,” I directed, proud of myself for taking control of the situation. I was still somewhat of a newbie witch, but Nan had believed in me enough to leave me not only her inheritance but also our family gifts. “Please answer only what I ask until I have a handle on things.”

  “Fair enough,” Rye replied, though for the first time seemingly in the dark himself. “I’ll play along if I can get a coffee, as well.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that Leo knocking the potion over onto the dreamcatcher had nothing to do with the premonitions that I’ve been having?” I asked, monitoring Rye’s facial expressions closely as he poured himself a cup of coffee in the larger sample cups that I had arranged on the table.

  “That’s right. Leo had nothing to do with the curse placed on the dreamcatchers.”

  Did I just hear something concerning my complete and utter vindication? Oh, what a beautiful morning!

  Chapter Seven

  “Good morning, Leo,” Rye greeted with a half grin, lifting his coffee cup up in salute.

  I’ve got no time for small talk, warlock. Now that we determined that my minor mishap isn’t the cause of all this chaos, let’s get down to business. How did the Wicked Witch of Windsor even know about Raven’s premonitions?

  “How did Aunt Rowena know that I was having forewarnings through my dreams?” I asked, noting that Leo was stretching out his limbs as he stood in his cat bed. I must have definitely mentioned a lot more over the phone in my exhausted state than I realized. “Wait. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Answer me this—is that my dreamcatcher or an identical one?”

  “It’s actually the other half of yours,” Rye explained with a shrug, as if he didn’t have all the answers. Well, he had a lot more than I did at the moment. “Apparently, Rowena has spent the last year trying to track them down in her bid to win the coven war. She didn’t have a clue that one had been purchased from an estate by the antique store here in town. They must have been separated at some point. It wasn’t until Kathleen mentioned that you had purchased all the occult items from the shop that Rowena and I figured out that you had the primary one in your possession.”

  You might cheat at poker, warlock, but you’re a pretty good storyteller.

  “I don’t cheat, Leo.”

  You count cards. That’s cheating. Even Ted thinks so, and he gives everyone the benefit of the doubt.

  “I have an exceptionally good memory,” Rye countered after he’d taken another drink of his coffee. “There’s a difference. It’s a shame you don’t suffer from the same affliction.”

  “The primary one?” I reiterated, wanting to stay on topic. After all, it wasn’t like my sanity was at stake or anything.

  I think he just called me an idiot, Raven.

  “You’re the ones who insisted you be kept out of the coven war,” Rye pointed out, ignoring Leo’s bait to get into a poker argument. “Rowena kept her promise, hoping that it wouldn’t come to…well, what the situation has come to.”

  “You mean the fact that I’m having premonitions?” I asked, pointing out the obvious. “So basically what you’re saying is that you knew that I had one of the dreamcatchers, but Aunt Rowena was hoping the one that she got her hands on was the controlling relic. She wanted to have premonitions of the future, just so that she could foresee the outcome of the war in case she needed to somehow make a few tweaks to what would become our new reality. Am I right?”

  “Something like that,” Rye hedged, telling me that he was still keeping some details close to his chest. Leo was right in that our resident warlock had a small tell when it came to revealing his hand. He had a bad habit of tilting his head to the right when he felt he had an advantage. “We�
�re asking that you hand over the dreamcatcher in your possession so that we can subsequently cast an incantation to block your premonitions.”

  I’m still offended that you called me stupid, so I’m going to prove to you otherwise, warlock. Raven, listen up. I’m about to connect the dots. The Wicked Witch of Windsor has been tracking down a select number of old witchcraft relics to help her in her bid to become leader of the coven, but you managed to acquire what you could from the antique shop to protect our own kind. The result was that the Wicked Witch of Windsor somehow found one of the twin dreamcatchers, but you somewhat unluckily had the more powerful one of the two.

  “Leo, we know this,” I gently reminded him, not hearing anything that would contradict Rye’s previous assumption. “What I want to know is why should I believe that you’ll use some kind of incantation to remove the abilities of the dreamcatchers? I thought it wasn’t advisable to try and undo another supernatural being’s work.”

  Have you ever heard of a lead-in? Give me time to make my case and relish in my intellectual abilities, Raven.

  “You’re right so far, Leo,” Rye said with a smile, knowing full well that Leo liked his time in the spotlight. It was easier to just go with the tempo he set than attempt to play a different tune. “Raven, we’re not planning to undo anything. The dreamcatchers were created by a ritual conjoining of a group of Native American shamans and the ghosts of their ancestors. It wasn’t done with a spell as you understand them, but instead their natural pull off the earth’s energy and their focus on what was to come. They were two parts of a sort of telescope whose focus peers into the future of the lives closest to the relics. They are physical manifestations of a tool created to look directly at the fabric of time. You just happen to have the aperture end that one looks into. They created it to help them foresee bad weather, natural disasters, and other events that could harm their people.”