Witches in Wonderland

by Lauren Quick

  Pepper’s parents had purchased a house in The Crossroads before she was born and they’d lived there ever since, relishing the chance to live in the spooky community.

  “I don’t know if you remember me telling you that my parents’ house is haunted.”

  “How could I forget? Last I heard the ghost witch loved to take baths.” Vivi grinned.

  “Yep. That’s her. And overall she’s a benevolent spirit who likes to have fun with a good-natured haunting. But not everyone who lives in The Crossroads or in other haunted dwellings in Everland is so lucky. Some ghosts can be very cranky or downright scary. And that’s what prompted my idea to create a potion that enables witches to talk to spirits.” Pepper lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m calling it a Ghost Potion.”

  Vivi’s mouth hung open. Her assistant’s creativity knew no bounds. “That’s the coolest, scariest potion idea ever. Do you think you can pull it off? Not that I’m doubting you, but that seems like a tall order.”

  Pepper tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, contemplating the question. “At first I thought that too. It doesn’t matter how great the idea is if the potion doesn’t work. But I’ve been working on it for months, and I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere.”

  Vivi leaned over and checked the front cover of the book Pepper was reading. Serafina Snapdragon’s Guide to Exotic Potion Ingredients. “Interesting. But I’m not surprised. I’d suspect you’d need a lot more than a bunch of herbs and flowers from our backyard garden to pull off speaking with the dead.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. I’ve been consulting with a witch I tracked down whose persuasion is communicating with the dead.”

  “Talk about a creepy cool magical gift. That must have been an interesting one to grow up with. How did you find her?” Vivi asked.

  “I got her details from one of my professors at Haven Academy who teaches classes in paranormal persuasions. From what she tells me, she had it pretty easy as a kid since her parents were really into ghosts. Kind of like my parents. But the novelty wore off as she grew older. It’s not an easy magical gift to live with because ghosts are drawn to her, knowing she can see them and wanting to unburden themselves. But we can’t pick our persuasion.”

  Seeing ghosts wasn’t a persuasion Vivi would have chosen for herself. “So this witch is helping you understand what it takes to really see and communicate with spirits on a magical level.”

  “Exactly.” Pepper thumped the book in agreement. “Even though my parents know that the ghost in their house is named Eleanor and they can hear and, on rare occasions, see glimpses of her, they really can’t communicate with her. I’m trying to create a potion that will enable them to see and talk to her clearly.”

  “That’s amazing. And a huge task to undertake, especially for the contest.”

  “It’s more than the contest. This could really make a difference in spirit communication. But if it weren’t for the contest pushing me to be more creative, I don’t think I would have ever considered the idea even possible,” Pepper said.

  “It’s the challenge that makes it so exciting,” Vivi said. “How can I help?”

  “I do most of my work after hours and on my days off, of course. But I need to take a little trip in a few days to collect some bat clippings and dried wings.” She wrinkled her nose. “If you want to take a field trip out to the Canary Caves with me, that would be great.”

  “Sure, name the date. I’ve always wanted to visit Batland.” Vivi smiled a little too widely, but cringed on the inside. Bats freaked her out a little with their tiny hand-like claws and smushed snouts. The Canary Caves were famous for housing a massive colony of furry fruit bats. “Can’t wait.”

  The two spent the rest of the morning brewing up some more potions and refilling the shelves while waiting on customers. After lunch, Vivi decided to take a walk down Main Street to attend to some unfinished business—her new quest to locate Devlin Strange.

  Leaving the shop in Pepper’s capable hands, Vivi headed to Good Spells Grimoire to do a little catching up with some old friends and maybe pick their brains.

  Vivi pushed open the door to the local bookstore and was greeted with a big hug from Bear Griswold that lifted her off of her feet. His full bushy beard tickled her cheek. “It’s good to see you,” he said, returning her feet to the ground. “Priscilla! Pricilla! Come say hello to Vivi!” He yelled to his wife, who was hovering near the top of a tall bookshelf, doing some restocking.

  Priscilla’s arms were loaded with books, which with a flick of her wand leaped out of her grasp and slid into place on the shelves. She mumbled a spell and made a graceful swoop for the floor, landing a few feet from Vivi.

  “Wow, that was dramatic,” Vivi said giving her a hug. “You’ve taken levitation spells to a whole new level.”

  “I’m getting really good at it with all the restocking. Business is booming. Especially after your sister came out as Cassandra Reason. Having a famous local writer has really upped our business.” Priscilla adjusted her blouse. Her long blonde hair was tied in an elaborate braid that swung behind her.

  “That’s so great. I’m glad you could draw in more customers to your shop,” Vivi said. “I know Clover is happier now that everyone knows.”

  “I, for one, am over the moon about our little Cassie.” Bear grinned and straightened a book on a towering display of the Spellbinder series of novels, written by her sister under the pen name Cassandra Reason. “Everyone should know that your sister is a talented word witch. But I doubt you came all the way over to the store to chat about your sister. What can I help you with?”

  “I was hoping to sneak upstairs and do a little research in the archives on a wizard I’m trying to locate. Honora already looked him up in the Master Registry when I went to visit her in Stargazer City, but I thought maybe you might have some old Witch World Daily clippings that might shed some light on him.” Vivi reasoned that in Devlin Strange’s attempt to wipe out his identity, he’d missed something in one of the old parchments.

  “We can sure take a look,” Bear said and grabbed a stack of parchments from under the counter before leading Vivi to the archives on the second floor of the bookshop. Bear was an information aficionado and kept detailed records of the daily happenings of Willow Realm and the other small towns and villages in Everland. He also had an exhaustive collection of Witch World Daily parchments that he organized and catalogued. “Here we go. Let me know if you need any help. I need to sequence the latest editions of the paper, so don’t let me interrupt you.”

  Vivi started by searching the local parchment scrolls by name, and though there were many wizards with the name Strange, there was no Devlin. Strange was a common last name, so no surprise there. Next she checked the business registry, hoping he might have had a business license at one time and had forgotten to scrub it from the local registry, but no luck. She even searched the healer wards to see if he’d had any medical care over the years, and then on a whim, checked the local libraries to see if he had a library card, but came up empty.

  “Nothing,” Vivi said aloud after about an hour of digging. “I can’t find a thing on this strange wizard.” Her shoulders slumped. She wiped the sweat from her brow. The archives had the dry sweet smell of old parchments.

  Bear poked his head around a corner. “I don’t want to pry into your business, but I’d be happy to help. Would you like me to do a quick spider spell to see if you missed anything?”

  “I’d welcome a little prying,” Vivi said. It wasn’t like the Darklander told her to keep her task a secret. “His name is Devlin Strange and that’s all I really know.”

  Bear pulled a cherry wood wand from his belt loop and gave it a few flicks. “I need to clear the magic. This old wand’s been acting up on me. I really need to buy a new one. Wildwoods Wands and Woodcrafts has some real beau
ties, but I’m so attached to this one.” He rubbed the wand between his thumb and finger.

  Slipping a parchment scroll back on a shelf, Vivi noticed a crack down the side of Bear’s wand and smiled. Wands were like old friends to some witches and wizards.

  “I’m working on a new searching spell. I call it the spiders.”

  “Sounds perfect as long as you’re being metaphorical. I’m not an arachnid fan, especially when they’re in large groups.” Vivi shifted from foot to foot, glancing behind her in case any real spiders crawled her way as Bear worked the spell and circled his wand in a widening sphere. Spools of glowing silver light in fine strands emanated from the tip of his wand, traveled across the room, and attached themselves to every parchment scroll and dusty volume. The room glowed and buzzed with magic. Tingling warmth radiated over Vivi’s skin. She stepped back and watched in awe as the web expanded into every nook and cranny of information.

  Bear’s eyes fluttered. His lips moved silently and the web of magic vibrated and hummed. Within a minute the silver strands ebbed and flowed back into the tip of Bear’s wand, the room suddenly mundane and still.

  That was quick.

  Bear shook his head. “Nothing. I’m sorry and a little surprised. That spell has worked wonders in the past. I thought for sure I would find something, but there was no mention of a Devlin Strange in any record that I have, and I have a lot.”

  “Thanks for trying. Like I mentioned, Honora couldn’t find anything on her end either, so I’m not surprised.” Vivi had done her duty and couldn’t think of anywhere else she could look for the mysterious wizard. But her curiosity was still buzzing.

  “Perhaps it’s for the best then that Wizard Strange isn’t found. But I was sure I’d get a nibble. I can’t imagine where you’d look now.” Bear rubbed his chin.

  They headed for the stairs where Priscilla was standing. “You should ask the nymphs,” Priscilla said and grinned impishly.

  “The nymphs!” Vivi said with a bark of excitement. “I’d completely forgotten about them.”

  5

  Bear’s eyes widened in shock. The mention of the nymphs had that effect on scholarly types. He cleared his throat and puffed out his barrel chest. “Now, dear. Vivi doesn’t have time for silly frolicking witches. She’s conducting a serious mission to find this wizard and it’s very important.” He walked to the top of the stairs and quickly ushered his wife down.

  Vivi smiled to herself. Bear meant well. He took research seriously and anyone conducting it must be doing so under very serious circumstances. To him, study was done indoors under eye-straining, neck-aching conditions usually in low-lit rooms surrounded by piles of dusty parchments. What Priscilla was suggesting was the complete opposite.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Priscilla stood with her hands on her hips, pleading her case. “The nymphs aren’t silly. In fact they’re having a resurgence in interest from scholars. Just last week we had a couple of professors from Haven Academy stop by to take a look at the stream. They’re thinking about bringing a few classes out to visit.” She held her chin high.

  Vivi descended the stairs, listening intently. “I’ve never actually visited them. Well, maybe Mom took us to see them when we were young, but not lately. Tell me more.” What did she have to lose? Currently, she had no other ideas.

  Priscilla smiled triumphantly at her husband and turned to Vivi. “The nymphs live on the fringes of witching society, staying to the forests, streams, and ponds. But trust me, they know things that no one else does. They hear things out in the forest. They formed their own network and you’d be surprised how far back their information goes,” Priscilla said. “I’ve written numerous papers about them and their use of earth magic over the years. But Bear thinks they’re silly witches living in the forest to escape doing any real work.” She elbowed her husband lightly in the side.

  Bear softened his tone. “I’ll admit they aren’t silly, but they are unproven. Who knows if their information is valid or simply gossip? But I respect your love of the nymphs, dear.” He ran his hand gently across her back and winked at Vivi before he hurried over to chat with a customer who was admiring the display of a new series about a wizard detective.

  Vivi turned to Priscilla. Perhaps she was onto something. “I’ve got some time this afternoon if you don’t think it would take too long. I’ll need to get back to the shop in a few hours to relieve Pepper, but I’d love to hear what they have to say.”

  “Good. They’re a delight and have grown so much wiser over the years. We should go.” She clasped her hands. “It’ll be fun and you never know what we might find out about your mysterious wizard.”

  Vivi tried not to get her hopes up. She suspected Bear might be right and the nymphs were more into frolicking, but she’d keep an open mind.

  Priscilla grabbed her purse and wand and they headed out, deciding to take the portal in the back of The Glass Slipper to the forest location. Using the shoe store portal was dangerous; the fabulous selection of shoes alone made it nearly impossible to walk through and not buy something. Vivi focused her attention on the back wall as she glided through a row of strappy sandals and summer wedges that called to her. The owner, Candice “Candy” Jones, made the shrewd business decision to have her store built around the portal, just so she could have a captive audience passing through the merchandise in order to access it.

  “What’s your hurry, ladies? I’ve got a new collection of sandals that just arrived.” Candy swung her sheet of blonde hair, waving a bejeweled slide in the air.

  “We’ll take a look on the way back,” Priscilla said over her shoulder and then lowered her voice. “That witch is ruthless. We’ll never get out of here without buying a pair of shoes.” She smirked. “That’s one of the reasons I use this portal. I just can’t say no. Plus, I like to support the local business owners. Or that’s what I tell Bear at least.” Her eyes twinkled.

  The portal was embedded inside a huge oval mirror that hung on the back wall of the shoe store. Priscilla pulled her portal key from a key chain in her purse, slipped it into the keyhole and turned. “Blackberry Springs,” she said and the surface of the mirror activated, swirling to life. A warm breeze washed over Vivi’s face.

  The portal system never ceased to amaze her—a pool of energy and perfectly conjured magic to transport them to someplace entirely different. Feeling the magical spark gave Vivi a flash memory of her dream and falling into the mushroom portal in the woods and, with it, a premonition of strong magic and a strange wizard—Devlin, perhaps? She hurried into the slipstream behind Priscilla, relaxing into the magical energy and letting it carry her away.

  Once through the portal, they stepped out from under an archway of grapevines and walked along a grassy stream dotted with large rocks and clusters of reeds. Birds chirped. A majestic crane stood on spindly legs at the water’s edge, watching them with cool detachment. Sunshine filtered through the canopy of leaves. It was a perfect spring day. Vivi inhaled deeply, her cares almost dissolving.

  “Why are you looking for this wizard?” Priscilla asked. Her shoulders relaxed, arms swinging at her sides.

  Vivi strolled along beside her. “Technically it’s to pay a debt to a creepy wizard I know. I feel a weird sense of obligation to him.” Vivi decided to come clean. “Priscilla, I should tell you the wizard who asked me to find Devlin Strange is the Darklander. I should have mentioned it sooner, and I’d understand if you don’t want to help. He’s not actually an upstanding citizen and Devlin Strange could be an associate of his who could be just as bad, even if he needs help.”

  “Thanks for telling me. From what I know, he’s a dark wizard with immense power.” She gave Vivi an intense stare. “And he asked you to help him. That’s interesting. I don’t trust dark wizards, but I trust you and your judgment and if Devlin Strange needs help, then I’m all for assisting in your sear
ch.”

  “I’m glad you understand.”

  “Sounds like the Darklander has a hold on you. Probably because you’re so nice and he knows you won’t say no. But now you’re curious and feel obligated to help this wizard and you’re hooked. Am I right?”

  “Pretty much. I’m itching to find out more about him, and it kind of spiraled out of control. He should have asked Honora. But then again, she would have probably punched him. She thinks I’m making a mistake for even doing it.”

  Priscilla smirked. “Once I saw Honora use a spell and her hip to thrust a wizard down the aisle on the Silver Train. He’d gotten a little too close to her, if you know what I mean. I think many of us live vicariously through witches like your sister. I know I do.”

  “That’s true. She’s never been afraid of anything.”

  “The Darklander picked you for a reason and maybe that reason isn’t a bad one. Maybe he really needs someone’s help, someone who isn’t under suspicion like he is, who can move around freely, and he knows you’re the only one thoughtful enough to even listen to him.”

  A blush rose on Vivi’s cheeks. The flattery was nice. Maybe the Darklander really just needed help. She tossed her arm over Priscilla’s shoulder and gave her a hug. “That’s a good point. My intuition has been driving me to know more about this wizard, and I feel deep down he’s not dangerous, but he is in some kind of trouble.”

  “The nymphs are pretty docile, but we can always hope they have some juicy details for us. We’ll ask the nymphs and then you can tell the Darklander you did your best and move on with a clean conscious.” She looped her arm around Vivi’s. “One of their meeting places is right up ahead.”