by Lauren Quick
Rumor squawked and bobbed his head. Vivi broke a silvery purple colored wax seal stamped with a double M insignia and slipped the card from the envelope. “It’s an invitation,” she said aloud and Rumor bobbed his head. “The aunties. What now?” Vivi blurted as a surge of energy flowed through her hands causing her to gasp. Wow. What was that all about? She didn’t wait for Rumor to answer and read the invitation. The ever-unpredictable aunties were hosting a tea party for tomorrow. What were those two witches up to?
It’s like they wanted her vision to come true and Vivi wondered which came first—her dream of the tea party or the aunties’ big plans. But the tea party she saw in her dream took place at the tea shop in town. The aunties’ invitation gave Clover’s address as the location. Vivi rubbed her temples. How was she supposed to get an accurate reading of the future with the aunties trying to shake things up? Maybe that was the point. Maybe the aunties were trying to teach her a lesson that the future had a will of its own. And she was at its mercy. Vivi dropped the invitation to the coffee table.
Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
16
Early the next morning sunlight spilled into the potion shop. A groggy-eyed messenger witch rapped lightly on the front door while stifling a yawn. Vivi grabbed a Rise-n-Shine potion off the shelf and exchanged it as the tip for the message the young witch handed to her. “Thanks,” the witch said and gulped down the potion before scurrying off on her next delivery. Vivi popped the wax seal and a flutter of fragrant sparkly red hearts fluttered out of the envelope. The note inside read: Thinking of you. Love, Lance.
Vivi clutched the parchment to her chest. A burst of joy filled her. Lance would be home soon and she couldn’t wait and the little reminder was all she needed to brighten up her morning. She pulled bottles and jars from a shelf, sprinkling handfuls of ingredients into a bubbling cauldron. Her palms were coated in a dusty hue from the herbs and spices. Steam wafted over her face, radiating a calming warmth over her.
The tea party loomed and brewing gave Vivi time to think. She’d been restless all night, overwhelmed with the events of the past few days. She was lost, directionless, and no closer to finding Devlin Strange and the portal coin. To complicate matters, her aunties were throwing a party right in the middle of all the confusion. Of course Vivi had figured it was their way of luring Wizard Strange to Clover’s house, but how was still the question.
Why would he come? She had no answer.
A knock sounded on the back door. Vivi wiped her hands off on a towel and drifted to answer it. She wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Honora standing on the stoop, wearing a respectable pair of light gray pants and a white short-sleeved shirt. A leather jacket was tossed over her shoulder and pink-tinted flying goggles were perched on her head.
“Come on in,” Vivi said, returning to her cauldron.
“Smells good in here,” Honora said. “What are you up to?”
“Brewing up a potion. It’s kind of a stress reliever for me.”
Honora hopped up on a stool and watched Vivi work. “Are you feeling what I’m feeling? Because I’m getting a bad vibe something is going down today and we’re totally powerless to stop it.”
“You powerless? That’s a first. But, seriously, why do you think I’m up this early brewing my little heart out?” Vivi pulled a wooden spoon through the thickening liquid. “I’ve been trying to get a clue as to what might happen today, but my visions are coming up empty. The future is a mystery.”
“I listened to what the aunties said about us working together, and I wanted you to know I’m all in with the wizard hunt. I want to help.” Honora shifted on her stool. “My big sister isn’t doing this alone. In fact, I’ve already started gathering intel on Kat Keene.”
“That’s the best news you could have told me today,” Vivi said, a weight lifting off her shoulders.
A light rapping sounded on the back door. “You expecting someone else?” Honora asked.
“I wasn’t exactly expecting you,” Vivi said and went to answer the door. Within seconds she filed back into the workroom with Clover trailing behind her.
Clover’s sandals smacked against the wood floor. “You two aren’t going to believe what I found out yesterday.” She dropped her purse on the counter and dragged a stool over to sit next to Honora.
“Spill it because I’ve got news, too,” Honora said.
Clover settled on the stool and exhaled. “I know who the aunties’ mysterious heirloom leather jacket belonged to.”
“Wait! I have a guess.” Vivi interrupted, waving a wet wooden spoon at her sister. “I’d bet the jacket belongs to creepy Uncle Seth.”
“Uncle Seth,” Honora said her face twisted with distaste. “Yuck. But why would the aunties make us try on a jacket worn by a sleazebag wizard like our dear black magic-practicing uncle? Mom would freak if she found out.”
Clover shook her head. “That’s a good guess, but you’re wrong. Thankfully, the jacket doesn’t belong to Uncle Seth.” Clover snorted. “At least now there’s a bright side. According to another family heirloom gifted to me by the aunties, the jacket belonged to Charles Atticus.” Clover paused, as if waiting for a response, which came immediately.
“Dad!” Vivi and Honora blurted.
Vivi’s stomach dropped and she clutched the counter.
“I was shocked, too,” Clover said. “But according to the Mayhem Magical Manifest, he owned a warded leather jacket. Apparently, he and Honora are the only two who wear leather in our family, so it wasn’t hard to narrow it down. Then the aunties confirmed it for me.”
“But why?” Vivi asked. “Why not tell us? It’s not like we still hold a grudge against him. Or at least I don’t. He’s nothing to us. Never has been.”
“The aunties are in wise witch mode and want us to discover what’s going on for ourselves,” Clover said. “They want us to ask questions about Dad and our family. They told me they brought an heirloom for all of us.”
Honora tilted her head. “Where’s mine?”
Vivi cackled. “I can’t wait to see what it is.”
“Bring on the family heirloom. I hope it’s a knife,” Honora said, eyes sparkling.
“Dream on,” Clover said. “It’s probably a decades old hankie that gives you mystical powers and a rash.”
They all laughed but soon the sound dwindled and the sisters went silent. The jacket was currently hanging on a hook against the wall near the door. Vivi glanced at it with newfound wonder. “I wished I’d known it was his. I would have approached it differently. I would have tried harder.”
“Would you have?” Honora asked. “It’s not like we knew him or at least I never did. I was barely out of diapers when he up and disappeared. You weren’t old enough to remember him either, Vivi. We don’t have clear memories of him. Except maybe Clover.”
Clover shrugged. “They’re faded like the picture of him in my head. The aunties wanted to keep our emotions out of it, so they claim, and that’s why they didn’t tell us. But that’s one of the reasons I came. My emotions are all over the place. And I’m afraid of what the aunties are plotting next with this tea party.”
“You mean luring Devlin Strange to your house?” Vivi asked. “I don’t see how that’s going to happen. It doesn’t make sense. Why would he come to our party? Why would he even care?”
“We’d have to have something he wanted,” Honora said. “And currently that’s not clear. Not to change the subject, but I have news. I met up with my friend Harper who works at the council and got the dirt on Kat Keene.”
“Good, tell us everything,” Vivi said.
Honora filled them in on what happened yesterday at the Sky Garden.
“Conjurer. That’s too much,” Clover said. “My guess is that Kat Keene’s gone dark. Don’t you think?”
/> “I don’t know how she could be a dark witch and be serving on the council,” Vivi said. “Those are heavy charges.”
“Her lackeys were a little scary and very forceful. Not that I couldn’t handle them,” Honora said.
Clover smirked. “Kat stole the coin right out from under the council’s nose and was double-crossed. Sounds like there’s been a lot of drama behind the scenes with the Witch Council. I couldn’t have come up with a story so dramatic.”
Honora patted her arm. “Don’t sell yourself short. You ooze drama. What’s going on at your house and the tea party?”
“The place is ready. The aunties are finishing up with the decorations and fielding responses from the invitations Derek sent out. On the surface, it looked like they were planning a normal tea party and then this arrived on my doorstep this morning.” Clover pulled a rolled up issue of Witch World Daily out of her purse and spread it out on the counter.
“The newspaper,” Honora said, raising a brow.
“It’s not the paper that worried me. It’s the article.” She pointed at an old photo of Clover’s house that ran on the front page of the paper. “The aunties have been busy chatting to the press. I didn’t even know they did an interview. Though I headed upstairs pretty early after dinner.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. What are they up to?” Vivi asked, befuddled with her aunties’ actions.
Clover pointed to the byline. “The article was written by Crystal Crown, who probably lapped up the chance to do a Mayhem article. You know how she’s been hounding us to do an interview with her for years. The aunties provided her with a front-page story.”
Vivi grabbed the paper and scanned the article. The image of the ambitious reporter with her ferocious red lipstick and bright white teeth always rattled her. Crystal probably filled her little black parchment book of secrets with glee, scribbling down the details of their family tea party, taking what crumbs the aunties would throw her.
“What does the article say?” Honora asked.
“It talks about the aunties special trip to reunite with us in the Meadowlands at Clover’s house—the old Mayhem estate, they called it. That they traveled all the way to see us and reestablish the Mayhem bond. It’s mostly a bright and cheerful story about the tea party. Nothing scandalous at all.” Vivi said.
“They’re baiting the trap,” Honora said. “Trying to lure whoever might be after us to Clover’s house. They provided the date and location. It’s a total set-up.”
“A set-up that might work. Though I still doubt Devlin Strange will show up, I think Jack Rabbit surely will, especially now that he’s got confirmation that we’ll be at the address,” Vivi stared down at the swirling purple liquid of her brew. “I’m even happier with my decision to brew up this potion. We can’t be too careful.”
“What kind of potion?” Clover asked.
Vivi cooled the brew with a blast of icy air from her wand. “It’s a potion just for us. So we can keep tabs on each other. Who knows what’s going to happen today at the tea party? Maybe we’ll be lucky and the only event will be eating lots of desserts and drinking too much tea, but I made this potion in case anything bad happens, and we get separated.”
Honora’s brow furrowed. “You mean like a tracking potion?”
“Better. It’s a locator potion that I crossed with a deep knowing potion. I’ve been working on it lately after everything that’s been happening to us. If something happens to one of us and we get separated, then the other two will instantly know where she is.”
“Sounds great. Now we just need to hope one of us doesn’t get witchnapped,” Clover said.
“I’m not so sure about this potion,” Honora twisted up her lips. “I love you two dearly, but I have a social life, a very interesting one, that you two need not know about.”
Vivi smiled. “The potion won’t last longer than twenty-four hours, tops. So hopefully you have a tame evening planned after the tea party. Call me paranoid, but it’s just a precaution.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Clover said as Vivi poured the potion into three vials held upright in a carved wooden stand. “I can’t wait to try it.”
“It will be ready in a minute.” Vivi waved her wand over the purple liquid and muttered the incantation.
Honora eyed the potion. “I’m in. Clover’s right. It’s actually a great idea. That way we can watch other witches and wizards and not be worried about each other. You might have to bottle that up and sell it to me to use for investigations.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Vivi said. “Right now it’s just for us. The only two witches I don’t want to lose track of today.”
She held up the rack and each of them took a vial and lifted it high. “To our sisterly bond,” Vivi said and Honora and Clover repeated after her.
The three of them tossed back the liquid in one gulp and cringed.
“Next time use a little bit of flavoring,” Honora said. “That was pungent. I think it burned my nose hairs.”
“It needs a honey chaser,” Clover said with a cough.
“I’ll admit it could use some tweaking.” Vivi licked her lips. “Let’s go and get ready for the party. We can test out the potion and see if we know where each other went.”
“Sorry to spoil it, but I’m going to Scarlet’s shop to see how she’s doing and catch up before I head over to Clover’s house for the party.”
Vivi rolled her eyes. “Spoilsport. See you then.”
17
Vivi pushed open the front gate of the fence surrounding Clover’s house. The tall orange house with its gabled roof stood with an imposing grace. As Vivi walked up the cobblestone path, the sound of music swam toward her. It was the delicate strum of a harp, if she wasn’t mistaken. Festive voices full of laughter carried from the backyard, luring her around the side of the house and into the garden.
The aunties had really outdone themselves. A huge grapevine arbor lavishly woven with vibrant pink peonies and roses hovered over a long table covered in vases of tulips and potted miniature green topiaries. Beautiful porcelain cups and saucers with matching plates adorned the table in an elegant, yet unfussy manner.
A witch with long mermaid-blue hair pooling around her ankles sat strumming a huge gilded harp. Dressed smartly in a pair of crisp white pants and a green collared short-sleeved shirt, Derek hurried out of the house, balancing a three-tiered tray of scones and delicate bite-sized pastries. He set the tray on the table and hurried past Vivi in a whirl, not even noticing her.
Henrietta and Elsie were mingling with the guests who had already arrived. Clover’s beau, Bradley; her neighbor, Austin Yearling; and Priscilla and Bear Griswold chatted, holding glasses of frosty iced tea. Clover came barreling out of the house, hair in a wild curly halo, sweat beading on her forehead, a huge platter of finger sandwiches clutched in her outstretched hands as she raced down the steps and across the lawn. She plopped the tray on the table, and Vivi snuck up behind her sister.
“I know you’re there,” Clover said without turning around. “I knew the second you arrived through the old oak portal and made your way to the house.”
A thrill bubbled up in Vivi. “The potion worked. I knew you were here, too, but that hardly counts because I already knew you’d be getting ready for the party. It looks fabulous,” Vivi said, placing a hand on Clover’s back to steady her frantic sister.
She turned around, a barely disguised snarl on her pretty face. “I hate spontaneity and now I also hate scones and finger sandwiches,” Clover said through gritted teeth. “Derek and I are racing around trying to make everything perfect. I had no time to create a detailed plan like a civilized witch. I didn’t even make a seating chart.” Her cheeks were pink from exertion. “I haven’t taken a deep breath in hours.”
Vivi scanned the stunningly decorated y
ard and table. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. But by looking around, I’d say it already was. Try and relax and enjoy yourself. Can I help with anything?”
“No, in fact, you’re right. I need to chill out.” She let out a long sigh like a deflating balloon. “Let’s go mingle with the guests.” Clover locked arms with Vivi, and they headed over to the group, where Elsie was seating Priscilla and Bear around the elaborate table. They stationed Bradley next to Clover and waved Vivi to sit next to her sister.
“Welcome to our tea party,” Elsie said, wearing a flowing apricot-colored silk dress. Numerous white feather plumes sprouted from a tiny hat pinned to her head. “We wanted to take a break from the hustle and bustle, to sit and enjoy a cup of tea and good company.”
“More guests have arrived,” Henrietta said, sparkling in a silky pale blue dress. She wore a wide-brimmed hat with a bird’s nest filled with eggs attached to it. Vivi had a feeling the nest was real and half-expected an angry mother bird to descend any second.
Vivi didn’t need to look up to know the arriving guest was Honora. She sensed her sister’s presence and an image of Clover’s yard with Honora striding up the stone path flashed into her consciousness.
Honora and Scarlet traipsed across the lawn, both wearing ridiculously high-heeled wedge sandals. Honora was still in the gray pants and white top she’d worn this morning at Vivi’s shop, and Scarlet was resplendent in a sheer pink off the shoulder dress and floppy hat. Her mass of dark red hair was demurely pulled back in a bun. They were walking arm and arm, chatting like the best friends they’d been as young witches.
Tabitha Rosewood, owner of the local apothecary, followed them across the yard and joined the party.
