The Strongman's Spell

by Amorette Anderson

  I knew that the knowledge he had imparted had changed me on a deep, internal level. I felt the shift.

  Shauna hung up her phone and sang out, “They’re on their way! The authorities said they could rendezvous at the gate in an hour. Marley, do you need help getting this fellow out to the center’s shuttle?”

  For a second, I was confused, but then I realized what she meant. “Oh—my van? Sure! That would be great, thanks,” I said.

  Along with a few guests, I lifted the rope-cocooned Liam up and heaved him down the stairs, through the lobby, and out across the lot to my parked van. I have to admit, it was easy, since Neil was bearing most of the weight. Stars, scattered across the sky like diamonds on a midnight-black blanket, twinkled from above. The air was colder than it had been in a while—we could all see our breath as we hoisted the squirmy, yelling-with-protest Liam into the back of my tiny home on wheels.

  Shauna wiped her hands together and gave a dramatic exhale. “Bet you didn’t think lugging around criminals in the middle of the night would be part of your duties as the owner of a center for healing, did you?” she asked.

  I smiled. “To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect.”

  “Well, honey, I hope you don’t have to do too much of that. He was heavy.”

  “Sometimes, lifting heavy is the best way to get stronger,” I said with a grin. I looked over at Neil, and he gave me a wink.

  Epilogue

  “I think that’s everyone!” I said, as I plopped down in one of the lobby chairs. I had just traveled with the last van full, aka “shuttle full” of magical beings up to the portal gate.

  Annie, who was busy packing up some leftovers from that morning’s breakfast display, looked up from her task. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I did just hear some sort of clanging sound, coming from the spa there.” She pointed to the double doors that led to the spa area.

  I laughed. “Yeah, that’s probably Geoffrey. He wanted to empty out the mud baths and give them a good deep clean today.”

  Penny lifted a carafe of coffee and refilled her mug for what was probably the third or fourth time today, even though it was only 10 a.m. “Are you sure it’s wise to put Geoffrey in charge of cleaning anything?” she asked with a grin. “The guy is made of mud, you know.”

  Azure came over and sat next to me. “What does it even mean, to clean out a mud bath? It’s designed to hold dirt...”

  I laughed. “Not dirt,” I said. “Those baths hold a really nice mixture of seaweed and volcanic ash that we conjured up, plus local clay that’s super soft to the touch. You should try out a soak. It feels so good.” In fact, I was looking forward to a soak myself, now that the weekend was over.

  Cora bustled over and perched on another seat nearby. “It might be a healing mixture,” she said, “but it’s too messy for my taste. All that goopy, splashy, messy business... yuck. Marley, Geoffrey is like a walking disaster zone. He’s made of mud. He splashes it everywhere he goes.”

  I laughed again. “I know,” I said. “The truth is, he’s starting to grow on me. Like—a lot. I invited him to live here full time, and help out in the spa.”

  “No!” Cora said with a groan.

  I leaned forward and patted Cora’s knee. “Not to worry, my fussy, neat freak of a friend, I also asked Margie to stay—and apparently, it’s her joy to clean up after Geoffrey. The two have become fast friends. You should hear them banter back and forth. She was between jobs, and cried with happiness when I offered her the position. I think it’s going to work out really well.”

  Annie put the lid on a Tupperware of leftover muffins. “I don’t know when we’ll get to use that catering spell again, so we might as well save what we can of these leftovers.”

  She added the muffins to a towering stack of Tupperware, and then lifted it up carefully and walked toward the chairs. “Let’s divvy these up,” she said. “If I bring home too much, Fred and Ralph will just go nuts over it, and that’s no good for either of them.”

  Penny followed Annie, eying the tower of plastic containers with desire. She had a second steaming mug in her hands, too. “Oh... yummy. I’ll take that Tupperware of raspberry vanilla cream crepes,” she said. She handed me the mug. “Chai tea with soy,” she said. “Just the way you like it.”

  “I’d love the fruit salad,” Cora said.

  “Is there any of that yummy spice bread left?” asked Azure.

  We all took seats and spent a little while deciding which breakfast foods would go to which witch. I ended up with a Tupperware filled with scrambled eggs, plus one of zucchini bread. I couldn’t resist popping that one open, and biting into the moist, sweet bread. It went perfectly with my tea. My witchy sisters followed suit, and started diving into their own goodies, too. Annie took a few treats from her sweater pocket and put them out for our familiars.

  The day was clear, and sunlight poured through the skylights above. The sound of the fountain bubbling mixed in with our happy munching.

  “We did it,” I said. “We survived our first weekend retreat.”

  “Not without a few bumps and bruises along the way,” Penny said, eying my shoulder pointedly.

  I reached up and patted it. It was feeling much better since drinking the pain-easing potion that Annie had brewed up for me that morning. “I’ll be okay,” I said. “It’s feeling better.”

  “Yes, but you should have asked us for help, dear,” Annie said.

  “Next time,” I promised.

  Azure piped up. “I should hope that there won’t be another incident like that. I can’t believe you got attacked in your own healing center, Marley! And that someone died here... what a crazy way to start our journey with this place.”

  I bit into my zucchini bread and reflected for a minute. After swallowing, I said, “I don’t think that running this center is going to be easy, but that’s okay. I’m sure things will go wrong. Now we know that we can handle whatever comes our way.”

  “You’re something else, dear,” Annie said, reaching out to pat my forearm. “I admire your attitude. I think we all do.”

  My witch sisters agreed.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I guess I learned a thing or two about strength this weekend, right along with the guests. And Carlisle promised to write an excellent review, so I think our upcoming retreats are going to be pretty packed.”

  “So, should we start planning the next one?” Penny said. “Who is our next guest speaker, anyway?” She rushed on, without waiting for an answer. “I was thinking we could meet up tomorrow morning at the Death Café, and go over some marketing strategies. Turkey has a few ideas about ads we can run, and I’ve been brainstorming about little tweaks we can make—like conjuring up an actual shuttle, so that you don’t have to drive your van up the bumpy pass road like a million times on the day when everyone arrives, and again when they leave.”

  “A meeting sounds good,” I said, “but I can’t do it tomorrow. Justin’s going to meet me here, and we’re going to work on some landscaping around the deck. He’s getting a few shrubs from the nursery, and a little crab apple tree. I’m really excited to put them in.”

  “Oh, girl! You’re really committing to this place!” Penny said, as she hurried over to my seat, squeezed in, and put her arm around my shoulder. I laughed as she gave me a gentle hug.

  “Yeah, I guess I am,” I said.

  “And you’re sure this is what you want?” Cora asked. “I mean, realistically, Marley, this is a massive undertaking.”

  I nodded. “I know,” I said. I reached up for the dreamcatcher charm around my neck. “But it feels right, for now. I know it’s going to be tough, but that doesn’t scare me anymore. It feels good to be here, even though at times, it’s heavy and a struggle. I love you guys.”

  Cora, Azure, and Annie all jumped up out of their seats, and joined Penny and I in a group hug.

  Sarin’s card was still in my pocket.

  I’d never called the receptionist back to make a booking, thou
gh. I was happy to stay in the Earth Realm, pushing my figurative boulder up the mountain. I knew it was making me stronger, and that, for now, felt like a pretty amazing purpose to have.

  ******

  Greene Center for Spiritual Living

  Record by Carlisle Crimson

  It was with trepidation that I arrived at this new center, which was erected by what my research deemed amateur witches (most of the coven that created the center have been practicing for little more than a year). I was not impressed at first. My initial impression of the architecture, ambiance, and services offered left much to desire.

  However, over the course of the weekend my opinion of this up-and-coming center changed drastically. At the time of transcribing this record to a dear friend, I am in ghost form. I died within the first hour of my stay at the center, but that’s a story for another record (please see: “Crimson, Carlisle, the Life of" or “Crimson, Liam, the Life of” for details on this matter).

  Because of my death, the owner of the center had her hands full. In addition to running the center, she also had to search for my killer.

  I am pleased to announce that she did solve the case (again, see the aforementioned articles for more information). Not only did she apprehend my killer, but she also proved that she is an extremely capable and courageous young woman. It strikes me now, in retrospect, that it could be no other way. To open a center for healing in the current magical and political climate is quite ambitious, to say the least. This was precisely why I doubted she could do it. There are so many who have lost hope in the magical arts, and I failed to see how this particular center could survive.

  I now believe that this center will survive, and not only that, but it will thrive. While so many establishments these days are sterile and built purely for functionality, and perhaps hedonistic pleasure or luxury, the Greene Center for Magical Living is exactly the opposite. It isn’t selling surface level quick fixes. Marley and her growing staff offer up real change—on a very deep level. I feel confident in offering my prediction that this center will change the lives of many thousands of guests who pass through it, and that effect will ripple out into the universe at large. I do anticipate a universe-wide change, thanks to the heart-felt work of Miss Marley Greene.

  Thank you for taking the time to read this permanent record. For more information about the Greene Center for Magical Living, please contact the center directly. Or, better yet, pick a workshop and go! Your healing awaits.

  ******

  The End

  Dear reader,

  Thanks for taking a trip to Marley’s magical retreat center with me!

  I hope you enjoyed your stay:)

  Be sure to grab the next book in the series,

  The Artist’s Alchemy: A Marley the Witch Mystery Book #2.

  Marley and her coven put together another weekend retreat,

  but this time a marketing mistake causes major chaos!

  Follow the clues as you read along,

  and enjoy a magical escape into a fun story...

  Lots of love,

  Amorette

  The Artist’s Alchemy

  A Marley the Witch Mystery (Book #2)

  When a marketing mistake attracts artists and scientists to the same weekend workshop, tempers flare.

  Find The Artist’s Alchemy on Amazon HERE

  Also by Amorette Anderson

  Do you want to know how Marley, Penny, Cora, and Annie first started studying witchcraft?

  Check out the prequel to the Hillcrest Witch Mystery series: “The Case of the Love Spell”. You can get it for FREE and sign up for Amorette’s newsletter HERE!

  Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mystery Series

  Featuring Penny’s PI business.

  Is magic real?

  The Case of the Love Spell Prequel FREE

  The Case of the Power Spell Book One

  The Case of the Banishing Spell Book Two

  The Case of the Desire Spell Book Three

  The Case of the Trust Spell Book Four

  The Case of the Vision Spell Book Five

  The Case of the Voice Spell Book Six

  The Case of the Earth Spell Book Seven

  The Case of the Water Spell Book Eight

  The Case of the Air Spell Book Nine

  The Case of the Spirit Spell Book Ten

  The Case of the Fire Spell Book Eleven

  The Case of the Freedom Spell Book Twelve

  The Case of the Happiness Spell Book Thirteen

  For a complete list of books by Amorette visit her Amazon author page HERE