Witch Kissed

by K. E. O'Connor

  “Yes, but first we need to find the man who cursed Agatha.”

  “And make him talk,” said Ivy.

  “No, we’ll politely ask him to help us and explain the situation,” said Bryony. “No point going in all magic blazing if there’s no need.”

  “I doubt this loser will take kindly to negotiation,” said Ivy.

  “But let’s try first,” said Bryony. “We’ll see if he listens to reason. But if he doesn’t, then we can try a different approach.”

  “Like blasting him into the ground and threatening to use his heart in a re-animation spell?”

  “That could be an option,” said Bryony.

  “I’m up for that,” said Ivy. “We need to drink up and head to the border. Otherwise, Mom will send out a search party for us.”

  The girls finished their drinks and hurried out of Bubbling Brews. They took a short cut down a small side alley with overgrown nettles, popping out the other side, close to the border where magic protected Old Sarum from the prying gaze of the red bloods.

  “There they are.” Bryony pointed to a group in the distance. “And it looks like they’ve brought food.”

  Ivy rubbed her hands together. “Time to scare some red bloods.”

  Chapter 18

  Adeline turned and smiled as Bryony and Ivy approached. “I was wondering where you two were.” She kissed both the girls on the cheek. “I was about to send Aunt Lilith to come and find you.”

  “No need for that,” said Ivy. “We stopped at Dolores’s for dinner and talked over some business.”

  “I hope you haven’t spoiled your appetites.” Aunt Odessa flapped out a large checked blanket for them to sit on. “I’ve got treats for everyone.”

  “There’s always room for treats.” Bryony sat on the blanket next to Aunt Isadore. “I love your pullover.” She pointed to the knitted image of a sausage dog that wound from the front of Aunt Isadore’s pullover around to the back.

  “I thought it was fun,” said Aunt Isadore with a smile. “I made it myself.”

  “The fact one arm is shorter than the other gave that away,” said Aunt Lilith. Her hair was colored green that evening and she wore a matching jade green floor length dress.

  “If you keep making comments like that, I’ll knit you one as well.” Aunt Isadore smiled up at her younger sister.

  “A generous offer I think I’ll pass on,” said Aunt Lilith.

  “The red bloods should be coming past any minute now,” said Aunt Odessa.

  “Can we cast spells at them?” asked Ivy.

  “No, they won’t want that,” said Adeline. “And we need to be especially careful about using magic since we have red bloods in Old Sarum with a magical curse on them. If we start causing trouble with magic, that lovely young man from the Charm Police may come and arrest us.”

  “Gabriel would never do that,” said Bryony. “He’s too nice to arrest anybody.”

  “She might not be talking about Gabriel, idiot,” said Ivy. “And I bet he would if we caused enough mayhem.”

  “And if he never made an arrest he wouldn’t be a good Charm Police officer,” said Aunt Lilith.

  “Well, he only arrests people who deserve it.” Bryony gave a loud hiccup. “And we don’t deserve to be arrested.”

  “Ignore her, she’s had too much bramble beer,” said Ivy.

  “How about we shroud the route in fog and make it eerie for them?” suggested Aunt Lilith. “They may enjoy a good stumble around in the gloom.”

  “That doesn’t sound like fun,” said Adeline.

  “Not even a tiny spell?” asked Ivy. “What are the red bloods expecting to see on this pointless pilgrimage anyway? It won’t be worth doing if they don’t experience anything supernatural.”

  “It’s a special anniversary for them,” said Aunt Isadore. “And they are expecting to see some of the ancestors who mapped out the original pilgrimage route.”

  “They think they’re going to see ghosts?” Ivy’s dark eyes sparkled in the gloom.

  “I believe so,” said Aunt Isadore. “Although red bloods aren’t adept at seeing spirits.”

  “They don’t have the ability to see anything exciting,” said Ivy.

  “Unless we help them,” said Aunt Lilith. “We wouldn’t be doing harm if we assisted them in seeing something they wanted to see. We would make their pilgrimage even more special.”

  “We may harm them,” said Adeline. “We shouldn’t use magic on red bloods. They react badly.”

  “Technically we wouldn’t be using it on them,” said Aunt Lilith. “We can cast spells around them and make them see what they want to see. It would enhance their experience. We would be doing it for their own good.”

  “You would be doing it for your own entertainment,” said Adeline.

  “My entertainment, but their enjoyment,” said Aunt Lilith. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

  “A few ghosts won’t do any harm,” said Ivy. “And we’ll be discreet with our magic. Most of the red bloods won’t even know what we’re doing. They’ll be so intent on not tripping over their own feet, I bet they miss most of the magic.”

  Adeline sighed as she passed around a tin full of freshly made macaroons and another with chocolate chip cookies in. “Very well. But if I tell you to stop using magic because I think it’s harming the red bloods, then you won’t protest.”

  “This will be great.” Ivy grinned at Aunt Lilith as she sat next to her on the blanket.

  “I see the first few coming around the bend.” Aunt Odessa leaned forward as she stared through the boundary magic. “They’re wearing those funny waterproof trousers and they have sticks in their hands.”

  “Remember, be gentle with them,” said Adeline. “There but for the grace of the Goddess go any of us. We were simply fortunate to be blessed into a magical community. If it weren’t for that, we’d be as bumbling as the red bloods.”

  Ivy shuddered. “That would be horrible.”

  Aunt Lilith raised her hands. “Time for a little ghost magic.” A grey mist seeped from her fingers, curling around the edge of the border, seeking a way through.

  “Looks like there’s been an extra layer of magical protection put around the village.” Ivy frowned and stared intently at the magic that shrouded Old Sarum from red bloods.

  “The Charm Police have strengthened the border,” said Aunt Lilith. “I’ll deal with that.”

  “If you break their magic, it will alert the Charm Police,” said Bryony. “Gabriel could turn up and find out what we’re doing.”

  “And if he does we’ll hide from him,” said Aunt Lilith. “Or I can blast him away with a spell.”

  “Aunt Lilith, don’t be so mean,” said Bryony, a look of horror on her face.

  “We aren’t doing any real harm,” said Aunt Isadore. “I’m sure once we’ve explained to your nice policeman friend that we’re helping the red bloods, he’ll understand.”

  “Well, he may do,” said Adeline. “But he may also think we’ve been the ones cursing the red bloods. We could all end up in prison.”

  “I’d like to see him try to arrest me,” said Aunt Lilith.

  Ivy grinned, that was a sight she’d enjoy seeing too. “Looks like the magic is getting through now.” She watched as Aunt Lilith’s grey swirls crept through the border magic towards the red bloods.

  “Let’s see what they think of that.” Aunt Lilith kept her hands raised as a steady stream of grey magic swept towards the walkers.

  A bearded man in the procession paused, his eyes widening for a few seconds. “I see something.”

  Several others in his group murmured and turned towards him. “What do you see, Peter?” An older bearded man walked towards him.

  “Some sort of spirit form I believe. Could it be an ancestor joining us on the route?”

  “We are close to important ley lines,” said a woman in a bright pink bobble hat. “Perhaps they have come to guide us the rest of the way?”

&n
bsp; “There’s another one.” The older bearded man pointed in front of him and the group all uttered sounds of astonishment as a grey form walked towards them.

  “Our ancestors are coming to greet us,” said Peter. “Blessed be.”

  “This is fun,” said Aunt Isadore. “Mind if I add some color?”

  “Be my guest,” said Aunt Lilith. “The red bloods think they have some spectral friends with them.”

  A moment later, the grey shapes were surrounded by a swathe of rainbow colors that shimmered across their forms.

  “It’s a miracle,” said the bearded man. “On this special anniversary, we have been blessed to see something remarkable. The first settlers of Stonehenge.”

  The woman in the pink bobble hat fell to her knees, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes shut.

  “I wonder if she’s praying to us?” asked Aunt Lilith. “If she prays a little harder I might add a dragon into the magical mixture.”

  “Don’t go too far,” cautioned Adeline. “You want to inspire them in their worship of the ancient ways not terrify them.”

  “I wasn’t going to let the dragon breathe fire on them,” said Aunt Lilith. “Although that would be entertaining.”

  “Let me add something.” Bryony pointed a chocolate smeared finger at the crowd. A multi-colored unicorn with an enormous horn appeared in the middle of the red bloods and they scattered in surprise.

  “Oh dear,” said Adeline. “I don’t think that’s what they were expecting. Their ancestors weren’t unicorns.”

  “But everybody loves unicorns,” said Bryony. “Should I add another? Or maybe they’d like to see a few leprechauns or a gremlin?” Bryony’s unicorn cantered around the terrified group of red bloods, tossing its rainbow mane and rising up onto its back hooves.

  “The unicorn they are already seeing is more than enough,” said Aunt Isadore. “Time for your unicorn to go back in his stable.”

  “They don’t love my unicorn?” Bryony’s bottom lip jutted out.

  “Eat another cookie.” Ivy passed Bryony the largest cookie in the tin.

  Adeline waved her hand and the ghosts and unicorn disappeared. “Let’s just watch the red bloods. We can always create some ghosts for the walkers at the back of the procession who haven’t been terrified by a cantering unicorn.”

  The girls settled on the blanket as they ate more cookies and watched as a slow trickle of walkers passed by on the other side of the border.

  “If only they could see what was right beside them,” said Aunt Isadore softly. “I’m not sure if they’d be terrified or amazed.”

  “It’s best they don’t know about magic,” said Adeline. “They get spooked easily.”

  “Speaking of spooks,” said Ivy. “Let’s have another go with these ghosts.”

  “Be careful,” said Adeline.

  “I’m always careful when it comes to magic.” Ivy pushed her sleeves back. “Well, most of the time.”

  Assisted by Aunt Lilith, Ivy began conjuring up ghosts to the delight and fright of the red bloods who passed by on the procession route.

  It wasn’t long before the rest of the Thornheart witches joined in, attracted by the allure of doing magic. Although there were no unicorns this time.

  They danced colors and spectral images around the walkers until the moon showed them it was midnight, the last of the walkers faded out of sight, and all the cookies and macaroons had been eaten.

  “Aren’t you glad we did this?” Bryony hugged Ivy to her side.

  “Conjuring ghosts was fun,” said Ivy. “But you ate all the cookies, as usual.”

  “You had your share,” said Bryony as she sucked chocolate from her fingers. “And my unicorn was fabulous.”

  “Time to go home, girls,” said Adeline as she folded the last blanket and put the empty tins in a bag.

  “So fabulous you’d do another one?” Ivy asked Bryony.

  “They did like it, didn't they?” asked Bryony.

  Ivy grinned at her sister. “They loved it. Go on, one more unicorn will make tonight unforgettable for the red bloods.”

  Bryony gave her a sugar fueled smile, extended her fingers and let the magic fly. “Yes, this night needs to be unforgettable.”

  Chapter 19

  Bryony yawned and rested her chin in her hand, looking around the store with bleary eyes. “I’m never drinking bramble beer again.”

  “You always say that,” said Ivy. “But then you always do. I’d have thought the mountain of cookies and macaroons you ate yesterday would have soaked up the alcohol.”

  “And I ate too many of those as well,” said Bryony. “Beer and cookies do not make for a healthy figure.”

  “No, but it’s a lot of fun trying to ruin your figure.” Ivy’s gaze ran over her sister’s well-defined curves. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’ve already had two flower deliveries today. The men of Old Sarum still love you.”

  “And the unicorn! I can’t believe I did that.”

  “Relax, no one got hurt,” said Ivy. “Like you said, everyone loves a unicorn.”

  “I did have fun,” said Bryony. “Let’s hope we have as much of a good time tonight.”

  “Tonight will be business not fun,” said Ivy. “We’re going to catch ourselves a curse maker and help him to see sense.”

  “Agatha should be here in a few minutes,” said Bryony. “Let’s hope our mystery man is still around for her to identify or we’ll have to get to work on breaking the curse ourselves.” She walked over to where the red blood lay on the sofa. “He’s been here for such a long time, I’m getting used to him. We should give him a name.”

  “He’s not a pet,” said Ivy. “And we can’t keep him. Spike and Sweetie won’t like that.”

  “I know that, but it’s weird calling him a red blood all the time. He looks like a Julian to me. Or maybe a Ben.” Bryony smoothed the red blood’s dark hair across his forehead.

  “Let’s stick to calling him the red blooded moron who decided it was a good idea to kiss a complete stranger,” said Ivy.

  “Some of the men on the pilgrimage last night were cute,” said Bryony. “I can see why Agatha was tempted.”

  “You think everybody is cute,” said Ivy.

  The store door opened and Agatha walked through, wearing an eye poppingly revealing fitted top and a pair of tight black jeans.

  “Are you coming out with us dressed like that?” Ivy cast a critical gaze over Agatha’s revealing outfit.

  “Yes, why not?” asked Agatha. “I’m a single woman. I can dress how I like. You never know, there might be a hot warlock in the tavern tonight.”

  “We’re not going out husband hunting,” snapped Ivy. “We’re going to get you out of this mess you’ve got yourself in.”

  “We could dress up a little ourselves.” Bryony smoothed a hand down her light blue dress. “It never hurts to look nice.”

  “We look nice enough as we are,” said Ivy. “I’m not getting dressed up only to ruin a good outfit if things get nasty.”

  “Why would things get nasty?” asked Agatha. “I thought we were only going to ask some questions and see if we can find out who this man is?”

  “And if we do find him, we need to teach him a lesson,” said Ivy. “Make sure he decides not to go cursing anybody else in the future.”

  “I don’t want anybody getting hurt,” said Agatha. “What he did was mean, but I don’t want you to kill him.”

  Ivy shook her head. “I’m not going to kill anyone. Well, unless they really get on my nerves. Something the two of you are doing right now.”

  “There won’t be any killing or fighting,” said Bryony. “We’re going to do some simple asking around and find out who this man is.”

  “And then grind his face in the dirt until he reverses the curse,” said Ivy.

  “That will be the last resort,” said Bryony. “I’m sure with some gentle persuasion we can convince him what he did was wrong and make him reverse the c
urse.”

  “I find face grinding an effective way to get people to do things you want them to,” said Ivy.

  “I’m not sure about the face grinding,” said Agatha. “From what I can remember of him, he gave off a sense of power. I wouldn’t want to mess with him.”

  “You don’t have to do any of the messing,” said Ivy. “Once we find him, you can leave that to me.”

  “Well, if you’re sure.” Agatha cast a worried look in Bryony’s direction.

  “I’m sure,” said Ivy. “You said you met him in Maggie’s tavern. Let’s start there first.”

  “I may have met him there.” Agatha twisted a strand of red hair around her fingers.

  “Only may?” Ivy’s dark eyes narrowed. “Explain yourself.”

  “I went to a few places that night,” said Agatha. “I did go to Maggie’s tavern, and I did speak to some men. I’m pretty sure I kissed someone there, and it could have been this guy.”

  “Where else did you go?” asked Ivy.

  “Bubbling Brews and then the Demon’s Den.”

  Ivy sighed. “You didn’t mention you went to that sleazy nightclub.”

  “I haven’t been inside the Demon’s Den for years,” said Bryony.

  “Nothing’s changed,” said Ivy. “It’s still the place to go if you want to hang out and pose and pretend you’re some lowdown dark magic user.”

  “Do you go there?” asked Agatha.

  “No,” said Ivy.

  “We went there a few times when we were younger,” said Bryony. “And we know the owner, Kristoff Dash.”

  “Oh, he’s that red hot half demon,” said Agatha. “Every time I see him I get chills. I can’t decide whether it’s in a good way or not.”

  “Trust me, Kristoff doesn’t give good chills to anyone,” said Ivy.

  “He’s amazing looking, though,” said Agatha. “It’s like he’s stepped out of a gothic horror novel, all sharp cheekbones and dark looks.”

  “Kristoff is good looking.” Bryony grinned at her sister.

  “But arrogant with it,” said Ivy.

  “He’s in your store a lot,” said Agatha. “I see him walk past the bakery on his way here sometimes.”