A Very British Witch Boxed Set

by Isobella Crowley

  “I’m not bitter, thank you very much.”

  “Yes, you are. Well, what would you call it then?”

  “Enlightened. I’d call it enlightened. I know things now that I didn’t know before. I never thought that our own military would do something like that.” She shook her head.

  Raven placed a paw on Scarlett’s collarbone. “It’s okay.”

  She refused to be diverted from the matter at hand. “You want to know what’s worrying me?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, if they knew how to track you, they could have done the same thing to Ronnie. In which case, we’d all better be watching our backs. They could know about all of us, couldn’t they?”

  “It’s unlikely, I’d say”

  Scarlett felt a tad relieved. “You would, why’s that?”

  “The radiation has a short half-life.”

  “Oh, thank God for that.”

  “But you make a valid point, though.”

  Now she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. “I do?”

  “Yes. We need to get everyone together and talk about it.”

  Scarlett frowned. “Yes, we’d better.”

  “We need to make them aware of the situation. Better safe than sorry and all that stuff.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Because, like you say, if they’re onto us, then they’ve probably got their beady eyes on us all the time.”

  Scarlett let her mind drift for a moment. “Tell you what, though?”

  “What?”

  She sniggered, “Vixen.”

  “Don’t mention that name to me.” Raven laughed. “What about her?”

  “You have to hand it to her, don’t you? It was kind of clever, what she did.” Scarlett looked away and started humming to cover up the fact that she’d spoken without thinking.

  Raven laughed. “It’s okay, I know what you mean. You mean the way she manipulated the military?”

  “Okay, I admit it,” replied Scarlett. “Maybe she just knew the way things work.”

  “Yeah, but now we’ve sussed things out too, so we’re even.” Raven sighed, her feline body slumping a little. “And, she’s a pretty talented shapeshifter.” It was clear that it pained her to say it.

  “She is?” asked Scarlett, unable to keep the shock out of her voice.

  “Yeah, she’s a shapeshifter witch, too. A fox to be exact.”

  “Like you, you mean?”

  Raven nodded. “Yeah, like me.”

  Her inquisitive side sparked into life. “But she turns into a fox, you say?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.” Raven sounded almost bored.

  Scarlett’s eyes shone. “And you’re a cat, or can you do all types of animals?”

  “We all have something that we prefer.”

  “Oh, I get it. And she prefers a fox, because of her name?”

  Raven nodded. “Exactly.”

  Scarlett grinned.

  Raven looked puzzled and resigned in equal measures. “What?”

  “I was just thinking—”

  “Oh, Lord help us.”

  She slapped her hand on the bed and guffawed. “I’m not that bad, surely.”

  Raven shrugged. “Go on then, enlighten me. What were you thinking about?”

  “I was just thinking, that if Vixen is a fox because she’s called Vixen, then because you’re called Raven, you should be—well it’s like one of them aptitude tests, isn’t it? Vixen is to fox as Raven is to… ” She waited for Raven to make the connection instead.

  “No, I don’t get it. I always struggled with those tests.”

  “Bird. Vixen is to fox as Raven is to bird.”

  “Oh, I get it now, silly me.”

  “Well, I was just reasoning that’s all, that if Vixen is a fox, you should be a bird.”

  “Yes, by that reasoning, I suppose your right.“

  Scarlett sank deep into thought for a minute before she continued. “And something else.”

  Raven sighed. “Go on.”

  “If Vixen can turn herself back into a witch after shifting to a fox, how come you can’t do the same thing? You know, change yourself back to human form after you’ve been a cat?”

  “I’m not sure really. I was pretty worked up when I did the spell. Maybe that had something to do with it? Maybe I channeled all my emotions into it and made it too powerful.”

  Scarlett nodded. “It’s a possibility.”

  “I’d say it was more than that. I’d just concluded that my boyfriend was cheating on me. I felt betrayed. And as a cat, I have no way of replicating this feeling.”

  Her mind got to work, exploring all the possibilities. “But if you did manage to replicate it, you know, being betrayed like that, do you think you might be able to turn yourself back?”

  Raven looked pensive for a moment. “Maybe… but to be honest, I have no idea if that would work or not. I don’t seem to have any magical abilities in this form. I probably got something wrong when I did the spell.”

  “Mmm. Maybe,” Scarlett said, still thinking.

  “And if I was to give it a go, then I’ll likely need to rely on someone else’s magic, as well as my own.”

  Out of nowhere, she had a flashback to the previous night. “Oh, wait a minute. What about Tarquin? Didn’t he say he was going to look in his books?”

  Raven’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that’s right, he did.”

  “Well, maybe he’ll find something. I’ll call in after work, see what he has to say.”

  “Would you?”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  Raven stretched and yawned. “I’m feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Think I’ll try and get some shut eye.” She stretched out over Scarlett.

  Though she realized she wasn’t going to be able to move a muscle until Raven awoke, Scarlett nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

  She sat on her bed, listening to the sound of Raven’s snore and the occasional car passing by outside, until the pins and needles became too much to bear.

  Raven scowled. “You woke me up. I was enjoying that little snooze.”

  “Sorry. I… I wasn’t comfortable.”

  “Oh, well never mind. I’ll cope.”

  “I was thinking while you were asleep, can all witches turn themselves into animals or is it just some witches?”

  Raven sat on Scarlett’s stomach. “Only some.”

  “Do you think I could do it?”

  Though Raven appeared to be giving it some thought, her tone gave her away. “Well, you still have a lot to learn, don’t you?”

  “Can Aunt Tabitha?” she grinned, “I imagine her as a horse.”

  Raven shook her head. “No. At least I don’t think so anyway. She’s more of a herb witch, not a shapeshifting witch.”

  Scarlett asked without blinking, “oh, so there are different types of witches?”

  “Yes.”

  Scarlett grinned and craned her neck forward. “How many types are there?”

  Raven shrugged. “I’ve no idea. Lots, that’s all I know.”

  “And this shapeshifting is an entirely different kettle of fish to Ronnie?”

  Raven grinned. “Yes. Ronnie’s not a witch, is he? He’s a were.”

  Scarlett shook her head, wondering if she needed more sleep. “Oh, of course!”

  +++

  The Previous Night

  Malaprop’s Bookstore, Bicester, England

  Tarquin stepped into the bookstore, switched on the light and squinted. It didn’t take long for his eyes to adjust to the bright light. Still, he found it hard to focus. Walking through the shop and into the back room, he replayed the events of the previous night in his mind’s eye for what must have been close to the thousandth time since he’d said goodbye to the others.

  By the time he switched on the light in the back room, his eyes had fully adjusted and he was able to examine the contents of his bookcase from the doorway. Moving forward, he bent down and pulled out the leftmost book fro
m the bottom shelf.

  Now, where is it? He flicked through the book, his eyes skimming the pages. He hated opening these books, despite the fact that he found them fascinating. If it hadn’t been for Scarlett, they’d be coated in dust, moths flying out all over the place.

  There was something to raise his eyebrows at on each and every page, but the one thing he needed to find remained elusive. After flicking through the book again, more carefully this time, he still came up empty. He replaced the book on the shelf and pulled out the next. He’d only reached the second or third page when he read a paragraph that brought Raven to mind. Again.

  There was just something about that cat that was worrying. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It had been niggling at him all night, keeping him awake. In the end, he’d decided he’d had enough and come to the bookshop to read up on the matter.

  Whilst the information he’d read so far had helped focus his mind, he still hadn’t found the answer. Looking down at the vast array of information on the bottom shelf, he sighed.

  He bent down, put the second book back on the shelf and repeated the process with the third. By the time he’d worked his way halfway across the shelf, his eyes were stinging and his head was a tired blur. He was obviously in no fit state to absorb this much information. If he didn’t find what he was looking for in this book, he was going to go home and try to get some sleep.

  In a desperate attempt to make it a successful journey, he picked up one last book and made an extra effort to read each page as diligently as he could. In truth, he was absorbing only half of it. He was nearing the end and starting to think more seriously about heading home, when he found it. He walked across the room, stood directly under the light and raised the book to eye level to read the text, analyzing each and every word. His entire body froze.

  It was a good five minutes before he’d recovered sufficiently to think about the best course of action. He took out his phone, found Tabitha’s number and set his thumbs to work.

  Tabitha, I’ve found something. We must meet first thing in the morning. We may have a problem.

  Author notes: Izzie Crowley

  Austin, Wednesday, 23rd January, 2019

  Thank yous

  Thank you for reading all the stories to this one, and then also taking the time to read these author notes too.

  I say this each time, but without you, there would be no point in spending the time to write these books. It’s because of you that I get to write these stories, and for that I am truly grateful.

  I’d also like to send out massive gratitude to you if you have taken the time to review this on Amazon. Reviews are SUPER important for helping other readers decide what to read, but also in getting Amazon to show the options to more people in the search results.

  The success of a series really does depend on the quality of the reviews.

  I am truly grateful to everyone who has taken the time to write a five star review. Thank you so much!

  With that in mind I would like to say a special thank you to all the reviewers (at time of writing) for the first three books:

  Scarlett: Terrence Walsh, Sunny Lady, Mandi, Mike, JMN4555, Fren, JMN4555, TonyJ, Michael Stranathan, S. Williams, A. Zdunczyk, Judith Wiseman, RFK267, T Jaxon, Biker, Cyndi Goss, Theresa Schnake, CaeriNZ, Dennis, Steve, S. Petersen, Mark Plough 1, Krystyna, George Lawson, John, Walwyn 124C41, Sara L. Skroh, Krys Prendergast, and Andrew Wright.

  Jade: Mandi, TonyJ, JMN4555, Kris Prendergast, A. Zdunczyk, George Lawson, Judith Wiseman, Steve, Richard Leach, and Sara L. Skroh

  Mauve: Sara L. Skroh, Steve, TonyJ, Kris Prendergast, JMN4555, Richard F. Ward, A.Zdunczyk, Judith Wiseman, John, and Richard Leach

  I’d like to say a special thank our JIT team. (Just In Time). I super appreciate everything you have done to help get this manuscript in good working order. Thank you for caring, and thank you for your efforts. I deeply appreciate you. <3

  I’d also like to thank Ell Leigh Clarke for patiently steering me through the challenges of writing and publishing. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks Ell!

  Locks, Stocks and New Skills on the Horizon

  You may have noticed that Scarlett and her friends end up doing more than your average amount of lock-picking for supposedly law-abiding citizens. I thought locks were normal obstacles that they would realistically face… and even though we’re talking about a world of vamps and were and witches and sorcerers, I try to keep some elements of the real world in the mix.

  And I thought it was going to be fine.

  Until the JIT were part way through reviewing book 2 and I realized we were getting a lot of comments about the realism around the lock picking. Apparently I was getting it wrong! My tension holders were in the wrong place and it was basically a mess. Luckily there were a few individuals on the team who, for reasons that will remain deliberately vague, have lots of experience with picking locks.

  And so began the conversations around how I should learn to pick locks -IRL. (In. Real. Life!)

  It seems that there has been a growing consensus amongst the JIT folks for the last few books that this is something I should take up as a hobby… not because I can’t write the story without it – they assure me - but because they think it will be fun!

  Personally, I think they just want to see me learning to do something that is somewhat dubious. You know, book worm gone bad or something.

  Needless to say, it’s on my list for this year.

  To be honest, I’ve been kind of encouraged by watching the US version of Sherlock – “Elementary”.

  Lock picking is one of the first things that he teaches Watson, and it shows up quite often in terms of them practicing, and competing, and actually being quite adept at using the skill in the field. I’m kinda inspired. So inspired, in fact, that when one of the JIT guys told me I could get kits off Amazon I went a searching and have book marked a few.

  Don’t be surprised if I actually get onto this.

  But if you have an opinion either way, feel free to hit me up on my Facebook page, or in the reviews. If enough people are passionately for it, I’ll make it more of priority… And perhaps I’ll even post some of my efforts – though I’m not sure how much there is to see when all the gubbins if happening inside…

  Anyway - on the show, they also have a thing about getting out of handcuffs. Now, I’m not the kinda gal to go getting into any type of trouble, but that’s got to be a handy skill for anyone to have. Just in case. Right?

  Watch this space ;)

  Don’t judge me. I’ve had wine.

  A friend of mine was coming into town the other day for a family event. She got in the night before everything got going and suggested we meet up. Of course I was thrilled to, and on the afternoon of her arrival I waited patiently for her flight to land and for her to message me that she was on her way from the airport.

  (I don’t drive so I wouldn’t have been any help to her in fetching her, and she needed a rental for getting around for the rest of the trip).

  Anyway, I got in from the gym, showered and figured that I should hold off eating since we’d be hanging out and probably eating when she got in. That was the plan. However, I had supplements to take.

  My message to her, which didn’t go through because she was on a plane:

  Izz: Don’t judge me. I’ve had wine. I needed to take tablets.

  Friend: Yes – they go down better with wine.

  #realfriends

  Plus, wine makes one super tipsy when one has exercised and not eaten! Fun times :)

  Nails

  Every now and again I have my nails done. You know, the gel stuff that lasts a couple of weeks and then needs taking off before it peels. It’s too much of a time suck to do constantly, but for traveling and events it’s kinda nice.

  I’ve been going to the same place on and off since I arrived in Austin, and on numerous occasions I’ve ended up chatting with the girl who works on the reception desk. I swear, this chick is
so humorous she belongs on tv.

  Or at least talk radio.

  She’s reminds me so much of Jennifer Lawrence it’s almost surreal talking with her.

  Anyway, I enjoy our conversations. She’s super entertaining.

  After my recent appointment I noticed the billing on my card wasn’t right. I have the company cell number on my phone because we’ve been back and forth on appointment stuff previously. So, I messaged her to see if she could check it out. She confirmed the issue and said she’d sort it out in the morning because she needed the manager to approve it.

  “Great!” I told her. “Thanks so much.”

  I got on with my evening and forgot about the whole thing knowing it’s handled.

  The next day I was swamped with meetings and noticed a strange message flash up on my phone. It wasn’t until much later that I got the chance to look at it.

  This was the message (from an unstored number):

  ***picks up payphone, dials number, waits for answer***

  It’s done.

  ***Hangs up phone, walks away***

  That was the whole text.

  I laughed so hard.

  The next time I saw her we arranged to do drinks. I think we’re going to be fast friends.

  Love Izzie xo

  Author notes: Ell Leigh Clarke

  Austin, Wednesday, 23rd January, 2019

  Thank yous

  Hey there. I’d like to echo Izzie’s thanks for reading the stories and getting all the way through to our humble author notes. It’s true what she says – without you, there would be no stories. No reason to write. No reason to dream.

  You make this all possible. Nay, necessary!

  So thank you for making this happen. <3

  Our JIT team of volunteers have been super awesome in helping to get this series off the ground, and keeping it running while we continue to put out other books in other series. I’m forever in their debt for their kind care and attention to making sure we put out the best product we can. Truly folks – thank you!