Ghoulish Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Book 5)

by Constance Barker

  Thea scoffed. “Of course I have.”

  Wanting to catch her aunt by surprise, Thea focused her energy on binding Tiegen’s wrists together. For the slightest moment, it seemed to work. Her aunt’s eyes widened as she felt her wrists bang together due to the magic Thea was sending her way.

  However, the sliver of satisfaction within Thea didn’t last for long. Once she was aware of what was going on, Tiegen wasted no time in dismissing her shield with a simple wave of her hand. Pressing her lips together, Thea did her best to hide the discontent expression emerging on her face. Her aunt was powerful, she acknowledged that. Sometimes, it demoralized her seeing how easily Tiegen was able to undo her magical efforts.

  Another part of her used it as fuel. She viewed it as an indicator that her craft needed more fine-tuning.

  “Well, at least you’re not as scared to use this spell as you were in the beginning,” Tiegen said, which made Thea clench her jaw. “There’s still a lot of work to be done. But since I’m somewhat drained by all of the responsibilities being thrown my way, we’re going to settle on something a little easier today.”

  “I can still work on the binding spell,” Thea countered, wanting to redeem herself from the pitiful display she just showed. “Let me try it again. It’ll be better this time.”

  “Save your energy for another day, Thea. Right now, we’re going to focus on creating anti-magic shields. It’s a modest spell. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

  Thea let out a small breath through her nose. “So you’re taking it easy on me?”

  “Don’t look at the situation so pessimistically,” her aunt replied, motioning for Thea to stand up. “I’m adapting the curriculum to cater to your abilities.”

  “That’s an eloquent way of putting it.”

  “I’m glad you think so! Now let’s get to work. We’ve wasted too much time talking.”

  Chapter 10

  Thea’s limbs felt heavy as she left the town hall. Tiegen had worked her to the bone until she was able to effectively create an anti-magic shield. So much for going easy on her.

  The only thing on her mind was her desire to head home, but the phone vibrating in her pocket was a sign that there were other plans in store for her. It was confirmed the moment she caught a glimpse of Blaine’s name flash across her screen. She accepted the call and held the phone against her ear.

  “Busy?” he asked. “I hope not. I’ve been wanting to see you all day.”

  “Really?” she replied with a grin as she searched for her car keys.

  “Yep. That’s why I wanted to see if you were down for some dinner and movies at my place tonight. You don’t have to, of course, but...” Blaine took a deep breath. He didn’t even have to be in front of her and she could tell that there was a smile on his face. “It would be greatly appreciated if you accepted.”

  “Of course I accept,” she said. She tossed her bag into the passenger’s seat once she entered her car. “I’ll be at your place in a few minutes.”

  “Perfect. I’ll see you soon.”

  “IT SMELLS GOOD IN HERE,” Thea said the moment she passed over the threshold into Blaine’s home.

  He wore a stained apron and he was careful not to touch her while his hands were still dirty. He shut the front door with his foot and planted a quick kiss on her temple before returning to the kitchen.

  “Yeah? I made spaghetti. One of my mom’s old recipes, y’know? Not to sound cocky or anything, but I think it’s a five star dish.”

  “Five stars?” Thea repeated as an amused smile appeared on her face. “I don’t know, Blaine... That sounded a little bit cocky.”

  “I don’t think so,” he said, stirring the tomato sauce simmering in the pot. “I’m just speaking my truth. I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

  “Alright, I believe you,” she responded. She sat on the couch and took off her shoes, already feeling the tension in her body beginning to ebb away. “Now that the bar has been set so high, I hope this dinner blows me away.”

  “It will, don’t worry about it.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “Then I’ll just say I didn’t cook this meal and we’ll call it a day.”

  Thea laughed as Blaine entered the living room carrying two plates in his hands. He gave one to Thea, who accepted it with an appreciative nod. She began to dig into the food as he flickered through the television channels, searching for an interesting movie to watch.

  After tasting the food, Thea let out a hum. He raised a brow at her reaction, grinning as he glanced her way.

  “It’s good, huh? Five stars?”

  Thea placed a hand over her mouth as she chewed. “Four and a half. It could use a little more sauce.”

  Blaine rolled his eyes playfully. “Whatever. I’m taking this as a victory regardless of what you say.”

  As they settled in to watch the movie together, Thea had to admit that the dinner was better than she anticipated. All the work Tiegen put her through made her famished. The movie wasn’t even halfway done and Thea presented Blaine with an empty plate.

  “Sheesh, did you eat all that in one bite?” he joked, taking her plate and setting it on the coffee table in front of them. “I’m flattered, though. I’m glad you enjoyed the food.”

  “I loved it actually. Thank you,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder as he continued to eat. “How’s the murder investigation going, by the way? Did you guys figure out what happened to Maisie?”

  Blaine twirled his fork in his spaghetti. “According to the coroner, Maisie was in good health. He thinks it’s pretty unlikely that a fright from the haunted house got to her. And he mentioned some strange bruising on her chest.”

  Thea lifted her eyebrows as if to say go on.

  “So I’d say that’s the end of the fright idea. I never heard of a scare being so intense that someone got bruised because of it,” he said.

  Thea lifted her head to look at him. “There has to be magic involved in that case. No doubt about it.”

  “Most likely,” he conceded, sticking a forkful of food into his mouth. “I don’t want to think about that case right now. It’s been taking too much of my energy. How are Jesse and Pippa? Everything good with them?”

  “They’re really happy together,” Thea said, snuggling into Blaine’s arm. “They’re so cute, it almost made Sybil sick.”

  “Poor cat. That’s a fate worse than death, having to third wheel around a couple during their honeymoon phase.”

  Once Blaine finished his own meal, he set his plate to the side. They adjusted themselves so that Thea could lean more comfortably on his body as they watched the movie. When she suddenly went quiet, he figured that there was something on her mind. He nudged at her.

  “What’re you thinking about?”

  She sighed. “About my mom again. And about how she left Chicago early because of that stalker she had.” Glancing at Blaine, she frowned. “Do you think whoever was bugging my mom was responsible for my parent’s disappearance?”

  Blaine stiffened, growing a bit uneasy with the direction their conversation shifted towards. He fidgeted in his seat.

  “I... I don’t know, Thea,” he replied softly, staring at the floor. “None of us can know for sure.”

  “Yeah, and it kills me that I can’t know more about what happened.”

  He cleared his throat. “L-Let’s change the topic, yeah? We can figure this out later.”

  Although she wanted to discuss her thoughts with someone, she realized that it wasn’t the appropriate moment. Thea noticed the way Blaine became uncomfortable and decided to drop the topic entirely. She was going to rant about this eventually. Tonight just wasn’t the night.

  Regardless, she didn’t let it get to her. Instead, she allowed Blaine to pull her closer into his chest. She was relaxed whenever she was around him. Nothing could bother her, as long as he was in her vicinity.

  As she felt her eyelids become heavier by the second, Blain
e kissed her cheek and encouraged her to sleep. She did as she was told, too tired to finish the movie. He didn’t seem to mind, though. Blaine drifted off to sleep soon after she did.

  Chapter 11

  “Didn’t we just get a new order of these decorative pumpkins a week ago?”

  Jesse nodded. “Yep.”

  “And they’re already sold out?”

  “Thea, don’t act surprised that the Halloween decorations are selling out right before Halloween.”

  She lightly jabbed at his ribcage when she passed by, which made Jesse chuckle as he continued to restock the shelves. Feeling bad, Thea rolled up her sleeves and started helping him. She didn’t want him to shoulder all the work himself.

  Before long, the familiar jingle that the entrance made whenever a customer entered rang throughout the shop. Jesse and Thea both turned around simultaneously. Once she recognized the girl, Thea tossed him a surprised look. He raised his brow, but didn’t say anything as Thea took the reins on the conversation.

  “Annie! I didn’t expect to see you coming around here,” she said, setting down the materials she was holding. “Do you need any help finding something? We’ve got some things that sold out, but there're some boxes in the back that we still need to empty.”

  “Hmm. I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I don’t need that much anyway,” Annie replied, sending Thea a brief look.

  Thea nodded. “What do you need the materials for?”

  “The haunted house. We’re still going on with it.”

  “...Even after Maisie died in one of the rooms?” Thea asked incredulously, almost fumbling over her words.

  Annie shrugged. “They said that we weren’t going to use the room she died in. I don’t know. I’m just going along with it. At the end of the day, it’s not my decision.”

  Gathering up the things she needed, Thea assisted her in ringing up her items. Annie didn’t say much once Thea passed her the bag filled with her materials. She exited the store almost as quick as she left, leaving Thea behind with a dazed expression. Confusion would be an understatement to describe how she felt.

  “That was... weird,” Jesse remarked, sensing the elephant in the room. Sybil sent him a pointed glare. “Wait, did that sound mean? I hope not. She just seemed a little odd.”

  Sybil’s whiskers twitched. “You’re one to talk.”

  “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Figure it out yourself, I’m not going to explain,” the familiar responded, stalking towards her cat bed situated in the corner of the shop.

  As their lunch break neared closer, Thea wasn’t surprised when Pippa burst into the shop with her clothes disheveled and leaves tangled in the strands of her hair. She shook some of them off, though Thea had to help her get rid of the stray ones that remained.

  “Let me guess,” Thea said. “You shifted?”

  “Wow, how’d you know?” Pippa replied in a lively tone. She checked her watch. “I’m right on time, so you can’t complain.”

  “I suppose I’m driving then?” Thea asked, tossing her apron Jesse’s way.“Watch the shop while we’re gone, okay? We’ll be back in a few hours.”

  “I hope you two stay out of trouble!” Jesse called out to them.

  Pippa waved, blowing a kiss his way. “No promises!”

  “JEEZ... LOOK AT THIS place! I didn’t expect it to be so... weathered,” Pippa said.

  They found themselves in the heart of downtown Ardensville where the buildings were archaic, crumbling from age.

  As they neared the bank that Tiegen planned to demolish, they spotted clusters of protesters standing on the premises. Some of them held signs while others handed out flyers to passerbys. Meanwhile, a pair of indifferent police officers stood on the steps in case any violence erupted. However, the protesters were peaceful.

  They had even set up a makeshift vigil for Maisie at the foot of the bank. A few bouquets and candles were placed in front of a small picture of her. It was clear that she meant a lot to this organization. The sight tugged at Thea’s heartstrings.

  Once Thea parked her car, Pippa wasted no time in hurrying over to talk with the various activists. She was eager to find out what was going on and why they were protesting. Her bubbly nature made it easy for the protesters to open up more. Pippa didn’t mean any harm and they could tell.

  “She was important to you guys, huh?” Thea asked one of the activists, motioning towards Maisie’s vigil.

  “It’s a shame that she died so young. She didn’t deserve that. I don’t know why anybody would want to do this to her or wish her any harm,” the man replied, staring down at the flyer he held. “I know it may not be murder, but it feels like it. She was much too young to have a heart attack.She was the heart of this organization. We’re doing our best to continue the fight, but it’s difficult without her.”

  “Do you think anybody would have wanted to hurt her on purpose?” Pippa asked, accepting a stack of flyers from one of the activists. “Y’know... anybody with a vendetta, maybe?”

  The guy frowned, shaking his head. “Not that I know of. Everyone liked her around here. She was really passionate about our cause and we cherished her for it... now, it feels like there’s a void in all of us.”

  Thea sighed. As she gazed towards Pippa, she saw a curious glint in her eyes as she stared down at the flyers. Pippa had a heart of gold, so Thea wouldn’t be surprised if her friend made a sudden reappearance around these parts of Ardensville. Talking to the activists won her over, it seemed. They had coaxed Pippa to their side.

  “Now that I think about it,” the activist said suddenly, snapping Thea and Pippa out of their thoughts. “I know that the only person that really didn’t like Maisie was the mayor. Tiegen Beal.”

  Thea froze.

  “S-She was fighting with the mayor...?” Pippa asked in a soft voice, placing her hand on Thea’s shoulder.

  “Of course. The mayor was the only person she was fighting with,” the guy continued, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not going to point fingers or anything, but it’s weird that Maisie would turn up dead while this whole fight over the demolition of the bank is going on. She was like our leader, after all.”

  Thea and Pippa shared similar wide-eyed expressions with one another. Thea’s heartbeat was loud in her ears. She didn’t want to consider the possibility of her aunt being involved in Maisie’s murder. Her bottom lip quivered at the thought.

  Then again, the activist was right. The situation was suspicious and she felt a pit forming in her stomach due to the way the case was progressing. It was heading in a direction she could have never foreseen.

  Chapter 12

  Thea and Pippa walked into A Novel Idea. Thea took a deep breath as she walked in. The book shop always smelled so nice. The smell of paperbacks always hung in the air.

  Pippa smiled at Thea. “Well, I’ll see you later. Or is there a book you wanted to pick up before you left?”

  “Actually I wanted to talk to you about Jesse before I forget.”

  Pippa looked over the moon. “Oh my gosh Thea. I just cannot even begin to tell you. I’m so glad you asked.”

  Thea chuckled at her friend’s goofy expression. “So that sounds like it’s going well.”

  Pippa bounced up and down, hardly able to contain herself. “I just feel so giddy. I forgot how giddy I can feel. Isn’t that funny? Do you still feel giddy with Blaine?”

  “Yeah. More often than not I feel like I’m a pre-teen with a crush again. It’s wild to get that feeling again.”

  Pippa gasped and grabbed Thea’s hands. “Oh my gosh, you know what we need to do? We need to double date?”

  “Double date? Sure. I’ll ask Blaine. When were you thinking?”

  “We have a date at Witt’s End Diner tonight. You both should totally join us.”

  “Tonight? Will Jesse mind that we’re intruding?”

  “No, he’s so cool about that sort of thing.” She sighed and held a hand over her
heart. “He’s so dreamy. It’s okay. You can admit that I’m right. I won’t tell Blaine.”

  “I’ll talk to Blaine about tonight. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

  “Oh my gosh, you know it will be. We’ll have a blast.”

  “It’ll be nice to think about something other than the case. That’s for sure.” Thea said.

  “If I know you and Blaine, all you’ll be thinking about is the case. That’s why we’re going out to have fun.”

  “I thought it was so you could tell me more about how dreamy Jesse is,” Thea said, nudging her friend. Pippa laughed.

  “It’s about that too. Our conversations will be so complex.”

  “Yeah. I guess they will be.”

  “We can talk about them now too if you want. I can tell you’re just itching to.”

  “I guess I’m just trying to figure out who could be the murderer.”

  “Well who’s magical in town? Let’s start there.”

  Thea began to count off on her fingers. “The shifters, my family, and a few fairies.”

  “That’s not a lot,” Pippa said, wrinkling up her nose.

  “It’s a small town.”

  “Well could there be anyone we don’t know about?”

  Thea thought to herself. “I guess it’s possible that someone could have slipped under the radar. Do you really think that’s possible?”

  “I don’t know. Didn’t Francis like, work for a demon or something? He’s looking pretty shifty.”

  “He did, but I don’t think he entirely knew that. It could be something, but it could also be nothing.”

  Pippa groaned. “So is all the evidence we have so far. It could be something or nothing.”

  “That’s why we have to investigate,” Thea teased.

  “That’s why you have to talk to Blaine so you two can solve the case and also see how cute Jesse and I look together.” Pippa began pushing Thea towards the door. “Now go and see your man.”