A Witch in a Well

by K. J. Emrick

  He was a gorgeous man to look at, that was for sure. His short fly-away blonde hair, his deep blue eyes, that face that she saw even in her dreams. His winter coat was open, because he was a local boy born and raised, and he actually liked the cold. Under it she could see a blue cable knit sweater that she knew from experience was soft enough to run her hands over. Yes. There was plenty of reasons to look at Lucian Knight. That wasn’t what had her so speechless, though.

  Addie was gripping the wheel with both hands, and she had to unwrap her fingers. When she turned to meet his eyes, she felt her heart up in her throat. Was it weird that she was more nervous now, than when she’d been facing off against Belladonna?

  “I’m not ready to go,” she told him. Then she cringed, because she meant she was ready, but not yet, and… her words were getting all twisted up.

  “I don’t understand,” he said, tilting his head. “You don’t want to go to dinner?”

  “No. I mean, yes. I just… I need to tell you something first.”

  “Oh. Well, okay. Go ahead. I’m starving, though, so can we maybe talk about it at the restaurant?”

  “Lucian…”

  “I mean, you and your sisters have made more work for my department in one day than we usually see in a month. Even with all the craziness that’s been going on in Shadow Lake recently. This one is one for the books.”

  “Lucian, listen…”

  “We’re going to be doing paperwork on this for a week, I’m sure of that.”

  “Lucian.”

  “I was thinking about going to that steak place over on Hudson Street. You ever been there?”

  “Lucian!” She almost yelled his name, wishing he would just be quiet for two seconds. “I’m trying to tell you that I want to marry you!”

  That shut him up, to be sure.

  Stupid, she told herself. That was so not how she wanted to let that come out. This was supposed to be a romantic, intimate talk with the man she loved. He was supposed to listen while she poured her heart out and gave all the reasons why she had changed her mind, and told him all the dreams that she had for their future together. It had all been so smooth and easy in her mind.

  Then again, smooth and easy just wasn’t her style.

  After a moment, he finally found his voice. “But when I asked you…”

  “I said no. I know, I know.” She pushed her hair back behind her ears, searching for all those pretty words she had memorized on the way here. “When you asked me, I thought it would be better if we waited. I thought we should get to know each other better. There’s still so much you don’t know about me. About what it means to be a witch.”

  “I’m learning,” he said, his smile turning lopsided. “Like, sometimes witches change their minds. See? I’m learning.”

  “Don’t tease me, okay? This is hard enough as it is.”

  “Oh. Oh, right. Sorry.” He rolled a hand and made a show of leaning in closer. “Please, go on.”

  She felt her face turning red. He was enjoying her discomfort a little too much. “You’re making this harder.”

  His fingers stroked her cheek. Down the side of her neck. Back to her cheek again. She nuzzled her face into his palm. “I love you,” he said to her in a whisper, “but you told me no, and I need you to know it’s okay if you’re not ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She shook her head, feeling the warmth of his skin against hers. “That’s just it. I was recently in a situation that made me realize, I don’t want to wait. I am ready. I’m ready to spend eternity with you, or whatever time we have left together.”

  “Addie, seriously,” he told her gently. “it’s all right. You and I have lots of time to figure this out. You saying no to my proposal isn’t an ending. You told me no. We’re still together, and I can be all right with that.”

  Here she was, telling him she wanted to marry him after all, and he was still trying to be a gentleman and make it all right that she’d turned him down. She needed to find the words to explain what she was feeling. She needed to make him see she wasn’t just changing her mind to make him feel better. She wanted this. She really, truly wanted this.

  Why wasn’t there a spell for that?

  She took a breath. “It’s like… you know how some books will have an epilogue, which is the end of the story, but then sometimes they also have an afterword, which is like the real ending? I want this to be our afterword. This is our real ending, where we’re married and live happily ever after. That’s what this is. Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes, Lucian. I want to be your wife. Yes. My answer is yes.”

  His hand moved around to the back of her head, his fingers twining into her hair, and he pulled her in close to press his lips against hers.

  The kiss was thrilling. It intoxicated her and sent the world spinning. It was like when she’d fallen into the Well. Time stopped having any meaning, and there was only the two of them becoming one spirit.

  When he pulled back from her, she had to take a moment to catch her breath.

  “Epilogue? Afterword?” he asked her with a chuckle. “You’re so beautiful, but you read too much.”

  She laughed with him, gasping in mock horror. “There’s no such thing.”

  He touched her face again. It was as if being in the seat right next to her was too far away for him. “So, you really want to marry me?”

  She nodded, saying ‘yes’ again with her eyes.

  Reaching into the inside of his open jacket, he brought out with a little felt box.

  “Then you’re going to need this.”

  Addie couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t have…

  “I got this before I asked you to marry me,” he explained. “I’ve been carrying it around ever since. I was hoping… you know… for a moment like this, where one of us came to our senses.”

  He opened the lid, and when he did she saw the silver ring inside. There were three little diamonds set into the top, and a leaf pattern was engraved into the band all the way around. It must have cost him more than he made in a month.

  It was the most amazing ring she had ever seen.

  Taking it out, putting the box aside, he slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

  It was a little tight, but Addie worked a little magic… and then it was perfect.

  Her emotions were taking her on a rollercoaster ride that she did not want to end. Ever. For the rest of her life, she wanted to feel just like this.

  “I love you, Lucian Knight.”

  “I love you too, Addie Kilorian.”

  His lips touched hers as they spoke her name, sending a thrill down her spine that was absolutely, positively… magic.

  Afterword

  Addie got up early the next day.

  The knock on the front door of Stonecrest came almost exactly at nine o’clock, just like she expected it to. She was already dressed and waiting for it.

  Constable Herman Bledsoe was nothing if not punctual.

  After getting home last night—very late—and telling her family the good news about her engagement, she had started the last of her remaining errands with a phone call. She’d asked Herman to be here at nine to discuss a matter of great importance.

  “Be there with bells on, honey,” had been his response.

  She’d hung up after that, feeling like she should wash her ear to clean off the lewd undertone in his words. He’d been like this recently. It was totally out of character for him and while some people might be inclined to chalk it up to a midlife crisis, Addie knew better. She knew exactly what had sparked this change in him.

  When he knocked on the door, she was right there to open it for him.

  “Heya, Addie,” he said, grinning from ear to ear as he leaned up against the doorframe. The long winter jacket he had on only made him look scrawnier than he actually was. He was a scarecrow of a man, with the unkempt hair and overlarge eyes to complete the image. “I knew you couldn’t stay away from me forever. How can I… serve you today?”

&nb
sp; Without saying a word to him, she cocked her right arm back and drove her palm as hard as she could into his chest.

  As she did, she unleashed a fireball of magical energy that exploded through him. It blew him back off the steps, off his feet, his arms pinwheeling and his legs kicked up in the air.

  At the same time, a shimmering image of Herman Bledsoe separated from his body, shot backward through the air, and disappeared into a shimmering cascade of sparks.

  There. That should do it.

  When Addie had been standing face to face with Belladonna Nightshade at the Well of Essence, she had mentioned in an offhand sort of way that she had three agents working for her within the town of Shadow Lake.

  Cavallo Raithmore had been one. He was acting against his own will, which was why he hadn’t been able to kill Maria Martin. It was also why the explosion hadn’t been set to actually kill anyone. Addie and Kiera had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kiera had taken the spell off him before handing him over to the authorities so he could get the “counseling and psychiatric help he needed.” He’d be back in town in a few months, sure that he’d suffered some sort of psychotic break.

  Domovyk had been the second one. The furball with the Ukrainian accent was honestly sorry for what he had done, and he was going to work to make it better.

  Addie had thought, at first, that Belladonna’s third agent was Alan. She’d been wrong about that, but once she thought about it, she had put two and two together... and come up with Herman Bledsoe.

  The odd way he’d been acting recently. The forceful way he tried to insert himself in Addie’s life. Now it all made sense. Belladonna had put a demon in him, of sorts. She’d cast a spell on him to bring out his more evil side. His darkest thoughts had taken over. He hadn’t been acting like himself at all.

  In fact, he’d been acting a lot like Belladonna Nightshade.

  Not anymore, though. Addie had just shoved the spell out of him.

  He landed in a melting snowbank, staring up at her and blinking his eyes rapidly. His mouth worked to form sounds even though words escaped him. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, up and down, and it was pretty obvious that he had no idea where he was.

  Addie held out her hand to him, offering to help him up. He took it, and she pulled him to his feet.

  “What… what’s going on?” he asked her. “What am I doing here? Is something wrong?”

  “Something was wrong,” she said, taking a step back into the entry hall of Stonecrest. “But everything is fine now. In fact, everything is just as it should be. You should go home, Herman. Take the day off.”

  “But… but…” he stuttered. He ran a hand through his unmanageable hair, and then stared at that hand like he didn’t recognize his own body. “If something’s wrong, you should tell me. I’m the constable!”

  She smiled at him sweetly. “I know you are. And we are the Kilorian sisters. We protect Shadow Lake, and we always will. Good day, Herman.”

  The door closed with a soft click.

  Addie shut her eyes, and took in a deep breath, and gave herself a moment to enjoy being who and what she was. This mystery was over. All around her, the great structure of Stonecrest settled against the cold. Her sisters and her nephew were in the living room. Doyle was asleep in her room, on her bed, even though she’d told him a million times not to do that. Domovyk was guarding the snow globe prison just like he’d promised. Lucian was meeting her later for lunch, so they could discuss the plans for their wedding.

  In the entry hall, up on the wall among other framed photos, was a picture of her parents. They stared down at her from some exotic location they had visited in their younger years. They were happy in the picture, her father’s arm around her mother’s shoulder, smiling at something off camera. Addie imagined that if they could see their family now, they would be smiling just like that. They would be proud of what they had started.

  Everything had turned out how it should. For now, all was right with the world. A new day had dawned in Shadow Lake.

  She couldn’t wait to see what surprises this one had in store for her.

  -The End-

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  Acknowledgments

  Edited by Adam C-S

  Formatted by L.E. Crase

  Cover Design by Melody Simmons

  About the Authors

  K.J. Emrick

  Kathrine Emrick writing as K.J. Emrick is the author of the popular Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery series and the Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery series.

  Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick dreamed of being an author for the majority of her life.

  She never quite gave up on the idea of being a published author and at the age of 51, thanks to the self-publishing explosion, she finally realized her dream. Her maturity allows her to bring a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.

  She lives in beautiful South Australia with her family, including several animals. Kathrine can always be found jotting down daily notes in a journal and like many authors, she loves to be surrounded by books and is a voracious reader. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the local library.

  Her goal is to regularly produce entertaining and noteworthy content and engaging in a community of readers and writers.

  To find out more please visit the Kathrine's website at kathrineemrick.com or her Amazon author page.

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  S. Joseph Wells

  S. Joseph Wells is a native of Northern New York, where his gift for writing was born and raised not far from the Canadian border. He spent several years there working in law enforcement before returning to his true passion…writing.

  It seems his imagination has always run on a short leash, bringing him to places where fantasy and reality mix, places where the most interesting characters live and love and play and tell him their stories with a cheeky grin or a malevolent smirk.

  When he isn’t completely losing track of time while walking down the twisted pathways of plotline and prose he is hanging out with his family, nurturing the imaginations of his three sons and repeating every Canadian joke he hears to his very patient and very beautiful wife (who happens to be from Canada).

 
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