Potion Sickness
Pacific North Witches #3
Samantha Silver
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Also by Samantha Silver
About the Author
Chapter 1
Have you ever had a standoff with a goat? Because I have. In fact, I was in the middle of one right now.
“Just put the bag of carrots down and no one gets hurt,” I said, my wand pointed at Vincent VanGoat, my familiar. The fridge door was still open and he was halfway out the door, looking as innocent as can be.
“What carrots?” he asked, mumbling through the bag he was holding in his teeth. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“The bag you’re holding right now. Those are for both of us, and they’re for lunch snacks. Not for you to sneak out into the yard and eat all on your own.”
“I don’t see a bag. Do you see a bag?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you really want to try me?”
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
A smirk spread across my face. “Fine, if you want to play it that way.” I pulled my wand out and pointed it just above my familiar. “Rhea, mother of the gods, I need a bang to make some chaos.”
There was a sudden bang, like a firecracker set off without any of the fire, and Vinnie immediately went rigid. The bag of carrots dropped from his mouth and I ran over and grabbed it, stroking Vinnie a couple of times before going back to the fridge and putting the carrots back where they belonged, thinking about how I was going to stop him from getting into the fridge in the future.
By the time I had put the carrots back and turned around, Vinnie had come back to life and was glaring at me. “Was that really necessary?”
“Sorry,” I grinned. “You gave me no other choice.” Vinnie was a fainting goat; every time he was scared his muscles contracted as if he had just passed out.
“You weren’t supposed to come back into the kitchen.”
“This shed is too small for you to get away with stealing things without me hearing, even from the bathroom. Also, I can’t believe your defense is literally ‘I should have gotten away with it’. How did I end up with the world’s worst behaved familiar?”
“Excuse me, most witches and wizards would be lucky to have as amazing a familiar as me. Besides, I’m unique. Everyone has a cat, or a dog. Not all witches can say they have a goat.”
“Most witches can say they have carrots in the fridge that don’t have suspiciously goat-shaped teeth marks on the bag,” I retorted.
“That’s all part of my charm. Besides, I was hungry.”
“There’s grass in the yard, you could have asked to be let out.”
“It’s too cold to go outside. And carrots are more delicious, anyway.”
“So you plan on just eating carrots until April, then?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“I wouldn’t say no to that,” Vinnie replied with a movement that looked suspiciously like a shrug.
“Well, there’s absolutely no way I’m buying you that many carrots. Besides, it’s bad for you. The grass is healthier.”
“Whatever you say, mom,” Vinnie replied sarcastically, and I took a deep breath. How on earth had I been blessed with this animal as my familiar?
“Alright,” I said. “I’m going out to get a coffee, then I’m meeting Willow. If I leave you here do you promise to stay out of the fridge?”
“If I say yes will you believe me?”
“No,” I replied, casting a quick locking spell at the fridge. Now it wouldn’t open until I reversed the spell, so the carrots were safe. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Vinnie to eat carrots, it was more that I also enjoyed carrots with hummus with my lunch, and I knew that given the chance Vinnie would easily eat the entire bag on his own.
Vinnie made his way to the bed I’d bought for him in front of the fireplace and lay down on it, obviously happy to have a rest after his crime spree this morning while I left to meet Willow. She had the day off and had very kindly offered to help me study toward becoming a Magical Fixer.
I had done the test to see if I could start on this new career path a couple of months ago, but unfortunately I had been failed on a technicality.
Ok, maybe the technicality was that I had almost burned down the entire forest around town while trying to pass, but still. Technicality.
Now I had to wait another four months before I had another shot at it, and I was absolutely not going to let anything stand in my way.
As I left the house, I shivered just a little bit. With it being early December, the weather had definitely taken a turn for the colder. The temperature was in the mid-thirties, and I could see every single breath I took.
I really wished there was somewhere to train that was actually indoors. Fall was my season, and winter was always a reminder that we were as far away from next fall as was possible. Winter was also a reminder that mother nature could be cold.
A part of me was tempted to cast another spell to keep me a lot warmer, but then I figured there was no guarantee that my test would take place in ideal conditions. And if I actually became a Magical Fixer, it would mean working throughout the year, including winter.
I had to get used to casting magic in conditions like these, and that meant no extra magic to keep myself warm.
I compromised and half-walked, half-jogged to the park on the far side of Lake Cyrene, where Willow was already waiting for me.
“Hey,” she said with a smile as she noticed me. “How’s it going?”
“I’ve never been this cold before in my life.”
“Oh please,” Willow laughed. “It’s just because this is the first real cold week of the year. It’s not even freezing out. You’re fine.”
“How do you not feel the cold?” I asked. “Are you some sort of super-witch?”
“I mean, I am, but I also actually layer my clothes properly,” Willow said with a grin. “You just think throwing a jacket on over your t-shirt is how you’re supposed to dress for the winter.”
“Hey, it’s not that I don’t know how to layer, I just didn’t have time to do it,” I replied.
“What crazy antics did you get into this morning that stopped you?” Willow laughed.
“Vinnie stole a bag of carrots from the fridge and wasn’t especially enthusiastic about putting them back.”
Willow shook her head. “I’ve never met a familiar who fit more perfectly with his witch.”
“That’s what everyone keeps saying, but they don’t understand just how annoying he is.”
“On the contrary, we know exactly how annoying he is,” Willow joked. “Now, are you ready to face the most difficult challenge of your life?”
“Always,” I replied with a grin. “Although please don’t abandon me in the woods with a broken leg and a killer.”
Willow laughed. “That’s right, I forgot there’s everyone else’s definition of difficult challenges, and then there’s your real life. Anyway, I was thinking we should test your broom-flying skills.”
“Sure,” I said with a nod. It wasn’t that I disliked flying, but as an earth
coven witch, I wasn’t as naturally good at it as I was, say, potion-making. So, like any good earth coven witch, I had a tendency to keep both feet firmly on the ground whenever I could. As a result, I wasn’t a bad flyer, but it was certainly one of my weaknesses.
Willow grabbed a broom leaning on one of the picnic tables and handed it to me. I hopped on, and immediately did a couple of circles around my friend as a quick warm-up before hovering in place in front of her.
“Ready?” Willow asked with a grin, and I nodded.
“You know it!”
“Alright, time to play catch,” Willow called out. I flew up into the air as she pulled out her wand and pointed it toward the water. I wasn’t entirely sure what was coming, but a second later I realized just what we were doing.
A small red ball suddenly flew out from the water of Lake Cyrene, launching about thirty feet into the air. I darted forward on the broom and caught it, tossing it onto the lakeshore where it landed near Willow. Before I had a chance to revel in my victory, I spotted a slightly larger, blue ball popping out from the water to my left. I let out a yelp as I struggled to get to the ball before it hit the water, scooping it out of the air at the last second; I hadn’t been expecting another one so quickly.
“You’ve got to stay on your toes at all times,” Willow called out to me. I just had time to throw that ball toward the beach when a tiny green ball popped out of the lake to my right, and I turned on a dime to get to it in time.
Chapter 2
For the next half hour I sped around the lake chasing after the balls Willow made pop up from the water one after the other.
“Ok, two more,” Willow finally called out, and relief washed over me. I could not wait to be finished. I couldn’t feel my hands anymore, they were so cold, and my teeth were chattering. It was about eighteen thousand times colder to be flying around in this weather than just standing on the ground.
A red ball appeared out of the corner of my eye and I went to grab it with my left hand; it was the size of a tennis ball so it fit perfectly in my palm, and I tossed it onto the ever-growing pile of balls lining the edge of the shore.
Unfortunately, it was just as I was turning around that I spotted the last ball, a yellow soccer-ball sized one launching directly behind me. Great.
Instead of doing a one-eighty, I dropped the broom down into a nosedive, heading toward the water, while at the same time doing a barrel roll to stay upright. That way, I should be able to catch the ball right as it was about to hit the water.
It was totally an amazing move, and it was just too bad Willow didn’t have the camera out to record it. I was basically an elite athlete in that moment, and I let out a howl of pure joy as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I spotted the yellow ball out of the corner of my eye then. It was a bit closer to the water than I was expecting, but that was ok. I could get it.
The broom was still nosediving toward the water, but I was fine. I’d totally be able to get the ball and then pull out of the dive before reaching the lake. I totally had this.
In reality I did not, in fact, have this.
Eventually, it came down to whether or not I was willing to let the ball fall back to the lake and stay dry, or if I was willing to sacrifice my own comfort in the name of catching the ball and completing the task.
If there was one thing I had, it was a competitive spirit, and I was not about to let that ball go, despite the very low reward I was going to get for going after it. I reached down and grabbed it, clutching it close to my chest, and had a split second to take a deep breath before I plunged headfirst into the lake, broom and all.
It was like I’d been stabbed by a million knives. It took every instinct in my body to stop from inhaling sharply. As soon as the broom hit the water it slowed, coming to a quick stop, and I began kicking my legs upwards, back toward the light. As soon as my head burst through the water I took a deep breath. My wet head touching the cold air only made me feel even more frigid.
“Ali!” Willow called out from shore. “Are you ok?”
“I’m going to die in this lake, but let it be known I got that yellow ball,” I called out in reply.
“You’re impossible,” Willow said, her voice making its way to me over the wind, shaking her head as I began to swim toward shore. I had to be a good seventy, eighty feet out but it might as well have been a mile.
Suddenly, a giant wave formed and I was swept along before being unceremoniously dumped onto the beach, soaking wet and teeth chattering.
“Thanks,” I said to Willow, assuming she was the cause of the giant wave.
“No problem,” she replied, pointing her wand at me once more. I suddenly found myself completely dry, and with a warmth coursing through me.
“Mmmmm,” I said as I enjoyed the sudden coziness. “There are advantages to having a friend who’s a Healer.”
“Yes, I am amazing, thank you,” Willow replied. “Now that you’re not at risk of dying of hypothermia, do you want to explain to me why you thought diving into a lake when it’s just barely above freezing was a good idea?”
I shrugged. “I had to get the ball.”
“You didn’t have to get the ball, you decided to get the ball to the detriment of your own personal health because you’re the world’s most competitive person.”
“Fine,” I agreed. “I did. But hey, I got every single one of the balls you shot out from the lake. And did you see that amazing move I did at the end?”
Willow grinned. “Yeah, that was pretty awesome. I was impressed.”
“So was the wave you made to bring me back here.”
“I was pretty proud of that spell. It worked out better than I could have hoped. I figured the sooner you got back to shore, the quicker you’d stop complaining about how cold you were.”
“I was so cold I don’t think I could have complained even if I wanted to,” I said, laughing. “Thanks for the warmth and dry spells.”
“You seriously need to stop being so competitive.”
“I prefer to call it ambition. Besides, if I’m going to have to be willing to do anything to pass the exam, I had better be willing to do anything when I’m practicing for it, too.”
“I guess,” Willow said. “You did look pretty good on that broom. You’ve been practicing on your own, haven’t you?”
“A little bit,” I admitted. “I must say, it’s been quite a bit easier to study now that I have a bit of cash behind me and I don’t need to worry about just making it through on terrible jobs.”
“Yeah, it must be,” Willow said. “It’s nice that you’re not blowing through all of it, though.”
“No, the more I keep, the more I’ll be able to save to buy my mom a new place,” I said. “She deserves it. That cottage is tiny, and she worked so hard for her entire life just so Leda and I could have the kind of life she never did. I swore to myself I would buy her a nice place, and I’m keeping that promise.”
“Well, if you pass that test it will be way easier for you to save, especially if you keep living in that shed.”
“When I pass that test,” I corrected. “I made a couple little mistakes last time, but I’m not going to repeat them.”
“You know, I think you’re right,” Willow said. “Is it possible that this experience has matured you somewhat?”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Please. I’m so mature I’m like one of the big trees in the forest that have been there for hundreds of years.”
“Right,” Willow laughed. “Come on. I’m hungry, let’s go get some food.”
My stomach growled at those words, in obvious agreement. “Sounds good to me.”
Twenty minutes later Willow and I were seated at a little café in town. I ordered the chili with jalapeno cheddar toast while Willow had gone for the Pad Thai, and we found a table near the heater at the back of the café where we sat while waiting for our food.
“So how’s your sister’s work going?” Willow asked. “Is she settling in well as a manager?”
“She is,” I said with a smile. “I knew she would, of course. She was the only person who ever had any doubts. I think she was extra nervous because she didn’t think she deserved the promotion, since technically I was pretending to be her when she got it.”
“Yeah, but we all knew she’d be a good manager anyway,” Willow said.
“The only downside is now mom won’t stop talking about it,” I laughed. “It’s all ‘well Leda is a manager now, and you’re not even looking for a job. I told her, seeing as what I’m best at seems to be hunting down murderers, maybe I should look into becoming an Enforcer, and she pressed her lips together in that way that she does and told me that’s not a proper job for a witch.”
Willow laughed. “That does sound like your mother.”
“Apparently, that’s for shifters who are willing to go after danger, not for a good witch like me. Of course, Grandma Rosie told mom she was being ridiculous, and that these days witches could do whatever they wanted to do, and there was no reason why I shouldn’t hunt down killers if I wanted to, so long as I brought her along with me.”
Willow laughed even harder. “And that sounds exactly like Rosie. I mean, I’m surprised she hasn’t decided to go that route herself.”
“Rhea above, please do not mention that in front of her; I think mom might actually have a heart attack if Grandma Rosie decides to become an Enforcer. And surely there are age limits. Grandma Rosie has to be past mandatory retirement age.”
A waitress came by with our food just then, and the conversation was cut short as we both dug in. I was absolutely ravenous, and made quick work of my chili before stealing a couple forkfuls of Willow’s Pad Thai.
Potion Sickness Page 1
