by Brenda Trim
Magical Twist
Magical Witchery Book 3
Brenda Trim
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
EXCERPT FROM MAGICAL MAKEOVER BOOK #1 MYSTICAL MIDLIFE IN MAINE
EXCERPT FROM My Magical Life to Live BOOK #4 Midlife Witchery
Authors’ Note
OTHER WORKS BY Brenda TRIM
Copyright © April 2021 by Brenda Trim
Editor: Chris Cain
Cover Art by Fiona Jayde
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers’ imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction of this work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the authors.
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Chapter 1
Ugh! Nastiest thing in the universe. I didn’t want to touch Thelvienne’s body. It resembled a dragon-sized prune rather than the beautiful woman she used to be. My body was still thrumming with energy as I had yet to integrate all of the Queen’s magic in with my own.
My heart hadn’t settled from Indy 500 levels while my mind analyzed the how’s and why’s of my magic. Unfortunately, I never figured anything out. And it made me feel like Ron Weasley. Never able to recall spells or the theory behind them.
I went back to wondering why Thelvienne withered like she did. None of the other Fae I’d killed had done that. And the ground was indeed being infected. The ground started sizzling where her blood had splashed. Putrid-smelling smoke drifted into the air while the foliage turned brown around the edges.
“Alright. We’d better get her body through the portal. Pymm’s Pondside doesn’t deserve to be poisoned by her.” I bent and choked as bile rose in my throat.
Aislinn wrinkled her nose. “I love being part of the Backside of Forty, but I think I might draw the line at handling the festering raisin lady.”
Bas huffed and lifted the Queen as if she didn’t weigh a thing. “I’ve got her. You’d think you hadn’t just killed her or something.” He directed the last part at me. Despite the body he was carrying, heat sizzled between us.
I hadn’t allowed myself to consider sharing my life with anyone else ever since my husband, Tim, died. He was my first love and always would be. I was happy focusing on my work and my kids until I had my magical new beginning six months ago.
Now, I found myself considering options I could never have even dreamed of. Sebastian was irritable, gruff, and didn’t have a romantic bone in his body. But he was also sex walking with muscles on his muscles.
I shook my head at him as I shoved the distracting thoughts away. “I wasn’t trying to kill her. Hell, I would have run away screaming if I’d known I was going to absorb her energy. I get the feeling that fact is going to bite me in the ass.”
I saw my grams looking out the window above the sink as we passed into the family cemetery on my land. I could see right through her ghostly form to the clock on the wall that told me it was well past midnight. That was why I was exhausted right down to my bones, not because I am a forty-five-year-old hybrid Fae-witch with a bad knee.
A sound rumbled from Bas’s chest as he walked beside me. “Is that an invitation? I’d love to bite your delectable bits. But we should be concerned Vodor’s anger that his mate was killed.”
My body heated, and my mind shut off as I listened to his deep voice. It made me think of nakedness and compromising positions. Heat filled my cheeks, and I spluttered for a response. Sebastian didn’t mince words and usually said what was on his mind, so I wasn’t certain why his comment had me so flustered.
“You might want to watch it, Bas. She might scald your twig and berries.” Aislinn’s warning was followed by a round of laughter. The sound of my friends’ amusement jolted me and highlighted the reason for my discomfort. Having my friends hear intimate desires made me want to crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head.
Maybe I really was a prude, but I didn’t want anyone knowing what Bas wanted to do to me. And I most certainly didn’t want anyone knowing how badly I wanted it. Some things were best left to private moments.
I hauled the door to the crypt open and looked back at Aislinn. “Can you hold this open? Once we toss her through, I’m going to take a shower.”
“Got it,” Aislinn said as she placed a hand on the stone panel.
I walked into the space and looked around at my ancestors' bones that made the foundation of the portal. Lifting my hands, I chanted the spell to open the portal. An oval hovered in the middle of the room, with light surrounding the area. I saw the familiar Fae world of Eidothea through in the center of the oval of light. Seeing a scene of another world in the middle of a crypt where dead people are buried was surreal every time I encountered it.
After the dark Fae had forced the portal open and tried to sneak through to Earth, I was glad it was back to only opening when I gave the mental command. The bright green (almost neon) grass was beautiful, and I could smell the sweet scent of flowers carried on the breeze through the opening.
“Throw the bitch through,” I called out to Sebastian over the sound of wind whipping through the small building.
Bas chuckled and approached the portal, then threw what looked like a mummified husk through. I winced when it landed on the grass. It instantly started smoking and turning brown. When the acrid smell started replacing the sweet floral scent, I closed the portal.
Turning, I brushed my hands together and walked out of the mausoleum. “We need to regroup before you guys head home. I desperately need a shower, but I can see grams isn’t going to let that happen.”
The ghost of my dead grandmother was glaring out the window with her arms crossed over her ample bosom. She wore one of the hideous tops covered in flowers that she loved to wear. The V-neck kept the fabric away from her throat.
I recalled being a little girl and asking her why she wouldn’t wear the cute lavender sweater I’d gotten her for her birthday. She told me there was no way in hell she was putting anything on that would constrict around her waddle. She explained that the fabric would choke her, get caught on her chin hairs, and put the extra skin on display.
My hand rose to the skin that was just starting to loosen on my neck. Some days I wish I was that naïve young woman again. When my finger hit something hard and prickly, I lowered my head. I had to at least go to the bathroom and pluck the ugly black hair that had magic all its own.
Seriously, how was it I would rip the little shits out one night, and the next morning, it was back and nearly thr
ee inches long?
Bas held the back door open for me. Grams floated in my direction immediately. “What the hell happened out there, Fionna?”
“Not now, Grams. I need to use the restroom.” I fled up the stairs and slammed the door the second I entered the bathroom connected to my bedroom. Opening the top drawer, I grabbed the tweezers and thrust my chin toward the mirror.
Gah! I couldn’t believe I was fighting the Fae Queen, looking like the bearded lady. My grandmother floated into the room when I was gripping the second hair between the metal.
“You cut me off to pluck your chin hair?” My grams couldn’t be louder or sound more irritated.
In my rush to shut her up, I tugged harder than necessary, then lifted my eyes and sent her a glare. “Would you be quiet? I don’t need the entire house hearing how I need to shave like a man.”
Grams rolled her eyes. “Whatever just happened is going to alert any supernatural across both realms. I want to know what the hell went down out there. I couldn’t see anything from the windows.”
I yanked the remaining hair out and washed my hands. That’s what had her up in arms. I imagined it was difficult for her not to be able to get involved with our battles. Grams had never been shy or one to sit idly by. Part of the reason I was so fierce was that I was her granddaughter.
“I’m sorry about that, but it couldn’t be avoided.” I opened the door and descended the stairs to the first floor. The house was enormous for a cottage in the countryside. And it was open for being built centuries ago.
The familiar creek of the sixth step and the family pictures on the wall at the base of the stairs helped center and calm me. Everyone was in the kitchen. “You are a Goddess,” I praised Violet for making a pot of coffee.
“You never did develop a taste for a proper cuppa.” Grams’ usual complaint was another comfort. This was why I chose my magical new beginning here in this house. I was surrounded by history and family that helped ground me in any storm. It was also why I fled here right after Tim had died years ago. The three weeks the kids and I spent here helped me face life without Tim.
“You taught me to enjoy tea, but there are times I cannot survive without the blessed dark brew, and this has been a rough night.” I inhaled deeply, savoring the roasted coffee bean scent.
Grams had her arms right back over her chest, and one hip cocked to the side. Emotion clogged in my throat with the sight. For longer than I could remember, my grandmother had needed a hip replacement. She’d fallen in her garden and broken it when she was seventy-eight, and it never healed quite right.
To see her sass back as she took her demanding pose was fantastic. “What the hell happened out there? Why did I feel this wave of dark magic ripple through the house? There was no real power behind it, so it made no sense.”
I was right back to my childhood and shuffled my feet like I used to when I tried to avoid telling her that I messed up. “Well, remember when I told you about absorbing that Fae’s power? I kinda killed the Evil Queen, and her powers floated into me. My blood turned to champagne in my veins. Energy buzzed through me then spread out to Aislinn and Violet,” I told her and continued to describe how her body withered, and we tossed her back like she was a fish we didn’t want to keep.
Grams’ blue-white shape solidified enough that I could no longer see the sofa in the background. “You’ve landed in another mess, Fiona. Vodor will not let this go. Thelvienne was his life.”
The most unladylike snort left me. “I cannot believe she was anything to him but a pain in the ass. They fought constantly, and word on the street was they hated each other.”
“Hate and love are often intermixed. I have no doubt he didn’t like her, but being with her allowed him to strip creatures of their power. He would never willingly give her up. His need for her was so great that he overlooked that she was in love with Sebastian and pined for him for centuries. No man in his position would be able to do that if he could live without the woman.”
Hearing about Bas’s previous girlfriend made my stomach twist into knots. I knew it was ridiculous, but I couldn’t change it. I was barely able to hide that fact from my expression.
I glanced in Sebastian’s direction and noticed he was scowling at my grams as he sipped from a glass of amber liquid that was no doubt scotch. “I need to check with the council and see if they have any insight.”
Camille set her glass in the sink and turned back to the group. “I’ll go with you, as well. I’d like to hear what they have to say, too.”
In the end, Finarr ended up joining them, which left me, Aislinn, Argies, Violet, and my grams in the kitchen. When the coffee was done burbling and pitting out liquid gold, I poured myself a cup and added plenty of sugar with a splash of cream.
“Do you have any idea how we should handle the King, Grams?”
My grandmother floated to the window over the sink and looked outside. “There is nothing safe for you three to attempt. Vodor has too much power. You might be a nicotisa, but you are still learning your craft and what you’re capable of. I tried to find as many books and scrolls on the topic as possible, but all there seemed to be were cautionary tales.”
“We can’t sit around while he kills innocent Fae, Grams. Besides, we won’t be facing him alone. Argies and Bas’s parents are part of a massive rebellion in Eidothea.” I implored her to listen to reason, but she only shook her head which sent her silver hair flying around her shoulders. I looked like waves crashing around her body.
Argies opened his mouth to say something when my internal alarm system pinged me. Groaning, I took another sip of my coffee then set the cup down. “I’ll be right back. I’m being paged.”
Grams was in front of me instantly and was red around the edges like when she was angry. “You will not go out there, young lady.”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at her for several seconds. This was so entirely out of character for her, and I was at a loss for words. My grams was serious about her role as the Portal Guardian. So much so that she set up a spell so I could bring her back from the other side.
At the time, I had no idea how any of it was possible, but I’d learned enough through various conversations that it wasn’t merely a matter of having unfinished business. Grams had to cast spells on herself that went soul-deep. That’s what I ended up calling back was her spirit.
That was nearly unheard of. The rebellion in Eidothea had been hunting for a way to cast a spell on a soul for centuries. That was the way they felt they would beat Vodor. Their realm was losing its magic and would soon enough be out entirely. No one wanted to think about that possibility.
“Why would you say that to me? I have to answer the summons.”
Grams had her hands on her ample hips as she narrowed her eyes at me. The look made me feel like I’d disappointed her. It was something I had never handled well. Anytime I got that look, I tripped over myself to make it better.
“You just killed the second most powerful being in the Fae Realm, and you want to go say Hi? I thought I taught you better. You got sucked through last time you tried to repel a dark Fae.”
Her words stung, and my mouth immediately wanted to snap, 'You didn’t teach me shit. That’s why it’s been one battle after another since I discovered my magic.' I bit that sarcastic comment back and took a deep breath.
“You taught me to never shirk my duties. I’m the Portal Guardian now. What if it’s someone like Kairi who is being hunted by the king’s men? I have to go see who and what it is.” I softened my tone, hoping she heard the respect I had for her and her opinion.
Grams’ chest heaved as if she was panting, but she made no noise that indicated she even breathed. “I have been doing this a very long time, Fiona. Whoever is trying to get through means us harm. And you would know it if you paid attention to your summons.”
“Fair enough. How can I tune into intentions without being face to face?”
Grams lifted her head and smiled at me. “Follow the sum
mons back to its source. You know it’s the portal because of experience, but you can trace it back and discover more.”
Closing my eyes, I tried to do exactly what she said. Nothing happened, which didn’t surprise me at all. The intricacies of performing magic hadn’t come naturally to me. Once I figured something out, though, I could cast the spell or access the source with ease, so I tried again. The second I latched onto the trail, energy blasted through it and slammed into me.
I felt my body fly through the air at the same time dark energy scalded my veins. It hurt like a bitch and made me cry out. My eyes snapped open, and I saw the island pass below me. My heart struggled to beat, and my lungs wanted to shut down. Before my mind could catch up with what was happening, my back hit a corner, and a loud crack filled the room.
Argies was somehow in front of me and catching me before I hit the wood floor. Tears streamed down my face as I tried my hardest to suck in a breath. My lungs felt like deflated balloons in my chest.
Grams was in front of me, and Aislinn and Violet were shouting something. Argies carried me from the kitchen and to the living room. I cried out with every step he took. “I’m sorry, Fiona. Hang in there until I can set you on the couch.”
“She’s bluer than you are, Isidora. What do we do?” That was Violet’s frantic voice.
“Join hands and cast a spell to force her Fae side ascendant. It will heal her lungs before she dies.”
I heard my friends shout, “Ascendant Fae.” Warmth surrounded me at the same time Argies set me on the soft cushion. It caused a sharp pain to slice through my chest. I swear my heart stopped for several seconds.
