Monster Magic in Witchwood

by Jessica Lancaster

  “Once Cassandra is finished we’ll set Ben up to wander down the street,” I said. “Let one of the officers find him.”

  “Oh, you’re here,” Jinx hissed from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Where have you been?” I asked, turning to see her press against the wall.

  “Exploring,” she said. “I feel you found the boy. Was he there?”

  I nodded. “He was. It was a close call for a moment.”

  As planned, twenty minutes later, we staged Ben at the end of the road. He sleepwalked his way up, all in good health and not a single scratch on him. A small crowd of people still stood in wait outside the family house, and at the sight of the weary child walking down the street, people stood in shock.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Benji’s mother and father were freed the following morning after finding out the blood in the backseat of their car was from leaky strawberry jam. We had both waited at the end of the street, waiting until an officer took him and the commotion died down.

  The night he was rescued, I had the best night sleep; not a single waking moment until the early afternoon when the strong scent of coffee seeped beneath my bedroom door. A knock followed as by Cassandra’s singsong voice.

  “Got some coffee in the kitchen,” she said. “Just finishing the paperwork. Do you want to look at it before I send it over to the Council?”

  A nice gesture, and sweet for her to think of me. “I’ll have a glance at it.”

  Cassandra was only here for the duration of time in which I could teach her the basics of being an investigator. I’d be getting her some augmented rings as a present for her once she was ready.

  “And you have some post too.”

  I got dressed and walked into the kitchen to see Cassandra pacing back and forth from the kitchen sink to the dining table.

  “You okay?” I asked, noticing the pot of coffee on the table beside a small plate with two slices of toast.

  “Yes, yes,” she replied, “just a little nervous.”

  “An entire pot?” I took a seat. “Do you have a cup?”

  “Yes,” she said, nodding to an empty mug on the table. “Toast might be a little cold now though.” Sitting opposite me, she fanned herself with the paper in her hands. “Not sure if it’s good enough.”

  I remembered my first case report, writing up what had happened could be a little stressful. Any spells cast, gemstones used, anything planned and what didn’t go well. I knew I was nervous the first couple times I submitted my reports.

  “As long as you have the main points covered, it’ll be fine,” I told her. “As it’s a case we decided to take on without being appointed to, we need to mention that, we need to tell them what it was that drove us. I trust you’ll have noted your instincts.”

  She smiled. “Of course.” Pressing a paper and a letter across the table to me, her teeth grit and clenched into a nervous smile.

  “From the Council?” I asked. “Is this why you’re nervous?”

  One was the Witch Post, but the other was probably nothing, probably asking for more questions about needs I had teaching Cassandra. I poured some black coffee from the pot, examining the letter and how thick it appeared.

  I bit into the toast, staring at Cassandra’s fingers dance over the letters.

  “Can you look at my report before I send it?” she asked. “I want to get it out of the way.”

  Finishing my bite. It was cold, but still delicious and well-needed after my small period of hibernation. My eyes scanned the worry painted across Cassandra’s face. I grinned. “Go on, pass it over.”

  It was a solid report; every basis had been covered. I read it over a couple times, giving points and tips about filling in the report without being pulled into the head office for further questions.

  “You still have to fill in the last section,” I said.

  “How it’ll impact future investigations?” she questioned in a grumble. “I don’t know, it’ll make me trust my gut instinct.”

  I handed her the paper. “Then get it written down,” I said. “I was thinking of visiting Ben and the family to see if they’re settling in after everything, maybe even fashioning a little teddy bear for the boy.”

  “That would be nice.” She turned the report over in her hand. “I’ll try and get this filled out and sent over as soon as possible.”

  “No rush,” I said. “They usually give you a couple days to finish it.”

  I pulled the letter close and tore the envelope, grabbing the paper inside. Holding it close to my face, I skimmed over it.

  Dear Evanora Lavender,

  Thank you for accepting our fledgeling investigator. Usually we would love to give our teachers as much time as possible, however, we’re currently imposing a limit on all trainees.

  There will be an event at the head office on Monday the 28th May to celebrate our new investigators and their mentors. Transport portals will open, and you shall enter through it within five minutes or find yourself attempting to make your own way there and missing out on the celebrations.

  We will expect full reports of your students three days before the event.

  Thank you,

  High Witch

  “Looks like we’ll have to speed things up,” I said. “Got three weeks for you to become a fully-fledged investigator.”

  Doom crossed her with surprise. “Talk about pressure.”

  “Beautiful things happen under the harshest of pressures,” I replied, taking a sip of coffee. “Besides, you’ll be fine. I’ll give you an A for what happened; intuition, forward-thinking, taking command of the situation.”

  “An A?” she asked with surprise.

  I chuckled. “Absolutely.” I pulled the Witch Post from beneath the letter. The monthly post for witches, and as it was early May, it was right on time. “And maybe one day you’ll be in here.”

  “Like you?” she asked.

  I’d definitely been mentioned and featured once or twice in my many years of service. “If you challenge yourself, the rewards are plenty.” I finished the rest of the toast, even colder now, drinking it down with the cooling coffee as my eyes scanned over the headlines.

  In silence as I finished skimming through the paper, earmarking pages I’d come back to. Cass ummed and ahhed, going through her report. I glanced above my glasses to see her. She smiled back.

  “Ready to send it?”

  She nodded. “And I’m thinking, I might actually have a teddy for him as well. My mother made me bring it for comfort, but I don’t think she realises I’m not a baby anymore.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet,” I said. “I’ll nip into the shower, then we can pay them a visit. And rule number one, or two, not sure how many we’ve been through, but rules, rules, rules.” I lost my train of thought for a moment. “You can’t let any of them know we had anything to do with it.”

  TWENTY-SIX

  There were more people outside the Hughes’ family home now than when the boy went missing, everyone wanted to know what had happened to him, where he’d been, and how he ended up arriving back home. Police officers continued to fend off reporters, but as we were now family friends from our previous visit, we were granted entry, at least.

  While the house was still bare, there appeared to be more warmth inside as gifts and presents laid across the floor of the entire living room. His parents were both overjoyed, happy tears in their eyes.

  We didn’t stay long. I handed them the teddy bear and he hugged both of us. It was odd, going back to see him when he had no idea who I was or what I’d done for him. I’d never done that before, at most, I’d watch from afar.

  After visiting the family, content with everything that had transpired. We noticed a large delivery truck pull up outside the family home. Cassandra chuckled.

  “You have something to do with this?” I asked.

  “A little luck spell,” she said. “It’s all they need.”

  I hummed. “I hope you made a note of it in your report.” />
  With a stern nod, throwing a two-finger salute, she smiled. “Of course,” she said. “Any spell, crystal, and visit must to be noted.”

  We didn’t get to stick around or chat with the family, but seeing their happiness was everything I needed to know it was a job well done.

  On the walk back to the house on Eden Road, I noticed a figure shifting by the front door, pressing his face against the window to look inside.

  “Hello, Gregory,” I said from the gate.

  He whipped around to face me and Cassandra.

  “Oh, uh—uh.” He pulled the beige bucket hat from his head. “You’re here,” he chuckled, walking down the garden path.

  “Yes,” I said, gesturing to myself. “I’m right here.”

  Cassandra pointed to herself. “And I’m here as well.”

  He waved. “I see that.” Screwing his hat back on his head, shading his eyes, we met in the middle of the path. “Did you hear about the boy?”

  “Oh, we did,” I said. “We’ve just been to see them.”

  “It’s a godsend.”

  “What’s that?” Cassandra nodded to a bucket of paint by the front door.

  “Oh.” He slapped his forehead. “Right. I brought a varnish for the wood. I’ll have it all finished today.”

  My deck chairs were definitely going to be at the ready. I wasn’t even aware he’d finished slotting the wood in place. “Finished then?”

  “It’s all cut. Still got to glue and knock it all in place,” he said, “and I have the stone for the planter boxes too.”

  I led him into the house alongside Cassandra. I wasn’t quite ready for him to have the garden done, it would mean he wouldn’t have any excuse to come around, but also wouldn’t give Cass anything to moan about.

  As we walked through, Cassandra quickly hauled Jinx into her room before she could let anything more than a meow slip from her mouth.

  “Want a cup of tea?” I asked, opening the back door. “I have some nice fruit teas, black teas if you like.”

  He grinned. “I couldn’t, I’ve just had a tea and cake at Maureen’s,” he said. “Apparently, she heard from someone that it was a jam on the backseat of the car.” He scoffed. “How ridiculous is that?”

  “Extremely,” I grumbled. “We gave them some old teddies. Something to keep them all smiling.” And it was, the gifts I’d given them would’ve kept their home at bay from any reoccurring boggarts or nasty pests.

  “That’s kind of you,” he said. “I’ll sit this out here, then I’ll nip to grab the last bit of wood for your garden.”

  I made a cup of tea for both myself and Cassandra, setting them in the living room as I flicked through television channels. I had my Witch Post paper to hand, going through articles and headlines I’d previously dog-eared.

  “I still get an ulterior motive from him,” she said, taking a seat beside me. “For me?” She nodded to a cup of tea beside mine.

  I nodded. “Why?”

  “He’s just eager to help.”

  I snickered. “I’m not going to complain about someone helping me out,” I said. “Plus, he’s relatively harmless.”

  “This is Martha Mandel with the lunchtime news on 106. Breaking news, this morning, the body of a young woman has been found dead in the Witchwood Forest. The cause of death is unclear, however, people at the scene of the crime have referred to this as what looks like the victim of an animal attack,” the reporter on the television said.

  “Awful, absolutely awful,” the other spoke.

  My eyes were fixed to the television at this point. “Animal attack?”

  “Are we talking squirrel? We don’t get much in the way of aggressive animals,” Cassandra said. “Foxes?”

  I hummed, squinting through my glasses and straining to see the television screen. “Perhaps.”

  The female reporter cleared her throat. “While the cause hasn’t been identified by a coroner’s report, we will keep you updated.”

  A shudder shook through Cassandra, sending a small tremor through the sofa. “Doesn’t sound pleasant at all.”

  “No. I know. An awful way to go,” I spoke, my fingers trembling around the cup of tea as I pushed the lip of it to my mouth. “Surely, Ivory would’ve told me if she’d seen anything quite so vicious.”

  Cass hummed. “I mean, we were all busy last night, we can’t think we could’ve stopped this from happening.”

  “Oh, I know that.” But we could’ve, or at least Ivory could’ve.

  Knock. Knock.

  A sharp shot ran through me like the cold drip from the shower head. I sprang from my seat, spilling my cranberry and mint over my white t-shirt.

  “Relax,” Cass said. “It’ll just be Greg.”

  “No.” I knew exactly who it was, and he wasn’t good news.

  NEXT FROM JESSICA

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  ABOUT JESSICA LANCASTER

  Jessica Lancaster grew up in England with a love for reading whodunnit murder mysteries.

  She’s loves nothing more than a good cup of tea with some chocolate biscuits.

  Named after Angela Lansbury in “Murder, She Wrote”, Jessica Fletcher; she dreamed of a day to be her own sleuth in a series. This sparked Gwen in the Cowan Bay Witches Cozy Mystery series and Evanora in the Witchwood Cozy Mystery series.

  Join Jessica’s e-mail list for new releases by signing up!

  PARANORMAL MYSTERIES

  Witchwood Cozy Mysteries

  Cryptic Curses in Witchwood (Book 1)

  Secret Spells in Witchwood (Book 2)

  Monster Magic in Witchwood (Book 3)

  Reaper Rituals in Witchwood (Book 4)

  Bad Blood in Witchwood (Book 5)

  Wicked Witches in Witchwood (Book 6)

  Cowan Bay Witches Cozy Mysteries

  Muffins, Magic, and Murder (Book 1)

  Cupcakes, Crystals, and Chaos (Book 2)

  Pies, Palmistry, and Poison (Book 3)

  Treats, Tarot, and Trouble (Book 4)

  CO-AUTHORED BOOKS

  With Hugo James King

  Murder on Silver Lake (Book 1)

  Murder on Red Rose Drive (Book 2)

  Murder at Maple House (Book 3)