Hex Over Heels: A Witch Cozy Mystery (Fairy Falls Mystery Book 2) Read online

  “Why would you ever need this as a potion?” I asked as Victoria drank a tablespoon of the potion and immediately her skin turned to scales in front of me. They shimmered, changing color in the light, and while it looked amazing, I couldn’t exactly see the day-to-day relevance of such a potion.

  “Pride outfit,” Scarlett replied immediately.

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” I said. “This would look amazing during Pride.”

  “The length of time it lasts changes depending on how much you drink,” Victoria said. It was weird looking at her with fish scales for skin. “Most potions work that way. If you ever see a potion recipe and it doesn’t tell you how long the potion’s effects will last per tablespoon drank, do not make it. That’s essential information, and you should never take a potion without knowing exactly how long you’re going to be under its power.”

  “Got it,” I said. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m going to do my best to avoid drinking potions most of the time. I’m not used to this, and it feels weird.”

  “You say that now, but wait until you find out how much time and hassle they can save you,” Scarlett replied. “You’ll be one of us soon enough.”

  “And if you aren’t, that’s also fine, but you have to be able to make potions as a witch,” Victoria added. “That said, I’m happy to take this as quickly or as slowly as you want to.”

  “Thanks,” I replied. “I appreciate it.”

  “Well, that’s enough for one day, I think,” Scarlett said. “If anything, the two of us have earned a drink.”

  “That we have,” I replied.

  “Enjoy,” Victoria said.

  “I’m pretty sure we could convince Grandma Eva to let you have the afternoon off if you wanted to join us,” Scarlett offered with a mischievous look, but Victoria shook her head.

  “Thanks for the offer. Maybe next time. I have a bunch of work to get done here today, though.”

  “Alright, thanks again,” I said to Victoria. “I appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem.”

  As Scarlett and I headed back toward the main part of the store, Grandma Eva stopped us.

  “How did it go?” she asked me kindly.

  “Really well, thanks,” I said. “Victoria is a great teacher.”

  Grandma Eva nodded. “I thought she would be, which was why I suggested she teach you. Take advantage of her skills as an earth coven witch; she’ll get you up to speed as fast as possible.”

  “Thanks, Grandma,” I told her with a smile.

  “We’re going to go celebrate Mina’s first day of training as a witch,” Scarlett said. “Would you like to join us? We’ll be at The Wand and Toad.”

  “Thanks, I might in a little bit, actually. Give me some time to finish up some work. Have fun, witches.”

  Scarlett and I went out onto the street. “So what’s The Wand and Toad?”

  “Oh, it’s a cool English-style pub for witches,” Scarlett replied. “Because they serve food, it’s a great place to day drink and still have it be socially acceptable.”

  “Sounds like my kind of place.”

  Scarlett grinned. “I thought it would be.”

  We were only about a block away from The Wand and Toad, and so after a short walk Scarlett led me through a pair of thick wooden doors. The interior was relatively small with about twenty dark wooden tables surrounded by matching comfortable-looking upholstered chairs. The forest green carpet was deep and plush, and most of the right-hand side of the room was taken up by a fireplace, the exposed brick covered by a large wooden mantle, where a small fire crackled invitingly. I had a feeling I was going to spend long hours here in the winter.

  To the left was a bar where a witch wearing a stereotypical hat with a small stuffed pumpkin on top pointed a wand at a pile of clean glasses that immediately floated up to a nearby shelf and organized themselves perfectly. A number of different bottles lined the open shelves behind her, many of which I didn’t recognize.

  Scarlett led me to one of the tables near the fire, and a warm, but not uncomfortably hot, draft eased toward us.

  As soon as I sat down, a menu appeared directly in front of me on the table, as if by magic. Well, I supposed it was by magic.

  I scanned the menu and found mainly comfort food items.

  “Anything especially good here?”

  “Everything,” Scarlett replied. “This place has a great reputation. What do you want to drink?”

  “A martini?” I offered, and Scarlett gave me a strange look.

  “What’s that?”

  “Oh boy, I guess you don’t have the same drinks here as in the human world.”

  Scarlett laughed. “I guess not. How about I order for us? Are you good with something fruity?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Two dragon boats, please,” Scarlett said to the table. I tried to subtly look around, in case a waitress I hadn’t noticed was hovering nearby, but we were by ourselves.

  Scarlett laughed gently. “The ordering here is all done by magic,” she told me. “If you need something, you just speak into the table, and the order will go through. If you want help with the menu or you prefer talking to a paranormal in person, you just need to ask for a waitress to come by and assist you.”

  “That’s actually really handy,” I said. “What’s a dragon boat, by the way?”

  At that exact moment, two fancy-looking cocktails appeared on the table in front of us.

  “That’s a dragon boat,” Scarlett said. I gaped at the drink before me. Served in a hurricane glass, the drink itself was a deep blue color mixed with hues of greens and purples that slowly mingled together, moving through the glass like water beneath the sea. In the middle was a red Chinese-style dragon, swimming through the drink along the edge of the glass.

  “Wow,” I said, leaning down and looking more carefully at the dragon. “It’s not real, is it?”

  “Of course not,” Scarlett replied. “It’s completely magical. The rest of the drink is real, but the dragon will disappear as you drink.”

  “It’s really cool,” I said as I took a careful sip from the straw. The drink was sweet with serious berry flavor, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was.

  “It’s made with dragonberry juice and a mixture of a few different alcohols,” Scarlett explained. “Do you like it?”

  “I do,” I replied. “I’ve never heard of dragonberries before.”

  This time it was Scarlett’s turn to be surprised. “The human world is really missing out, hey?”

  “I think so,” I agreed. I took another sip, my attention turning to the menu. “So do we order food the same way?”

  “Certainly do,” Scarlett replied.

  I decided to give this newfangled method of ordering food a shot. I looked at the wooden table in front of me. “Chili cheese fries,” I kind of half-shouted, like you would at a drive-through window back in the human world.

  When I looked up at Scarlett, an amused expression danced on her face, and I couldn’t help but notice the patrons at nearby tables staring at me.

  “Was that a bit too loud?” I asked, biting my lip.

  “Just a tad. You can just speak normally, you know.”

  “Right.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’ll come. Mistakes are how you learn.”

  I nodded, feeling both embarrassed but also grateful for Scarlett’s kindness. I wasn’t used to kindness from family when making mistakes, and every time I messed up, I still inwardly cringed, waiting for admonishment that never came from her.

  “Anyway, you rocked potion making this morning. So cheers to that.”

  Scarlett held up her glass and I clinked mine against hers, taking another long sip of the delightfully fruity drink. This was the perfect refresher for the middle of summer, even in a cozy setting like this bar.

  The two of us talked for a while, and after a few minutes a steaming bowl of crispy fries topped with aromatic chili, cheese, spring onions, and s
our cream appeared on the table in front of me.

  “This is how I want to order food all the time now,” I joked as I began digging in right as Scarlett’s grilled chicken sandwich appeared. We chowed down in silence for a little bit, enjoying the food and each other’s company, when suddenly the door to the bar opened, and I spotted a familiar face.

  It was Renee, and she didn’t look happy to see me.

  CHAPTER 5

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, coming over to our table.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we weren’t allowed to eat here,” Scarlett replied.

  “I’ve been coming here for lunch every single day for the past six years,” Renee replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “This is my place, and you came here on purpose just to goad me.”

  “Please, you’re not worth that kind of effort,” Scarlett replied. “We came here because it’s one of the best places in town to have lunch.”

  “Liar,” Renee snapped.

  “Don’t call Scarlett a liar,” I pushed back. I wasn’t about to let this witch attack my cousin who had been nothing but kind to me since I moved here.

  “You’re the whole reason all this started, you uncoordinated idiot,” Renee said to me. “You might have your grandmother to protect you when we’re at The Love Shack, but out here you’re on your own.”

  “Mina’s not the one who’s going to need protecting,” Scarlett said, standing up and earning us some stares from the other patrons.

  “It’s ok, Scarlett,” I said, trying to diffuse the situation. Renee was awful, but she wasn’t worth it. I knew her type. She was the sort of person who was incredibly unhappy with her life for whatever reason but instead of trying to make it better, simply took it out on others. She reminded me of my mother, and I knew that much like my mother, the best way to handle her was simply to ignore her existence as much as possible. She wasn’t worth the time or the effort.

  “No, it’s not ok,” Scarlett said. “You can’t come in here and complain that we’re in the same restaurant where you want to eat. No one’s stopping you from finding a table, but leave Mina alone. She already apologized to you for the accident that happened this morning. Get over it and move on with your life.”

  “What did you just say to me?” Renee asked.

  “You heard me,” Scarlett said. The witch from behind the bar chose that moment to come over.

  “Witches, witches. I don’t know what’s going on here, but could you please leave if you’re going to fight? You’re disturbing the other customers.”

  “You’re right, she is,” Scarlett said. “We’re just trying to enjoy a nice, peaceful lunch, and this witch interrupted it.”

  “Renee, I’m not sure what the problem is, but I can get your regular order to go if you’d like,” the witch offered with a polite smile. “Or, of course, you’re welcome to take a seat at any of the many other tables we have available.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m not letting myself be bullied into leaving the place I go to just because of these witches.”

  “I’m not trying to bully you,” the witch said, the desperation and surprise obvious in her voice. “You’re just bothering the other customers.”

  “And these customers are bothering me by being here,” Renee pronounced.

  “We’re just trying to have a nice meal in peace,” I said, and Renee scoffed.

  “Please. You came here to annoy me. I know it, you know it. It’s obvious what you’re doing.”

  “Believe it or not, you really don’t occupy that much space in my head,” Scarlett replied. “Mina is right. We came here to have a drink to celebrate her first potion lesson and enjoy some lunch. We really don’t care about your presence.”

  “Well, you should care,” Renee said, whipping out her wand. Scarlett noticed and darted out of the way at the last second as Renee muttered a spell, rolling off her chair and onto the floor.

  Renee’s spell hit the bartending witch head-on, sending her flying across the room before she hit the far wall and fell to the floor.

  I rushed over to the witch, along with a few of the other patrons, and in the background I could hear Scarlett casting a spell of her own.

  “Are you alright?” I asked the witch. Her hat had fallen off and was now lying next to her, and a visible bruise was already forming on the top of her head. “Come on, you’re going to have to visit the hospital. You’ve probably got a concussion.”

  “It’s ok,” she said, offering me a weak smile. “I’m fine.”

  “I’m a Healer,” an older wizard with greying hair and kind brown eyes said, stepping forward. I moved aside to let him have a look at the witch. “I agree, I think a visit to the hospital would be wise. If nothing else, we have potions we can put on that bump to reduce the swelling.”

  “Are you sure?” the witch replied.

  “Yes,” he said. “Come on, let me help you up. I’ll take you there myself.”

  The Healer took one of the witch’s arms, and I moved over and grabbed the other. Between us we were able to help her to her feet, and the Healer began leading her out of the restaurant with the other patrons all offering well-wishes as she went by.

  As they walked off, I finally had a chance to see what had happened between Scarlett and Renee. It wasn’t pretty; one of them had obviously come out of the fight better than the other.

  Scarlett’s hair had been turned into snakes that slithered and writhed on the top of her head like a gorgon. I shuddered at the sight; I’d had enough of snakes for one day before all this had happened.

  Renee, on the other hand, fared much worse. She had been magically enchanted to float through the air as though an invisible force held her up by the shirt collar. She squirmed and flailed about, desperately trying to get back to the ground. Her wand lay at her feet, out of reach, and she cursed and shouted at Scarlett with every breath she took.

  Scarlett picked up her wand and pointed it at herself, muttering a quick spell. A split second later, her hair went back to its normal shoulder-length blonde, the snakes just a bad memory.

  “Are you going to behave?” Scarlett asked, looking at Renee. “If I let you go, you’re going to leave.”

  “Fine. Whatever, so long as I don’t have to be near you anymore, you stupid witch,” Renee said, struggling to get back down onto the ground.

  “Good,” Scarlett said. She pointed her wand at Renee, and a moment later she dropped to the ground as if the invisible hand holding her up had let go.

  “You’d better not tell your grandmother about this,” Renee threatened, then walked past the gaping onlookers and headed back out onto the street.

  “Well, that wasn’t how I expected lunch to go,” Scarlett said, casually sitting herself back down and taking a sip of her drink as though nothing had happened.

  I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Seriously? You’re just going to act like nothing happened at all?”

  Scarlett shrugged. “Hey, as far as I’m concerned, she’s not worth the energy. Unfortunately, with the bartender gone, there’s no one left to make drinks.”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking over to the bar where a nervous-looking wizard eyed the bottles as though they were going to jump out and attack him. I had a sneaking suspicion he’d never made a drink in his life.

  “That’s Johnny,” Scarlett answered in reply to my unasked question. “He usually works out the back doing a lot of the cooking. Looks like he’s a lot less comfortable behind the bar.”

  “No kidding,” I said with a sympathetic smile. There was nothing quite like being forced way out of your element at work.

  “Anyway, just because Renee tried ruining our lunch doesn’t mean we can let her succeed. She’s miserable and angry, but that doesn’t mean she has to lead to us being the same way.”

  “Good point,” I said, grabbing a chili-covered fry and shoving it into my mouth. “She’s not worth the energy. Besides, it’s not like we’re going to run into her all the time.
How much trouble can she cause for us?”

  As it turned out, a lot more than I could have expected.

  CHAPTER 6

  A fter finishing our drinks and lunch, Scarlett and I headed home.

  “You’re not going to tell Grandma Eva what went on at the restaurant, are you?” I asked, and Scarlett shook her head.

  “Nah. I’m a grown witch, and I can deal with my own problems without running to Grandma. Besides, she’ll find out. Grandma Eva has a whole network of paranormals here in town. Someone will tell her what happened.”

  “Do you think she’ll fire Renee?”

  “Not unless Renee keeps antagonizing you. Grandma Eva is a good person; she won’t fire someone just for one bad incident. She’s a really good boss that way.”

  “Good,” I said. Renee might have been awful to me, but not only did I want to avoid giving her more reasons to antagonize me, I also didn’t think that being mean to someone once should cost them their job.

  “Want to just head home for the afternoon? You need to let your magic recover, so there’s no point in trying some more lessons,” Scarlet suggested.

  “Sure,” I replied. “Honestly, this is the closest thing I’ve had to a holiday in a long time, and I’m enjoying it. Although that said, I’d like to get a job eventually. Is there some sort of paranormal marketing agency? That’s what I’m best at.”

  “Yeah, of course,” Scarlett nodded. “I’m sure you’ll find something. Jobs in the paranormal world are generally decided on by the person’s species. Fairies work most hospitality and customer-facing jobs, vampires work nights, witches and wizards do things that require spells, shifters do physical work, and elves are generally in managerial and administrative roles.”

  “Oh,” I said. “That’s strange. But a marketing role, I could still do that?”

  “I think so,” Scarlett replied. “In a lot of cases there are exceptions that can be made to standard roles depending on a need for magic to be used in a role or if for some reason the normal paranormals in the role can’t do it. And of course, you could always work in one of the witch-and-wizard exclusive towns and come back here at night if you really can’t get work in your field here.”