Page 62 of Wicche Hunt

“Murderous villagers, please.” I slouched down, put my feet on the coffee table, and held the mug of tea over my stomach, soothing the squirmy feelings writhing inside me.

Later, after the body had been discovered and the vicar had begun his investigations, I felt the mug tip and woke with a start.

“You were about to spill.” Declan put the mug on the coffee table and then patted his chest.

I snuggled in and was out.

I awoke in darkness, confused. No nightmares had ripped me from sleep, though I vaguely recalled whispering. Then I remembered last night. What time was it? Patting my pockets, I looked for my phone. Nothing. Flicking my fingers, I turned on the lights and instantly regretted it. Too bright.

My phone was on the end table, plugged into a charger. Aww, that was sweet of him. Two texts and two missed calls.

Declan: Good morning! Hopefully you slept a good long time. Call me when you’re up.

I would.

Mom: Are you okay? Call me right away.

Great. I checked the phone messages and sure enough, they were from Mom. I hit call back.

“Where have you been?”

“I was asleep. What’s the matter?” I went upstairs to get cleaned up.

“Asleep? Since when do you—never mind. My tea shop was broken into last night. I want to pick you up and bring you here. We need to know if it was just humans causing trouble or if Calliope sent someone here to poison my tea leaves and who knows what else.”

“Okay. I just need to get ready. I’ll be out as soon as I can.”

“Good. I’m on my way.”

Tying my hair up, I turned on the shower. There was no time to deal with my hair, so a body shower it was. Knowing how my mother felt about overalls, I put on my black jeans, black slip-on sneakers, and a teal, long-sleeve top. Mascara, lip gloss, and I was ready to go. I even had gloves the same color as the top.

Grabbing my backpack, I walked through the gallery and headed out the front door. With a flick of my wrist, I locked it up tight and jogged down the steps to Mom’s waiting car.

“Thank you, darling.” She found a break in the cars and headed down the road to Pacific Grove, where her home and the tea shop were located. She and Sylvia owned two tea shops, one in Carmel and one in Pacific Grove, but Mom worked in the Pacific Grove location, closer to home. We crossed the city line not far from the gallery, but her business was downtown.

“We should have updated the wards when she hit Serena’s shop.” Shaking her head, Mom stopped to let pedestrians cross the road to the beach.

“We need to do your house first,” I responded. “Yes, we’ll reinforce your business, but I’m more concerned with where you live. Have you spoken to Gran yet? Is she up for doing ward work today?”

“Yes. I called her first.”

The road along the coast was narrow and curvy. Add in dog walkers, joggers, and cyclists and it became a drive that required all of Mom’s attention. Thankfully, I got to stare out the window at the surf.

“How much damage is there?” I asked.

Mom, stiff behind the wheel, pushed out breath. “As far as I can tell, the building itself is still sound. The tables and chairs are mostly intact. The rest—There was glass everywhere. I only saw the front room and then stepped back out. I didn’t want to accidentally walk through a curse. That’s why I need you.” She stopped again for a mom and two little ones in a wagon with a mountain of beach toys and towels.

“So, you were thinking, if someone needs to walk through a curse, it should be Arwyn?” At her look, I quickly said, “Sorry. It’s a bad habit.”

She nodded. “We both have bad habits to break.”

The Sisters’ Tea Room sat on a corner near the Marine Gardens Park and Point Pinos Lighthouse. It was incredibly valuable real estate, but as Coreys had been living here for generations, this storefront—and a few others around town—had been purchased long ago, before this area had become the tourist spot it was now.

Since Aunt Sylvia had been killed by Calliope, there’d just been one sister running the tea room.

Mom pulled right in front of the broken glass door. “I already called my insurance. They said they’d send someone out today. I can’t make any fixes until they show up.”

A customer parked, walked almost to the door, and then stopped. Mom got out and explained the tea room was closed for repairs. The woman was sympathetic but also in a hurry, now needing to find somewhere else to get her tea fix.

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