Page 5 of Seven Secret Spellcasters
“Probably not. But some people can’t be fixed. Roxanne Adams is one of those people. I did the same spell on her for years when you started getting serious about Isaac. Nothing helped.” Grans stepped over to where a desk and chair sat, surrounded on two sides by wall-to-ceiling bookshelves. “I’ve also set you up an office in here. You can add a computer, but I liked keeping track of my spells and progress in a handwritten journal, as did my ancestors. I bought you a new journal to use. The ones from the past, well, they’re all here, on the shelves. Years of history of kitchen witches, all the way back through the Salem trials. The few written materials they had from before were destroyed so no one would find them. It was a dark time.”
Mia walked over and ran a finger over the spines of the journals. Sparks of random magic followed her touch. “They’re beautiful. The entire lab is perfect. Are you sure you want to turn this over to me? Won’t you be sad?”
Grans looked at her, confused. “Oh, I’m not giving up my power. We never adopted that tradition. I’ll be a kitchen witch until I die. Then my power and whatever spells we haven’t already transferred into your grimoire will transfer to you. The transfer ceremony is power from the Goddess to you.”
Mia thought about what her grandmother had told her. “Maybe that’s what happened in Levi and Trent’s ceremony. The Goddess added power—she didn’t take it from one witch and give it to the other.”
Grans went over and pulled a book off the other side of the bookshelves. “I wonder if we can prove that in some way? As it is, if the coven finds out Trent has power, they will attempt to strip him of it. And the process isn’t pretty. If we can prove that this is the Goddess’s blessing, the coven can’t work against it.”
“Isn’t Cerby that proof?” Mia went over to look at the books on the other shelves. These were published editions and included all the fairy tales she’d been reading to help her acclimate to her new magical role. “The Goddess gave him to Trent.”
“You’re right! I think you might have solved your boyfriend’s problem. I need to find a previous case, though. One that the National Council will accept as a model. We might be able to fix this as soon as Mr. Howard shows up in Magic Springs.” Grans sank into the chair with a groan. “And with that, I think we’re done for the day. Go help Abigail. I can feel her angst all the way up here. Mother Adams has claimed another victim. I’ll work here.”
Mia hurried downstairs, leaving Muffy and Mr. Darcy in the potions lab with Grans. She’d come back to move them all back into the apartment for lunch. She might have to bring Grans’s meal down to the lab, though. When her grandmother started researching, she didn’t stop until she’d found an answer.
She hit the last stair and was turning toward the reception area when she realized that Grans hadn’t told her about Trent’s ability to read her mind. And her newly found ability to send him messages. “Another day,” she said, looking back toward the stairs. She hoped her grandmother had enough days to tell Mia all the things she needed to know. She hated learning from experience unless she was cooking a new recipe.
She sent good wishes up to the Goddess for Grans’s good health. Then she listened to see if she could find Abigail and the others. Cerby walked out of the kitchen and ran toward her. The others had been found. She picked the little Maltese up, giving him cuddles as she turned toward the kitchen.
Before she could take two steps toward the kitchen, someone knocked on the door. She glanced at Cerby. “It’s Grand Central Station around here today.”
He barked in agreement.
Mia hoped it wasn’t a neighbor letting her know a purple dragon was flying around her backyard. She thought Buddy was in stealth mode, but Christina had seen him. On the other hand, Christina, by being part of Mia’s world for so long, wasn’t exactly human anymore. Or maybe she wasn’t only human. She had accessed a bit of her natural ability to her extraordinary powers. A fact that Mia thought might have made her so good at cooking and had brought her to the top of her college class as well.
Christina hadn’t used magic consciously. It had been more in her self-confidence and attitude. She’d been outstanding because she believed she could. And the magic of her friends had supported her.
When she opened the door, a short man dressed in a green suit greeted her.
“Good morning, Miss Malone. I was wondering if I could have a word with Trent Majors. I understand he’s here with his mother and brother.” He bowed, taking off his matching green bowler hat. “If it’s not too much of a bother.”
This time he met her gaze, and she realized it wasn’t a human neighbor standing on her doorstep. Mr. Alfred Howard had arrived early.
CHAPTER3
Alfred Howard hadn’t been what Mia had expected. The man was cheerful, jolly even. And his green eyes sparkled as he talked. She’d brought him inside to sit in the reception area while she went to get Trent and the Majors.
Of course, the rest of the group followed along, so the reception area was now crowded with people as they watched the proceedings. Mia set a plate of cookies on the table in front of Howard, as well as a tall glass of water. “I can get you something else to drink if you want.”
“Oh, no, this is fine. I can’t resist a freshly made cookie.” Alfred Howard’s eyes lit up as he picked up an oatmeal raisin one and sniffed it. “This reminds me of home. Thank you, Miss Malone.”
“I’m Trent Majors.” Trent reached out his hand as he followed Mia to where Alfred Howard sat, eating a cookie, the copy ofCountry Livingnow lying forgotten on his lap.
He finished the cookie and brushed the crumbs off his hands, looking up at Trent as he shook his hand. “Aren’t you a tall one? Six-two?”
“Six-three,” Trent responded as he sat in the chair next to the sofa. “Let’s all sit. We weren’t expecting you until Tuesday.”
“Oh, I took advantage of my assignment to come early so I could visit the great state of Idaho. I’ve never been here before. It’s so different here in the mountains. When I flew into the airport, I thought I was in a desert.”
“You were. The Boise area and the freeway you took to get here is high desert country. That’s why they set up the Air Force Base in Mountain Home. But you get into the Sawtooth Mountain range north of Twin Falls. Magic Mountain is to the north of us, on the other side of Magic Springs River.” Trent reached down and picked up Cerby, who had started jumping at his feet. “But I’m sure you’re not here to talk about the scenery. This is Cerby.”
“Oh, my. I knew he was a Maltese, but he’s small for his breed, isn’t he?” Alfred Howard reached out to pet Cerby, but he growled and backed away into the corner of the chair. “Well, he doesn’t like me one bit. Which is odd for a Maltese, but for a hellhound, it’s par for the course. They react badly to magical creatures.”
“ ‘Magical creatures?’ Cerby loves everyone we know, even those with magic.” Mia frowned as she watched the exchange. Howard had already discovered Cerby’s alter ego.
“Oh, dear. I let the cat out of the bag, didn’t I? Miss Malone, I’m not only a witch—I’m from Ireland. I’m also half leprechaun. My human witch mother was a bit adventuresome, I’m afraid. My father, well, I’ve never met the guy.” He winked at Mia. “Families, what are you going to do, right? Anyway, back to Cerby and Trent. I need to do more testing.”
“ ‘Testing’?” Abigail came around and leaned over Trent’s shoulder. “The paperwork was filed correctly, and a certified board member was part of the transfer ceremony. Trent doesn’t have magic anymore. It was passed to his brother, Levi.”
