A Formidable Potion Read online

  A Formidable Potion

  by

  Constance Barker

  Copyright 2020 Constance Barker

  All rights reserved.

  Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Thanks for Reading

  Catalog of Books

  Chapter 1

  I listened to Allie and Genevive as they chatted in the rear seat of the car I had rented in Goodsprings. Sunrise Beach had been left behind, and with it, my time inside the local jail. While the outcome of my time spent in the seaside city was satisfactory, I didn’t feel it had been the stress-free vacation I had wished for. The Goodsprings coven of witches had encouraged me to the vacation after a plague of stressweed threatened to choke my orchard into oblivion. Everyone had wished for an uneventful week. Instead, we had been involved in a ghost-ridden murder. Luckily, the coven, along with two half-vampire detectives, rushed to my aid. Together, we cleared my name and brought the real killers to justice. All was well that ended well.

  “What do you think, Aunt Sam,” Allie said. “Are we too young to use glamour spells?”

  Allie was a fire witch in training, the daughter of Tessa, the coven’s true fire witch.

  “Glamour spells are not play spells,” I said. “You take on a new persona, and well, you might like that person better than your true self. Not to mention that you’d be fooling everyone who knows you. I don’t think it’s honest to present yourself as something you’re not.”

  “That’s what I was saying,” Genevive said. “I don’t think we would like it if we became friends with someone who wasn’t real.”

  Genevive was the coven’s water witch. Although still in high school, Genevive possessed enough magical energy to participate, although some of her spells turned out to be less than spectacular. She had managed to cast a spell that made it snow every night during the winter—in Goodsprings, Georgia. That was a far, far cry from normal. Still, the coven needed her. The previous water witch had been murdered, and her understudy had turned to black magic. Luckily, we did not need to fashion some punishment for the understudy, who was stuck in her wildform, a witch’s natural alter ego—some sort of natural creature.

  “It’s like the internet,” Allie said. “You meet all kinds of fake people on the internet. Like Lydia. She fell in love with some guy she thought was in college. He wasn’t. He was some old, fat pervert in Vermont. She almost went up there to see him.”

  “It’s not the same,” Genevive said. “Because, if Lydia had gone to Vermont, she would have seen the pervert for what he was. If you use a glamour spell, you look just like you say you do. That’s way different.”

  “And what happens when you revert to your true self?” I asked. “Your disappearance would cause more than a bit of heartache, wouldn’t it?”

  “But it would be so much fun,” Allie said. “Can you imagine going to school as someone else? You could do anything you wanted and just pop back into yourself.”

  “That’s the wrong thing to do or think about,” Genevive said. “There’s no way to make you responsible for your actions.”

  I listened to the girls for some minutes, as they batted the pluses and minuses of the glamour spells. While they agreed that being someone else would be fun, they disagreed as to whether or not it should be done on a whim. Since they both acted with a conscience, I wasn’t worried. They weren’t going to rob a bank in one persona and change to someone else in the getaway car. And I was not about to present that as some kind of test case. I was certain they could come up with even better examples of what not to do.

  “You girls hungry?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Allie said.

  “Burgers?”

  “Perfect,” Genevive said. “But I thought you wanted to get back to Goodsprings as fast as possible.”

  “I do, but while David said something weird had happened, he didn’t say it was dire or critical. I think we can stop for food. Besides, we’re way ahead of the van.”

  The van was what was bringing the others. Tessa, Allie’s mom was one passenger. Mara, the wind witch of the coven was another. The Gallagher twins, Ada and Ethan, half-vampires, were in the van, along with Cassandra, an earth witch, who had helped us in Sunrise Beach. Cassandra was the last remaining witch from the Sunrise Beach coven, and she was, frankly, lonely, despite Paula, who preferred her wildform, a parrot, over her human self. Since Cassandra had been instrumental in solving the murder mystery in Sunrise Beach, we asked her to come to Goodsprings. Cassandra had jumped at the chance. No one could blame her. I would hate to be the last witch standing.

  Cheeseburgers were the order of the day, washed down with shakes. We laughed as we ate. The girls decided that while the beach was great, they were happy to be going home. So, was I. I was pretty sure my house hadn’t become more sturdy, or my gardens less weedy. I anticipated a clear orchard, as the stressweed should have disappeared. But, I also had a house mate coming. Cassandra would stay with me, as she was another earth witch, and I had the most extensive earth spells library in the state—thanks to my grandmother. While a new person in the house would call for adjustments, I was certain we would get along.

  It wasn’t long after the burgers that the girls fell asleep. They looked cute, leaning against each other. I was sleepy too, but I had another hour of driving. It would be an easy hour. Well, it was easy until I wondered if there were clean sheets on the bed in the guest room. If there weren’t, I would be terribly embarrassed. Not terribly surprised, as I had been worried about any number of things. I asked myself if I knew a quick spell for dirty sheets.

  I didn’t.

  But that gave me a reason to do some research, perhaps on the internet. There were any number of witch chat rooms where such spells were traded. I wondered if I could get the girls to find a spell before we reached Goodsprings. I could, but I figured they needed their sleep.

  I dropped the girls off at Happy Blendings, my smoothie shop in downtown Goodsprings. The van had not yet arrived, which gave me time to race up the hill to my house and check on the sheets. They weren’t dirty, which eased my mind more than I wanted to admit. I unloaded the car and dropped it at the rental center, before I walked back to my smoothie shop. The van was parked in front, and I knew the others were inside.

  I heard the others even before I entered my own shop. They occupied a table in the middle of the room, and they were laughing. That was a good sign. David, my loyal employee, and the second-best smoothie maker in Goodsprings, stood to one side. He grinned from ear to ear, making me wonder about the phone call he had made. I was at a loss. What was the weird thing that had happened?

  “Were there really alligators in that marsh?” Mara asked.

  “Oh yes,” said Cassandra, Paula, the parrot perched on her shoulder. “And they’re particularly nasty at night. That path can be a real challenge in the dark.”

  “Samantha,” David said when he spotted me. “Welcome home. Join the party.”

  “Can I afford to?” I asked. “It looks like they’re drinking me out of business.”

  “Ha,” Tessa said. “Everyone is coming to the restaurant later. I think you need some time to settle Cassandra. So, it looks as if my bill will be larger than yours.”

  “As it should,” I said.

  “Well said,” Mara added. “I need to go too. I have to start my story on the Anchor Inn murder. I’m certain my readers will love to learn how Samantha Greene solved yet one more mystery.”

  “Samantha Greene did not solve anything by herself,” I said. “It was a team effort.”

  Ethan stood. “Ada and I have to go. But we’ll be at the Good Eats, later.”

  “Steak sounds good to me,” Ada said, and I was reminded that she and Ethan were half-vampire.

  “I guess I should go with them,” Cassandra said. “As they have my things.”

  “If you don’t mind,” I said. “The door is unlocked, and the guest room is airing out as we speak. Help yourself to whatever you can find. I’ll be up as soon as I check out things here.”

  “I’ll be just fine,” Cassandra said. “Take your time.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Paula, the parrot, added.

  The Gallaghers left with Cassandra and Mara, who wrote for the newspaper. Tessa was next. She and Allie had to get the Good Eats Grill ready for the rest of us. Genevive walked out with Tessa and Allie. For a moment, I felt that I had been abandoned even before I had arrived. I knew better. I would catch up with all my friends in a few hours. I turned to David, my motorcycle-riding employee.

  “Okay, David,” I said. “What was so weird?”

  Chapter 2

  “Phineas,” David said.

&nbsp
; “Phineas?” I asked. “What about Phineas?”

  Phineas Lichen was an elderly man who came to Happy Blendings every morning for a smoothie. While we offered specials and any combination of natural ingredients a person could want, Phineas always ordered a wheatgrass smoothie. He was as regular as the sunrise. He was also eccentric, always arriving with a pet rooster named Chuckles. Sometimes, Chuckles traveled in the bag Phineas often carried. The coven was of the opinion that Phineas might be a retired wizard, as he had a friend who apparently arrived from a different dimension. We had not yet had the opportunity to act on our suppositions.

  “He wasn’t without Chuckles, was he?” I asked.

  “No,” David said. “Chuckles was with him. The weird thing was Phineas didn’t order wheatgrass.”

  “What?” I said. “You’re kidding. Phineas always orders wheatgrass.”

  “Not today. And to tell you the truth, I was completely fooled. I started the wheatgrass as soon as he walked in. When he said pineapple, lemon, and cherries, I was stunned.”

  “I would have been too,” I said.

  That Phineas hadn’t ordered his usual meant something, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it was. And I wouldn’t know until the next day when Phineas came calling. I was baffled.

  “Can you close up?” I asked. “In case, you didn’t hear, I have a house guest. Cassandra and her parrot. I guess that’s two house guests.”

  “You’re outta here,” David said. “Go take care of Cassandra and her parrot. It’s a pretty good talking parrot, if you ask me. In fact, it’s the best talking parrot I’ve ever heard.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell David that Paula was really a witch in wildform. That would take all the wonder out of the parrot. I would prefer that David keep his sense of awe.

  I walked up the hill to my house, as my bicycle was still at my house. The bike was my normal mode of transportation. The walk was exactly what I needed after my long car ride. The afternoon was wearing on, and the sun was headed for the horizon. My house loomed ahead, and while I made fun of it sometimes, it had stood the test of time—as had the gardens. Because I was an earth witch, the gardens and orchards produced the best fruits and vegetables in the state. They were the reason Happy Blendings was successful.

  I found Cassandra and Paula in the library, my grandmother’s library. The messiness of the library embarrassed me. My grandmother had always kept everything tidy and organized. I, on the other hand, would grab a book off a shelf and leave where I finished reading it. My grandmother would have scolded me.

  “How are you making out?” I asked Cassandra.

  “Marvelously,” she answered. “You said your grandmother gathered all these books?”

  “She did,” I said. “Over many years. She loved books about magic and spells. She was an earth witch also.”

  “I’ve heard of many of these titles, but I thought they had all vanished.”

  “I hope you have the time to read them all. Feel free to read whatever you wish.”

  “I don’t want to seem presumptuous. But can I perhaps take some out to the orchard or the gardens?”

  “Of course you may. They’re books, and while they are treasures, a book that isn’t read is worth nothing.”

  “I agree. One more request. Do you mind if I don’t go back to Good Eats tonight? I’m a bit tired, and well, I haven’t traveled in some years.”

  “I should have thought of that,” I said. “You and Paula do what is best for you and Paula. The house is yours. And I take it your bedroom is satisfactory?”

  “It’s perfect. We couldn’t be happier. And we couldn’t be more thankful. You have rejuvenated an old witch.”

  “You’re not old. I tell you what. I will create a special smoothie every day, and I guarantee that you will feel younger in a week, maybe two.”

  “I’ll hold you to that. I can’t wait.”

  I said good-bye to Cassandra and Paula and headed for my bike. It was a pleasant ride down to Good Eats. There was one thing about Goodsprings. It had not yet succumbed to heavy traffic. I parked my bike outside Good Eats and sniffed the air. The luscious odors of Tessa’s fabulous cooking wafted over me. I reminded myself that she had learned from the best French chefs, during her years in Paris. My stomach growled. It had been a while since my burger and shake.

  I was the first to arrive, and I could tell we were all expected. Tessa had set up a round table for us, which would make talking easier. I found a seat as Allie arrived with a glass of wine.

  “Mom insists,” Allie said.

  “In that case,” I said. “Bring me another.”

  Allie left and scooted away. I had taken but one sip when Mara arrived. She fairly glowed.

  “What?” I asked. “What did you do?”

  “I landed a tag from a big-city newspaper. They want to read the first part of my mystery story. If they like it, I get a big bump in pay. And my market saturation will the best ever.”

  “Thinking book?”

  She grinned as Allie arrived with wine for Mara.

  “I will need to research more. The inn, the town, the murderers, everything. It could be a compelling story.”

  We toasted. “To your first bestseller.”

  She laughed.

  “What are you laughing at?” Ethan asked.

  Ethan and Ada sat, and to my eye, they looked a bit wan. I knew they had not been having their “detective special” smoothie, with extra iron. As half-vampires, they needed the extra iron.

  “Mara is going to write a bestseller,” I said. “About the murder.”

  “A first hand account,” Mara said. “Since I was part of the solution.”

  “Indeed, you were,” Ada said. “You will be kind to Ethan and me, right?”

  “You will be heroes,” Mara answered.

  “I heard that,” Tessa said, wine in hand. “We’re all heroes?”

  “Of course, you are,” Mara said. “Everyone contributed.”

  “Tell me,” I said. “How are you going to handle the ghosts?”

  Mara tilted her head to the side. “Exactly like it happened. We hold a séance, and we summon the ghosts. In the book, they won’t actually appear, just speak. People might believe that.”

  “Well, since we didn’t exactly get a solution from them, it won’t be a big part of the story.”

  “Where are Cassandra and Paula?” Tessa asked.

  “They were a little overwhelmed by the trip,” I said. “And decided not to come.”

  “They’re missing a feast,” Tessa said and waved her hand.

  From the back, Genevive and Allie brought out platters of food. Steak, chicken, potatoes, corn, green beans, more food than we could possibly eat.

  “Don’t eat too much,” Tessa warned. “Dessert is coming.”

  Everyone laughed.

  For the next hour, we ate and laughed and drank and laughed some more. The company of witches was a release for all of us. The food was delectable and the wine top shelf. While most of us didn’t have room for dessert, we were not about to let one of Tessa’s creations pass us by. We were downing a scrumptious, ice cream concoction when Mara asked.

  “By the way, what was the weird thing David called about?”

  “Phineas,” I answered. “You all know that Phineas always has a wheatgrass smoothie, right? Well, today, he didn’t. He had a fruit smoothie. Is that weird or what?”

  “Is he sick?” Tessa asked. “It sounds as if he’s sick.”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “But something has changed.”

  “Apophis changed things,” Ethan said. “Does anyone know what he really is?”

  We looked at each other.

  “He’s a monster,” Genevive said. “I remember the back room.”

  “Me too,” Allie said. “It may look human now, but it certainly wasn’t back then.”

  The girls were right. Apophis was a shape changer of some sort. Phineas said Apophis was an acquaintance. Yet, Phineas had taken the whatever-it-was under his wing. The coven still had not been given a good explanation. I reminded myself to ask Phineas about it.

  The dinner lasted a bit longer. I was the first to say good-bye, as I was on a bike. While I had had two glasses of wine, I didn’t feel tipsy at all. I rode slowly, letting the cool night air refresh me. A half moon was high in the sky, and I was reminded of Henry Hudson’s ship—the Half Moon. I couldn’t remember where I had learned that, probably in some class, somewhere. It was funny what stuck with people as they moved through life. I could remember the most inconsequential trivia, and yet, at times, I couldn’t recall the most necessary spell. Funny.