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  Magic & Mayhem

  Starry Hollow Witches, Book 4

  Annabel Chase

  Red Palm Press LLC

  Magic & Mayhem

  Starry Hollow Witches, Book 4

  By Annabel Chase

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  Copyright © 2017 Red Palm Press LLC

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design by Alchemy

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Thank you for reading

  Foreword

  You will notice that a character named Raoul makes an appearance in this book. Don’t be concerned, you haven’t missed a chapter in a previous book. His introduction can be found in the short story anthology, Seven Pets for Seven Witches, which will be released in January 2018.

  Furthermore, please note that no gnomes were harmed in the writing of this book.

  Chapter 1

  Florian and I zoomed toward Balefire Beach in my silver sports car, the aptly named Sylvia. Usually, I’d say my cousin was the quintessential bachelor playboy with more money than sense, but since he was the reason I was behind the wheel of this sleek beauty, the least I could do was refrain from insulting him…for the next five minutes.

  "This sand sculpture competition is a great idea, Florian," I said. "Your sister must be happy with you." Aster Rose-Muldoon served as the head of the tourism board and Florian had recently decided to join the team in an effort to please the family.

  Florian smirked. "For once. Mother is thrilled as well. Anything I do that justifies her footing the bill for my new boat is a win for all of us.”

  Hyacinth Rose-Muldoon, Florian's mother and my aunt, was widely regarded as the toughest witch in Starry Hollow, except when it came to her only son. Florian's father died ten years ago and Aunt Hyacinth seemed to overcompensate by spoiling the only remaining wizard in the Rose-Muldoon family. With his white-blond hair, extreme good looks, and elite magical heritage, he was used to being spoiled by the world at large.

  Florian instructed me to bypass the parking lot and pull the car straight onto the sand like we owned the whole beach. A typical Rose-Muldoon move.

  "Do you think this is a good idea?" I asked, hesitant to leave the car.

  Florian glanced at me, perplexed. “Five seconds ago, you said it was a great idea, Ember. You’ve suddenly changed your mind?"

  I shook my head. "I don't mean the competition. I mean this brazen park job."

  Florian looked around as though noticing our location for the first time. "What? I always park here, lazybones. If we park any closer to the water, we may as well have taken the boat."

  Give me strength. "Let's go, Florian. I want to check out these sand sculptures before the tide comes in." I was covering the competition as a fledgling reporter for Vox Populi, the weekly paper owned by my family. I had no journalism experience, whatsoever, when I arrived in town, but my aunt decided that was no impediment. She wanted me to have a job, so now I had one.

  "You don't need to worry about the tide,” Florian said. “There’s a magical barrier in place to protect the sculptures from being washed away by the water.” He tapped the side of his head. “I believe I've thought of everything. I’m more than a pretty face, you know.”

  I couldn't wait to see what the paranormals of Starry Hollow came up with for sand sculptures. I'd seen quite a few competitions back in New Jersey when I was a kid, and I still remembered how talented some of the sculptors were. Images of Bruce Springsteen and Mount Rushmore, so detailed and intricate from tiny grains of sand. Humans found a way to make art from pretty much anything.

  I struggled to keep up with Florian's long, graceful strides. He made me feel like a drunken cow in a field of prancing unicorns.

  “So? What do you think?" Florian asked.

  "I have never in my life seen anything quite like it," I said. I was shocked that I'd managed to form any words at all. And here I thought Bruce Springsteen and Mount Rushmore had been impressive. The Balefire Beach competition put sand sculptures in the human world to shame.

  “Once in a while, I pull a frog out of the cauldron,” he said.

  I scratched my head. “That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

  He blinked at me. “You wouldn’t want a frog in your stew, would you?”

  “As a general rule, no.” I focused on the first sculpture on the beach since it was impossible to miss. “Sweet baby Elvis. It's an actual castle."

  Florian grinned. "It sure is. Looks like we can even go inside. Come on."

  The sandcastle took up roughly fifteen hundred square feet of beach. It had arched doorways and windows, spires, a tower, and a flag waving proudly at the top.

  "Who did this?" I asked.

  "I did.” A pixie fluttered beside us. Her hair was streaked with orange and yellow so bright, the colors reminded me of a sunrise. “Maisie Cranshaw, pleased to meet you.”

  "You sculpted this all by yourself, Maisie?” I asked in utter disbelief. I couldn’t even make a castle out of Lego bricks. My fine motor skills were highly questionable.

  “My wings make a big difference,” Maisie said. “They help me with the higher parts of the structure."

  The height was only one of many reasons to be impressed. “You must use pixie dust," I said.

  "A pinch here and there, yes," she said. "That's to be expected. The only participants that make sand sculptures without magic are the ones that don't have any."

  Magic or no magic, the castle was unbelievable. When Maisie offered a guided tour, Florian and I jumped at the chance. The interior was even more detailed than the outside, if that was possible. There was a full dining room with chairs and a long table, all made from sand. Florian sat at the head of the table and tapped his nails. "Where is my bucksberry fizz, Simon?” He pretended to ring an invisible bell, one of his mother's habits. "And bring me my Precious. My lap is far too cold."

  I bit back a smile. No way was I going to join in the ridicule of Aunt Hyacinth. I wouldn’t put it past her to cast a spell where her ears burned whenever someone dared to mock her so she could exact magical revenge.

  “Maisie, this place is incredible," I said. "Is this your first competition?"

  “Yes,” she replied. "I've made sandcastles here for fun before, but never as part of a competition, and never on such a large scale. I decided to go all out for this one because of the prize. The Magic Words has a fantastic supply of history books, but they’re very expensive. The gift card is ideal.”

  "Can we actually go up the spiral staircase?" I asked.

  She nodded. "It supports up to three paranormals at the same time." She giggled. "I was tempted to follow the building code just for fun, but it is a castle, after all
. Hard to follow the same rules.”

  I took the spiral stairs up to the second floor and peered out the window. The entire stretch of beach beyond the castle was filled with sand sculptures. I couldn't believe the turnout. This was definitely going to become an annual event. I bet it would draw tourists from other paranormal towns in future years. We’d need to have Aster include it in the next brochure.

  "We’re going to be here all day," I said. "There are dozens more out there to see."

  "I see a mermaid I'd like to have a closer look at," Florian said.

  I surveyed the beach for the mermaid sand sculpture. "Where? I don't see it.”

  Florian pointed. "Not ‘it.’ Her. Over there, climbing out of the surf."

  I groaned. He meant an actual mermaid. I watched as she toweled off her fin and transformed them into human legs. Neat trick.

  "You go hit on the mermaid," I said. "I want to check out those other sand sculptures. I'll need to bring Marley back after school. She’ll go nuts." In typical Marley fashion, she’d probably want to join the competition. The prospect made me cringe. My magic was too elementary to compete in this landscape. I wouldn't want to disappoint her. Maybe next year when she came into her own magic, she could participate.

  I admired the sculpted chamber pot and other medieval accessories before returning to the beach.

  "Thank you so much for letting us take a tour," I said. “I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you win."

  The pixie's cheeks were tinged with pink. “That’s kind of you to say, but you haven't seen any of the others yet."

  "I don't need to," I said. “I’d like to take a few pictures for the paper, if that’s okay." I took out my phone and tapped on the image of the camera.

  The pixie appeared pleased. "I would love that. My students will think I'm famous."

  My brow lifted. "You’re a teacher?"

  "Yes, I teach history at the high school. If I’m not teaching history, I’m usually at the library reading about it. History is my passion.”

  "Do you teach paranormal history only? Or do you include human history as well?" I asked.

  "Mostly paranormal, but it's hard to avoid human history as it has impacted us greatly over the years," she replied. "I've always been fascinated by castles, though. The medieval period is my favorite."

  "Your students will be jealous that you took the day off to play on the beach," I joked.

  "We’re very fortunate to have days allocated to pursue personal projects," the pixie said. "I know in the human world people tend to be limited by sick days and vacation days. We have those, but we also have passion project days, which are great for events like this one.”

  What a brilliant idea. "Isn't that great, Florian?" I turned around, but my cousin was gone. I spotted him walking along the beach with the mysterious mermaid. Leave it to Florian to find a date in any situation.

  I continued wandering down the beach, marveling at the sculptures. The next one I came across was a giant coffin. I had to admit, it was a bit disappointing after the castle, but the attention to detail was amazing.

  "Go on," a voice urged. "Lift the lid."

  My head jerked toward the source of the sound. "There’s not something scary in there, right?" I didn't do scary very well. I refused to watch any horror films or tour haunted houses. Those kinds of thrills didn’t appeal to me.

  The vampire gave me a patient smile. "I promise nothing will bite you. A vampire can't promise much more than that."

  Gently, I raised the lid and peered inside the coffin. My eyes widened. "It's you." He’d sculpted his own image in the sand. "This is so cool." The image inside the coffin was an exact replica of the vampire that created it. Every detail was perfect, from his thick eyebrows to his Roman nose.

  "I'm so glad you like it," the vampire said. “The name’s Thomas, by the way. Thomas Enders.”

  "It's nice to meet you, Thomas. I'm Ember Rose. I work for Vox Populi and I'm writing a story about the competition."

  His expression brightened. "I'm glad it's getting so much attention. It's good to have activities that bring the town together. There’s often so much that tears us apart."

  "I wholeheartedly agree." Even though I was still new to Starry Hollow, I liked the tight-knit community far more than the sprawling suburbia back in New Jersey. "What inspired you to do this?"

  Thomas glanced down at the coffin. "I quite like the idea of capturing a part of yourself that you can never see. Like seeing how you look when you close your eyes. I wanted to sculpt what I look like in my sleep."

  "Well, you did an amazing job. It's an exact likeness."

  He clasped his hands together. "Thank you so much. I don't have the magic that some others have, so it's nice to know my hard work is appreciated."

  "Good luck in the competition," I said, and continued down the beach.

  The next sculpture appeared to be a maze. I stood at the entrance, debating whether to venture in.

  "Don't worry. If you get lost, I'll help you out. Just don't let the minotaur in there get you first."

  I whirled around to see a middle-aged man standing beside me. His brown hair was receding and a few faint wrinkles were noticeable around his eyes and mouth.

  "Is there really a minotaur in there?" I asked. I didn't put anything past these enterprising paranormals.

  He chuckled. "Not a real one. Only made of sand, like everything else you see here today. I encourage you to seek him out, though. He took me longer than the maze, but he’s worth it.”

  "Then I have to find him, because this maze is awesome,” I said. "How long did this whole thing take you?"

  He looked thoughtful. "I was so immersed in my work, I lost track of time."

  I had no doubt. Sculpting hundreds of thousands of grains of sand was worse than herding cats, in my opinion. Not that I had any experience in herding cats. To date, I was strictly a dog owner.

  "If you like, I can hand you this spool of thread," he said, opening his palm to reveal a ball of bright blue thread. "I used it when I was working to make sure I could find my own way out."

  "That was very clever of you," I said. I took the spool and put it in my pocket. “If it starts to get tricky, I'll whip this out."

  "Or I can simply escort you," a familiar voice said. "Miss Rose is known for getting herself into trouble now and again. What kind of gentleman would I be if I failed to assist her?”

  I smiled at my editor-in-chief, the smoldering vampire, Alec Hale. "What are you doing here? I thought we agreed the competition was mine to cover."

  "And so it is," he said. "But everywhere I went this morning, residents were raving about the results, so I decided to see for myself." He motioned to the rest of the beach. "It is every bit as inspiring as they claimed."

  I gave the sculptor a knowing look. "This is one for the history books. You've managed to impress the most un-impressible vampire in Starry Hollow."

  Alec gestured me forward. "After you, Miss Rose."

  As I entered the maze, my stomach became a whirling dervish at the thought of Alec being close to me in such restricted quarters. There were several instances where the path narrowed and we had no choice but to brush against each other.

  “A maze was an interesting choice,” Alec said. He placed a guiding hand on the small of my back and my spine tingled. “In the middle of a busy beach, yet it still feels secluded.”

  “It sure does.”

  The maze twisted and turned until we found the minotaur in the middle. The sculpture was a full head higher than the sand-based hedges around it, even though I couldn’t see the head from outside the maze. The horns were long and curved and the face resembled a bull more than a man.

  “He’s oddly attractive,” I said, fixated on the massive chest.

  Alec coughed a laugh, an unusual noise from the typically refined vampire. “I suppose I can see the allure. There’s a reason why Beauty and the Beast has become a classic.”

  “I didn’t expect
the competition to be such a success,” I admitted. “I thought there’d be a few sandcastles as high as my waist and some pet sculptures. Maybe a Sphinx.”

  Alec’s green eyes glimmered. “And now you’re in awe of our hidden talents.”

  “No hidden talent there,” I said, and touched the minotaur’s bicep. It was as firm as it looked. “It’s all pretty obvious.”

  “Yes,” he said, his gaze pinned on me. “It really is.”

  I swallowed hard, acutely aware of the fangs protruding from the sides of his mouth. I knew what that meant now, thanks to a few well-meaning residents. If I’d had fangs, mine would’ve been dragging along the floor of the maze right now, covered in sand.

  “You need to do a better job of cloaking your thoughts, Miss Rose,” Alec warned.

  I squeezed my eyes closed, mortified that he heard what I was thinking. “Or you could simply choose not to eavesdrop.”

  “We’re in a confined space,” he said. “Our senses are heightened. I could no sooner avoid your thoughts than you could avoid having them.”

  “I thought we agreed not to acknowledge any…special thoughts,” I said. Our attraction was impossible to ignore, but we both knew it made no sense to pursue it. For starters, he had deep emotional issues thanks to some fairy who played him for a fool years ago. He was also my vampire boss, and my aunt was ridiculously selective about the men admitted to the family. No matter how much she liked Alec, he would never be a wizard and, thus, never good enough for me.

  “We’re not acknowledging anything right now,” Alec said.

  “Except this minotaur’s amazing backside,” I exclaimed, breaking free of Alec and working my way around the sculpture. “You could bounce a sand dollar off it.”