Ghoul's Paradise (Spellbound Ever After Paranormal Cozy Mystery Book 7) Read online

  “Should be an interesting class today,” Meg said. “My sister’s teaching this one and she said to be ready for something a little different.”

  On cue, Ginger strode to the front of the classroom, the hem of her dark cloak dragging across the floor. The redheaded witch faced the students and raised a tiny silver bell from the desk. The dainty sound somehow penetrated every conversation and the noise came to an immediate halt. An enchanted bell, apparently.

  “Please take your seats so we can get started,” Ginger said. “We have a lot of material to cover today. I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to this particular lesson.”

  Sophie and I hurried to the front of the room and snagged two empty seats next to Avery, the smart young witch with the cornsilk hair and bad attitude. She grimaced when she saw us.

  “I’m saving those,” Avery hissed.

  “Not anymore,” I said, leaning across Sophie. I wasn’t about to be bossed around by a snotty witch with a chip on her shoulder. I was a mother now; I felt a primal need to protect my younger friends now more than ever, even if it was only from a petulant bully.

  Ginger removed her cloak and draped it over the back of the chair behind the desk. “Today we’re learning purification spells.”

  “Too late for you,” Avery said to me. “You’re too sullied.”

  Sophie’s hand shot into the air. “Excuse me, Ginger? Can a purification spell get rid of negative energy?”

  Ginger smiled. “Absolutely. That’s one of its key uses.”

  “So if the negative energy comes from a specific paranormal…” Sophie inclined her head toward Avery. “What will happen to her?”

  Avery scooted her chair further away from Sophie, not that she could go farther than an inch.

  Ginger seemed to grasp the situation. “Nothing happens to the individual. You can’t change someone on a fundamental level with magic, not permanently anyway. What these spells can do is purify you or an area of existing bad energy and protect you from future negative energy.”

  Millie’s voice piped up from the middle of the room. “So if you want to clear any residual negative energy from a house you’ve recently bought, you’d use one of those?”

  “The reasons are too numerous to list,” Ginger said, “but that’s certainly a good one.”

  “Maybe we should’ve done that to Lady Weatherby’s office,” Sophie whispered.

  “Too late,” I said. The High Priestess had already made herself at home in the office, along with her two small dogs. I had to admit, I missed seeing Chairman Meow with his little antler headdress. As Lady Weatherby’s familiar, the haughty cat had been a staple at the academy. Now that she was out of prison she’d whisked him away.

  “To make the lesson more interesting,” Ginger continued, “each group is going to choose a different purification spell based on an agreed-upon purpose. You will then prepare your spells here and then perform them at the necessary location.”

  “Field trip!” someone called cheerfully.

  “Are there any restrictions?” Millie asked. “Can we go anywhere in town?”

  Ginger leaned her bottom against the front of the desk. “Within reason. I don’t recommend heading to the mines or anything.”

  “Why not?” Millie asked. “They’re dangerous. I bet there’s a lot of negative energy in them. The dwarfs might thank us.”

  “The Voice of the Coven has spoken,” Avery said in a mocking tone.

  Sophie elbowed Avery in the arm to silence her.

  “Why don’t we get started and see what you come up with?” Ginger proposed, ever reasonable. “We’re going to divide into groups, but before you start finding your friends, let me stop you right there.”

  Uh oh. Assigned groups were always problematic. Sophie reached over and clasped my hand. “Quick, do a linking spell,” she whispered.

  “You do it,” I said.

  “You’re better than I am.”

  “We’re going to start at the end of the first row and count 1, 2, 3, 4,” Ginger continued. “That’s your group.”

  Oh no. We were guaranteed to have Avery. At least I’d have Sophie. It seemed ridiculous that I was a grown woman and still resorted to childlike reactions at the prospect of working in a group with someone I disliked, yet here I was, cringing as I said, “Four.”

  The other member of our group ended up being a younger witch named Adelaide. I hadn’t interacted with her very often, but she seemed nice enough, albeit quiet.

  “I’d like you to meet in small circles around the room,” Ginger said. “You have ten minutes to develop your plan and then the remaining time to work on the spell. You’re free to access whatever ingredients you might need from the other classrooms.”

  The dainty bell rang again, signaling the start of the first session. The four of us quickly moved to the space by the window to talk. The more natural sunlight in my line of sight, the more awake I felt and right now I needed every advantage.

  “We need to come up with a good idea,” Sophie said.

  “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Avery said. “I was thinking we’d start with a bad idea and go from there.”

  Adelaide looked from Avery to Sophie, probably wishing she’d been appointed to a different group. Same, girl. Same.

  “Why don’t we think of something that’s negatively impacted the community?” I proposed. “That way, whatever spell we do will help as many residents as possible in one fell swoop.”

  Avery squinted at me. “What’s with you and always trying to help everyone? Is this a bid for popularity? You saved the town, Hart. I think you can rest on those laurels for a few more years before you resume your charitable contributions.”

  “I like that idea, Emma,” Adelaide said. The witch gave me a shy look.

  “Me too,” Sophie added.

  Avery rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known I’d be outnumbered.”

  “Why, Avery?” I asked. “What is it you’d like to do?”

  She flipped her stick-straight hair over her shoulder. “My idea is to protect and purify ourselves. Paranormals seem to get murdered here every other week. We should do something to ward off that bad energy.”

  Okay, while it was more selfish than my suggestion, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. Maybe it would be a good chance to compromise.

  Sophie seemed to share that thought because she cast a sidelong glance at me and said, “You know, protecting yourself is basically protecting others. Diana needs you. Daniel and Gareth need you.”

  Really, we all needed each other, but I took her point. When the ten minutes were up, we told Ginger that our purpose was self-protection. The other groups’ purposes varied from protecting a student’s house to purifying the area in the woods where Lorenzo’s body was found.

  “Is the area still restricted?” Laurel asked me.

  “Probably,” I said. “You’ll have to check with Deputy Britta.” I didn’t dare suggest Astrid. The less exposed she was to the public, the better, although if I couldn’t reverse the spell on my own, I’d probably have to call upon the skills of another witch. I know Paisley didn’t want that, but I might not have a choice.

  “Now that you have your ideas, I’ll let you choose a spell that can deliver the right outcome.” Ginger gestured to the far side of the room where books were stacked on shelves. “There are many grimoires to choose from. Find the spell that best suits your needs. If you’re uncertain, feel free to run the spell by me before you begin gathering your ingredients.”

  Avery bolted across the room before we had a chance to comment. The young witch was determined to grab the best book for our purposes. How she’d determine that without reading all the indexes, I had no clue.

  Sophie threw up her hands. “I guess Avery is choosing our spell.”

  “We don’t have to let her,” I said. “There’s nothing to prevent us from reviewing other books and comparing the spells we find. If nothing else, it’ll reassure us that we’ve chosen the best one f
or our needs.”

  Adelaide brightened. “Yes, I’d like to look for a spell too. I don’t like feeling idle.”

  “You must’ve really appreciated Lady Weatherby,” I said. “She considered idle hands to be for demons only. If you weren’t making magic with your hands, what were you even doing with your life?” Of course, that was before the former head of the coven had proven to be a traitor.

  We crossed the room to join the other witches at the shelves. Unsurprisingly, Laurel already had her face buried in a book and Millie was arguing with one of her teammates. Begonia seemed content to read over someone’s shoulder. I blindly selected a thick grimoire from the shelf. The faded cover was black with gold lettering, although I could no longer read the title thanks to wear and tear. It occurred to me that the coven should do a protection spell to preserve the quality of the books before we were unable to read any of the titles.

  As I paged through the index to look at the spell categories under ‘P,’ Avery came rushing over with an open book. “I found the perfect one.”

  I peered over her shoulder to read the one she tapped with an impatient thumb. “Bloodroot amulets?”

  “Yes,” Avery said, her eyes shining. I could practically see the gears clicking in her mind. In that moment, she reminded me of Laurel whenever the younger witch made a new discovery. It was that look of intellectual triumph and I found it endearing, even on someone as awful as Avery.

  Sophie and Adelaide crowded around the book to read the summary. Sophie finished first.

  “It sounds good to me,” she said. “I found one that wards off negativity, but I like this one because it serves a dual purpose.”

  Adelaide nodded in agreement. “It draws in the positive while averting the negative. That’s great.”

  Avery flicked the bookmark between the pages and closed the book, clutching it to her chest. “Team Avery is ready,” she announced.

  Sophie and I exchanged looks and Ginger glanced up from her desk. “Team Avery? What about the other three in your group? They don’t deserve representation? Remember, Avery, this is a group project. If you don’t work well together, I’ll take points off your final grade.”

  Avery blanched. Clearly the idea of a lower grade held no appeal because she smiled sweetly. “How about Team Bloodroot?”

  “That sounds fair,” Ginger said. “If you’re ready, then you can get started collecting your ingredients.”

  Again, Avery whooshed out of the room before we had a chance to discuss next steps. We hurried after her, although I knew where she was headed. The apothecary cabinet was two rooms down and Avery was already front and center, examining the labels on the drawers. She opened one and began to rummage through it.

  “Avery, we’re a team,” I said. “Let’s do this together.”

  “Big deal.” She didn’t bother to look at me, choosing to remain focused on the contents of the drawer. “I’m just collecting the ingredients. We can do the actual spell together.”

  Clearly Avery didn’t understand the first thing about teamwork—or worse, she didn’t care.

  “Avery, do you think I broke the curse on Spellbound all by myself?” I asked.

  The witch stopped rummaging to face me. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that everyone calls me the town savior…”

  “I don’t,” Avery interrupted. “I call you the paranormal that doesn’t belong in the coven.”

  I resisted the urge to hex her and show her exactly how much I belonged in the coven. “I couldn’t have broken the curse without help. It takes a village.” Or, in this case, a group of eager witches and a devoted angel.

  “How long are you going to dine out on that same story?” Avery asked. “You already have a statue and a latte. What’s next? Rename Swan Lake in your honor?”

  “That’s enough, Avery,” Adelaide said. She pushed Avery out of the way and started rooting through the drawer. “We’ll handle the spell from here. When you figure out how to be a team player, you’re welcome to join us.”

  Sophie and I muffled our giggles. I didn’t expect the spritely witch to be so assertive. Good for her!

  “Here, we can use this.” Adelaide produced a crimson root from the drawer. “If we break it into smaller pieces, there’ll be enough for four amulets.”

  “That’s what I was looking for,” Avery huffed.

  “You found the drawer and I found the root.” Adelaide flashed an engaging smile. “See? Teamwork.”

  “What else do we need?” I asked.

  Sophie grabbed the book from a nearby table and opened to the marked page. “We can’t use silver. The amulet has to be a different metal to interact positively with the root.”

  “So gold? Brass?” I asked.

  “Copper seems best,” Sophie said.

  Adelaide pulled open a drawer closer to the bottom of the cabinet. These drawers were longer and thinner than the ones closest to the top. Inside were rows of different types of metal.

  “We need chains too,” Sophie said. She scanned the page again. “Actually, it looks like a ribbon would work best. No more metal.”

  Avery perked up. “I know where I can find ribbons. Does the color matter? I forget.”

  Sophie reviewed the page and shook her head. “Doesn’t seem to.”

  “Any requests?” Avery asked, as she headed toward the doorway.

  “Blue,” I said. I was impressed that Avery had even thought to ask the question instead of deciding for us. I suspected she was motivated by her determination to get the highest possible grade, but whatever worked.

  “Yellow,” Adelaide said.

  “Green,” Sophie said.

  Other witches streamed into the room, also in need of the apothecary cabinet. We took our items and migrated to a table at the far side of the room to prepare the amulets. I located the tools that we needed and Avery returned with the ribbons. We were able to use magic to soften the metal and fashion the amulets before the final bell rang. We were so impressed with our efforts that we instinctively high-fived each other when we heard the bell.

  When we returned to the original classroom, only half the students were present. I spotted Begonia, who said that the other groups had gone to perform their spells at the relevant locations. I wondered if that meant it was okay to trample the crime scene. As reluctant as I was to revisit the scene of the crime, I decided to pay the area a visit and find out.

  Chapter Seven

  Laurel’s group was in the process of gathering their belongings when I arrived. Sticks woven into familiar symbols hung from tree branches.

  “All done?” I asked.

  Laurel didn’t seem pleased to see me. “Did Ginger send you to check on us? Because we don’t need a monitor.”

  Typical young teenager, determined to push back against authority. “Of course not. I thought I’d stop by and see whether Deputy Britta gave the green light to work in the area.”

  “She did.” Laurel inhaled deeply. “I can feel the change in the air already. The spell definitely made a difference.”

  I glanced around us. “Did you happen to find anything unusual? Anything that might be a clue?”

  Laurel pulled a small item from her pocket and held it up for inspection. “I found this, but I’m not sure how long it’s been here. It could’ve come from someone else.”

  My eyes popped at the sight of the thick yellow button wrapped in a leaf. I had no doubt that it was part of the strange clown jacket that Lorenzo had on when we found him.

  Laurel smiled. “I take it from your expression that you’d like to have this.” She handed the button to me, making sure that it was still protected by the leaf. “Don’t worry. I didn’t touch it. I used the leaf to pick it up in case you needed to check for fingerprints.”

  “Thanks, Laurel. You’re the best.” I tucked the evidence into my bag. “Anything else?”

  “No. I just hope the spell keeps the negative energy out of here.”

  “Did you feel it when y
ou got here?” I asked. I’d probably been too distracted by the sight of the clown to feel the negative energy when I’d first arrived. I almost told her about Diana in the cemetery but didn’t want to inspire any witches to run over there with a purifying spell, not when Lorenzo was lurking. If I could find a way to communicate with him without my father, I wanted to have another go at speaking with him.

  “Only a little,” Laurel admitted. “To be honest, I would’ve expected it to be stronger.”

  “Where did you find the button?” I asked.

  She turned and pointed to a bramble patch low to the ground and next to the footpath. “It was caught on one of those thorny branches.”

  “Thanks.” I observed the area for a long moment, trying to remember the exact position of Lorenzo’s body. It wasn’t next to the brambles; it was a couple feet away from the path. The ground between was a patchwork quilt of moss, thicket, and tree roots.

  “I hope the case gets solved soon,” Laurel said. “We saw a few werewolves last night on the way home and they seemed…rambunctious. We ended up going a different way home.”

  That wasn’t ideal news. “What made you use the birch sticks for the spell?” I asked, pointing to the symbols hanging from the trees.

  “Birch adds an extra layer of protection,” Laurel said. “We ended up combining two spells, which I haven’t told Ginger yet.” She offered a sheepish grin. “I don’t think she’ll mind though.”

  “Mind? I bet she’ll be impressed. The coven likes innovation.”

  “Ha!” Laurel said. “The coven favors tradition and you know it.” She adjusted her glasses. “There’s a cool betony spell that would’ve been overkill for our purposes, but I was able to use parts of it for this to strengthen the spell we had.”

  “Sounds complex,” I said.

  “Not really.”

  “Why was the betony spell overkill?”

  She waved a hand. “It would’ve involved a big bonfire and smoke. It’s not designed for an area. It’s more for a group.”

  “You’re so clever.”

  “Sorry you got stuck with Avery,” she said.