A Witch's Halloween Read online

  A Witch’s Halloween

  N. E. Conneely

  Copyright © 2020 N. E. Conneely

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information-storage-and-retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or author. Requests for permission to copy part of this work for use in an educational environment may be directed to the author.

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  This book is a work of fiction. References to historical events, real people, or real locales are made fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Grandpa

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Also by N. E. Conneely

  New Release Newsletter

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “You can’t leave now.”

  I tugged the suitcase over the threshold. “A vacation isn’t the same as leaving.”

  “Michelle, you have responsibilities, ones that require you to be here!” Dorthea yanked the suitcase back into the Lodge. “The wedding planning is at a critical phase. Premier Ethel hired to me ensure the wedding is perfect. I can’t do that if the bride and groom run away.”

  Dorthea, the well-meaning pain in my side, clutched a binder of wedding plans to her chest with one arm. Her glare could peel paint. The ruffles on her shirt and wisps of hair around her face did nothing to soften the tenacity that radiated out from her. She didn’t have much magic for a witch, but she could hold an event together through sheer force of will.

  Mom appeared in the door behind her, another binder in her hands. “Dorthea has a point. This wedding is an event, but it’s still yours. You haven’t picked the colors yet.”

  There it was, the second reason I needed to escape. “I’ve spoken to Ethel, and she agreed. I’ll answer all the wedding questions when I get back.”

  They blinked at me.

  I seized the opportunity to rescue my suitcase and move it to the stop of the stairs.

  “What about—”

  “Without proper planning—”

  “—menu?”

  “—disaster!”

  The words tumbled out of both of them in such a rush I couldn’t make sense of it.

  “Ladies, you are blocking the door,” Elron said, cutting through the chatter.

  Mom stepped to the side, and Dorthea stomped onto the porch.

  Elron smiled at both of them as he navigated around them. It didn’t escape me that my fiancé kept a tight grip on his suitcase.

  I tucked my hand through Dorthea’s elbow and maneuvered her back inside. “Why don’t we narrow the selection and make sure Ethel approves those venues? That would give you a few things to work on while we’re away and ensure we don’t lose time.”

  Mom followed me. “If we had a venue, we could book the event while you’re gone.”

  “Excellent idea.”

  Not that I cared where we got married. The entire wedding was for show. Every witch in the country wanted a front-row seat to see their future premier’s wedding, especially since I was breaking with tradition and marrying an elf. Nothing about this event was for Elron or me. It was for them.

  Dorthea perked up. “I do have the list of venues.”

  “We should look at them.” I guided her into the sitting room and to the sofa. I’d do almost anything to make this vacation happen, including give in to her preferred venue.

  The binder hit the coffee table with a thud. Dorthea flipped through pages and unfolded a monstrous piece of paper with pictures on the interior and exterior of each approved option. She tapped one at the top right. “A little small, but you said you liked the architecture.”

  I did, because it was the only one of the lot that looked like something. The rest were larger, but they had all the personality of a cinder block. “Which one was it you suggested?”

  “This one.” She pointed at a building with thousands of seats surrounding what could be a truly uninspired altar or an oddly constructed stage.

  “Perfect,” I lied. “If you could book that and come up with a few ideas for making it…”

  “More romantic,” Mom supplied. “Soft pinks and greens would help.”

  “Exactly.” I hated all of it, but it was worth it for the vacation. And really—in the end, it didn’t matter what the building looked like if I got Elron.

  Dorthea tapped her nails on the paper. “Did you say this one lacked a soul?”

  My exact words had been soulless, but even when I said it, I’d known I wouldn’t get the venue I wanted. “And you said it was already set up for cameras and such. I gave it some thought, and you’re right. It’s the best choice.”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “And it has that kitchen. Ethel wanted a formal reception, so we can’t discount the kitchen.” Mom paged through her notebook. “Six-course dinner, dancing, and—”

  “Sounds good. Elron and I want to make sure the entire meal has elf-friendly options. I’ll look at the menu options when we get back. Anything else?”

  Dorthea opened her mouth.

  I stared at her.

  She deflated. “No. That will do for now.”

  “Great. Elron and I will be glad to go over every detail when we get back.” I went over and gave Mom a hug. “Thank you.”

  She squeezed me gently. “It’s your wedding.”

  “You’re still the best.” I squeezed her one more time and then escaped.

  I retrieved my purse, a suitcase, and a tote bag of books from my apartment. I locked the door to my place and went out the lodge’s back door. Dorthea wasn’t the type to be lurking outside, ready to ambush me with more wedding question.

  The wedding hung in my mind. Mom was wrong. It wasn’t my wedding. It was for the clans. There were more than three hundred of them scattered across the country. Each of them wanted to take my measure and my mate’s at our wedding. An annoying number of witches didn’t agree with cross-species matches. This wedding had to show them Elron was an asset.

  I didn’t know which venue conveyed that message.

  The car came into view, and I left the suitcase next to the trunk. Elron had a system, and I wasn’t going to mess with it. While he took care of the big stuff, I double-checked the snack stash and settled my things in the car. As soon as he finished loading the suitcases, we could go.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket.

  “Say no to the emergency.” Elron didn’t look up from arranging the suitcases in the trunk. His silver hair, pulled back to show the points of his Elven ears, flowed down his back, casting a wintry glow on his pine-green sweater. He’d pushed the sleeves up to his elbows while packing the car.

  “Trust me, I want this vacation as much as you.” A true vacation. Three blissful weeks where I wasn’t on call with the police, or the
clans. Being a witch came with some fun perks, like magic, but my hours as a magical consultant were long and the clan politics downright deadly.

  Not to mention the wedding planning.

  I glanced at the number before answering. “Rodriguez, if you’re calling for help, you need to call someone else.”

  “I’m wounded you’d think I would interrupt your vacation,” Officer Rodriguez said.

  As the only hedge-practitioner of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, he often called me to help with magical emergencies. Since I was local, it was easy enough to get there in a timely fashion.

  Though, those emergencies had ruined more than one date night. Thus, the vacation.

  “My apologies,” I said. “Why, oh dear friend who never calls me about work, did you call me today?”

  He chuckled. “You weren’t all wrong. Can you work the full moon?”

  “Sorry. I’ll be out of town.”

  “If you happen to be in town—”

  “I won’t.”

  He kept talking “If you do, it would be a full night paid, calls or not. The department is expecting extra action with the full moon so close to Halloween.”

  “If, by some crazy chain of events, my plans change, I’ll call. Deal?” But my plans weren’t going to change. We’d arranged everything perfectly, and a nice room in a B&B deep in the Tennessee mountains was waiting for us. Wild horses wouldn’t keep me away.

  “I’ll take it,” Rodriguez said.

  Elron cleared his throat and tapped his watch.

  “I’ve got to go. Good luck today and on the full moon.” I hung up before he could make another joke.

  In a few minutes, I’d be on the road. Rodriguez could have all the Friday the Thirteenth problems. This time, I wasn’t on call. If the police station went up in flames, I’d send a card and ward the new building against fire.

  “Are you ready?” Elron asked.

  “Yes.” I went up on my toes to give him a quick kiss. “Let’s go.”

  Elron went to the driver’s side, and I settled in the passenger seat. My mind was already hundreds of miles away, trying to picture our vacation spot. I adjusted the radio, and Elron put the car in gear. We bounced down the gravel road, and the weight of responsibility lifted from my shoulders.

  For three weeks, we would be free.

  Chapter Two

  “Unbelievable.” I blinked, willing the view in front of me to change. It didn’t. “This has to be some Friday the Thirteenth curse.”

  Fields stretched out to the right, running along the length of the old country highway. Centaurs milled about the green space, waiting their turn to cross the highway and follow the herd up a narrow, two-lane road winding its way up a tree-covered slope. Leggy yearlings paced alongside their mothers. Women with gray hair and graying coats scolded anyone who dawdled. Sharp-eyed adults guarded the perimeter, weapons strapped to their human and horse halves.

  “Next time we will take the main road.” Elron glared at the mess outside our car.

  “Agreed.”

  The four cars in front of us were as stuck as we were. With the centaurs everywhere, there wasn’t enough room to turn around, and the earth only knew when they’d finally get up the two-lane road. We could be stuck here for hours.

  “But, really, who knew we needed to plan for migrating centaurs?” There had to be hundreds of them. “I didn’t even know there were any herds this big in the area.”

  Elron shook his head. “I thought they heavily advertised large migrations to prevent issues, including this one.”

  “Me too.” My previous giddiness had lasted exactly fifteen blissful minutes.

  He shifted the car into park and turned off the engine. “There is no use in leaving it running.”

  A chestnut tail thumped against my window. “No argument from me.”

  Five minutes later, I dug a book out of the back seat. Three minutes after that, I closed it. I wasn’t reading anyway. As far as I could tell, the steady stream of centaurs up the two-lane road had not significantly diminished the mass around the car or stretching across the fields.

  Fifteen mind-numbing minutes later, blue lights flashed in the side mirror. I twisted around. A line of police cars were slowly making their way through the crowd. As they drew close, I spotted Rodriguez riding shotgun in the lead car. He gave me a jaunty wave.

  I sighed. If he got us moving, it would be worth the teasing.

  Elron checked the clock. “If they work quickly, we will still get to the bed-and-breakfast in time to check in before dinner.”

  “Don’t forget the dessert bar. I’m hoping for chocolate.”

  “I cannot imagine a dessert bar without chocolate.”

  “Me either.” I grinned, getting back into vacation spirit.

  Outside, Rodriguez and an officer I didn’t recognize were talking to three centaurs. After a few minutes of conversation, the centaurs turned and trotted in different directions, and the second officer went back to the cruisers. Rodriguez walked to our car, tapping on my window.

  I rolled it down. “Yes?”

  He grinned. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

  “Funny.”

  “I thought so.” His smile faded. “They’re going to clear a path so you can turn around.”

  “Thanks.” We could backtrack to the highway and be at our cabin in a few hours.

  Rodriguez went to tell the other cars. Around us, the centaurs moved away from the cars and left the road. Elron turned on the car and carefully backed us onto a wide shoulder so he could make the turn easily.

  My giddy mood returned as we left the migrating centaurs behind. “Just like that, our vacation is back on track.”

  “It would take more than a herd of centaurs to derail our vacation.” He came to a stop at the light.

  I settled into the seat. “You, me, and no responsibilities. Sounds like heaven.”

  Elron took a right, and we were only two short miles from the highway.

  The car shuttered. A thump vibrated through me, and a cloud of smoke appeared behind us. I grabbed the Narzel-what-now-handle above the door. “What was that?”

  Elron’s lips pressed into a flat line. “A problem.”

  The car slowed. The passenger side dipped as the wheels came to a stop on a sloping shoulder. Elron turned off the engine and flipped on the emergency lights.

  I twisted around. Behind us, a thick cloud of smoke obscured the view out of the rear window. “Narzel.”

  Was it so much to want a vacation? Was it?

  I flopped back into my seat.

  Elron lifted his phone to his ear.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Calling a tow truck. I have no desire to spend more time stranded on this road than absolutely necessary.” Elron poked a number and put the phone back to his ear.

  He had a point. Mom could drive the other car over. We could move our stuff and be back on the road before long. I called Mom.

  She didn’t answer.

  Of course not.

  Today was cursed. That was the only explanation. A wild Friday the Thirteenth wreaking havoc.

  Elron hung up. “They estimate half an hour before the truck arrives.”

  “We can make that work. We might end up eating dinner on the road, but we still have the rest of the vacation.” One rough day would not derail my vacation. Not if I had anything to say about it.

  Elron nodded. “We enjoyed that apple house in Blue Ridge.”

  “Now that sounds fun. A tasty dinner and a quality dessert. You have my attention.”

  He gave me a playful smile. “We could pick up a couple bottles of apple wine.”

  “And a pie to go with it. This delay could work out in our favor.”

  His eyes heated. “I was considering the hot tub—”

  My phone rang. “Hold that thought.” I answered it without looking, thinking Mom was calling me back. “Oaks Consulting, Michelle speaking.”

  “Ms. Oaks
, I’m Merry, from Outlook Inn.”

  Merry wasn’t Mom, and I couldn’t think of a good reason for the bed-and-breakfast to be calling. “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry to say.” Merry hesitated. “That is, due to unforeseen circumstances, we have to cancel your reservation. We would love to have you in the future and can offer a free night.”

  This wasn’t happening. “We’re due there in less than five hours.”

  “I’m sorry.” She cleared her throat. “Half the building flooded this morning. We won’t be open for any reservations for at least a month.”

  “Oh.”

  “Would you like to rebook now?”

  “I’ll call back later.” I ended the call quickly and politely.

  That was it. Our entire plan for the vacation, gone with one phone call.

  I faced Elron. “So, I don’t—”

  He shook his head slightly. “I heard.”

  “Elven hearing.”

  “It has benefits.” He held up his phone. “I can search for a new bed-and-breakfast or hotel.”

  Flashing blue lights filled every mirror.

  I twisted around to see a police car parked behind us. Rodriguez got out of the car.

  My phone rang again. This time I checked to see who was calling. Mom. I thrust the phone toward Elron. “You talk to her, I’ll talk to Rodriguez.”

  Elron took the phone, and I got out of the car.

  Rodriguez lifted an eyebrow. “When I heard a car was waiting for a tow, I never thought it would be you.”

  “What can I say? This Narzel-blessed day just keeps getting better.”

  He tried to suppress a grin but didn’t quite manage it. “What happened?”