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  A Witch Too Hot

  Crystal Springs Cozy Witch Mystery, Volume 2

  Paula Lester and M.E. Harmon

  Published by Paula Lester and M.E. Harmon, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  A WITCH TOO HOT

  First edition. May 6, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Paula Lester and M.E. Harmon.

  Written by Paula Lester and M.E. Harmon.

  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

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  About M.E. Harmon

  About Paula Lester

  Chapter 1

  The weather didn’t seem hot enough for sweat to be dripping off her nose, but that was exactly what was happening. In fact, her drenched shirt clung like a damp piece of gauze. Not only was she uncomfortable, but it was also not the best fashion look. Grabbing the shirt’s neckline, she pulled it back and forth several times to get some air flowing toward her face. But the feeble attempt didn’t help—it felt like she was standing in front of a blast furnace.

  Cascade Lorne crossed the living room to check the thermostat for the tenth time. The digital display read sixty-seven degrees. The repair guy had said not to go lower than sixty-six. Cas could hear air pumping through the vents. She flicked a bead of sweat off her forehead. Jeez, she might self-combust at any second. Cringing at the thought of what next month’s bill would look like, she tapped the temp control until it dropped another degree.

  Maybe there could be something wrong with her air conditioning? She wouldn’t be surprised—the guy who’d come to fix it a few months earlier hadn’t seemed like the sharpest nail in the pack. He’d spent most of his time flirting, ignoring Cas’ obvious leave me alone and get to work vibes.

  She flapped her collar again, dreading if menopause was to blame. Not for the first time, she lamented the fact that learning she was a powerful witch with strong magic hadn’t relieved some of the more mundane aspects of aging. That morning, she’d sworn there were more gray hairs on her head than the day before.

  But the hot flashes she’d been experiencing felt extreme, even for a fifty-year-old woman in the throes of the change. The late fall season was developing into a warm one. Despite that, she headed for the back patio. Maybe a dose of fresh air would provide some relief. Just as her fingers brushed the sliding glass door, chimes erupted through the house.

  Wiping her brow with a hand, she slogged back through the house to answer the front door.

  Graham Noble stood on the front stoop grinning and holding a postcard-shaped piece of paper. A dimple peeked through the dark stubble on his cheek. She smiled and held the door wider for him to enter. As the door clicked shut, Graham swept off the baseball cap he wore and ran a hand through thick, dark hair.

  A line had appeared between his brows. He squinted at Cas. “Why is it so hot in here?”

  Cas’ eyebrows shot upward. “You feel it too? I thought it was just me. Like a hot flash or something.” She gave him an apologetic look. “You know—hormones.”

  Cas recognized the gesture when Graham flapped his collar. “If you’re having a hot flash, it’s big enough to heat the house.” More lines appeared on her handsome neighbor’s brow as he stepped closer and touched her cheek with the back of a hand. “I don’t think it’s hormones. How long has it been going on?”

  She pursed her lips and thought for a second. “On and off all week, I guess. It comes and goes, but I’ve spent a lot of time sitting in front of a fan.” She grabbed a newspaper off the glass table in the foyer and waved it in front of her face.

  Graham followed Cas into the living room. She plopped onto the couch and threw her feet up onto the coffee table, continuing to use the paper as a makeshift fan. He stood over her, arms crossed. She noticed his biceps staging an escape attempt, straining to burst free from the short sleeves of his shirt. She couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate their valor and hard work.

  “I think this has to do with your power,” he said.

  The intensity in his voice got her attention and Cas stilled the paper for a second to study him. “You mean, like, some manifestation of me not having full control over my magic?

  He nodded, reminding her of a huge bear. Graham was a shifter. She’d seen his other self once and couldn’t help but continue to catch glimpses of it even when he was in human form.

  A crash made Graham and Cas jump. A thump, much like a small body falling to ground, followed by muttering sounds came from the general direction of back door. A chair screeched against the floor as if something had knocked into it. “Ow! Who the heck thought it was a good idea to leave this thing in a kitchen?”

  Cas chuckled and went back to fanning herself. “That’ll be Echo. I put a cat door in for him. I don’t know what he does all night, but he comes stumbling back home about this time almost every morning.”

  The corners of Graham’s mouth pulled down. “Great guardian,” he mumbled.

  Cas rolled her eyes, a flash of irritation catching her by surprise. The cat had been assigned as her guardian. Echo really was a great helper—he knew so much about the new world of magic she’d been tossed into without warning. Yet, she didn’t like that some people thought Cas required constant supervision. Like she wasn’t a fifty-year-old woman with sound mind and functional common sense.

  “Do we have any sardines? I’m ravenous.” The black cat sauntered into the room, and despite having four legs, missed a step. He barely caught himself from a nose dive into the carpet. The cat aimed a suspicious eye at that section of the floor. “Who put that there?”

  Cas rolled her eyes again. Echo always came home tipsy or something close to it. She wasn’t sure if cats could get drunk or what would have that effect on them. “There’s nothing there, Echo. And we don’t have sardines, but I got you some of that canned cat food you like. The salmon-flavored stuff.” Cas hauled herself off the couch, tossed the newspaper into the empty spot, and started toward the kitchen. She glanced at Echo. “You’re filthy. What did you get on your fur?” His usually sleek, shiny coat looked dull, like it was covered in a coat of dust.

  The cat winced as he lowered to sit on his rear haunches. He lifted a paw, studying it with a quizzical look. “Huh. I dunno.” Echo gave his foreleg a tiny lick and then pulled the lips back from his teeth in what could only be recognized as a grimace. “Tastes like litter. I must have used someone else’s box. How about a brush-down?” He followed her into the kitchen, Graham trailing behind, and rubbed on her leg while she opened a can of cat food. Then he sat down again, peering up at her. “You’re hotter than stinky dog’s breath. What’s wrong with you?”

  “We were discussing that before you got home,” Graham offered. “I was telling her I think the heat has to do with her powers.”

  “Hmm. Make sense.” Echo nodded, one ear twitching as though to get some of the dust off it. “Your metabolism may be in overdrive trying to control your magic but not knowing how.” He glanced at their neighbor and in an exaggerated whisper said, “She’ll burn herself up from the inside out if she doesn’t get control of it soon.”

  Cas se
t down the spoon she’d been using to scoop cat food onto a dish and looked sharply at the cat, her voice coming out squeaky. “Did you say burn up?”

  Echo swiveled to face her. “I was whispering. You heard that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oopsie.” The cat’s ears flicked again as if embarrassed by his faux-pas. “The burning up thing. I’ve heard of it happening when a witch tries to do a spell that’s beyond his or her control. In your case, you have a lots of magic and zippo in the control department so. . .” He stood and put his front feet on the cupboard, sniffing the air in the direction of the countertop. “Is that the flavor I like?”

  “Echo! Focus! So, what happens?”

  The green-gold eyes flicked to her face. “Poof. On the spot internal combustion.”

  Cas absentmindedly lowered the plate of cat food to the floor, and Echo attacked it like it might run away.

  “The peacekeepers came by yesterday and fixed my bindings, but I know they aren’t working right.” Cas felt a prickling in her cheeks as color rose in them. “After they left, I had a sneezing fit in the shower and flower petals came out of the showerhead instead of water. Didn’t help me cool down like I’d hoped, I’ll tell you that. Plus, then I had a mess to clean up out of the stall.”

  “It’s like you’re becoming resistant to the dampener bindings.” Graham sat at the table, laying the postcard down. “I know you’re uncomfortable with the idea but I think you should consider taking Percy up on his offer.”

  Cas pressed her lips together. Crossing her arms, she leaned back on the edge of the counter and regarded Graham. She could feel a bead of sweat trickling down her back. “You mean his offer to feed on me?” Despite feeling like she could fry a fly if it landed on her, Cas shuddered at the thought of the succubus neighbor eating part of her essence.

  Of course, Mr. Percy assured her before that wasn’t exactly what would happen. He said it was a simple process and a better way for her to think about it would be that he was siphoning off extra energy, using it himself and preventing her from being harmed by it. Still, she hadn’t been able to talk herself into accepting the offer. It just felt too—icky.

  Having devoured everything on the plate and then licked off the remaining bits, Echo sat back on his haunches. A tiny pink tongue darted out to remove a stuck bit of paté from his whisker. “He’s right. The succubus can help keep you non-combusty until someone fit to teach you control comes along. You should call Percy.”

  A heavy sigh escaped her lips. She grabbed a brush out of a basket of cat supplies on top of the cupboard and knelt to use it on Echo. She hadn’t been a witch for very long but the thought of someone dying because they couldn’t control their power was already well-known to her. A witch named Violaine, who had known Cas’ mother, had done too big of a spell before learning how to control her newfound magical abilities. The poor young woman had died, consumed by the very magic she’d wanted for so long.

  Cas sighed again, feeling extremely uncomfortable as she remembered the story. “I don’t want to go up in a flash of smoke, so I guess there isn’t much of a choice right now.” She stood, dropped the brush back into the basket, and crossed to one of the kitchen windows, using the handle to open it.

  “I don’t think opening a window is going to help with the heat,” Graham insisted. “It’s coming out of you.”

  “I’m not opening it to get some air. Watch this.” She leaned as close to the window’s screen as possible and shouted, “Mr. Percy!”

  By the time she locked the window back into place, the doorbell rang. Twice. She gave Graham a smug look as she passed him. “I think he’s been listening for his chance to do this.”.

  Taking a deep breath to bolster herself for the encounter ahead, Cas pulled the front door open. Percy’s facial expression was almost manic, as he tried and failed to contain a beaming smile. “Hi, Cascade! You called?”

  She gestured for him to enter, and when he got close to her, beads of sweat popped out in front of his receding hairline. “Oh, yum,” he said and then faltered. “I mean, oh my. Cassie! You’re really pumping out the energy!” He rubbed his hands together in obvious excitement.

  Cas’ stomach flipped and she pressed her hands into it in an effort to calm down. She forced herself to say the words she’d been avoiding. “Yeah, I guess my bindings aren’t working well enough and I’m going to need you to . . .” An involuntary gag made her throw a hand over her mouth. From behind it, she ground out the rest of the sentence, “siphon some off.”

  Percy bounced on the balls of his feet. The hand rubbing became light clapping. Cascade leveled a cool, narrow-eyed stare at her neighbor. He caught the hint and forced his giddy smile into a pleasant straight line. It took another five seconds, but Percy managed to still his feet and hands.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “Let’s get you someplace comfortable and fix this.” He sounded calm but the air of excitement just under his tone was impossible for him to hide.

  When Percy touched her elbow to guide her forward into her own living room, Cas couldn’t help but to jerk away. It was an involuntary reaction. “Sorry. Just give me some space. I’m not totally ok with this yet.”

  Percy took a step back and held his hands up as if to signal surrender. As Cas crossed into the living room, she felt a twinge of guilt. He was trying to help her, after all. She picked up the newspaper from the couch cushion, tossed it onto the coffee table, and sat down, cocking her head at Percy. Graham sat on the edge of the couch as though ready to spring forward if the succubus made a wrong move. Echo hopped up next to him.

  Percy took slow careful steps, approaching Cas as if she were a hissing animal backed into a corner. “Okay. Okay. This is really very easy. All you need to do is relax. If you’d like to close your eyes and think of something soothing like the beach or your favorite place, you may do so.”

  Cas narrowed her eyes again. “I think I’ll watch what you’re doing, thanks.”

  “Of course! Whatever makes you comfortable is just fine with me.” He laced his fingers together, twisted his wrists, and gave a little push, cracking his knuckles and making Cas shudder again.

  “I’m just going to stand here and touch your temples with my fingers. You’ll feel a slight buzzing sensation, and we’ll be done before you know it.” He smiled, and she couldn’t help but envision him as a vampire with sharp teeth ready to sink into her jugular. Over his shoulder, she saw Graham give her two thumbs up along with an encouraging nod.

  Dragging her eyes back to Percy, she nodded. “Go ahead.”

  It went like he’d said it would. The initial feeling of his cool fingers on her temple caused her to pull away, but he didn’t let the contact break, and in the next moment, the heat in her chest began to die down. Within moments, she felt normal again. Her neighbor stepped back, beaming. His face looked plumper and was flushed with a rosy glow that hadn’t been there earlier. “That’s it! How do you feel?”

  “Better,” Cas admitted. “Thanks, Mr. Percy.”

  “I wish you’d call me Jack. Especially now that I’m going to be helping you out from time to time.”

  Cas didn’t answer, not sure she was ready to be quite that friendly with the succubus next door. There was little doubt that if was inclined, he could drain her totally and maybe take Cas’s life. Yeah, Percy might be helpful under the current circumstances, but he was still dangerous.

  Graham might have been having similar thoughts. The coiled muscles along his shoulders relaxed as Percy stepped away. Even Echo seemed to stand down from high alert, sinking to a lying position, chin resting on his paws.

  It was as if someone had flicked off an internal furnace hidden inside of her. Even breathing, something she hadn’t noticed as a problem a few seconds earlier, came easier. Cas rose and walked toward the front door, feeling relieved when Percy took the hint and followed. “Thanks,” she said grudgingly.

  “You’re welcome. Call me whenever you need help. Day or night.”
<
br />   After she’d let him out, Cas returned to the living room. Echo appeared to be sleeping. “I hope the council finds me a mentor soon.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to go through that too often.”

  Graham moved to sit on the couch and touched her arm. “Sure you’re okay?” When Cas confirmed she felt back to normal, he continued. “The council is pretty swamped right now. They have to gather witches from all over the country to come to a conclave to choose the new Archsiren.”

  Cas nodded. The group, the High Council, was the highest governing body of witches in their area. It was normally made up of five sirens, one of whom was the leader, or Archsiren. The previous Archsiren, Lavania Dovetail, had been murdered, so it was on the top of the list of business for the council to promote a new one.

  “They also have to coordinate the election for a new siren.”

  Cas sat forward. “What election?”

  Graham’s face looked blank as he stared at her. After a minute, he said, “You haven’t heard about the election? It’s been all over the papers.”

  Cas’ eyes fell to the newspaper she’d tossed on the coffee table. “I read the paper every day. I haven’t seen anything like that. Actually, I haven’t seen anything about any witch business.”

  Graham’s jaw dropped. Then, a look of understanding slowly rose over his features. “Oh, man. No one’s taught you how to read the paper.”

  Cas’ eyebrows shot up. What in the world was the man talking about? She was pretty sure she’d learned to read more than forty years ago.

  Grinning, he held his hand out for the paper, and said, “I’ll show you. You’re in for a treat.”

  Chapter 2

  Graham took the Crystal Springs Gazette and carried it to the kitchen table. “All of the newspapers in and around Crystal Springs are enchanted to keep normals from seeing stuff that doesn’t apply to them. You need to say some words to get it to reveal those hidden articles. So, you just open the dull, boring, human-directed newspaper to the last page, touch it, and repeat this spell: Paper, paper, let me see, the hidden news within thee.”