Mind Over Magical Matters: Paranormal women's Fiction (Midlife Witchery Book 2) Read online

  Mind Over Magical Matters

  Midlife Witchery Book 2

  Brenda Trim

  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

  EXCERPT FROM MAGICAL TWIST BOOK #3

  Authors’ Note

  OTHER WORKS BY Brenda TRIM

  Copyright © May 2020 by Brenda Trim

  Editor: Chris Cain

  Cover Art by Fiona Jayde

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers’ imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction of this work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the authors.

  Created with Vellum

  If you put your mind to anything that you dream, you can achieve it!

  Chapter 1

  “This isn’t working. I’m still like that kid in Harry Potter that keeps blowing everything up.” I sound like a whiny teenager, too, rather than a forty-five-year-old hybrid witch.

  I couldn’t help it. I was failing at everything. I was anxious and on edge while we waited for the other shoe to drop. A few months ago, I faced the powerful Fae Queen and managed to injure her and send her fleeing when she tried to kill me. No one knows how I pulled that off, but we all agreed she would be back seeking revenge for what I did to her.

  “You will get the hang of it,” Camille reassured me.

  My witch mentor had suggested that I try my hand at potions so I could open a booth at S&S, the magical flee market our town held in the park in the town square. I didn’t need the money, thanks to my Grams, but I needed the distraction and all of my friends agreed it was the best way for me to get to know the supes in town.

  For me it was a toss-up between developing relationships with others like me and finding a way to settle my nerves. Always being on edge was making me jumpy and my magic even more unreliable than usual. I survived on coffee, so that might be partly responsible for my jitters, but caffeine overload could only explain so much.

  Being addicted to the elixir of the Gods for three decades or so meant my body was immune to a large degree.

  “I’m not so sure about that. I spent a life as a norm without an ounce of magic. Maybe I lost my connection to my power.” I had no idea how any of this worked. I was learning, but my knowledge was that of a five-year-old when it came to anything supernatural.

  Camille shook her hand and dumped the sludge out of my cauldron into the trashcan she’d poured salt into before we began. Apparently, the substance would neutralize any lingering power. It would also keep me safe when I cast my circle of power. Who knew it was so utilitarian?

  Camille gestured to the large tome sitting open on the long wooden worktable. “That’s not possible. I sense something else is at work here, I just can’t put my finger on it. Grab your family Grimoire.”

  That perked my ears. This was the first time she mentioned anything of the sort. I wondered what I was missing. Likely a whole lot given that I had no idea what normal was. “What do you mean? Why haven’t you said something before?”

  “I wasn’t sure until we got into more detailed work like this. I haven’t come across anyone quite like you, so I dismissed my concerns at first. Let’s see if there’s anything to it.”

  I set the book in front of us and flipped it open. “I’ve only looked through this thing a couple times. What am I searching for?”

  “Anything Isidora would have written about you or your birth.”

  “I’ve never come across anything about me personally. I’ve only seen spells and potions. I wish the book would just show me what I’m looking for.” My fingers tingled and wind whipped through the room blowing my hair around my face. The pages fluttered in the book then stopped about three-quarters through.

  Eyes wide, I gaped at the grimoire then at Camille. “What’s this?” Camille picked up an envelope and held it between her thumb and forefinger.

  “I’ve never seen it before.” I took it from her and noticed the way my hand was shaking. Taking a deep breath, I opened the flap and took out a handwritten letter.

  “It’s addressed to me.” I checked the envelop and realized I’d missed my name on the outside.

  “I bet it’s from Isidora. What does it say?” Camille was right. The signature at the bottom was from my Grams. My eyes returned to the top of the page and I hesitated in reading it. I suddenly wished Sebastian was there with me. This was one of those moments I knew was going to change my life. Kinda like when I boarded the plane to England to attend my Gram’s funeral.

  Bas, my kinda boyfriend, barely left my side for weeks. He’d refused to share my bed with me and had taken up residence on my sofa. He left when Camille told him we would be making potions. I assumed that he returned to his home in the nearby woods, but I had no idea. I could call him but decided against it.

  Instead, I typed in a message to Violet and Aislinn, my two best friends. My girls should definitely be here with me. “Violet and Aislinn will be here soon. Let’s see what Grams had to say.”

  Camille nodded her head but said nothing. “My dearest, Fiona. If you’re reading this that means I have passed on from this life.” I read aloud, but my voice drifted off as I continued in silence. My heart raced when I read her apology for keeping my heritage from me for so long.

  “What’s a nicotisa?”

  Camille’s composure slipped and her jaw dropped open. “Why are you asking? What does it say?”

  “It says she and my mother bound my power shortly after I was born because they realized I was a nicotisa. That’s why my mom moved away from the area, so it would be easier to hide me.”

  “That explains why she and your father left so abruptly. I never understood why they moved halfway across the world. Your father’s career never meant that much to him before.” Camille was tapping the table with a finger while she talked. I placed my hand over hers.

  “Hellooo.” Aislinn called out from downstairs in a singsong.

  “We’re up here,” I called out.

  “Okay, so what was so important you had me close the shop early for lunch?” Violet’s voice echoed up the stairs before they entered the room.

  I quickly explained what they’d missed then continued reading. “It’s important that you call upon my spirit so I can assist you in understanding your transition.” A little late for that, Grams.

  “How does she propose you do that?” Camille leaned over and scanned the page and seemed to answer her own question as she nodded. “She’s brilliant, even dead she’s breaking rules and pushing limits.”

  I turned my head to glance at my mentor. “What do you mean?”


  “Isidora had a knack for doing the impossible, even if it went against traditional convention,” Camille explained.

  Aislinn crossed the room and read from the other side of me. “And, she didn’t know what the word impossible meant. She believed there was always a way, you just needed to consider a problem, or spell from all angles.”

  Violet held up one finger. “Don’t forget the most important part…you have to think outside the box.”

  Camille turned and started grabbing jars from one of the bookshelves. “I have no idea how she accomplished this, but she details here how we need to brew a potion of eyebright, cinnamon, mugwort, African violet, and Arabic gum among other ingredients.”

  Most of the items on the list were familiar, but I never in a million years would have considered putting them together like this. “Witches actually use eye of newt and the spleen of eels? What happens with the potion? Because this combination sounds awful.”

  Violet laughed. “I wouldn’t want to be you, that’s for sure.”

  “Wait. What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you want to be me?” My words came out so fast that I wasn’t sure anyone could understand me.

  Aislinn clapped my shoulder. “Because you get to drink this once it’s done.”

  My head was shaking side to side before I replied. “Nope. I’ll pass.”

  Camille pegged me with a stern look. “I have no idea what Isidora had to do to tether her soul to this plane, but I can tell you it required a sacrifice to keep from crossing the veil to the other side. I won’t let that be for nothing.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “No. You’re right. Let’s get to cooking.”

  “This is all you,” Violet blurted as she helped grab ingredients and placed them on the table.

  “I can’t. I’ll blow it up. It’s what I’ve been doing for hours today.” I looked at Camille who had the gall to chuckle.

  “You have to do this on your own,” Camille told me. “Remember, patience and careful measurements. Establishing the right balance is the most important aspect when brewing.”

  Aislinn read off the ingredients and Camille or Violet handed the correct jar to me and I poured or scooped the requisite amount and dumped it into the cauldron. Next, I added the fire necessary to heat the elements and blend them together while stirring counterclockwise.

  The liquid bubbled and boiled. I barely held the bile back as I glanced into the pot and saw a dark green formula with chunks floating along the surface. My hand moved the wooden spoon while I tried not to breathe through my nose. It smelled worse than it looked.

  I had no idea how I was going to get this crap down. I remember not wanting to eat Brussel sprouts when I was a kid, now I liked them. Somehow, I didn’t think this was going to be one of those acquired tastes.

  “How will I know when it’s done?”

  Camille looked over the potion my Grams had left me. “When it turns pink.”

  “I must have done something wrong. I doubt this murky mixture is changing…” my words trailed away when the chunky pieces melted into the liquid and it started changing with every swirl of my spoon.

  “Damn, I love magic,” I exclaimed and scooped s spoonful of what looked closer to a strawberry margarita than anything magical. If you ignored the sparks shooting off the top.

  “It comes in handy,” Violet agreed.

  I brought the spoon to my lips and had to breathe through my mouth when the putrid odor hit me. It might look tasty now, but it smelled like crap. Before my mind could psych me out, I poured a large serving down my throat.

  My throat instantly closed off and I couldn’t get any oxygen into my lungs, next it flooded my esophagus and gushed into my gut like a torrent. Fire exploded and encompassed me from head to toe at the same time I noticed the stuff tasted like an earthworm on the side of the road, rotting in the sun.

  After several agonizing minutes, I shook my head and saw Violet and Aislinn hovering close to me. “I’m okay.” It came out as more of a croak than anything else. I reached for a glass of water, but Camille snatched it away from me with a shake of her head.

  “You can’t drink anything. You never know how other substances will interfere with a potion.”

  I grimaced. “Why can’t this taste better?”

  “All magic requires a price. Potions hurt and make you sick.” I blinked and looked at Camille. She couldn’t have mentioned that sooner? How the hell did she expect me to sell shit to people without knowing this? I’d have customers complaining constantly and wanting their money back.

  “It’s time to recite the spell.” Aislinn’s voice brought me out of my ruminations.

  “Right.” I focused on the letter and the words my grandmother wrote when I noticed that I was glowing blue. At least you know you did the potion right.

  “Let my voice be heard on the other side,

  And reach the one tethered to my side.

  Ignore the bounds of physics and give form to the formless

  By the laws of our ancient craft, so mote it be.”

  The wind kicked up and blew out the candles. Outside thunder cracked and the clouds opened up. Rain pelted the window as streams of blue energy left my fingers to form a cyclone on the other side of the attic.

  I shielded my eyes from the worst of the maelstrom and watched through the cover created by my arms. The light coalesced into the form of a person. When the wind died down, I lowered my hands and saw a figure I never thought I’d see again.

  “Grams!” I rushed to her side and threw my arms around her. They traveled right through her body, leaving me trembling from cold.

  “It’s about time you called to me, child. What took you so long?”

  I thrust my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes. “Sorry, but I was blindsided by the whole witch-Fae hybrid thing. Then I was attacked and almost killed by the Fae Queen. And before that I had to find the portal then learn how to keep Fae from crossing through. A little heads up would have been nice!”

  I was beyond glad to have her back and hadn’t realized until that moment how angry I was for being kept in the dark. Apparently, that took precedence.

  Aislinn cleared her throat. “Don’t forget that you had to get your grimoire back from Filaron before any of that.”

  “That little weasel stole my grimoire?” Grams turned red around the edges. She’d been glowing light blue and transparent, but when she growled in anger, she changed. Her form was solidified somewhat and had a red tinge around the edges.

  “I wouldn’t call him little, but he is a weasel.” I lifted one shoulder. Filarion was a low-life thief. A good looking one, but still an opportunist at heart.

  “All that matters now is you managed the spell and I’m here with you. Camille, good to see you. I need you and Aislinn and Violet to help cast a spell to dissipate Fiona’s energy signature.”

  Camille leveled a look at Grams that said she was upset. I wondered if it was because she was pissed that she hadn’t been told who, or rather what I was or if it was something else. “I’ve told you before, Isidora. I’m not an idiot, regardless of what you might think. I was planning on tackling the topic after I taught your granddaughter to make potions. I’d bet that’s why the Fae Queen targeted her. She’d like to steal her power along with the portal. But I want to know how you managed to come back without crossing over.”

  “Yeah, she’s all about being the most powerful being alive. Imagine how your fight would have gone and what she would be like if she had an energizer battery inside,” Aislinn pointed out.

  “I have no idea what you just said. Please explain this to me. And, how I can keep my friends safe. Ever since you guys started hanging out with me and the Fae came to live at Pymm’s Pondside with me they’ve been attacked. I don’t want to be the reason anyone is hurt.” I had enough guilt riding me at the moment.

  “That’s nonsense. You’re not responsible for that foul being’s power-hungry ways. What is important to understand is that right
now you are like a nuclear reactor. You give off a signal that is impossible for supernaturals to miss or resist.” My grams floated around the room as she spoke. That was going to take some getting used to, but I had her back!

  “This is because I’m a nicotisa right? What exactly does that mean?”

  “And, how did you find out? She moved away when she was five years old? And, don’t think I forgot about wanting to know how you are here with us now.” There was a biting edge to Camille’s tone of voice. It was clear she didn’t get along all that well with my grandmother. There was a story there, but I didn’t have the mental faculties to get into that at the moment.

  Grams glared at Camille then turned a smile on me. “We knew you were different the second you were born. It started when you were born with an energy that helped soothe your mother. And, I knew for certain when you summoned your bottle one day when I was watching you while your mother manned her booth at S&S. And, to answer your question. I wasn’t certain I would be able to make this work, but I bound my spirit to Fiona. I wasn’t sure it would work. I couldn’t find anything about casting a spell while astral projecting. I had to cast the spell on my soul, not my body.”

  The thought of having my grandmother’s body tied to me turned my stomach, but that registered behind the rest of what she said.

  “Okaaay.” I wish I could summon things now.

  I was in desperate need of a cup of high-octane bean juice if I was going to get through this conversation. Or maybe a shot or ten of tequila. My head was already starting to pound, a warning caffeine was needed. My ability to focus and engage in conversation went downhill fast if I ignored it.