Parker appeared almost immediately, grabbed me by the arm, and led me away. Well, it looked like I’d have to wait for tomorrow to get any more answers.
10
I knew I should try to get some sleep, but I was way too excited to make such a thing possible. I still had so many new questions spinning about my brain, and they needed answers.
Of course, Parker had remained relatively tight-lipped on the drive back home, which left me to my own internal musings.
One thought in particular dominated my mind from the get-go:“OH MY GOSH, I HAVE MAGIC NOW! WHEEEEEE!”
Eager to put my new powers to the test once I was home, I tromped outside and stood in the yard, hoping for some violent winds I could silence… But the night remained calm, still, and highly uncooperative. I briefly considered setting up a campfire to douse with whatever decided to fly forth from my hands. Then again, who said my abilities were limited to soothing the elements? Both Parker and Fluffikins had worked some form of mind control on me, and even though I didn’t have anyone to influence with me now, I bet I could do almost anything I set my mind to.
Let’s see…
Fluffikins had pulled the magic out of me easily without either of us having to think much about it, but now that I was left to my own devices I didn’t really know where to start.
I studied the brooch affixed to my top as if it would flash the answer in big bold letters. Nope, no such luck.
I still didn’t even know what my new job as a Town Witch temp entailed. What would my responsibilities be? What kind of magic would I be able to perform? Fluffikins had offered precious little by way of explanation.
Luckily, as an author by trade, I was already well accustomed to indulging my imagination. True, I mostly wrote contemporary romance set in the real world—you know, the world that up until today I’d assumed had no magic. Usually when I wrote my books, I dreamed up cute ways for the heroines to meet their heroes or huge romantic gestures for the heroes to use to win back the heroines after messing things up royally. And while I was really good atdoing both those things, neither helped in exploring my newly granted paranormal abilities.
Maybe if I wanted to cast a love spell or something… Wait, was that a thing I could actually do now? My breath hitched as I realized just how endless the possibilities might be.
This, of course, made me wonder how much of the common lore surrounding witches was based on reality and how much was simply the work of overactive imaginations like mine.
I ran through the ways I’d seen witches portrayed in the popular media.
Black cat familiar?Check.
Green and ugly? Heck no. I mean, at least not green and probably not ugly, either.
Fancy spell book?Not yet.
A flying broom?Wait a sec…
Would I really be able to fly? And if so, would I need a broom?
Yes, flying, was definitely going on the to-do list.
I was half-tempted to try it now by jumping off my roof and letting those survival instincts kick in like they had with Fluffikins, but that didn’t seem like the smartest stunt to pull when I had no one around to magic up some healing or call an ambulance in case it all went wrong.
Flying would definitely have to wait…
But what else could witches do?
Hmmm. Maybe I could shape shift. I mean, why not?
Determined to find something I could do on my own, I headed to the one tiny bathroom in my rental cottage, placed both hands on the counter, and stared at myself in the mirror.
Let’s see. Let’s see.What could I shift into?
My eyes locked on the shower curtain with its bright pink flamingo print, the one item infused with any personality in this functional but not exactly appealing room.
A flamingo, okay. I pictured the bird in my mind, cataloging everything I knew about them from their flamboyantly colored feathers right down to their preference for standing on just one foot at a time. Squeezing my eyes shut, I held the image in my mind and pictured myself becoming that image.
Just. Think. Pink.
It was a perfectly logical method, and I gave the visualization thing all I had… But still nothing happened.
Darn it!
I opened my eyes again, ready to tell off my reflection for her refusal to follow instructions. Instead, I let out a sharp gasp.
I hadn’t turned into a flamingo, but my hairhad changed into a bright bubblegum pink that matched the color of the birds on the shower curtain perfectly.
Pink hair. I’d done that with magic—my magic!—and it didn’t look half bad, considering.
Granted, I still didn’t know how I’d managed to change just my hair when I’d meant to change my whole body, but I was thrilled I had done something. Even if it was just a small something.
I revisited my earlier list.
Green?No.
Ugly?Not with this cool new hairdo.
Yes, I’d harnessed my new powers and done something magical. Not a bad start at all for this novice witch. Whatever this Town Witch thing entailed, I could do it.
And who knew? Maybe I could tackle flying tomorrow.
Famous last words.
11
The next morning, a horrible screeching sound wrested me from an already fitful sleep. I bolted upright, pushing my back against the antique headboard and sending a certain black cat tumbling from the bed.
“What are you doing here?” I cried, clutching the comforter to my chest.
Mr. Fluffikins hopped back onto the foot of my bed and eyed me wearily.“I already told you we’d be picking up with your training this morning.”
“But it’s still dark outside.” I knew I was whining like a child who’d just been woken up for the first day of school after an especially satisfying Christmas break, but I didn’t care. I was too angry to worry about how I was coming across to the very person—er, cat—who had gotten me so angry to begin with. “Plus you said nothing about breaking into my house. That is not okay.”
He squinted his eyes and growled, then straightened back up, proud and tall, showing off that little white patch on his chest.“I didn’t break in. I simply used magic to gain entry,” he explained in a languid drawl. “And it’s six in the morning, a perfectly good time to wake up and share some breakfast with your new mentor.”
I stared at Mr. Fluffikins, mouth agape. Not only had he shown up inside my bedroom at this unseemly hour, but now he expected me to make breakfast, too? Well, I hope he liked cold cereal, because that’s all he was getting.
“Wait for me downstairs,” I commanded, but Fluffikins did not budge. “I mean it. I’m not wearing any pants and need some time to make myself decent.”
“You didn’t seem too concerned about appearing decent last night,” he bit out.
Oh, no. I was not about to be slut-shamed by a talking cat.“Get out of here!” I screamed and threw my pillow at him.
At least this time he listened.“The others will be here soon, so please do make haste,” he informed me on his way out.
“Oh, I’ll make something, all right,” I muttered under my breath as I hurried to pull on the first pants I found.
When I emerged from my room, I was wearing pajama bottoms and a tank top. I refused to make myself any less comfortable when Fluffikins would likely disapprove of whatever I wore anyway.
He sat waiting at my kitchen table—or rather, on it. He’d been joined by a stern-looking woman I recognized from the boardroom yesterday, although she hadn’t spoken much then and didn’t make very much of an impression now.
“Tawny,” Fluffikins rasped. “This is Greta. She’ll be helping with your orientation today.”
“Hi, Greta,” I said as I passed them both and made my way to the fridge. I didn’t keep much food on hand, but I had an entire shelf full of my favorite cold brew coffees. I grabbed one, twisted off the cap, and took a long, life-giving gulp. Definitely the best part of my morning, especially since my shower was still on the fritz.