Witch at First Sight (Wicked Witches of Pendle Island Book 7), page 1
Copyright © 2021 by Mara Webb
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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
Epilogue
Thanks for Reading
Mailing List
Witch at First Sight
Wicked Witches of Pendle Island Book 7
Mara Webb
1
“I’m sorry, but Sheriff Long is not taking visitors right now,” the receptionist said from behind her desk.
“But I just need to speak to him really quick, I promise I won’t take up too much time!” I pleaded, staring helplessly at the turnstile gate that separated the lobby from the rest of the police station. I had spent the past week trying to get in touch with my boyfriend, Deacon, who no longer remembered me after I’d finished fixing an area of problem time-magic at the center of Pendle Island.
The secretary, a heavyset woman in her fifties, pushed her glasses down, let out a long sigh and looked at me. “Listen sweetie. I know you. I know who you are. You’ve solved a bunch of mysteries since you arrived on this island, you and Sheriff McKenzie are really on fire, but listen to me, if you keep barging in here like this, we’re going to have to talk about restraining orders. This is bordering on harassment.”
“I solved those mysteries with Deacon, I—I—!” I stopped myself, realizing that I was a crazy woman shouting into a void. Not only was I running the risk of getting arrested, or worse, committed, I was banging my head against a wall that wasn’t going to break. “Just… just give him this,” I said, pulling the letter out of my pocket and pushing it across the counter to the receptionist.
“Is there anthrax in this?”
“What?! No!”
“There better not be. Listen, I’ll hand it to him, but I can make no promises that he’ll read it. He only sees the letter if you promise not to come back here.”
I let out a long and frustrated sigh. “I have to give it to you,” I paused, squinting at her nametag, “Gillian, you are a fierce gatekeeper and drive a hard bargain. Just give him the letter and I’ll stay out of here. I promise.”
“It’s a deal,” she said, taking the letter off the table. “Anyone else would have been locked up by now. You only got this much slack because of who you are, but I must tell you something. You’re acting crazy.”
“It runs in the family,” I muttered.
“I’m sure it does. Listen, I’m not stupid I know what’s going on here, I understand why you’re acting like this.”
“You do?” I said, one brow arched high on my head with uncertainty.
Gillian gestured for me to lean in close and I did, she lowered her voice, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “Look, I get it. Deacon’s a catch. He’s a strawberry-blonde Adonis with a great job and good social standing. Men like that are hard to come by, especially on this island! You’re not the first girl to come in here looking for a piece of the elusive bachelor. If I was fifteen years younger…”
“I think I’ve heard enough,” I said, leaning back from the counter.
“I’m just saying, a long weekend, a bottle of whiskey, some crotchless panties and one of those G-string swings!” Gillian laughed and then winked at me.
“What in the name of all that is holy is a G-string swing?”
“She means sex swing,” a police officer said as he came around the corner. He approached the counter and held out his hand. “Chelsea Sponks, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Deputy Sam Tanner, I’m Deacon’s righthand man here at Fairview.”
I shook his hand weakly and smiled awkwardly. “I was just—”
“I know why you’re here. Why don’t I walk you out to your car? We can talk on the way.”
“Uh… I, okay?” I said, offering Gillian a confused parting glance as I followed Deputy Tanner out of the station and down the steps to my car.
“You’ll have to forgive Gillian, she’s from a time and age that predate political correctness. We’ve tried to train the wild streak out of her through various seminars, but if I’m being honest, I think it just makes her worse. If I’m being really honest, we kind of like her just the way she is. Keeps things interesting.”
“I was here to—”
“Like I said, I know why you’re here. You want to speak with Deacon. You think he’s your boyfriend. Well… I don’t want to make things worse Miss Sponks, but you have to understand how things look from our side of the counter.”
“I know how they look; I look like I’m crazy. I’ve seen the way everyone in this station looks at me. If I could just sit down and talk with him—”
“Here’s the thing,” Sam said. “I’m the only witch at Fairview PD.”
“There’s no way I can make anyone here understand, but—wait, what?” I had to do a doubletake to catch what he had said. “You’re a witch?”
Sam snapped his fingers and a ball of swirling blue light floated up and faded into the air. “Born and bred. I know all about magic, just like you do. I know all about the Sponks family, don’t worry, the secret is safe with me. Us magic folk, we gotta stick together.”
“I’m not sure why you’re telling me this,” I said, my eyes narrow with suspicion.
Sam looked around us, satisfied we were alone enough he placed a hand at the top of my back and walked me closer to my car. “Here’s the… real thing. I think I believe you.”
“You do?!”
“Yeah, I do. I think you’re telling the truth. Can’t say I really understand it. To my recollection Deacon has been the Sheriff here at Fairview PD for the last ten years, and in all that time he was never in a relationship with Chelsea Sponks. Heck, he’s not been on a date for at least three years! Claims he’s too busy.”
“I don’t understand, so why do you believe me?”
“Because of this,” Tanner said, pulling a wallet out of his pocket and opening it up to show me a photo. In the picture Deputy Sam Tanner was on a boat in the middle of a lake, holding up a fish with another man next to him.
“Who is this?” I asked. This time Tanner gave me a funny look. “Come on, you’re telling me you don’t recognize the Sheriff of your own town? This is Sheriff McKenzie, the man you’ve solved numerous mysteries with.”
I didn’t know what to say. In this week of bedlam, I’d spoken to McKenzie once on the phone, but never actually gone down to the station to see him. “I’ve never met this man.”
“You want to know what’s really funny? Neither have I, aside from in passing at police conventions. The real funny thing is that I remember going on this fishing trip with Deacon, and I remember taking this photo with Deacon, so why is the photo wrong, and why are you in here claiming you know a man that’s never even met you?”
“I can explain, but you’re probably not going to believe me. Heck, I’ve spent the last week basically doing the same thing.”
Tanner looked around again, hitched up his belt a little and put the photo back in his wallet. “Let me buy you a coffee at the diner down the street. Why don’t you try me?”
“That is… one big milkshake,” I said in disbelief, staring across the booth at Sam and his drink. I’d gone for a simple black coffee, but Sam ordered a ‘Unicorn Frenzy’. I hadn’t taken notice of it at the time, but when the waitress brought over a huge milkshake-filled stein topped with donuts and a unicorn made out of a waffle, I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“Oh yeah, these guys do the best monster shakes.”
“Monster shakes?”
“It’s a marketing term mostly. Huge shakes with lots of sugar and various desserts thrown on top. I’m getting them while I can, because I can’t see these things being legal for much longer. A couple of kids were in here last week and hit a crazy sugar rush after a few monster shakes. Had to get the PD involved. I pulled a toddler down from the ceiling fans.”
I looked up at the ceiling, finding it inconceivable that a toddler could somehow get up there unassisted. “I… how?”
“Sugar, man,” Tanner laughed as he took off one of the donuts and bit into it. “Gives kids superpowers. Donut?”
“I’m… good. Thanks,” I said, staring at the sugar-topped monstrosity in front of me.
“Yeah, I’ve got something of a sweet tooth. Still got that high school metabolism though, got to get the snacking in before that goes. My wife Tammy will kick my butt to the curb the moment I lose the sixpack.”
“Anyway…” I began, attempting to steer the conversation back to a semblance of normality. “Ah, yeah. Please, go ahead. You were about to explain why nothing makes sense. I’ll eat and listen. You explain.”
I looked around the diner, which was pretty busy for this time of the morning. Talking abo
With my hands tensed under the table I conjured up a bubble of silence, an invisible aura of magic that surrounded our booth, making it impossible for anyone to eavesdrop on us. It also meant the ambiance of the restaurant disappeared for me and Deputy Tanner, making the inside of the bubble very quiet.
“Did you just cast a bubble of silence?” he said, looking impressed and confused.
“Yeah, I’ve got to lay some important things out, and I don’t want anyone hearing this stuff.”
“But I didn’t even see you speak the incantation.”
“I just willed it,” I explained. That was something else that had changed. A week ago, my magic was rookie at the best. Since fixing the area of problem magic at the center of Pendle Island I had gotten far more powerful, thanks to inheriting some strong generational magic that was destined for me.
“Okay…” Tanner said, picking up his waffle unicorn and biting off its head. “So, what’s going on?”
“One week ago, Fairview town didn’t exist on Pendle Island. There were only three towns.”
Tanner understandably looked at me like I was crazy.
“There are four towns on Pendle Island.”
“There are now, but just trust me, things haven’t always been like this. Fairview wasn’t here before this week. It was just rolling fields and countryside.”
“Are you from an alternate timeline?” he said between a mouthful of waffle unicorn.
“No. I’m from here. Here’s the situation. One week ago, there was an area of wild magic at the center of the island. Me and my friends went inside and were transported back to Fairview in the fifties. Back in time.”
“Way back in time,” Sam mumbled, a line of thick pink syrup running down his hand. “So, what happened?”
“Long story short, we solved an ancient cold case and reversed the problem. A powerful witch called Lana Maddison trapped Fairview in a time loop by accident and I ended up breaking the loop and returning things to normal.”
“But Fairview has always been here. My family grew up here, I grew up here!”
“It’s hard to explain, but everything is back to normal now, except one thing. Deacon used to be the Sheriff of Pendle town police department, now he’s not.”
“McKenzie is,” Sam surmised. “And always has been.”
“Well, not for me. And evidently not for you either. That photo in your pocket proves that things are meant to be the other way around.”
“Wait, you think McKenzie is meant to be my Sheriff, and Deacon is meant to be yours?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, and anyway… well that’s everything. And now you’re caught up.”
“Huh…” Sam said, not offering anything more as he picked up his giant milkshake stein and started drinking. After getting halfway he put the glass back down and used a napkin to wipe his milkshake moustache away. “What’s the deal with this time loop thing then? How did this Lana woman do it, and how did you break it?”
“She was a Sabbat apparently, the High Witch for her generation. Apparently, now I’m the High Witch of this generation.”
Sam, who had picked up his shake for another slurp, choked on his drink and nearly sprayed his sugar milk everywhere. “You’re the High Witch?!” he said in alarm.
“It’s really not a big deal,” I muttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed for some reason.
Up until recently I’d never heard of the term ‘Sabbat’ or ‘High Witch’. Apparently in every generation of witches and wizards there was meant to be one Sabbat, a person with magical ability far greater than that of their peers. Apparently that person was now me, the girl that could barely magic up lasagna two weeks ago.
After solving the problem with Fairview, the previous High Witch, Lana Maddison, transferred the power over to me and now it was mine. I wasn’t sure what that meant for me other than my powers feeling a lot stronger. Things I had struggled with before now felt simply intuitive, and I could tell there was a vast well of power deep inside me, just waiting to be used.
I guess I’d been a little hesitant to use it. It kind of felt like putting a chimpanzee in a sports car and handing it the keys. A lot of power sure, but with a chimp behind the wheel things are more than sure to go wrong.
“Like, if you put a chimp in a sports car—” I said to Tanner, beginning to explain my feelings.
“Oh, been there, that doesn’t end well.”
“…What?”
“I was in the Korpa Zappa fraternity in college. Let’s just say we got up to some wild things. It’s pretty cool to be speaking to the High Witch though, even crazier that she lives on Pendle Island. Hey, this is really going to put our island on the map!”
“Can we get back on topic,” I asked. “I’m trying to figure out how I get back Deacon and fix this little muddle up.”
“Right, of course,” Tanner said and slurped an inch-thick puddle of syrup from the bottom of his stein through a candy pink straw. “Look part of the reason I wanted to talk is to warn you, you have got to back off a little. Show up at the station again and you’re going to get in trouble.”
“Deacon said that?”
“No, but the other officers at the station feel uneasy, and to be honest you’re giving off crazy lady vibes. Gillian wasn’t messing around back there. If you come to the station again there will be trouble.”
“Message received, so how do I win back Deacon if I can’t even see him?”
“You make friends with an insider. A mole if you will.” Tanner stared at me blankly. “I meant me.”
“I figured that; I was waiting for you to explain the plan.”
“Oh, right!” Tanner chuckled. “Sorry. Well, here’s the thing, Deacon’s got this cabin up north, just a few miles out of Babonix? About an hour by car, he goes there every weekend.”
“The cabin, of course! He’s told me about it before. We haven’t actually had a chance to go yet. What are you suggesting, I meet him at the cabin and then talk to him?”
“What? No, god no. That’s taking your stalking to the next level if anything. Why would you suggest that?”
“Well, what’s your plan, Officer diabetes?”
“Hey, my doctor said my blood sugar levels are only slightly concerning. The plan is this: There’s a diner on the way to Babonix, it’s about halfway between the two towns and Deacon likes to stop there for a turkey club. Now if you were already in the diner and eating something, it wouldn’t look crazy, just a coincidence, right?!”
“I think this is stupid enough that it might just work.”
“See,” Tanner said, now holding his empty stein upside down and drawing his finger around the inside as he scooped out the last remnants of sugar. “I told you I’m not a complete bonehead.”
“I have to ask, why are you so invested in this? I mean, what do you get out of it, other than correcting the photo in your pocket?”
“Uh… don’t tell him I said this, but Deacon and I went fishing last weekend and… I don’t know if the guy has lost his touch or what, but he completely sucks at fishing. Hopefully if I go with this other guy, McKenzie, I might have a better time. Also, Deacon knows nothing about sports. Don’t get me wrong, he seems like a nice guy, but I almost can’t understand how we’re fishing buddies.”
“Because you’re not, things got mixed up. And I’m going to put them right. What time do I need to be at this diner?”
“He leaves just after five on Friday nights, so if you’re at the diner before six you’ll be golden.”
“Perfect, then it’s a plan!”
With that I stood to my feet and dispelled the bubble of silence. The chatter of the diner instantly came back to my ears, and I felt renewed with purpose. I finally had a chance to get a moment with Deacon, I just had to make the most of it.
