Life's A Witch: The Summer Sisters Witch Cozy Mystery, #2

By A. M. King

Being a witch is a lot more complicated than it looks. 

Febe's just getting used to her magical powers and needs to pass a few tests before she is fully licensed to practice magic without restrictions. But after the murder of someone close to her, she becomes the prime suspect. 

Can she clear her name in time and find the real killer—with a little help from magic?

The Summer Sisters Witch Cozy Mystery series:

Witch Happens (Book 1)

Life's a Witch (Book 2)

Witch You Were Here (Book 3)

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. M. King
• Release date: Oct 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386762805

Book preview

Thanks to my Father above for every blessing.

Life’s a Witch

(The Summer Sisters Witch Cozy Mystery, Book 2)

Being a witch is a lot more complicated than it looks.

Febe’s just getting used to her magical powers and needs to pass a few tests before she is fully licensed to practice magic without restrictions. But after the murder of someone close to her, she becomes the prime suspect.

Can she clear her name in time and find the real killer—with a little help from magic?

There’s a little magic in all of us

-Author Unknown

Prologue 

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With this broom, I sweep away all negativity that comes my way.- Anonymous

- Febe’s favorite quote of the day

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Febe Summer glanced in horror at the note that was left on the front porch. It was evening at the Summer Victorian Mansion in Blackshore Bay where she’d been staying with her three aunties, her late mother’s sisters. She’d been there since losing her job in the city, the break up with her fiancé, and the loss of her apartment. She could no longer afford the rent in Toronto without a steady paycheck so moving back to Blackshore Bay had been a blessing—or was that a curse? Earlier that week, Febe had helped the cops in solving a murder involving a gossip tabloid reporter who’d been found dead on the roadside.

The family gathered in the grand dining room to discuss the message in the strange note.

Better practice your magic spells.

You’re going to need them soon.

One by one,

the Summer sisters will soon be gone.

Aunt Eartha looked stunned as the women of the Summer family gathered together in the grand dining room after tea time.

Who could have sent this? Aunt Eartha asked.

I don’t know, Febe replied, dazed. Her heart throbbed in her chest. She’d only just found out she had magical blood flowing through her veins. Prior to that, she’d just been an ordinary girl struggling to make ends meet and keep her head together while working in a toxic, competitive office environment in the city.

Here, let me see this, Aunt Vanity said, snapping her vanity mirror shut and shoving it in her handbag. Her aunt took up the spell book that was lying on the coffee table and flipped through the pages.

What are you doing? Febe asked.

I’m going to look up a reveal spell. To reveal the sender. Every living being has their energies on everything they do or use. She then took the parchment sheet of paper from Febe and whispered an incantation and asked the sender to be revealed.

The sisters waited in patience. A whirl of wind circulated around them. Febe felt a chill and goosebumps surfaced on her skin.

Nothing happened.

The tension in the air was palpable as each sister looked at each other.

Was her Aunt Vanity losing her magical touch?

Frustrated Aunt Vanity tried again and asked the spirits of the universe to intervene and reveal the sender of the message. She spread her fingers across the paper, feeling the ink.

Still, nothing happened.

Crap, it’s blocked, Aunt Vanity finally said.

Silly woman, of course it’s blocked, Aunt Trixie said, rolling her eyes. Whoever did that has enough power to do away with witches, so of course they could use a simple blocking spell. Silly.

"Witch, please. Who are you calling silly? You want to see something silly? Look in the mirror."

Ladies! Please, Aunt Eartha interjected.

Febe frowned. She was getting worried now. Did someone follow Febe home? Was it someone from the police department? Did the cops suspect they were magical folks? In the town of Blackshore Bay, witchcraft and anything magic was forbidden. In fact, it was a magic free zone. If anyone was caught using their witching skills, they’d be toast. Like, literally. There was a Council of Witches, an organization that co-existed with regular governmental agencies in the Blackshore Bay area, that normals were not aware of. Even the Council disagreed with practicing magic unless it was absolutely necessary to save the life of human or magical folk. Magic was not to be practiced for self-serving purposes.

I bet you it was Mr. Dawes from down the street, Aunt Trixie said. He’s been acting strange ever since your mama, my dear sweet sister, passed away.

He’s been acting strange? Febe queried.

Yes, you know: strange. Don’t you see he’s always peeking out from behind the blinds whenever any of us enters or leaves the premise. He takes neighbourhood watch to a whole new level.

"More like nosyhood watch. That man is so nosy, it’s not even funny," Aunt Vanity chimed in. Well, at least the sisters could agree on something.

But what makes you think he suspects us? Febe swallowed hard. Everything had been strange since moving back to Blackshore Bay, not to mention she’d found out her black cat Ebony could talk. And now they had the neighbor, Mr. Dawes, watching their every move?

Ever since your mama’s mysterious death on the bay, he’s been hovering around the house as if he suspects something.

"Or someone," Aunt Vanity added. She went back into her handbag and pulled out her vanity mirror. Febe was certain someone had put a hex on her aunt so that she would always be glued to her compact mirror, always fixing herself up, worrying if a strand of hair was out of place. Aunt Vanity was a gentleman’s lady. She never shied away from men. And she was proud of it, too. She boasted she had a date almost every other week. Which was more than Febe could say about her twenty-five year old self.

Great. Isn’t there a way we could use a spell to...?

No, honey. You know the rules of witching. Oh, right, you’re still getting used to being a mage. Well, anyway, you’re forbidden from using magic for personal gain.

What about personal safety?

We’re good in this old Victorian house of ours, Aunt Vanity continued, admiring herself in the mirror. Your mama put a protection spell around the bricks to protect all who enter and dwell in this old place. She was advanced like that. God rest her soul.

Febe’s heart squeezed in her chest. She really missed her mother. Mom must have been advanced. I heard most spells only last five minutes or so. At least that’s what I’ve been reading in the Spell Book.

That’s true, darling. Anything longer is an advanced spell. Only certain witches are capable of that.

Aunt Eartha came back into the living room and looked at the note again, her brows furrowed.

What is it, Aunt Eartha?

This doesn’t look good at all. Remember we discussed about seven witches in the Summer family having to bind together when the evil hunter returns at the next blue moon.

Yes.

Well, I did receive a yellow notice from the Council of Witches.

When were you going to tell us darling elder sister? Aunt Trixie said, her hands on her hips.

I didn’t want to alarm any of you until I have further information. I will be meeting with the ministry tomorrow.

What exactly does a yellow notice mean? Febe interjected.

It means we need to be vigilant because word from the other realm suggests an attack may be imminent.

Febe’s eyes widened in shock. Okay, great. Now it was time to panic.

Not to worry though, Aunt Eartha continued.

Not to worry? Are you serious, Auntie?

It’s not the first time we’ve been given notice.

The girl is right, Eartha. This is serious! The last time we received a yellow notice, our dear sister, Katlynn,...well, she passed away in that horrible accident.

Febe felt her heart explode in her chest. She was living and working in Toronto at the time when she got word that her mom had passed away last year. She’d been traumatized by that tragic loss. She loved her mother dearly, though she didn’t get to spend as much time with her in the past few years as she’d liked, since she had been juggling two jobs in the city, fighting to make ends meet while paying off her massive student loan debt. But the news had struck her full force.

I had no idea you received a warning that something was about to happen before Mom passed away.

Yes, we did, darling. But as I said before, we’re one of the very few magical bloodlines left in Blackshore Bay. Since the days of Salem things were never the same, though we’ve come a long way since then. Anyway, the Blue Moon is the time when the energy forces of the earth strengthen and so will our power. That time will ensure another century of magic in our family. However, the evil hunter wants to put a stop to that. His power is great, but it will take the power of seven to take him on if he tries to stop us at the Witches Renewal of Energy during the Blue Moon phase.

But we’d need seven of us in one family. There’s only five. You, Aunt Trixie, Aunt Vanity, my sister Janvier and now me since I’ve come of age recently. Marsha hasn’t come of age yet.

But we can try to override that somehow. We’re working on getting her around to it.

She hasn’t really spoken to the family in ages, Febe said, dejected. Talk about a major barrier. And even if she does come along for the ride, assuming she won’t disown us when we tell her we’re really a family of witches, that still makes only six Summer witches. We need seven, right?

Aunt Eartha was silent for a moment. You’re right, she said softly. We’ll have to try to use the power of six of us. It’s still better than the five energy forces. We just need to keep ourselves safe. The evil hunter and his demons have been known to slide into the souls of humans and cause them to do despicable things.

Yeah, like throw your mama into the river. I know it was no accident. She was the only Summer sister who didn’t know how to swim. That man drowned her. Crazy old man telling the cops he was trying to save her but she drowned. He was probably keeping her underwater as long as he could until the cops got there.

Do you know who it was? Febe asked.

Some old man. Cops said it was an accident and he wasn’t a suspect. But I’m willing to bet it was one of the evil hunter followers.

Febe heaved a sigh as she held onto the piece of paper her aunt handed back to her. This would mean she’d really have to watch her back from now on. She didn’t know who to trust.

Chapter 1 

Once you go witch, you never switch.

-  Author Unknown

Thirteen Rules of Witching

Honor the Goddess and her Divine power

Do Good

Think Good (Where your thoughts go, your energy flows)

Cherish every moment you live

Learn from your mistakes, don’t feel burned by them. Failure is the best teacher

Use your magical powers and knowledge to heal and help others

Honor the magic in the world: life, love, nature

Treat your body well, it’s the most magical thing you’ll ever own

Treat others well, not by the way they may treat us. How you make others feel says a lot about you. 

Master your craft

Master your self

Practice magic within the guidelines of the Council of Witches

Practice self-love every day. It is not vanity, it’s sanity. You cannot give to others what you don’t have for yourself.

The next morning, Febe made her way into the Summer Café. It was her turn to open up the place. The sun