Spell Me Always: Magic and Mayhem Universe: Bespelled by Love, #3

By Cherie Marks

A witch with bad juju…

A shifter too curious for his own good…

Put them together and you might just save the world…if you don't destroy it first.

 

Mesmerelda Wilder has lost control of her magic. A simple sneeze or a hiccough results in all sorts of mishaps. With the help of her aunt Kresley and her monkey-familiar Noxy, Mez hopes she can get her magical malady cured and rescue her missing pet before the Secret Army uses him to bring back an evil that will destroy the world. Maybe, if she can convince the shifter that's been sniffing around to help her, she might have half a chance to make things right.

 

Lucian Zafren has heard rumors that the High Priestess's return is imminent. Her devoted followers' plan to resurrect the evil sorceress and apparently require the elder witch Kresley Wilder to do it. Now, he must act to fight to keep the kingdom free. Of course, with the witch who happens to be his mate promising seduction and pulling his focus off his mission, he'll need to keep his head on straight and get her on his side because if they can pull off a tricky plan together, they won't just foil evil once or twice. They'll spell it always.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cherie Marks
• Release date: Jun 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201735005

Cherie Marks

It all started with an old-fashioned typewriter. When the family brought it home, all those stories and characters rolling around in her head could finally get out. The press and click of the keys satisfied in their own right, but when she pulled out a finished page, she knew this was for her. Since then, she's graduated to a laptop, but the stories still find a way out. She's a breast cancer survivor, a teacher, a wife, a mother, and from the very beginning—a storyteller. Always a hint humorous and honest to a fault, she loves to make people laugh and smile. Her goal in life is to achieve tact and stop procrastinating. The battle wages on.

Book preview

Acknowledgements

Without the love of my life, my best friend forever, my rock, and my roll, I would be an unmotivated dreamer. Scott, you give so much, and I can’t imagine this journey without you.

Robyn Peterman, I am thankful that you have provided a creative outlet that has kept me sane in a year of insanity. Thank you!

Dedication

Dedicated to the parents, teachers, administrators, custodians, food workers, school staff, and especially the students who have survived a year of cleaning, creative serving, planning, replanning, mitigating, Zooming, Google Teaming, and all the other digital learning! Learn from the past, live in the present, and look to the future! There is hope in it all.

Foreword

Blast Off with us into the Magic and Mayhem Universe!

I’m Robyn Peterman, the creator of the Magic and Mayhem Series and I’d like to invite you to my Magic and Mayhem Universe.

What is the Magic and Mayhem Universe, you may ask?

Well, let me explain...

It’s basically authorized fan fiction written by some amazing authors that I stalked and blackmailed! KIDDING! I was lucky and blessed to have some brilliant authors say yes! They have written brand new stories using my world and some of my characters. And let me tell you...the results are hilarious!

So here it is! Blast off with us into the hilarious Magic and Mayhem Universe. Side splitting books by fantabulous authors! Check out each and every one. You will laugh your way to a magical HEA!

For all the stories, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/. Grab your copy today!

And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!

https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/

Chapter 1

Mesmerelda Wilder wasn’t one to panic. But considering the circumstances, panic seemed the most appropriate reaction.

You look ready to throw up, Mez. Hang on. It’s just a little bit farther.

Is that the best you got for me, Noxy? ‘Hang on?’ This whole forest could dissolve to dust if I so much as hiccough right now. There’s only one way to fix it. We need to move faster.

Mesme, Mesme, Mesme, how many times do I have to remind you. Success is not about speed. It’s about precision, timing, and a little bit of luck.

Luck is for suckers. All I need right now is a Wilder witch and her magic.

Well, there is no better Wilder witch than your great aunt Kresley. I’m sure she’ll know what to do.

The night wind blew sharp and cold as the pair made their way through the trees and ground flora of the forests of Linwyn. Mez and her familiar, in the shape of what Princess Gemma, who had lived in a different dimension most of her life, had called a monkey, followed an overgrown path on what felt like a doomed mission—to save others from Mez’s magic-gone-wild.

Even now, she felt a tickle in her nose like she was about to release a hard sneeze. She worked to suppress it, cringing at the uncomfortable feeling of dissatisfaction that resulted. But the last time she’d let one rip, everything in front of her had been coated in pure, crystalline ice...for miles. Fortunately, she’d been away from everyone, in her small house on the savannah of Kirkland. It was mostly an uninhabited wonderland of barely covered sunshine and warm, breezy nights. By nightfall, the ice had dissipated, but Mez’s concern had only ratcheted higher as other strange happenings occurred: objects dissolving before her very eyes and others appearing out of nowhere. Of course, the dreams were the most disturbing of all. Just the thought of them made her shiver slightly.

Noxy seemed to notice as she asked, Are you okay? Do we need to take a break?

I’m fine. I’ll take a break when we reach Aunt Kresley.

Does she know we’re coming?

I mean, she’s a powerful witch. I’m sure she senses a visit from someone, right?

Mez, you really don’t get people, do you?

Duh! Hence the moving away from civilization to the middle of nowhere.

Mez felt Noxy’s rolling eyes, even if she couldn’t see them due to the absence of the moon tonight, riding coolly behind puffy clouds.

People don’t appreciate guests who just drop in unannounced, Mez. That’s how you get jinxed for life, my dear.

At this rate, that might be an improvement. Besides, I’m sure she will understand the urgency of the situation. We must find Peps as soon as possible. He has to be scared out of his mind. And, maybe you’ve noticed, my magic is clearly off the rails. I don’t think she’ll hold it against me, considering the alternative is the destruction of the world as we know it.

Um, aren’t you being a tad dramatic?

Not if her dreams were any indication. Night after night, Mez watched the world die, and it was her hands that were raised as it happened. Her eyes that were completely white with a power like lightning. Her magic that was coating the land. And people were dying. Whether it was true or not, Mez couldn’t take the chance.

Yet, she didn’t share her fears with Noxy. She wasn’t ready to see the look of horror she was sure would be in her best friend’s eyes. Instead, she moved forward with a shrug and stopped at the top of a hill. Below, a tiny cottage sat in the middle of a clearing, and for the first time, Mez felt a slight relief.

She hadn’t seen Kresley for many years. The family had gone their separate ways, and though Mez had been just a child then, she had felt the tension that had divided them.

She just hoped the years had given her aunt’s temper a chance to cool off.

In the next moment, she had an answer. A booming voice came from behind them as a female said, You’ve got some nerve showing yourself around here, Grinelda!

Sparks flew at Mez, and she just barely managed to drop to the ground in time as a tree behind her doubled over as if in pain.

She rolled off the path into the bushes just as another round of magic hit the dirt right where she’d been.

Noxy slid up beside her and whispered harshly, I told you people don’t like drop-ins.

She thinks I’m my grandmother. I’ve got to find a way to tell her I’m not Grinelda.

Um, here’s an idea. Send her a freakin’ message that you’re coming and to expect you.

Another flash of magic set the tree above them ablaze. Too late for that.

So, what do we do now?

The familiar tingling sensation filled her nostrils. She’d been holding back all day, and something told her it was finally time to let go.

I don’t know...but I think...I think...we’re The sneeze didn’t disappoint as ice shot from Mez’s hands into the sky like an arctic geyser, covering the foliage of the towering trees and freezing into a fountain of pure, white sculpture. It was amazing and frightening all at once, and Mez couldn’t help but finish her thought, about to find out.

Silence reigned in the formerly chaotic night. With caution, Mez sat up slowly, as the sound of water solidifying into ice became the only noise in the air. She glanced around to see if she could spy her Aunt Kresley and maybe get a chance to explain.

But what she saw made her suck in a cool breath. The ice hadn’t just shot upward. It had coated the entire area, including her aunt and a small army of various witches and warlocks who, from the looks of their postures, had been ready to fight.

For fuck’s sake! What did you do?

Saved us. You should thank me. Yet, the words sounded hollow to her ears. This was not how she wanted to meet her aunt after all this time. Again, she had had no control over her powers, and it was a disaster. At this rate, her nightmares were going to be a reality before she got the help she needed.

Yeah, I don’t think your aunt or her friends, here, are going to be grateful once they thaw out.

Mez knew Noxy was right, but she didn’t have a choice. Aunt Kresley was her only hope. If she didn’t figure out how to change things soon, she might have to consider something drastic...like exiling herself to a dimension where she would be the only inhabitant. What a horrible prospect! But right now, her choices were limited.

I can’t worry about that right now. Help me get her back to her house. We’ll figure out what to say to her then.

Well, for all our sakes, I hope she has answers for you. As Noxy pushed out of the bushes and back onto the path, headed toward Aunt Kresley, she said, Maybe if you mix her a nice drink with some of that ice you make, she’ll be more willing to listen.

Worth a shot. I mean, it’s got to be good for something, right?

Fuck, I hope so. Otherwise, you’re just one cold bitch, if you know what I mean.

Noxy had no idea.

Chapter 2

Lucian Zafren had seen a lot in his thirty years, but a pillar of ice appearing in an instant was a new one on him.

What the fuck was that?

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one feeling astonished. Beside him, as he had been for the past two weeks, was Esved, a soldier in the Secret Army, as they called themselves, and he was Lucian’s companion on this scouting mission. Clearly, he had no problem expressing his surprise upon seeing the ice tower rise above the forest canopy in a flash of brilliant, white light.

I don’t know, but I’m sure General Harper would be interested in the intel we bring back once we find out.

Esved gulped loudly. Can’t we just tell him what we saw. We don’t have to get any closer, do we?

Now, Esved, what do you think is going to happen if we go back to General Harper and tell him we saw a plume of ice suddenly appear out of nowhere? He’s going to ask questions. I, for one, don’t want to be standing there, holding my dick in my hands without any answers whatsoever. Now, suck it up, and let’s go, man.

Esved nodded reluctantly, his face still shadowed in the darkness of the night, and they began to walk around the perimeter, avoiding the property’s protection spells. Lucian rolled his eyes when he heard Esved sigh before he asked, "But why