Cindy Lost and the Book of Spells

By Robert A.V. Jacobs

Cindy is struggling to assimilate Oblitus’ legacy, when she takes a short break in the real world.
It is less of a break than anticipated when she encounters an organisation bent on the destruction of all Witches.
And to add to that, she saves two children from almost certain death. Prevents two elderly pensioners from being mugged, and has to resist the advances of some amorous teenagers.
Coming home after seeing her friends in the park, she is shocked to discover that her housekeeper has been shot, and the sister that she didn’t know that she had, has been kidnapped.
Her visit culminates in the mysterious discovery of a Witches vault in her great Aunt’s Chimney. But all of this pales into insignificance when on her return to the Witches Realm, and a visit to the Witches museum, she discovers that the Book of Spells is missing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert A.V. Jacobs
• Release date: Jun 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005314101

Book preview

Children’s fiction, ten years and upwards:

Daisy Weal

Daisy Weal and the Monster

Daisy Weal and Sir Charles

Daisy Weal and the Last Crenian

The Lost Starship

The Star Queen

Dauntless

Grandpa’s Shed

Cindy Lost and the Black Witch

Cindy Lost and Allott’s Claw

Short Stories in the Daisy Weal series

(Available as ebooks):

Daisy Weal and the Grelflin

Daisy Weal and the Weenies

Daisy Weal and the Millions

Daisy Weal and the Outside Place

Daisy Weal and the Secret

Daisy Weal and the Disaster

Daisy Weal and the Ghost

Daisy Weal and the Figment

Young Adult and Adult Fiction:

Speaker (A collection of 32 short stories)

The Yellow Dragon

The Diamond Sword of Tor

Cardoney (Omnibus edition containing both The Yellow Dragon and The Diamond Sword of Tor)

Adult Science Fiction:

As a Consequence

Taldi’na

With no Warning

Adult Detective/Murder Mysteries:

Dexxman

The Disappearance of Natalie Firth

Time to Die

A Promise to Doreen

Almost Enough

The Eighteenth Panda

The Seventh Tower

The Ordeal

Bodies in the Clearing

The Wordsearch Murders

Non-fiction:

Sudoku, Food for the Mind

Table of Contents

Also By

A Note from the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter |Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-Two

Why not write a Review

List of Characters

Latin-English Translations

About the Author

A Note from the Author

Apparently, in the two previous Cindy Lost books, It has been pointed out to me that somehow, I have managed to get Goblins and Gnomes mixed up, so just in case such an error should appear again, let me clarify.

Gnomes are the best with money that you can get, and are therefore used as bank tellers, or on Checkouts in supermarkets and in shops.

Goblins are used as mentors to young witches, monitoring them throughout their early years until they enter the Witches realm.

I will specifically check for this in my final edit, and hopefully, I won’t make the same mistake again.

Again, I have to thank the ‘Merchant of Magic’ for allowing me to make their shop part of my stories, and in particular I single out Dominic Reyes, and his son Felix, who feature in Chapter Fourteen for special mention. Even though I was not aware of her existence during the writing of this book, I think it only fair to say ‘Hi’ to Dominic’s daughter Claudia.

Dominic started the ‘Merchant of Magic’ in 1999, and now heads up the online side of the business, so thanks again guys.

Oddly, I named my fictional owner of ‘Merchant of Magic’ (Sir Felix Appledean) way before I even knew that Dominic had a son, let alone that his name was also Felix.

And a note for my younger readers.

No-one is too young to learn, and if on the odd occasion you come across a word that you do not understand, then remember that Dictionaries and mothers were created for just that purpose.

Where I have used spells, and reverse translations of Latin to English often show a slightly different meaning to the words, I have included a list of what I mean at the end of the book.

Chapter One

Alice Price woke up, and drew the grubby blanket tighter around her body. She noticed that it was raining, but luckily the makeshift shelter that she had erected seemed to be keeping them mostly dry. A single tear trickled down her face as she looked at Jenny, her five-year-old daughter, cuddling in close beside her.

They had been living on the streets after they were evicted from their flat for most of her baby’s life, and she found that for one reason or another she had been unable to claim any financial benefits. The local authority hadn’t been much help either, and apart from offering to take her baby into care, they told her that there was nothing that they could do. Whether that was true or not, she had no idea. She was not a lawyer, and had no money to employ one, so she was forced to do whatever she could by herself.

Having no permanent address seemed to be the major stumbling block, even to the extent that no-one would employ her, and she ended up begging outside of a supermarket. She did make enough for them to eat, albeit frugally, but at least they did eat. At one time, she was tempted to move to be closer to a food bank, but in the end, she wasn’t prepared to move into an area that she didn’t know.

There are many ways that the homeless or the needy can receive help in the UK, but up until now she had never needed them, so had no idea where to turn. The worst part was that Jenny was just coming up to school age, and Alice was terrified to send her in case her circumstances were discovered and her daughter was taken into Social care.

There was no doubt that she could have found all the help that she needed, but she was afraid to even look. She loved her daughter to bits, and the fear that she would be taken from her, was the sort of nightmare scenario that she found impossible to live with. So the fewer people who knew the safer they would be.

What she really needed was somewhere to live, and she thought that she had spotted just the place. It was a bungalow just around the corner that seemed to have been abandoned. True, it probably wouldn’t have any heating, lighting, or water supply, but if they could get inside unnoticed, they would at least have a roof over their heads.

The rain seemed to be petering out, so she decided that if there ever would be an opportune moment then this was it. Gently she woke her daughter, and together, as they always did ever since Jenny could walk, gathered up as much as they could, and started the short walk to the bungalow. It they were successful, they could always come back for the rest later.

No-one seemed to be around when they arrived outside, so she pushed open the gate and they walked up to the house. The front door was locked, and it was one of those UPVC ones, with a locking system that was almost impossible to jimmy, so they made their way to the rear.

The back door was the same as the front door had been, and she was about to turn away, when something urged her to actually try opening the door. Reaching for the handle, she was amazed when the door opened easily. Who in their right mind would leave a house, and then forget to lock it? She thought.

Surprisingly the house was warm inside, and just to be sure she touched a radiator. It was also warm. The place had heating that was working! Wow! Looking around, she could see quite clearly that this house had not been lived in for months, and that was made fairly obvious by the liberal coating of dust over everything. It was perfect…A deserted house that was still being heated? It was gold dust.

Walking into the kitchen, she tried the tap over the sink, and was rewarded with a quite powerful stream of water. It was getting better and better. Now if there was light as well…It was then that she had really hit the jackpot. Tentatively she reached for the closest light switch, and even Jenny began to get excited when the light came on.

Well the first thing that we have to do young lady, she said, is to get you into a bath.

What’s a bath Mum? asked Jenny, having never even seen a bath in her entire life.

It like a big sink that is filled with water, and you get into it and then scrub your-self clean all over.

Will I like it?

Well we won’t know that until we try it, now will we? said Alice, Now let’s find the bathroom.

Chapter Two

Walking around, they found that it was a three bedroomed bungalow, with one bedroom clearly meant for at least one adult, one that looked pretty much like a spare room, and the other for a child, or teenager. In that room, there was a wardrobe, which still had clothes in it, but unfortunately, they appeared to be for a child at least six or seven years older than Jenny. Nevertheless, by rooting through the drawers, she did manage to find a jumper that could double as a dress for Jenny if the sleeves were rolled up.

As she intended to wash Jenny’s clothes after the bath, at least there was something that the child could wear until her own stuff was dry. Taking the jumper with her, she led her daughter into what was obviously a bathroom.

Jenny stared wide eyed at the bath.

I’ll drown in that, she protested.

Alice laughed.

"No you won’t dear. We don’t fill it right up, just enough for you to sit up in and soak.

Jenny had been rather dubious at first, but after a few minutes of soaping, soaking, and a fair bit of splashing, Alice thought that it might just be difficult to get her out again.

In the end it was Jenny who stood up and declared that she thought she was clean enough, and could she get out.

There were plenty of towels around, some stacked on a shelf, and others hanging from a towel rail, so Alice grabbed a couple, shook out the dust, thoroughly dried Jenny, and dressed her in the jumper.

I like that, declared Jenny, can I do it again soon.

As long as no one finds us, you can do it every day...Which reminds me. If anyone asks you, tell them that we are renting the house.

OK, mum, but I hope they don’t ask, because you told me it’s not nice to tell lies.

Well I’m going to wash your clothes and take a bath myself, said Alice, so why don’t you see if there are any toys in the child’s bedroom to play with for a while.

Jenny ran off to explore, and after making sure that she knew where everywhere was, she eventually found a couple of dolls, and took them into the lounge. It was a nice room, with a big glass cabinet full of all sorts of things, and really nice sofa for her to sit on, facing a big flat screen TV on the wall.

Mum, said Cindy Lost to her mother, it’s been plaguing me for weeks, but I really, really, must pay a visit to the real-world.

Whatever would you want to do that for?

All of these things that talk to me here, make me just a little bit uneasy, and anyway, I miss the place.

Well if it will get it out of your system, then why not? replied Charm, I’ve been meaning to go back for a short visit myself to check up on the house, but it’ll be a couple of days before I can do that. You go by all means, and I’ll join you when I can.

It’s been months, and I agree with you that we should be checking up on the house? Will it even still be there?

Oh, it’ll be there. I set up some standing orders to pay the bills before we left, and made sure that the bank account doesn’t get emptied.

Cindy didn’t like to ask how that had been accomplished, but she did know that her mother didn’t have an unlimited supply of money in her real-world bank account. Maybe she would find out one day?

Ok then. We still have a couple of weeks of the summer break left, and there is no time like the present, so I’ll see you in a day or two.

Don’t forget to tell the gate that you want Jean’s and not Charm’s house, otherwise you could end up anywhere.

Cindy grinned.

Just in time, she said, "it had slipped my mind, that you came here as Jean, and not Charm."

Knowing that her iconic, blue and black, Witches outfit would revert to everyday clothes when she passed through the gate, she walked up to the glass cabinet and simply stepped through the closed glass door.

She found that she was suddenly gasping, and hardly able to breathe as she came out of the glass cabinet in her mother’s real-world lounge, and felt crushed by a t-shirt that was obviously far too small for her. As well as the t-shirt, a loud popping sound as her jeans burst alerted her to the fact that she had aged almost a year, and got much bigger since she