Witch Upon a Star: Magic and Mayhem Universe

By Marianne Morea

I'm Linzie Hellborne. Half-witch/half-demon, and most recently the local it girl for the Queen of all witches, a.k.a. the Baba Yaga. I'm her Salem connection when she needs a shenanigans stopper, like when she sent me to the swamp to stop an illegal witch-blood ring. That swamp was a trip and a half, but some good came out of it. His name? Daniel Saint. And we're engaged!

 

The wedding is on the day of the Witch's Star, a magical twenty-four hours where wishes can come true. So imagine my surprise when the Baba Yaga offers to officiate. If you think that raised an eyebrow, you're right. Turns out there are more shenanigans at play, only this time it's way personal. As in my mother and little sisters in danger, personal.

 

I'm leaving my wedding lace behind and donning my O.G. black leather to raise my demon side and search for my family in the darkest of places. With Daniel and the Baba Yaga riding shotgun, I'm loaded for bear… or vampire… or evil witch…

 

Care to join our posse?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marianne Morea
• Release date: Jun 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201706791

Book preview

Chapter 1

Linz, I still can’t believe you’re going through with the whole white wedding thing. Tabitha scanned the nail polish colors. "It’s unnerving. White lace and promises are my style, but you?"

I toyed with a bottle of black nail polish before trading it for a light pink. All these questions. As my matron-of-honor, isn’t it your job to make sure these torturous rituals are stress free?

"You just described a bridal party spa day as a torturous ritual. And you picked pink nail polish, Tabitha gestured to the offending bottle. Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"

I glanced across the treatment room at my seaweed-anticellulite-mud-wrapped mother. Trust me. A white wedding was the lesser of two evils.

Lesser? Who’s the demi-demon here? Tabitha argued. The one Carol wanted for her latest shenanigans-busting.

Wanted? Try conscripted. Carol a.k.a. the Baba Yaga, a.k.a. the Queen of all Witches needed someone with my blood mix. She was more interested in me as half-demon, half-witch. Hence the arm-twisting.

Considering we’re in a spa instead of down at Hecate’s doing shots, it sounds like your mother and the Baba Yaga have a lot in common when it comes to arm-twisting. What did Gracie threaten you with to get you to do a whole white wedding without the rebel yell?

A snort left my mouth. She threatened to move in with me and Daniel and the girls.

No! Tabby’s mouth dropped. You can’t be serious.

Like a heart attack. I spared another look for my mother, and a pang of guilt snaked around my stomach. Gracie and I aren’t exactly close, but I’m trying. She suffered because of my father, Tabs. Shunned because she fell for Hux Hellborne and his reformed bad-boy charade, and then chose to have his half-demon child. It’s why she could never bring herself to train me, and why no one in the family stepped up. If it wasn’t for you and your family, who knows? My demon side might have consumed me by now.

Linz, don’t.

I followed the nail tech to a pair of side-by-side pedicure chairs, climbing into one while Tabitha took the other. I’m not second-guessing life. It is what it is, and I’m better for it. I hope. One thing I am is glad I sent Hux Hellborne to hell. He deserves every agony he gets for the pain he caused on this plane. Still, knowing my unscrupulous sperm donor, he’s probably the mayor of the nether world.

I don’t know, Linz. What you did was pretty spectacular, from all accounts. You earned brownie points with the Baba Yaga for sure. Daniel, too. You’re the only demons in history to receive a thank you basket from the Goddess herself.

I had to laugh at that. The Baba Yaga, a.k.a. Carol, a.k.a. the Queen of all Witches, wasn’t one for compliments, and she could be pretty crafty when she wanted.

Carol had to know my father engaged in the shenanigans down in that swamp. Why else would she approach me at your wedding? If she didn’t know for sure, then she had a strong inkling.

Tabitha dipped her feet in the warm, swirling tub, letting her toes soak. Maybe it was her way of helping you find closure. Her way of having you learn about your little sisters so you could rescue them from Hux.

Maybe. Either way, I’m contented good came out of all that bad, and if she hadn’t sent me on that mission to the swamp, I wouldn’t have reconnected with Daniel.

Tabitha smirked, splashing her toes.

Not nice, Tabs.

What?

You know what.

What can I say? Your man is a hottie halfling demon, and I bet that little slice of darkness makes for a major slice of heaven between the sheets.

Ugh. You and your dirty mind.

Tabitha chuckled, shrugging. Dirty mind or not, I always think happily ever after. Still, it’s too funny.

Me having a happily ever after is funny? I feigned insult.

"No, dummy. Daniel. His surname is Saint, yet he’s a demi-demon. Tabby chuckled anyway. And after you two get hitched, there’ll be two demi-demon saints."

Four, smartie pants. Daniel and I decided to adopt Samantha and Kasey. I never saw myself having crotch goblins, but adopting Samantha and Kasey is different. I grew up an outcast because of the Hellborne name and all it stood for, and I don’t want that for my little sisters. Not after what Hux did to them. To us.

And the white wedding?

I glanced at my mother again. She said if I did the whole wedding she wouldn’t move in.

Ha! Gracie is as crafty as Carol.

The spa director hurried toward them holding two champagne flutes in one hand and an open bottle of sparkling wine in the other. Tiny bubbles for a tiny bride-to-be!

I may be small, but I swear I’ll zap that chirpy woman baldheaded. I picked up a magazine and sank deeper into my pedicure chair to avoid eye contact.

Tabitha lifted her hand to wave the woman off, but it was too late. Mother-of-the-bride is happily ensconced in a seaweed wrap, and now it’s your turn. Claws and paws first, ladies. Then a trial run for wedding up-dos and makeup!

I barely nodded, keeping most of my face behind my magazine until she filled both glasses with bubbly and then bounced away.

At least the booze is free. Tabs held her glass out for a clink. And you kept your festivities exactly as you wanted. Small and intimate. Unlike my beach wedding extravaganza with half the witching world, including the Baba Yaga and her entourage.

Yeah, that was a swing and a miss.

Tabby’s mouth pulled. I didn’t have a choice, Linz. I had to invite Carol.

"No, Tabs. I meant me. I wanted to keep things small, but after Daniel and I shut down the blood shenanigans in the swamp, I didn’t have a choice, either. The witching world is coming, and so is my extended family now that they think I’m the Baba Yaga’s it girl. My mother insisted. The family wants a piece of my life, so much so, they badgered my mother into a list of potential bridesmaids."

Now? Tabitha asked. The wedding is a week away.

I know. You’d think after being shunned for so long, my mother would thumb her nose at the whole faithless tribe, but Gracie won’t have it. I looked at Tabitha. It’s worrying how much she’s enjoying their phony fawning.

Linz, tell me you didn’t agree to make this a witching world circus. You wanted a small event, immediate family and good friends, and you should have it.

At least the wedding party is still small. I looked at my friend. Though I did have to compromise on one thing.

Hey, girls! My cousin Delores shuffled in from the wrap room, encased in seaweed like a mottled green mummy. No seaweed for you, Linz? It removes all kinds of toxins, so maybe you should give it a try. You don’t want Daniel scared off by the faint stench of demon before you tie the knot.

I bit my tongue. Tabitha, I don’t believe you’ve met my cousin, Delores. Dee, this is Tabitha Morgan, my best friend and matron-of-honor.

The woman smiled. Nice to meet the woman who nabbed herself a Hawthorne. I hear Michael is a big hanging man, even if his magic is only pinky sized. She crooked her little finger.

Wow, Delores, I interjected. Making friends everywhere you go. I wouldn’t talk about anyone else’s magic if I were you. As for my fiancé, Daniel’s a demi-demon same as me, so watch your mouth.

I’m just playing, Linz. Delores sniffed. What are bridesmaids for if not to keep everyone entertained.

My bigmouthed cousin shuffled off to the cleansing room, and before the woman got to the door, Tabitha grabbed my arm. "Do not tell me she’s your compromise."

Ding. Ding.

Linzie, she’s awful! How? Why?

My mother insisted. About a year ago, Delores shagged a very powerful witch’s husband. Dee doesn’t think about anyone but herself, and things got ugly. Really ugly. I leaned in closer. The wife’s powers included a certain touch, and I don’t mean sparking fingers.

A certain touch? Tabitha raised an eyebrow. Do you mean psychometry?

I nodded. "The witch found my cousin’s panties tangled up in the bed sheets, and BOOM! The poor woman got a down and dirty play-by-play, as in going down with everything in between."

No! Tabs’ eyes went wide.

Yep.

"How is it I haven’t heard about this? The witching world loves juicy, and this is juicy!"

The witch Delores messed with happens to be a distant relation of the Baba Yaga. Carol. Distant, but close enough for Carol to strip Delores of her powers for the next century.

Tabitha smacked my arm. Shut the front door! So she’s human?

Technically. I reached for a bunch of grapes on a complimentary snack tray to the side of the pedicure chairs. "I only know because my mother