The Beastly Perfume: The Salon of Enchanted Beauty, #4

By Anna Mittower

"No. I'm a sorceress. And I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. When do we leave?"
 

A brand new adventure has landed on Philliya Wridall's doorstep in the form of an unusual request from a mercenary company. They require the services of a sorceress to conquer a beast nest and she steps up for the challenge, even if it means leaving her comfort zone. Literally.

 

Armed only with her wit and sorcery, and accompanied by a mischievous new friend, she leaves her salon behind to join her clients on the front line. But when danger strikes, she realizes that this adventure just might be her last. Philliya must muster all her sorcery, beauty related or not, to survive this challenge and return home in one piece.

 

This cozy fantasy book is a pint sized short read crafted with care for a single session of reading. The books in this series may be read as standalones.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quills & Quasars
• Release date: Jul 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781960598035

Book preview

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Part One

With perfect timing, Philliya Wridall lifted the lid of her pot so a stream of diced ingredients could slip under it into the bubbling liquid inside. She smiled at what appeared to be thin air after replacing the lid.

Good job, Sport.

A fist sized ball of nearly invisible wind expanded and contracted violently. 

Alright, alright. So you don’t like Sport for a name. I’ll think of something else. 

She returned to cutting up more ingredients, this time slicing them into long narrow strips. 

Sport is such a good name though. It’s a shame you don’t like it. You didn’t like Trip, Flip, or Dip either.

The ball whizzed around her head, sending wisps of green hair flying. 

Stop that. I’ll call you Spinny again!

It stopped and hovered just above the top of her head. She flicked her eyes up at it before shaking her head. For the past few weeks, she’d been adopted by this temperamental wind elemental. Apparently it had followed her home from the Konteh mansion that final day. So far, it was proving itself helpful instead of a nuisance. No cold drafts at night, à la its previous victim, instead it acted as a third hand, helping her clean up or move ingredients around. Only in the past few days had it decided to don a visible form and she’d been trying since then to find a name for it. It, you there, etc. just wasn’t cutting it. She felt she ought to give it a name. Her professor’s earth elemental had a name. It went by Rocky, highly original, I know, but the professor insisted that Rocky had picked that name. So, in that vein she had attempted to bestow the name Windy on her attachment. It had blown off the lid of her pot and nearly spilled the potion she’d been brewing that day. Not a great start to the naming adventure. And none of the names since then had met with success either, though none had resulted in the same catastrophic negative response as Windy. Personally, and she kept the thought firmly in her own mind, the name rather suited the vagaries of her elemental friend and she couldn’t find a suitable name that had the same effect.

She dumped the rest of the ingredients in herself, her friend still refusing to lend a hand, and seated herself next to it where she had an excellent view out of the shop window.

It should be done in an hour and ready for straining. If no customers come, I can relax and have tea until then!

However, just as she was about to tap on the teapot, a shadow filled the shop window. Several shadows in fact, but only one came through the door. This shadow belonged to a bulky man outfitted in metal and leather armor. He had short crimson hair with matching beard, original, in her professional opinion, not colored, and a sword at his waist.

She took in this highly unusual specimen from top to bottom before her mouth could start functioning again.

Good afternoon and welcome to my shop of enchanted beauty. How may I assist you?

His eyes roved the shelves