Sugar Coated Hex Read online

  SUGAR

  COATED

  HEX

  HOLLOW OAK WOMEN SLEUTHS

  C.Y

  CHASE

  A Cozy Mystery Book

  Copyright © 2020 by C.Y Chase

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  [email protected]

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Also By

  "Don't worry, it's dead." I moved towards the hole. Grandma Elspeth blocked my path. Our noses were almost touching. "You don't want to see that," she said.

  I froze. This wasn't just a request, it was an order. I went to brush the hair from my eyes and realized my hands were shaking.

  "Go on back to bed. I'll be in in a minute." She smiled at me and I suddenly had a vision of the Big Bad Wolf who dressed up like Riding Hood's grandma, the pink bonnet on his huge, furry head, the too white teeth.

  "Okay," I said and turned around. I went back in through the sliding door where she could see me, and promptly back out through the front door where she couldn't. I walked quickly and quietly around the side of the house, kicking my shoes off in the grass. I got close enough that I could see her arms raking the dirt in the moonlight.

  "No," I murmured when the light fell on her just right. It highlighted her arms. Her right sleeve was bunched up to the elbow. It only got worse each time she lifted the rake. A giant red mark lay blazing against her pale skin, so bright I could even see it in the dark.

  She wiped her hands on her skirt and leaned the rake against the fence. When she was back inside, I hurried to the spot. She'd done a good job of covering it, but I'd already seen the hole. I knew where to look. It wasn't deep. I dug it out with my bare hands, not caring if they got dirty. I had to know what was buried here, I was sure it wasn't a rat.

  My fingers pressed against something hard. I dug an inch further and they grasped around a glass bottle. I stood and held it up to the moonlight.

  ANTI-VAMP POISON

  DO NOT INGEST

  HARMFUL TO VAMPIRES

  In smaller, fine print, it read: Wamps under the age of sixteen are particularly susceptible.

  This was no potion to remove vampire teeth, this was straight up poison, designed to take away one of the very things that made us who we are. And my grandmother had just buried a bottle of it.

  "No. This is impossible. It can't be."

  I turned around and grandma was right behind me in the dark, watching me.

  "Now look what you've done," she said. "You should have gone to bed like I told you."

  ***

  PROLOGUE

  Gretel Knight looked around her bedroom. She couldn't stop crying.

  She reached for the pillow her mother had made her for Christmas just this last year. Her hand clenched it, unclenched it. Should she take it or leave it? She couldn't bring everything. She set it aside. Time to let things go.

  Her door squeaked open and Sasha poked her head in. She took one look at the suitcase on the bed and knew. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

  Gretel nodded and choked out a "Yes." Sasha ran over, weaving her body between Gretel's legs as she purred loudly. Gretel reached down and scratched Sasha behind the ears.

  "I'll find you, you know," Sasha said.

  "I'm counting on it."

  Gretel frowned. A deep line formed on her otherwise flawless forehead.

  "I've told you before," Sasha said, "if you make those faces too often, one day you won't be able to undo them. See?"

  Sasha worked whatever magic familiars had and her face changed from the furry white Persian that Gretel had grown up with to a strange yellow bird. She let out a loud cawing noise that could have woken the house.

  "Ssh!" Gretel giggled and quickly covered her mouth. "Don't make me laugh, Sasha. Not now."

  Sasha changed back to a cat and rubbed her nose against Gretel's hand.

  "Look," Gretel told her, "don't come right away, okay? My parents are going to need a little time. Especially mom. It will help if you're here."

  Sasha sat back on her haunches. Her tail swished behind her. "Yes, Elspeth doesn't like change."

  "I know, but the times are changing. You have to change with them or be left behind."

  "It will be a hard road for the two of you. Abner has experience. He's been down it before. Are you sure you can keep up?"

  Gretel sighed and pulled a raincoat from her closet. "Abner's been married before, yes, but never to me. Never to any witch at all. His last marriage was three hundred years ago."

  "So there's no way I can talk you out of this?" Sasha asked.

  "Can you ever?"

  "Yes. You know perfectly well that I've talked you out of many things in the past."

  "Name two."

  Sasha licked her paw and wiped her face. "The time you wanted to go with your friends to that absurd event humans have—what was it called?—oh yes, football. You didn't just want to watch the game, you wanted to be in the game."

  "Girls can do anything boys can do."

  "Of course they can, but you've never played sports in your life."

  "I thought it would be fun."

  "You thought the referee was there to sell hot dogs."

  Gretel rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's one."

  "And two," Sasha said, licking her paw again. "That time you wanted to dig up Clarissa Wellbottom's grave because you were convinced she was a zombie."

  "I never said that."

  "No, but your diary did."

  Gretel rounded on Sasha. "You read my diary?"

  "Of course. I still do. How do you think I know so much?"

  Gretel wasn't sure whether to be impressed or angry. "You're supposed to be my familiar, not my mother's spy."

  "I didn't read it for you mother. Merely my own edification. By the way, I think you made the right choice on your dress. That yellow one made you look like Big Bird. You wouldn't want your kids growing up and seeing you in that thing."

  "Sasha, Abner and I aren't going to have kids."

  "That's what you say now. You're eighteen. Just wait."

  "He's a vampire. He can't have kids with a witch."

  "Why not? It's been done before."

  "It... it has?" Gretel scanned Sasha's face to see if she was joking. "I've never heard of such a thing."

  "Well, it's not exactly advertised, but I assure you it does happen. I'm older than you, trust me on this. There's even a town somewhere made up of nothing but Wamps."

  "Wamps?"

  "Half-witch, half-vampire. That's what they'r
e called."

  "Sounds like a dairy product. Who came up with such a stupid name?"

  Sasha laid down on Gretel's bed and curled into a ball. "I don't know. I'm sleepy."

  There was a tap on Gretel's window. She looked up and saw Abner floating outside. She ran to open it for him. He kissed her when he stepped into the room.

  "All ready?" he asked.

  She took one last look around. "I guess so."

  There was a loud roar from the hallway. Abner ducked behind Gretel's bed just as her father, Perseus, came into the room. He was brandishing a sword, wearing pajamas and a cowboy hat.

  "On guard!" he yelled. His eyes were closed. He swung the sword through the air, knocking Gretel's lamp to the floor.

  Her mother's voice sounded from their bedroom. "Perseus!"

  Elspeth appeared a moment later, a satin robe pulled tightly around her. Her hair was done up in curlers. Gretel had asked her mom many times why she preferred curlers to magic. Elspeth always claimed that the curlers worked better.

  "Until they invent a spell that can give my hair the bounce these curlers do, I'll keep using them. Better to go the old fashioned route than to have my hair fall midway through the day."

  Gretel watched her mother grab a hold of her dad and spin him back towards the door.

  "On guard!" he yelled again. He stepped forward with the sword, his eyes still closed, and the tip of the blade went into the door.

  Gretel laughed. Sasha eyed the scene wearily from her pillow. "Must you make such a racket? Cats are trying to sleep here." Gretel shot Sasha a look. Sasha winked at her.

  "Gretel, get that sword out of the door and help me with your father. You know how involved his dreams become when he sleepwalks."

  Gretel ran to her father and gave him a little push from behind. Sometimes that was all it took. He tipped his hat to her. "Why, howdy Ma'am," he said. "Have a lovely night, why don't you?" Then he strolled out into the hall and went back to bed, as if nothing had ever happened.

  Elspeth Knight stood with her hands on her hips, looking at her daughter. She took two more steps into the room and Gretel held her breath. If her mom came in much further, she'd be able to see Abner hiding. She dared a quick glance in his direction and realized he was trying not to laugh.

  "Thank you, honey. I'm sorry about that. You know how your father gets when he eats eggplant."

  Gretel nodded.

  Elspeth paused and looked at Gretel. She'd forgotten that while they were in pajamas, she was fully dressed.

  "Going somewhere?" Elspeth asked, arching one eyebrow dramatically.

  "No. I just... I was taking Sasha for a walk."

  Sasha shot Gretel an irritated look but didn't contradict her. Elspeth looked at Sasha lying on my bed. Sasha and Gretel had been together since she was two. Sasha had found her playing out by the sandbox one day and hadn't left her side since. Gretel's parents had just been grateful that their daughter's familiar had turned out to be a furry white Persian cat, instead of something more exotic. Like the pig that had befriended Peter Tolby or the fly that had bonded with Rigby Copperhead.

  "Since when does Sasha need walking?" Gretel's mom asked, clearly skeptical.

  "I had a nightmare," Sasha said. "And wanted some fresh air."

  "Are you two sure that you weren't going to meet Abner Stratton?"

  "What?" Gretel asked, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Of course not. I know the rules."

  "And you would never break them, would you?" Elspeth asked.

  Gretel shook her head sharply. Elspeth sighed. "Gretel, honey, your father and I love you and just want you to be happy. Now, I'm sure that Abner is a very nice boy, but he's a vampire. Vampires and witches do not date."

  Gretel knew she should keep her mouth shut but just couldn't. She had a hard time with that sort of thing. "That's not what I heard," she muttered under her breath.

  Elspeth's comforting smile dropped from her face. "What are you talking about?"

  "Nothing. It's just that I heard there's a place where witches and vampires are allowed to mix. To marry. Even to have children together."

  Elspeth laughed. "Nonsense. Daydreams and fairy tales."

  Gretel bit her lip. Sasha wasn't usually wrong about these sorts of things.

  "Goodnight, Gretel. Go to sleep."

  Her mother stepped out into the hallway, paused, and turned back. "I think I'll just stay downstairs for a while. A late night sandwich suddenly sounds good. So if you did have any plans about going out to meet anyone... or taking Sasha for a walk... just know that I'm awake and sitting in the kitchen. Where I can see everything."

  Elspeth shut the door and Gretel turned to Abner, who popped up from the floor.

  "Now what?" she said.

  "You still want to marry me, right?" Abner asked anxiously.

  "Of course I do."

  "Even after what your mom said?"

  "Abner, my parents have never liked our relationship. That's not going to change. This is the only way we can be together. I know that and I don't care what happens."

  "So you trust me, right?"

  "With my life."

  "Then take my hand."

  Gretel took it and Abner led her to the window. He put one foot on the ledge. Gretel realized what he intended to do and her pulse quickened.

  "Oh no," she said, shaking her head. "I can't."

  "Of course you can. You're with me."

  "We're on the third floor. You can fly. I can't."

  "Technically, I can't fly. I can float."

  "What's the difference?"

  "Well, it's like a bubble. If I tried to make it to the moon, I'd never get there. But if I just sorta let myself float up towards the treetops... I can make it."

  "So you want to float to Las Vegas with me?"

  "No," Abner laughed. "Just to the ground. We're driving to Vegas."

  Gretel screwed her face up so that the skin under her nose was all wrinkly. "You're adorable when you do that," Abner said.

  "What about my suitcase? Can you float that down too?"

  Abner nodded. "Yes, but—"

  Elspeth's voice called up from downstairs. "Gretel? Are you talking to someone?"

  Gretel's face flushed. "Just Sasha," she yelled back down. She waited at her door, listening as her mother pushed the kitchen chair back and started for the stairs.

  "She's coming!" Gretel cried.

  "Come on, we don't have much time."

  "My things! I'm not done packing."

  "Forget the suitcase. I'll buy you a whole new wardrobe after we're married."

  Gretel looked at Sasha, wanting but not needing her approval.

  "Let me see the ring," Sasha said.

  Gretel unclasped the chain from around her neck. She'd been hiding the ring beneath her shirts ever since Abner proposed. Close to her heart.

  "Pretty," Sasha said.

  Elspeth's footfall landed on the first step. The second.

  "Alright. You have my blessing," Sasha said. "Now go. Do as your husband says and forget the clothes. If Elspeth catches you you're never leaving this house again."

  I kissed the top of Sasha's head and took Abner's hand.

  We leaned out the window. I put one foot over.

  "Gretel?" my mother called. She was in the hallway now.

  "I swear I won't let you fall," Abner said.

  Gretel nodded. "I trust you. I'm ready."

  Abner counted "One, two, three..."

  ***

  01

  Someone was pounding on my door. I opened one eye, closed it, opened it again, then pulled my pillow over my head.

  "Go away!" I yelled. "It's my birthday! I get to sleep as late as I want!"

  Jonathan's voice came loudly and clearly from behind my bedroom door. "Cici!" He waited a second and when I didn't respond he went from talking very loudly to yelling even louder. "CICI! CICI! CICI!"

  I removed my pillow from my head and sat up. Jonathan was just six and he was relentle
ss when he wanted something. I think it came from being such a surprise to my parents. They'd thought I was going to be their only child, and then Jonathan had come along.

  His lisp had only recently begun to let up. He still had a tendency to pronounce my name as "Cee-thee" instead of "Cee-Cee," but I was glad he didn't let that stop him from trying. For a while, he'd insisted on calling me nothing but "Girl," as if that were my actual name.

  "Girl, can you pass me the milk?"

  "Girl, can you help me with my homework?"

  "Come on, Girl, I need the bathroom noowwww!"

  My parents had finally put an end to it when he started doing the same thing with grandma. If "Cici" was difficult for him, "Elspeth" was a killer. He'd finally gotten past the "Girl" phase, but now that his lisp was improving he'd entered a whole new phase of repeating things in triplicate. Apparently, he wanted to show off his new and improved way of speaking, and he wouldn't stop until I opened the door.

  "CICI!"

  I swung one leg over the edge of the bed.

  "CICI!"

  "Chill out, Beni, I'm coming."

  I opened the door and Jonathan stood there, his hands behind his back.

  "What have you got there?" I asked.

  A big smile splayed across his face revealing a missing tooth right in front, which did nothing to help the lisp but made for an adorable photograph, according to my parents. They'd gone as far as to force us all into one of those generic family portrait places that got advertised on television. Except, of course, Hollow Oak didn't really have a mall. That was the thing about living in a small, somewhat hidden paranormal town in the Midwest. We didn't have the usual stuff.

  We were nestled into a corner of Iowa forgotten by most travelers. Near the border of Iowa and Nebraska, technically Iowa, not far from the Missouri River. So we didn't have a mall, more like a series of stores back to back and brick to brick. And there was nothing generic about them.

  Forever Photos was run by Karyn Klingelhoffer, who had a unique take on the idea of family portraiture. Instead of smiling pretty for the cameras, Karyn liked to make everyone dress up as monsters from history. She offered a variety of packages. There were the classics: Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman. There were out-of-this-world creatures: little green men, little gray men, little red men with horns. And then there were the more unusual things: duckbill platypuses that breathed fire, dragon heads on the body of a cow, mice with antlers.