A Charming Cure (16 page)

Cleaning
bottle?

I
stopped dead in my tracks. Eloise’s cleaning bottle. My stomach churned with
anxiety and frustration on what the cleaning bottle symbol meant. Why couldn’t
I figure this out? There seemed to be many clues, but none of them made sense.

Just
like the cloud appeared, it disappeared. The dark sky parted and the sun was
once again bright and shining over the Once Upon A Time Library.

Chapter Twenty-One

Relief
and happiness didn’t fill my soul once I found my way around the Gathering Rock
in Whispering Falls. In a few short minutes, I’d be at the clearing just behind
my house with the town in the view, but it didn’t make me feel right.

Something
was wrong. Eerie and sadness blanketed the air like thick heavy wool. Yes,
something was not right.

“June?”
Izzy stood by the rock where the villagers always gathered in times of
celebration and joy. “You’re home?”

Izzy
ran over with her arms stretched out. Her long blonde hair hung like spaghetti
down each shoulder. Not the vibrant blonde I had left a couple days ago.

“I
got expelled.” I fell into her arms and she embraced me. “What are you doing
here?”

I
pulled away. There was a tired, weary look that was deep rooted in her eyes.

“I’m
tired. I think I’m coming down with the flu or something.” She bent down and
picked up Mr. Prince Charming, who was doing figure eights around her ankles.
“Plus I was showing Hili the way back to Hidden Hall.”

“Hili?”
I had completely forgotten about her. I couldn’t wait to get back to the shop.
“Why don’t you stop by the shop later and I’ll have a cure for that flu.”

“That
would be great. We really have missed you around here.” She squeezed my hand.
“Now, tell me how you got expelled!”

“That
doesn’t matter.” There was no easy way to tell her about Eloise. They had been
friends for years. “What matters is that Eloise has been kidnapped.”

Izzy
drew her hand up to her mouth. She hesitated, blinking with bafflement.

“Eloise
had given a student in the class a dose of sleeping spell and it was laced with
something that almost killed the student.” I shook my head. “Aunt Helena put
Eloise on administrative leave, but before the police could question her,
someone kidnapped her.”

“Oh
my,” her voice died away.

“I’ve
been spending all my free time working on a potion to bring Faith back to life,
but nothing seems to work.” I looked out over Whispering Falls. The sky was
different. It didn’t seem to be as blue as it was before I had gone off the school.
Shaking it off, I continued to tell Izzy what had happened with Faith and all
the things I had found out.

“Faith?”
Izzy’s brows formed a V. “Faith who?”

“Mortimer.”
Izzy current state of health concerned me. She was visibly weak. She moved much
slower than before. “I’m going to drop my suitcase off at home and then get to
the shop to work on a cure. I have to bring Faith out of her coma and get the
truth out of her before it’s too late. Don’t forget to stop by.”

We
hugged and I rushed back to my house to drop off my luggage with Mr. Prince
Charming leading the way.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Before
I set out for my shop, I grabbed my cell and called Oscar. He didn’t answer, so
I thought I’d surprise him with a visit.

Fear
and anxiety wove in my soul as I made my way to A Charming Cure. The air was
thick and mucky. Whispering Falls wasn’t the same. The grass wasn’t the
Kentucky bluegrass I was used to. It was more like the Mojave Desert kind of
grass, if there was any grass there.

I’m
sure it was my imagination.

Belle’s
Baubles was shut tighter than a tick when I peeked in the window. There wasn’t
a sign on the window, so I was sure that Belle had gone to get a cup of tea
over at The Gathering Grove.

I
wasn’t in the mood for tea, really not in the mood for anything. I had to
figure a way to get back into Hidden Hall and find Eloise, but not without a
cure for Faith.

“You’re
back a day or two early,” Gerald stood behind the counter in his top hat. He
twirled his mustache with one hand while pouring a cup of tea with the other.
“The flu is going around.”

“Is
that why Belle Baubles is closed?” I pointed toward the village astrologers
shop. It saddened me to see the village in a sick state.

“Yes.”
He shook his head. “Even poor Izzy can’t shake it. I’ve been delivering tea to
them every night.”

“How
long has this been going on?”

“A
couple days,” he shrugged, “since you’ve been gone.” He handed me a cup of tea.

“Can
I get it to go?” I wanted to make my rounds before I go to A Charming Cure to
work on Faith’s cure. “And one more thing.”

He
held the to-go cup with curiosity in his eyes over the counter.

“What
is the history between you and my Aunt?” I reached for the cup just as he let
go and it spilt all over the counter.

“Er.
. .er. . .” He turned around and made another cup. But he sat it on the counter
this time. “On the house. I’ve got to help the other customers.”

He
rushed off and helped the only other person in the shop. My eyes lowered and I
bit my lip. It might not be as life threatening as figuring out where Eloise
was, but it was definitely a piece of my life puzzle that I needed to know. My
intuition told me so.

With
my cup in hand, I trotted down Main Street looking at all the cozy shops. I
missed Whispering Falls, but it wasn’t the same without Eloise.

“You’re
back!” Petunia Shrubwood waved me down from the front of Glorybee Pet Store.
Neatly tucked in her messy up-do was a chipmunk. I pulled back when she went to
hug me. “Oh it’s Henry. He’s harmless.”

She
hugged me anyway.

“Why
are you back so soon?” She tilted her head. Her normally vibrant chaotic locks
were a little duller. And I could’ve sworn I saw a gray hair or two or ten.
But, I wasn’t going to tell her that.

“Are
you feeling okay?” I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to dump all the news on
someone who wasn’t in tiptop psychic shape.

“Oh
fine.” She waved me off and invited inside the shop.

There
wasn’t a stray animal around Whispering Falls. They were all living in Glorybee
with Petunia. The smell of animals hit me when I walked past the heavy electric
blue wood door Petunia held open. I loved the big door with wavy yellow metal
detailing that resembled the branches of a tree. Every single shop in
Whispering Falls had an amazing door with details about what the shop had in
store for you when you walked in.

The
animals scattered across the floor. Some ran up the tree, while others ran into
the burrows that were dug in the grass floor.

“Oh,
it’s just June.” Petunia moved a little slower than normal.

“Are
you sure that you are okay?” I helped her sit in the chair.

“I’ve
been a little tired.” Her eyes bordered with tears. “It’s the strangest thing.
I’ve done nothing different, but my energy is gone.”

As
if time had been sped up, Petunia had aged in the few minutes that I was there.
There was no time to waste. Something bad was happening. Was there a
correlation between what was going on with Hidden Hall?

“Did
something happen in the spiritual world that we don’t know about?” A hot tear
dripped down her cheek. “There is something evil in the air. I just can’t
figure it out. Even the teenagers aren’t roaming at night.” She looked off into
the distance. A blank stare on her face.

I
swallowed hard, trying to manage a feeble answer, but nothing would come out.
Hili must’ve been close to discovering the Ultimate Spell.

Was the Ultimate Spell the demise of the entire
spiritualist world?

Walking
over to A Cleansing Spirit Spa, I held out a little hope that my intuition was
wrong and Chandra was her happy, spry, palm-reading self that was not a bit
sick.

Standing
between A Cleansing Spirit and A Charming Cure, I glanced over at the police
station to see if there were any lights on over there. It was dark too, just
like most of the shops were. Oscar’s apartment was in the back of the police station,
so maybe he was there.

I’m
sure he was going to show up at some point. When he got my message, he’d know I
was home.

“What
do you mean you don’t know?” The customer that sat in the chair in one of
Chandra’s manicure stations jerked her hands free from Chandra just as I walked
in.

The
bell above the door jingled when I entered, but that didn’t detour the customer
from jumping up and yelling.

“Since
when do you
not
give advice?” The woman’s face contorted, and she shook
her fist in the air. “I come in here and don’t want your unsolicited advice,
and when I do come in here to get your advice, you don’t give it?”

“I’m
sorry,” Chandra mumbled. Her turban was slightly tilted to the right. She
definitely wasn’t her jolly self.

“This
will be the last time I come here for these overpriced manicures.” The customer
stomped past me and then stopped. She looked me square in the eye. “Don’t waste
your money.”

Don’t
let the door hit you where the. . .
I wanted to yell, but I didn’t. Instead,
my friend needed to be comforted.

Chandra
put her hands in her face and began to sob.

“June,
I’m so glad you are back.” Her words were barely audible between her gasps and
sobs. “Something has been horribly wrong around here. Everyone is getting some
kind of flu; my psychic gift is completely off, if not gone.”

She
covered her face again. Her normally perfect manicured nails were chipped and
ragged.

“Oh,
Chandra.” I bent down and embraced her. “I wish I could stay longer, but I need
to go check on the shop. I promise you will be feeling better in no time.”

I
stood up. It probably wasn’t the best time to leave a friend in need, but what
she and the rest of Whispering Falls needed was me coming up with a cure to
this problem. A problem that I was sure had to do with Raven, Faith, and
Eloise.

“June,”
Chandra stopped me before I shut the door. “For some strange reason, I believe
you.”

“Believe
me?” I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

“When
you said I’d be feeling better in no time. I believe you. I believe in you.”
Her words hung between us. We both knew that what she just said had everything
to do with….
magic.

I
nodded and left, heading next door to A Charming Cure.

“I’m
so glad I ran into you.” Mr. McGurtle stood at the front door with his hand.
“I’ve been banging for ten minutes!”

Mr.
McGurtle was back to his grumpy old self.

“How
was your trip?” I used my key to open the door. The wonderful scents of
jasmine, cinnamon, sage, mandrake, and all spice circled around our heads when
we walked in.

I
flipped the light on. A Charming Cure was in one piece but not in the best of
shape. The display tables were sparse with very few bottles on each. The tiered
dishes where all the homeopathic soaps were stood empty and the ingredients
that lined the shelves behind the counter were either empty or half-full.

“Oh,
no.” Mr. McGurtle shook his head and ran his hand down his face.

I
didn’t know what he was talking about, but I did know it wasn’t good. I reached
behind the partition and took a Ding Dong from my stash.

Offering
Mr. McGurtle half, I reluctantly asked, “Do I want to know what you are talking
about?”

If
anyone knew anything, it was Mr. McGurtle. For a man, he was the nosiest one I
had ever met.

I
took Madame Torres out of my bag and put her on the stand on top the counter.

Mr.
McGurtle looked into the ball.

“Boo!”
Madame Torres suddenly appeared, sticking her tongue out. “Miss us?” She
cackled and the ball went black.

“Crazy
old ball.” He threw his hands in the air and paced back and forth.

I
ignored them and walked down the line of ingredients, touching each bottle.
There were more important issues than to warn Mr. McGurtle and Madame Torres to
play nice.

Trickle,
trickle.
The sound of the ingredients filling up behind me as I went down the line was
magic to my ears.

“Are
you not worried about the state of the spiritualist society?” Mr. McGurtle
stepped in front of me. His thin fingers pushed up his wide-rimmed black
glasses upon his wide nose. His blue round eyes bore deep into my soul. “We
have to talk about the Mortimer’s. Faith and Raven Mortimer to be exact.”

Chapter Twenty-Four