A Hiss-tory of Magic: A Wonder Cats Mystery Book 1 (13 page)

W
e sneaked back
into Jake’s police car before he and Ruby parted ways—Bea in the front passenger seat, Aunt Astrid and I in the back, just like before—except we had two books between us.

I kept an ear out. When Darla opened her front door, she exclaimed, “Ruby! What brings you here?”

Ruby only remarked, “Married guys aren’t my type. Or any guys, really.”

Darla whined, “That’s so hurtful of you to say! In case you forgot, it was Darren who cheated on me first.”

“I didn’t forget,” Ruby told her. “But I know you still want to tell me all about it again. Of course I’ll listen, but—”

Then the front door shut, and their voices became too distant and muffled to hear.

Jake revved the engine and drove us back home. He took the fake spell book back to the evidence room, and Aunt Astrid took the real spell book somewhere even Bea and I didn’t know.

B
lake recovered
from his gunshot wound just in time to give his testimony in court. When testifying, both Blake and Min seemed to have decided for themselves that the glowing water was indeed a coincidence. My confession about the Greenstone magic heritage wasn’t even mentioned, only referred to as “Cath tried to play along” or “Cath tried to talk sense into him.”

The Order denied having any part in the incident, but even the coverage in a small town like Wonder Falls proved to be too much scandal for them to handle. The fraternity dissolved, and the jury sent Reuben Connors off to an asylum for the criminally insane. Dexter Edison would serve a sentence of eight years in prison.

Ted Lanier was laid to rest in Canadian soil. Min had offered to fund the memorial service in France, but considering how much Ted had wanted to escape his old life, Aunt Astrid arranged a small, quiet ceremony. I was surprised at the number of flowers laid on Ted’s gravestone after that, considering Darla had completely forgotten him. Nobody else had expected her to remember.

We put a framed picture of Ted on a memorial wall in the new and improved Brew-Ha-Ha. Business slowed down due to the pastries from the Night Owl being unequal to Ted’s and our being short-staffed in the front of the house. It leveled out fine in time, though. Any improvements we’d planned after rebuilding would just be a month or so later.

During what had always been the slowest time of the year for the Brew-Ha-Ha, we closed up for three days to go camping and fishing. We left the cats at the kennel even though Jake said that he wouldn’t mind filling their dishes and cleaning their litter boxes. I didn’t want him to follow an escaped Treacle into Greenstone Girls’ Space, and the kennel seemed a more likely environment to keep the cats from wandering away.

As it turned out, though, there really was no stopping Treacle from going anywhere. He found our tents. So I let him have a jacket in my tent as a cat bed. I guess it would be a cat sleeping bag.

That night, Treacle woke me up again. He kept coming back to meow into my ear until I got up and followed him. It was a new moon’s night, but my own magic let me tread unhindered through the forest. I could see with the sonic echolocation of the bats and find my way by starlight through the eyes of owls.

With my own human ears, though, I heard the rushing of the falls. I knew the way over the bridge.

That’s where I met the Maid of the Mist. She stood on the bridge with me.

I know I saw her clearly, but I can’t describe it now. My memory blurs in the strangest way, trying to remember if her dress was black or white.

“Well done,” she said to me.

I gave a modest shrug. “I had help. I had my family—and Treacle, of course. I made new friends, too.”

“That’s all very important, and it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t played your part. It’s been many generations since I’ve seen quite so much promise in a defender of this place, the falls between the worlds.” She looked about my age, but my intuition told me I was in the presence of a being with years beyond wisdom.

“With all due respect, I can’t make any promises. I should say that I appreciate you coming to meet me instead of speaking to me in a dream. This must be an honor of some kind, but I’m just sleepy. Unless this is a dream.” I hugged myself, feeling chilled all of a sudden, and I rubbed my arms to warm them.

“Honor?” the Maid of the Mist echoed, sounding amused. “Necessity, maybe. You are a witch. You have bonds and duties. You will have more trials. Are you prepared?”

I took all that in and looked down at Treacle, who just looked back up at me. “Never,” I replied. “I’m never prepared—but, you know, let me at ’em! When they happen, that is. For now, I think we all need to go back to sleep.”

“True.” With that, the Maid of the Mist dissolved. Treacle and I returned to the camp, where I first started writing all this out by flashlight.

I shouldn’t be writing this down. I shouldn’t have written it down. Those used to be the rules. I just feel as if I had to, though. Maybe it’s because more is coming. The Maid of the Mist said so. A witch’s work is never done, and I used to dread it. Now I embrace it.

I’ve started writing so I can remember this better and maybe so the next generation of Greenstones can be better prepared—or at least know they’re not alone, even if I’m long gone.

My name is Cath Greenstone, I’m a witch, and this was the beginning. This was only
the beginning.

B
ook 2
:
Pawsitively Dead
will be out soon. Since you are a VIP reader, you’ll be the first to be notified of its release!

T
hank
you so much for reading
A Hiss-tory of Magic
. If you were entertained by the book, please recommend it to friends and family who would enjoy it too. I would also really appreciate it if you could write a book review to help spread the word.

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Harper

T
he Cape Bay
Cafe Mysteries

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse:
Book 1

T
he Emma Wild
4-book Holiday Series

4-Book Holiday Series

Killer Christmas:
Book 1

New Year’s Slay:
Book 2

Death of a Snowman:
Book 3

Valentine’s Victim:
Book 4

Complete 4-Book Holiday Box Set

T
he Patisserie Mysteries

Macaron Murder:
Book 1

Éclair Murder:
Book 2

Baguette Murder:
Book 3

Crêpe Murder:
Book 4

Box Set Volume I: Books 1-4

Croissant Murder:
Book 5

Crème Brûlée Murder:
Book 6

Madeleine Murder:
Book 7

Opera Cake Murder:
Book 8

Box Set Volume II: Books 5-8

H
arper Lin is
the bestselling author of
The Patisserie Mysteries
,
The Emma Wild Holiday Mysteries
,
The Wonder Cats Mysteries
, and
The Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries
.

When she's not reading or writing mysteries, she loves going to yoga classes, hiking, and hanging out with her family and friends.