Page 12 of Seven Secret Spellcasters (Kitchen Witch Mysteries #7)

Mia nodded. She knew Christina wanted to talk about the engagement party that was being held here in Magic Springs.

And with Abigail here for the weekend, it was the perfect time to sketch out the details.

Mia wasn’t looking forward to hosting a party for the Adams family.

Especially since Christina was the only one on that side who was happy about the upcoming nuptials.

Even so, Mia had served as a wedding planner for families before that were more reminiscent of the Hatfields and the McCoys.

She could do it again. And she wanted to mix up a few potions tonight in the lab, to remind herself of the process.

Grans had been a little vague on what her examination might entail, and talking to Trent hadn’t eased Mia’s mind.

She wanted to be ready for anything. She might even try a transformation spell tonight. Her phone buzzed with a text message from Baldwin.

Have you heard anything?

Mia sighed and added Howard’s death to her list of worries. She answered back. Sorry, it’s been crazy here this weekend. Should have something mid-next week.

That should give her enough time to do some archive research. And she could ask after the exam tomorrow. Maybe if they thought she’d passed, they’d provide her with insider information.

But then again, she had to get ready for her ceremony.

The good thing was that traditionally, the ceremony was only for friends and family.

She’d planned on having it in the backyard under the full moon.

But now they had Finn to deal with. Maybe Mia would set her up at the Lodge for a night so they could get this done.

It might actually be good to have her there the full weekend, since the coven’s Halloween party would also be held here Friday night.

The coven had hired their own servers for the event.

Yes, getting Finn out of the school next weekend would be better for all of them.

She went back to the kitchen to see if Abigail and Christina were ready to talk party planning.

* * *

After three failed potions, the last one blowing up in her face, Mia decided to call it a night.

She was cleaning up the potions lab, muttering to herself about not being ready for the stupid test after all, when she noticed a woman sitting on one of the old desks they’d left in the room, watching her.

“There’s no reason to be concerned. The elders want to know you’re serious about taking on this mantle.

Besides, no one there has tested a kitchen witch since your grandmother went through the process sixty years ago.

I hear they’re bringing in someone from Salem to do your testing.

” The woman floated a few inches above the seat as she talked.

“You heard this, how? Is there a ghost network? Maybe a television station?” Mia had learned not to be afraid of the ghosts who showed up at the academy from time to time.

Especially ones who felt friendly, like this woman did.

She’d felt someone watching while she screwed up her potion experiments, but she’d thought it had been Gloria or even Grans.

The woman laughed, a clear, happy noise. “Oh, you will be fun to have in our circle.”

“Wait, what circle?” Mia asked, confusion making questions flow through her brain.

The ghost was starting to flicker. “The circle of kitchen witches. We don’t ever leave the circle once we’ve been initiated. I’m sure Mary Alice mentioned this before. It’s a . . .”

Without finishing the sentence, the ghost disappeared.

Mia glanced around the potions lab. It was back in order, and she was the only one there. At least that she could hear, see, or feel. She had more questions for Grans. As she turned out the lights and locked the lab door, she glanced at the clock on the wall. Ten thirty.

That can’t be right . She pulled her phone out of her pants pocket and saw the alarm still going off. When she stepped away from the lab door, she could suddenly hear the alarm. She turned it off and hurried up the stairs. Hopefully, her grandmother was back in the apartment already.

She debated going directly to the library but decided to check the apartment first. Christina was sitting alone in the living room. “Where is everyone?”

“Trent went to get Levi from work, and Abigail went to her room.” Christina yawned and set the book down. “I’m on Oregon time and not tired yet, but I’m getting there.”

“What about Grans?” Mia headed toward her room and ran into Muffy and Cerby, sleeping in the kitchen with Mr. Darcy. She woke them, and they started barking at her.

“She’s not here. I thought she was with you,” Christina said as she followed Mia into the hallway, where she opened Grans’s bedroom door.

Her bed was neatly made, and she wasn’t there.

“Crap, she’s still in the library,” Mia said as she headed that way.

Christina was still following her. “Is that a problem?”

“Maybe not, but I was supposed to go get her at ten. Can you take the dogs out for me? Now that they’re awake, they probably need to go.

” Mia asked for the favor mostly to keep Christina out of the library.

The ghost tolerated Grans and Mia coming inside to research, but it hated humans entering the library.

“I’ll go get her, and then I’ll be back. ”

Christina agreed, calling the dogs to follow her down the stairs to the front door.

Mia headed to the library. She stood in front of the door, catching her breath and clearing her mind. Going into haunted spots while upset only gave the spiritual entities more to feed on. She wanted to get her grandmother out and back into the apartment. Then Mia was going to crash.

She opened the door and saw Grans sitting at one of the tables. The archives were open and floating on top of the table. Grans was frozen, but Mia knew her mind was in the archives, working. The only part of her that moved was her hand, writing something on a sheet of paper in front of her.

She stepped closer, and the same ghost woman from the potions lab appeared.

“Call her name. Don’t touch her, it will rip her out and damage her mind as it returns to her body,” the woman advised.

“Okay, now you’re scaring me,” Mia admitted as she took a breath and called her grandmother’s name.

The light in the archives flashed, then the doorway closed. Grans’s eyelids flickered, and she leaned back to take a breath. “It’s ten?”

“Ten thirty, actually,” Mia corrected her. “I was in the potions lab, and my alarm didn’t work. Are you okay? That looked a little freaky.”

Grans glanced down at her notes. “I’m fine. It’s the way the archives work. Well, it’s a start, but did you know both Christina and Finn were adopted?”