Every Witch Way But Wicked

I teamed up with an amazing group of authors to write Every Witch Way But Wicked in aid of charity Kids Need to Read. My exclusive short story The Trouble With Spells features Seren and David from the Stella books. Even better, all proceeds go to Nathan Fillion's charity, Kids Need to Read. This short story takes place between Unruly Magic and Devious Magic and features witches Seren Winterstorm and David Langstrom, characters who often come to Stella’s aid. This time, the couple have a little problem to solve when a spell goes wrong at the Winterstorm family home. Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N

 

Excerpt from The Trouble With Spells:

The further away Seren Winterstorm was from her sister, the weaker she felt the pull of the invisible bonds that inexplicably bound them together. It didn’t hurt, but it was uncomfortable and it made her fidget in her seat then clasp and unclasp her hands because she always had the feeling that she should be actively clinging on to the connection, not just allowing it to weaken. She and Étoile separated often, they were adults after all, but it didn’t get any easier, especially after everything they had gone through recently in helping to protect their friend Stella and solve a mystery that they’d found themselves in the middle of. Seren was thoroughly looking forward to a few days free of mystery, she just wasn’t sure if mystery could do without her.

David, her boyfriend and fellow witch, flashed his eyes from the coastal road to look at her. “You okay, honey?” he asked.

“I can feel my link to Étoile weakening,” Seren replied, her mouth twitching into what she hoped was a reassuring smile. David wasn’t convinced. He never was. They’d known each other for years and years but the relationship was a relatively new thing. He’d always been able to see through her though. She kinda liked that.

“You’ll be together again soon...and there’s this great invention called the telephone.”

“Funny.” David knew she and Étoile would struggle to use their telepathy the more distance was put between them. They could message each other all right, but it would be like a telegram with silent staccato pauses standing in for ‘stop’ every few words. It was hardly worth the bother. They’d long ago agreed that distance telepathy should be used as an emergency line only.

Strangely, standing alongside the bond Seren shared with Étoile was a newer connection. Where the bond to Étoile was viscous, like a length of invisible ribbon, even over distance, this one was gossamer fine, like a pulled thread. Once, years ago, it had been stronger, all their connections had been stronger, and Seren knew that their third, and very troubled sister, Astra, had come back ‘online’. All three of them had been strong once, intrinsically connected, not just as sisters but as sister witches. Seren wasn’t sure if this new, no, this re-connection was welcome or not considering Astra wasn’t exactly the most responsible witch. She hadn’t mentioned it to David, not yet anyway. She would have to call Étoile soon and ask her what she thought about it.

For now though, she would put aside her sisterly niggles and focus on what she was really looking forward to – seeing her mom and dad again. With all the problems in their supernaturally strange world, Seren hadn’t had a lot of time for home visits. Now all she could think about was ice cold mojitos on the porch, her mom’s fabulous cooking and the enormous amount of family and town gossip that would be heaped on her the moment she stepped through the garden gate. And she would finally get to introduce David to the rest of her larger-than-life magical family. Poor man. He really didn’t know what was about to hit him.