Yuletide Blend Read online

  I’m still looking for my BFF, but he’s nowhere to be found, either. And here I sit, withering away into nothingness.

  Santa Claus had definitely gotten into my head last night. I kept coming back to that peculiar conversation, thinking that maybe the man was part owner of the petting zoo or something like that. I’d have to ask Liam to check for me.

  “The reindeer that’s missing is actually named Randy.” I set my coffee cup back down on the counter when I saw Pearl walking out of the diner. “I was just referencing the famous red-nosed type reindeer. ’Tis the season and all that jazz.”

  Bah humbug. Where is my BFF?

  I hopped down from my stool and then adjusted the thick green belt that I’d put on my waist to accessorize my turtleneck. I’d found it in the sale bin at the boutique, and I hadn’t been able to pass it up.

  “Give me a second,” I quipped to Piper, walking toward the strings of ivory-colored fairies that prevented my customers from seeing into the back room. Nan had enchanted them with magic, a glyph of warding to be specific, thus protecting the area where she used to create her holistic blends. “Pearl is walking this way. Her eye doctor gave her progressive lenses, and she’s not happy about it.”

  “Are you telling me that you can restore wayward eyesight with one of your spells?”

  You might want to warn her that there is a chance that Purple Pearl could end up cross-eyed. No offense, Raven.

  “My track record for spells is finally going in a positive direction, Leo, and you know it,” I called out over my shoulder. In full confession, I might have gotten off to a rocky start in my witchcraft lessons. “Heidi, I’m not to the point where I can miraculously heal the blind. On the plus side, I’m getting really good at the progression of health. Take Otis and his arthritis. He took up ice fishing again this month, after not doing it for close to ten years.”

  While carrying on the conversation, I’d reached through the ivory-colored fairy beads for Pearl’s package that I’d set on the edge of the table. I was pretty pleased with the holiday presentation, including the sparkling red bows I’d gotten for a good price at the hobby store.

  “This time next year, Pearl will be back in her bifocals,” I replied confidently, setting Pearl’s package next to the cash register. I flashed a smile. “I love my job.”

  “Hello, dear hearts,” Pearl exclaimed, sailing through the entrance of the tea shop as if she owned the place. “Look at my most recent find from my trip into New Haven. It’s the perfect shade of silver to match my lovely hair.”

  Come to think of it, Raven, you should have added something in that spell that rectified Purple Pearl’s colorblindness. Scratch that. Can you imagine waking up and looking into the mirror to find that you went from silver to purple hair? Heart attack city.

  Leo did have a point, but I would never add something to a holistic blend without the approval of the customer. Pearl had chosen a shade of what she’d thought was silver, only for it to turn out purple. Nothing Candy had said could change Pearl’s mind. Needless to say, Pearl now walked around town in all her glory with purple hair that she truly believed was silver.

  “I love it, Pearl,” Heidi exclaimed, having learned early on to go with the flow. “The fabric shimmers like a blanket of freshly fallen snow. Spectacular! Hey, where’s Harold this morning?”

  “Harold got dressed in his winter gear and headed out first thing this morning with Eugene and Alfred.” Pearl adjusted the lapel on her dress coat so that her scarf rested against the material just right, pleased with Heidi’s compliment. “They’re out looking for that poor reindeer that went missing. They’ve convinced themselves over too many drinks last night that they are the only ones who can find him. My bet is that they won’t last past lunchtime. You know how Albert needs his nap.”

  I’m just throwing this out there, but couldn’t the good ol’ sheriff just follow the trail of brownie piles? We domesticated felines know how to cover up our tracks, but antlered brutes such as good ol’ Randy? Not so much.

  It was times like these that Leo astounded me with his cleverness.

  It’s the premium organic catnip, not that I’ve had my treats this morning. You don’t think that antlered brute has anything to do with why my BFF is running late, do you?

  “You’d think there would be some sign left of such a large animal,” I reiterated, concurring that there should have been something dropped somewhere in town. I even made a circle with both hands to indicate a round pile. “You know…”

  Heidi and Pearl both pulled their faces in disgust, but then shared a look that indicated they agreed with that assessment.

  “On that note and while I’m all for adventure, there is no way that I’m sinking my Michael Kors boots into a pile of reindeer sludge.” Heidi leaned down and retrieved her briefcase, keeping her to-go cup securely in her hand. She should put the leather gloves on that she’d gotten on sale at the boutique, but she only had to walk next door for her meeting with Cora. “Wish me luck. If Rudy is still missing after my appointment, I’ll drive home to change clothes and help with the search party. Is Beetle coming in today?”

  “It’s Randy, and yes,” I replied, accepting the twenty-dollar bill that Pearl had retrieved from her wallet. It didn’t take me long to ring up her purchase. “Text me, and I’ll let you know where I am.”

  Heidi lifted her coffee cup in goodbye, using her shoulder to push open the glass door.

  “How is your mother settling in?” Pearl asked, taking the change I’d handed her. She quickly and efficiently slid the single dollars inside her wallet and the change into the pouch. “She was a wild one in her youth, that one.”

  Please tell Purple Pearl not to bring up such unpleasant memories. At least, not on an empty stomach.

  Leo and I both had breakfast this morning before leaving the cottage. Don’t think for one moment that I’d let him starve.

  I don’t recall there being dinner on the table at precisely seven o’clock last Friday. By seven twenty-one, I could barely move. You have no sense of time, nor of my needs, for that matter.

  Don’t let Leo sucker you into believing that I neglected him in any way. I’d only been thirty minutes late getting home from a nice dinner with Liam.

  Thirty-three minutes. I had just enough strength left to look at the clock.

  “You’ll have to tell me all about her misspent youth one of these days,” I said with a smile, wondering what kind of ammunition there was in those sordid tales. I needed all the help I could get when it came to staying one step ahead of my mother. No matter how much I believed she wanted to help stave off any remnants of a coven war from spilling into Paramour Bay, she usually had an ulterior motive. “Here you go. I do believe this tea blend will help your eyesight as well, Pearl.”

  “I can’t stand these progressive lenses. They give me a headache,” Pearl complained, pushing up the purple-rimmed frames that were perched delicately on the bridge of her nose. “I’ll be sure to have a hot cup of tea every night. You truly believe this holistic blend will help improve my eyesight?”

  “Without a doubt,” I assured her, finally catching sight of Beetle walking by the display window.

  Sweet angel of mercy, it’s about time.

  Leo had practically been face-planted in his bed, but he scurried back on his two front paws until he was sitting at attention with his left eye focused solely on the entrance of the shop. I wasn’t one to talk about addiction when I couldn’t get through a single morning without my mug of fresh coffee.

  “You have a good day, dear,” Pearl said after having put on her lavender-colored gloves that she assumed were a light greyish silver. She then picked up her holistic tea blend that I’d put in the cutest brown bag with the Tea, Leaves, & Eves insignia branded on the front, with a sparkling red bow that added a nice seasonal touch. “Stay warm if you intend to go searching for that sweet caribou. Dreadful that he’s gone missing this time of year.”

  Beetle had seen that Pearl
was heading his way, so he opened the door for her and waited until she’d crossed the threshold before seeking warmth. He bent slightly, as if bowing, and then wished her a good morning before allowing the door to close.

  I’m pretty sure my tufts of fur were turning grey. Could my BFF move any slower? Raven, we’ll need to work on a tea blend that gives my supplier an oomph to his step. Come to think it, something of that nature could work in our favor. He might have enough vigor to kick your mother right in the—

  “Good morning, my dear Raven,” Beetle exclaimed cheerfully, unravelling his scarf. “Good morning. I just had the most peculiar run-in with Santa Claus.”

  Raven, don’t you dare distract my BFF from his most important task of the day and his duly-appointed rounds.

  “Santa Claus?” I asked, doing my best to give Beetle time to remove his dress coat. He’d already walked over to the display window, where Leo was eyeing me with daggers. Knowing the only way that Leo was going to be of any help to me today was if he had a moment to enjoy his favorite edible on the planet, I managed to bite my lip until I heard Leo sigh with contentment. “You mean, the man who was dressed as Santa Claus for last night’s festivities?”

  “The one and only,” Beetle said with a beaming smile, giving Leo a pat on the head before leaving him to enjoy his treat. “The odd thing about our short conversation was the message he wanted me to relay to you. Yes, very odd indeed.”

  I waited for the palm of my right hand to become warm or develop those piercing tingles that always caused my skin to itch, but it remained cool to the touch. I’d chalked up my conversation with Santa last night as a mere happenstance, but I was now beginning to think there was more to the man than met the eye.

  “What was the message, Beetle?”

  I’m ready for anything after that special treat. My BFF sure knows the good stuff from the generic. He deserves a holiday bonus, Raven.

  “Well, Santa Claus wanted you to know that his trip around the world to deliver joy to all the little boys and girls depends on finding his lead reindeer,” Beetle paraphrased, looking a bit befuddled by the cryptic message. He began to remove his jacket as he walked toward the back room, the white ends of his hair floating to and from on top of his head. “I’m not sure why he wanted you to know that, my dear Raven. He then mentioned joining the search would be the distraction you’re looking for, which I found strangely peculiar. Very peculiar indeed. Do you happen to know him personally?”

  My surprised gaze focused instantly on Leo, who was staring at me in horror with bits of loose catnip stuck to the ends of his whiskers. I’m almost positive that I didn’t say aloud my wish for Leo to have a distraction from his pining after Skippy and his minions. Did I?

  I should have known, Raven. I should have known all along that Skippy and his ninja squirrels wouldn’t let a winter hibernation keep them from their diabolical plan to rule the world. Don’t you see? Santa Claus is doing Skippy’s bidding, luring me into a false sense of security in the off-season. Santa Claus has gone over to the dark side, and we shall now call him Santa Vader!

  Chapter Three

  “Good morning, Eileen.” I greeted the town’s dispatcher with a smile. I wasn’t surprised to see that she was wearing one of her holiday-themed sweaters. This one looked different somehow. An embroidered Christmas tree actually had strings of lights that twinkled sewn into the branches. It was quite mesmerizing for all of three seconds, but then it caused my eyes to hurt. “Love the sweater. Did you add something new?”

  Do you have to encourage her? Those lights can cause an epileptic seizure in certain familiars who are predisposed to that condition. I shouldn’t have to tell you these things.

  “Thank you, Raven,” Eileen said over the ringing phone, beaming with happiness that I’d noticed she’d made changes to her apparel. “I changed out the bulbs so that the colors were brighter, along with a white light for the star. Doesn’t it look so much better?”

  Debatable.

  “It certainly stands out,” I concurred, stepping through the half swinging door that had been part of the original structure. “Any news on Randy?”

  “Not even a single sighting.” Eileen shook her head in sadness as the office phone rang once more. “I’ve been helping Liam coordinate the search parties, sending them to the tips we’ve been getting from all the neighborhoods. Nothing has turned up yet, though.”

  There’s a reason for that, Raven. This is all a massive conspiracy.

  “Beetle is covering the tea shop today so that I can help out. Let me say hi to Liam and then I’m all yours.”

  Good. We can utilize the good ol’ sheriff’s resources to find out the real name behind that red suit. Once we have that, we can expose him for who he really is—a mere pawn in the squirrelpocalypse.

  Eileen acknowledged that she’d heard me, but she was already answering the next call. I walked toward Liam’s office, which was always open. I wondered briefly if the door had ever been closed. He wasn’t formal, and even the residents called him by his first name instead of the official title on his door.

  “…already touched base with Animal Control.” Liam was standing behind his desk and talking on his phone while bent over a map. “I’ll keep you updated throughout the day if anything turns up.”

  I quietly crossed the hardwood floor, taking my gloves off while he finished up his conversation. The only individuals who would want to be kept up-to-date throughout the day was either the mayor or Barry, the owner of the Norwegian reindeer.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll do that.” Liam stole a kiss when I came around the desk as he continued to listen to the other half of the conversation. His gaze caught sight of Leo as he materialized in one of the guest chairs. “I think tonight at seven o’clock, but I’ll double check with Eileen. I’ll have her call you to confirm.”

  I vaguely remember a local television station being scheduled to come into town to do a segment on Paramour Bay’s winter wonderland. It was no wonder the mayor was so concerned about a missing caribou. A special interest story of that nature would overshadow the entire event.

  I wonder if I can get the news anchor to do a segment on the squirrelpocalypse. Skippy has control over most of the major media outlets, but a small independent news crew might be willing to take a chance.

  “Good morning, you two,” Liam greeted after replacing the receiver back on its stand. “I was just about to head over to the tea shop. Is there, um, anything you can do to locate this missing reindeer?”

  Liam used his quote fingers to emphasize the word “do” in his last statement. He was referring to using witchcraft, but there wasn’t a thing we could do without having something on hand that belonged to Randy.

  I bet we can find a pile of his special homemade brownies in the pen.

  Randy wasn’t the only reindeer that had been kept in the relatively large enclosure in town square. There was no way that I was going to try and figure out which pile of excrement belonged to which caribou.

  I never thought I’d say this, but now would be a perfect time to call on your mother. Isn’t she always saying that she wants to help us solve these mysteries? Well, there’s no time like the present. Not that I’m going to be distracted from my main purpose here, mind you. I know Skippy and his crew are involved in this somehow.

  “I can only do a location spell if I have something of Randy’s, which is why I’m hoping that you’ll give me the contact information of Barry Mina,” I said, knowing that it went against Liam’s code of ethics to give out personal data on an individual involved in an official ongoing case. “Barry is the owner of the petting zoo, so he might be able to supply a blanket or specific food bowl of some sort that I can use to scry.”

  I’ll admit, the thought of having my mother sort through mountains of reindeer punky was tempting.

  Say no more! I’m on it.

  Leo disappeared as quickly as he’d materialized, leaving Liam and I to stare after him in horror for completely different re
asons. Liam was still getting used to this whole witchcraft thing, but I was stunned at how eager Leo was to get one up on my mother. I shouldn’t be, given their history of antagonizing one another.

  “Don’t ask,” I muttered, looking up at Liam with hope. “Oh, there’s one more thing I was hoping you’d be able to get me.”

  “Absolutely not,” Liam said firmly, emphatically shaking his head. “You are not getting another hint about your Christmas present. My lips are sealed.”

  I rested my hand over my scarf, comforted by the fact that the necklace Liam had given me on my birthday was securely clasped around my neck. He’d known that I’d been wanting a black tourmaline, but that I’d been searching for just the right one. Well, he’d not only found the perfect crystal, but the black stone he’d acquired dated back to the middle 1600s. It had actually belonged to Sarah Good, the very one who’d been involved in the infamous Salem witch coven.

  To stress just how important this particular crystal was to my safety, Nan had managed to pierce the veil to get a message to me from the other side during All Hallows’ Eve. That specific holiday was when the veil between us and the afterlife was at its thinnest. These planes of existence, the places from which witches draw their power, are called inner planes. They are connected to our existence by the ethereal plane.

  There are many names for the outer planes that humans understood to be heaven and hell. Nan was at rest on an outer plane that we understood to be reached through established conduits; however, there are other magical ways to travel through the astral plane to reach her. Of course, Nan’s message had been oddly vague due to the distortion of time and distance. I still didn’t know exactly what she meant…other than I wasn’t ever to take this necklace off.

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Liam said softly, knowing all about what happened this past All Hallows’ Eve.

  “You didn’t,” I said with a smile, putting aside my worry to focus on the safety of the missing reindeer. “And as much as I want another hint on my Christmas gift, the favor I need actually has to do with Santa Claus.”