The Liar, The Witch and The Cellar (Welcome To Witch County Book 2) Read online

  Welcome to Witch County

  #2

  C.M. Cevis

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  THE LIAR, THE WITCH AND THE CELLAR

  First edition. September 7, 2021.

  Copyright © 2021 C.M. Cevis.

  Written by C.M. Cevis.

  Dedicated to my daughters, Noelani and Rain. For being my reasons.

  Edited by the amazing Olivia Swenson.

  Cover by the ridiculously talented Carol Marques.

  1

  Luna hadn’t slept well in days. She kept having nightmares about that damned gate that had woken up in her basement. She had no idea what might come through it, and she had no intention of trying to go through it herself. That seemed like an insane idea, considering that she didn’t know what it was, how it got there, or what it did. It was an assumption that it was a gate that traveled distances.

  It hadn’t done anything else since the day it had lit up. In theory, it hadn’t given Luna a reason to be afraid of it, but she hated unknowns. Always had. For now, she’d decided to try and figure out how to put the magical locks back on the door that accessed the small room in her basement where the three gates were located. She hoped to control who came and went through there. She just hadn’t figured it out yet.

  “Liza?” Luna yawned, rubbing her eyes. She swung her legs out from under the covers and let her feet hit the carpet.

  “In the basement.” Liza’s response came through her mind.

  “Why in the world are you down there?” Luna asked the question out loud, but she didn’t have to. No one else was in the B&B at the moment, so she wouldn’t look insane asking questions to someone no one else could see.

  “This thing is freaking you out, so it’s freaking me out.”

  Luna chuckled as she shuffled into the bathroom with the intention of washing her face, brushing her teeth, and making a pot of coffee before she went down into the basement to join her sister.

  “And what would you have done if something exciting happened while I was asleep?”

  Luna ran her hands through her short, blonde hair and sighed, looking down at the pot of gel that she’d have to reapply. Tomorrow, she wasn’t in the mood to wash out the last batch. Today, her hair got a good bit of water and a brush into something resembling a style.

  “Woke you the hell up. I’m quite good at it, you know that,” Liza responded in Luna’s mind.

  Luna snorted a laugh as she leaned closer to the mirror over the sink and inspected her warm toned, brown skin. She had always been told that her skin being so clear was a blessing of a sort, but all that had done was make her paranoid about it. No new moles or blemishes. Once she was done with her teeth, she was going to have to do something about her hair. People seemed to assume that her bleached blonde hair would be simple because it was short, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. There were some days where she’d kill to be able to whip her hair back into a ponytail and ignore it for the rest of the day.

  Liza was right about waking her up. She’d been able to wake Luna up almost instantly since they were about eight. When they were kids, she’d done it all the time just because she thought it was funny. Now that they were adults, she only did it when she needed to. Or occasionally by accident. There were downsides to being psychically connected to someone who was a bit more than a ghost.

  “Making coffee?” Liza asked.

  Luna shuffled into her closet and began rooting through her clothes. So many pairs of pants that hadn’t fit her curves until she’d had them tailored. Fashion annoyed her sometimes. “Yep. Right after I pull on some pajama pants.” Those always fit the way they were supposed to.

  “Make sure the door is locked if you aren’t going to be dressed. You know this is the time of morning people start dropping past to see if you’re cooking.”

  “That reminds me, we need to run into town and see how much it would be to put deadlocks on the front door.” Luna made her way downstairs and into the kitchen to start the coffee pot. It only took her a moment to check the front door lock and make sure no one was going to walk in on her in pajama pants and slippers.

  “Like in your coma dream?” Liza asked.

  Luna almost winced. “Yes, like in my coma dream. It’s not a terrible idea, considering.” She motioned her hands vaguely, pretty sure that if Liza was paying attention, she could sense that she was doing it.

  “We should start looking into locking the entrance again too. No one is checking in today, right?”

  Luna shook her head. “Nope. Tomorrow.”

  “Well, at least we have today.” Liza sighed in Luna’s head.

  “What about Asher?”

  There was a hesitation. Then finally, “I think we should do that as soon as possible. I don’t like that I was cut off from you like that, and her being able to talk to me and help me if it happens again…”

  “Means you might be able to get me out next time.”

  “Yeah.”

  Luna paused the brew on the pot of coffee and poured herself a cup before letting it resume filling. “I’m coming down.”

  “You don’t really need to warn me.”

  Luna could hear the smirk in her sister’s voice. “You know, you could just take it as a compliment that I still think of you as just my human sister.”

  “Except I’m not.”

  Luna snickered and pulled open the door to the basement. “You just won’t let me pay you a compliment, will you?”

  “You’ve known me our entire life, are you really shocked?”

  Luna strolled into the room with the gates and took a sip of her coffee. She hadn’t taken a moment to really look at the thing and appreciate it. Regardless of what the swirling vortex of doom was in the middle, it was artistically beautiful.

  The stone was a slate gray, and unmarred by any sort of dirt or markings that didn’t seem to be there on purpose. It didn’t seem to be gathering dust, like other things in the house did, almost like it was magically protected from the dirt in some way. Luna shrugged as she thought about it, it wouldn’t have been the choice she’d make were she putting enchantment on something like this, but it was a nifty little feature.

  The etchings that glowed around the opening weren’t any sort of language that Luna could place, though she thought that I had to be. The words written probably had something to do with what was on the other side of them, if she was guessing, since none of the gates had the same markings. In fact, the closer she leaned in and squinted at it as if that would help, the more she was sure of it. Trying to find someone to help her translate those runes and markings would be a worthy effort. If she was going to have to live with them, she aught to at least know more about them.

  The gates seemed to emit a glow that looked warm but felt cold. It had seeped through the room that housed them and tried to seep through the rest of the house, but didn’t. Whether that was the magic of the gates or Luna’s magic on the house, she wasn’t sure. There was something pulsating and powerful about whatever controlled these things, and it called to Luna. It told her that if she could crack its secrets, she could use that power as she pleased.

  That power’s words were dangerous. Luna didn’t like that part of it one bit.

  “How can something so pretty be so scary at the same time?” she asked, looking at the lit-up gate.

  “I just want to know what’s on the other side. If we can know what’s there, we can find out how to defend ourselves. That would be much more comforting.” Liza sighed from whe
re she sat, just inside the doorway to the room of gates.

  Luna had spent days staying just outside of the room, in what equated to the literal rest of the basement. There wasn’t anything down there other than a few things Luna had brought down for storage, the plants that needed darkness that she’d put in a corner, and this room. And the room didn’t contain anything other than the raised stage of sorts that held the three gates. Liza had always thought they should do something with the space, but the weird feeling that it gave off when they’d first moved in had always discourage Luna from doing like she’d asked. Now, she was even more hesitant to have company down there, or anything really. Not until she knew more about what the hell was going on.

  “I wonder why they didn’t all wake up at the same time?” Luna asked out loud, pausing to take a sip. “What’s so special about this one?”

  “Maybe the others are broken in some way?” Liza offered, turning to look at Luna, who shrugged.

  “That’s not a bad guess. This one woke up because it’s the only one that’s working.”

  Liza turned back towards the gate. “We still should find a way to contain it.”

  “And whatever might wander through it.”

  “Let’s hope it’s not something like a dragon. I don’t think we could hide or fight that alone.”

  Luna chuckled. “You are correct. We are good, but we aren’t that good.”

  The sisters giggled together in stereo just as a knock sounded on the door upstairs. They shared a look.

  “Want me to go see who it is?” Liza asked.

  Luna made a face. “Yeah. I’m still going to come up though.”

  “You just can’t stand to let someone sit there and wait until you’re good and ready, can you?” Liza laughed as she sifted through the ceiling.

  “Not here. Everyone is so nice.”

  “Except Wesley.” Liza glowered.

  “Yeah, except Wesley,” Luna agreed.

  “It’s not him, if it makes you feel better.”

  “It does, actually,” Luna said as she stepped through the door onto the main floor. “This will have to do for now,” she whispered as she closed the door and turned the deadbolt, locking whatever might be down there in place. She’d work on a magical lock later.

  2

  ~*~

  It took her a moment to realize where she was: She was in the version of her house that had been in her coma dream.

  The basement door was still locked tightly, her plants were still hidden inside her closet, and the door was open just a bit more than Luna would normally be okay with.

  Except this time, the street was empty. There was nothing, no one, except Luna, the streetlights, and the crickets that trilled away from their seats somewhere on the lawn.

  She was alone. Well and truly alone. And that scared the hell out of her.

  ~*~

  Luna’s company that morning was Mrs. Jacobson, a sweet older woman who lived two houses away. She was a widow whose husband had passed about six months ago, and Luna had taken to checking in on her from time to time.

  Mr. and Mrs. Jackson had the marriage that everyone always wants, where they are madly in love and genuinely enjoy each other’s company well into their golden years. She had been heartbroken when he passed, but she told Luna that he wouldn’t want her to stop living. Liza had confirmed that she was right—he had told her so. The perks of having a psychic ghost sister. Of course, Luna couldn’t tell Mrs. Jackson why she was so certain that the widow was doing the right thing. But her appreciation to Luna—“Your encouragement has been a lifeline for me”—was enough for both Luna and Liza to feel good about what they’d done.

  She’d stopped by that morning with warm croissants from the Beans, and Luna had invited her inside for a cup of coffee. Mrs. Jackson was one of very few people Luna would have coffee and croissants with while in her pajamas and without makeup.

  Once the two of them had had their fill, Mrs. Jackson headed to the bookstore, and Luna went upstairs to finish getting ready for the day.

  Stop number one was to a small locksmith owned by a father and son duo. That their last names were Locke was just a coincidence, they said.

  “Good morning, Eddie,” Luna called as the electric door chime announced her entrance.

  The shop’s customer area took up very little of the actual space allotted to the owners, but that was because they did most of their prep work there before they went out to do jobs. Eddie told Luna that it had been his father’s idea to handle the space that way, since most people didn’t come in person anyway, and they wouldn’t have to spend more money on storage and a workshop. It seemed to work out well for them, and it gave them an excuse to hang fascinating lock and safety related things on the walls for the few who did come inside to look at and wonder about.

  “Good morning, Luna. I was wondering how you’ve been since…" He let the sentence trail off. That happened a lot lately.

  She tried to smile. “I’ve been okay. I appreciate the concern.”

  “Dad said if we didn’t catch sight of you soon, we were just going to drop past one night on our way home.” Eddie’s tone was light, but his eyes were serious.

  “You know you and your dad are welcome.”

  “I didn’t want to just come barging in if you weren’t feeling up to it,” Gerald said, coming out from the back workshop. “But I was worried about you. We both were.”

  “You worry about me more than my own father did.” Luna smiled bigger, signaling that she was actually fine.

  Gerald studied her, then nodded and grinned. “Everyone needs someone to worry about them.” He wiped his hands on a rag shoved through the belt loop of his jeans. “Did you need something? Or did you just stop past to say hi?”

  “Oh, I do need something actually. I want to put better locks on my front door.”

  Gerald and Eddie stared at her. Luna sighed inwardly. Here in Calidity, locks weren’t necessary. Most of the time.

  Eddie was the first to recover. “Sometimes I forget you’re from the city, with your redundant locks and such.” He smiled.

  “Yeah, call me weird, but those locks make me feel safer at night.” Luna grinned.

  “Pretty sure we’ll need to open up the holes drilled in that door if you want a solid deadbolt installed,” Gerald said, turning to look at the wall of locks that he had up for… decoration? Luna wasn’t sure why they displayed for the world to see. The only ones who knew what they were looking at were Gerald and Eddie.

  “I’d like two, actually. One that unlocks from the outside and one that does not.”

  “Back door too?”

  “Probably a good idea,” Liza whispered, out of sight. “Otherwise, what’s the point? Someone could just hop the fence.”

  “Yes, please,” Luna responded. Gerald and Liza were right.

  “We can come out tomorrow, is that alright? I’ve got a few things to finish up here in the shop today.”

  Luna nodded at Gerald. “Sure.”

  “Good.” Gerald turned to his son and gave him a loud smack on the shoulder. “Go on and set up a time, son.” He tossed Luna a wave and went back to the workroom.

  Eddie pulled out a small notebook scheduler and looked up at her. “What’s too early, Luna?”

  “Anything before eight,” she replied with a grin.

  “We’ll come at nine. Gives you time to get going and gives me time to grab breakfast,” he said with a wink.

  Luna giggled. “Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate it.”

  “Anytime” came the response.

  She didn’t bother asking how much it was going to cost, since neither man would tell her before the work was done. Instead, she headed back out onto the small downtown street and headed a few doors down.

  Stop number two was a small craft store that sold things Luna had never been able to find in the large chain stores. Things local shops would ship in for her. Like special wax.

  “Bella, good to see you,” Luna said, making
her way to the counter. She knew what she needed, and she also knew it wouldn’t be in the racks or shelves for everyone to see.

  Bella made the store peaceful. There were a few who found the dim lighting and quiet wind instruments flowing through the speakers a bit dreary or depressing, and that was fine. Those were normally the people who had no business there. For Luna, she always found the cool, dim store a bastion from the bright sunlight and sometime hot outside. The plants all over made her feel like the air was cleaner inside, and the rhythmic and periodic hiss of the sprayers for those who needed water was comforting.

  The aisles Bella set up were not very wide, but they were wide enough for two people to squeeze past each other. It was cozy in a sense, and not in the way that realtors descript criminally small apartments and “cozy.” This was genuine coziness, because you and that person that you were brushing past knew that you belonged there, like you were kindred spirits of a sort. Luna had no idea how Bella had fostered such a wonderful feeling there while still managing to keep those who were too close-minded for her wares out. Sometimes she just wanted to stand in the middle of the space and soak it in.

  “I always love when you come in here,” Bella said with a bounce on the balls of her feet. “You always give me a challenge.” She whispered the last bit, and Luna snickered.

  “I need candle wax that can hold on to the properties given to it,” Luna explained.

  “Magical or biological?”

  “Both.”

  Bella nodded, head tilted as she ran through her mental inventory. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got what you need. Hang on.”

  Bella was a witch, but not enormously powerful in the way one might expect. Her abilities didn’t lie in the offensive magics, but then again, neither did Luna’s. While Luna could invest power, Bella provided the vessels. A lot of witches looked down on and that ability until they realized how useless their power was without the right object to focus it.

  It only took her a few minutes to return holding a small package wrapped in wax paper. “This should do what you need it to do. And if you give it some preservations, it shouldn’t burn down like a normal candle. If that’s something you were looking for, I mean.”