A Charming Voodoo (Magical Cures Mystery Series Book 10) (3 page)

“Isn’t it a great view?” Her cheeks balled as she smiled, beaming with pride.

“It is.” I held out a box from Wicked Good. “I wanted to welcome you to Whispering Falls and if you ever need us, we are here for you.”

“Thank you.” She graciously took the box. “I’m thrilled that Faith Mortimer is going to take some fantastic photos and display them here the night of All Hallows’ Eve.”

“Here are the by-laws of the village and the meeting times for the village council. I’m sure Petunia Shrubwood will be by shortly to say hello.” Oscar handed her a pack of papers like we had gotten when we moved to Whispering Falls a few years ago. “It might take her a couple of days to get over here since she has a young son as well as having to make her rounds to the other new shops and still run a business.”

“I see.” She reached out her hand and took the papers. “I’m sure we are going to love it here.” She handed Perry the papers and the box of treats.

“Thank you for stopping by.” Perry nodded before going back to the desk and continued doing what he’d been doing when we walked in. “I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of each other.”

“I’m sure.” I gathered my hands in front of me and clasped them. I turned to Oscar. “Are you ready?”

“I am.” He smiled and took the first step to the door.

“Toodles,” Cherry called as Oscar, Mr. Prince Charming and I walked out the door.

Halfway down the hill, I turned around. Cherry and Perry Merry were staring at us. There was a strange nervous unease that swept through my veins.

“They seemed nice.” Oscar said as we stepped back up on the sidewalk and headed toward Scented Swan Candle Co.

“Mmhmm,” was all I could muster up as my intuition roared deep within me.

“June,” Oscar warned. “Don’t be letting any strange feeling creep up. New citizens are a good thing. New shops are good for our village.”

“Even new candles.” I ran my hand along Swan’s ornamental gate. “I love the stained-glass candle.”

“I can now see our house all lit up.” He smiled and held the gate open for me and Mr. Prince Charming.

Oscar was right. I loved scented things. That was one of the appeals of my shop. As soon as a customer walked in, they were greeted with smells they loved. It was part of the magic.

“Wow,” was all I could say when I walked into Scented Swan. It was like I’d stepped out of Whispering Falls and into the country of Greece.

The walls were painted a muted green and the architectural details reminded me of ancient gods with its doomed features and cut-outs. Wood shelving of different sizes and shapes were built into the walls and filled with all sorts of colors and assorted sizes of candles.

There was a clay statue in the middle of the store that stood on a pillar with an ancient cement bird bath. Candles flickered with small flames as they floated around the feet of the statue in the bath. Their reflections bounced off the tile ceiling that helped circulate the scents and smells that were warm and inviting.

The walls weren’t four straight walls as perceived from the outside. They were all curved and created a flow that felt good to the spirit. In the far back, near the counter where there was a line of customers, there was a row of hanging candles that had just been made as evidenced by the fresh hot wax that dripped on the floor.

“Good morning to the Park family,” the chipper voice greeted us from behind the counter. “I’m Chandler Swan. Please,” he gestured to the hanging candles, “take your pick.”

I stepped over to get a look at them as Chandler finished up with the customers. They were all shapes and sizes. I decided on a honeycomb one that reminded me of candy corn. It would be perfect to light in the store.

“Do you have some business cards I can display in my shop?” I asked.

“I certainly do.” He grabbed a few from behind his counter and handed them to me.

I put them in my bag and continued to walk around as Oscar gave Chandler the papers and went over a few rules. Chandler was a happy fellow. He wore a “go to hell” hat over his pointy nose, he was tall and thin—kinda like the skinny candles he had in the store. His five o’clock shadow was too early for a real o’clock shadow so I assumed he always wore it that way.

Faith Mortimer was in the shop snapping away with her camera and making notes on a pad of paper.

“June, isn’t it fantastic?” she asked as she peered over the lens of the fancy piece of equipment. “It’s such an exciting time for us.”

“It is.” I watched as she moved different candles together, arranging them in a perfect photo opportunity. “I’m going before the village council with my photos and asking for a real paper, not just the wind.”

Faith had a wonderful spiritual gift of clairaudience. She was able to hear things in the whispers of the wind that the naked ear couldn’t hear. She was also the
Whispering Falls Gazette
newspaper. If you were a subscriber, you received the newspaper in a whisper through the air, not in real paper form.

“Oh, Faith.” I was happy for her. “That is fantastic news. I’ll do an extra smudge.” I winked and walked back to the counter where Chandler and Oscar had finished up.

“I wanted to welcome you to our village.” I handed him the box from Wicked Good. “It’s a wonderful time of year to open your shop. I hope you are taking part in our annual All Hallows’ Eve celebration.”

“I am.” He cleared his throat. “Chandra Shango has already dropped off the flyers to go in my shop window.”

“Good.” I offered a smile and was glad to hear Chandra had taken her new position seriously.

The village council had appointed her chairperson of the All Hallows’ Eve celebration which was a new position. They must’ve known the new shops were coming and someone needed to keep them informed.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Chandler said over the ticking of the old cash register as he rang up the next person in line.

“Mr. Prince Charming,” I called over to him. He was a sneaky one.

“He might hang with me for a while.” Faith had him posing next to some candles as if he were doing a spread for Fancy Cats.

Oscar and I chuckled, before heading back out into the nippy fall air.

Across the street was Hidden Treasures. I’d already been to see Violet Draper since her shop opened. She and her son, Gene, had opened their shop a few days ago. Oscar and I had met Violet on our honeymoon and were so happy to see her come to Whispering Falls.

“Look.” I pointed across the street to the shop that had appeared between my shop and Magical Moments. “Happy Herb.”

My intuition told me I already knew who was in there.

“I’ll see you later,” I kissed Oscar before I scurried across the street with my eyes zeroed in on the new shop.

I couldn’t contain the wide smile that curled on my face when I saw the concrete sidewalk leading up to Happy Herb was grass with stepping stones. I pushed the grass door open using the bamboo handle and stepped inside.

Rosemary, ginger, sage, lavender, and the unforgettable smell of cinnamon that I knew only KJ could bring me.

“June.” The baritone voice was sweet to my ears. 

“KJ!” I ran across the grassy floor of the new herb shop and threw my arms around my friend.

KJ was a Native American spiritualist from the west and when I needed ingredient refills for my potions, I whispered into the night air, letting it travel across the miles into KJ’s ears. Within a day or even quicker, he’d show up at my shop with the ingredients I needed.

When I first came to Whispering Falls, his father, Kenny, had provided me with the herbs I needed. Unfortunately, Kenny had been killed, but we were blessed that KJ took his position.

“When I heard Whispering Falls was opening up the new development, I knew I had to move.” He stood over six-foot-four. Normally he wore the traditional Native American clothing, but today he wore a pair of khaki pants, black shirt, but still had on the feather headdress.

“You have no idea how thrilled I am you are now living here and next to me.” I clasped my hands and stood in a pleased surprise. “When I saw the sign, I knew it had to be you.”

“Let me show you around.” KJ’s dark eyes illuminated with pride. “I have tried to keep everything separate and if you don’t mind, I’d like to tell my customers to come to you if they need a specific treatment.”

“Of course.” I was so pleased he was there. It was going to make everything so easy with him right there.

The walls were painted with green ivy stems to go with the herb theme. There was natural wood shelving around the small shop. They were filled with packets of different herbs. He had a men’s section for men’s health as well as a women’s section.

“I love this.” I twirled the spinning floor display of the postcards of Whispering Falls.

“I wanted to have something special for the customers to tell their friends about,” he said and pointed to one of the postcards with my shop on it. “We truly are a magical place and I want everyone to know.”

“Me too.” I stepped out of the way as a couple customers had come in. “I’ll let you get back to work.” I gave him a quick hug and gave him a box from Wicked Good.

“June,” he stopped me before I headed out the door, “I had a vision that I gave you some Plantain even though it wasn’t whispered to me.”

He handed me a bundle tied with a piece of string. I curled my hand around the herb. A jolt through my veins sent an alarming skip to my lungs causing me to take a sudden breath.

“Plantain?” I questioned Mr. Prince Charming as we walked up and through my gate in front of A Charming Cure. “This is not good.”

Plantain was a special herb used for protection from evil spirits and snake bites, removing weariness, healing headaches, house & business blessings.

Darla always placed a pinch of dried Plantain leaves in the flame of a candle or she threw it into an east wind for healing. She also hung Plantain leaves in the car for protection from evil and jealousy.

A fierce wind came sliding down over the mountains and blew dried leaves around the village.

“Let’s go,” I said to my fairy-god cat and scurried up the steps and let the waiting customers in the shop.

I flipped the sign and turned on the lights. An instant calm swept over me as I took off my cape and hung it on the coat tree next to the counter. My eyes shifted up to the framed photo of my parents on the wall next to the counter. It was the only photo I had of them.

“Good morning.” I greeted everyone as they walked around and picked up the different potion bottles, uncorking them as they brought them to their noses and smelled the contents.

The satisfaction on their faces told me the incredible magic that was individualized was working. Whenever they smelled one of my potions, it took on a smell that that individual enjoyed.

I walked behind the counter where my cauldron was hidden behind a partition, away from wandering eyes and flipped it on.

I smiled as the cauldron filled with a watery mixture and swirled, ready for the day’s work ahead. I added the Plantain to the smudging bundles so I wouldn’t forget to use it during the lighting.

The Magical Cures Book from Darla, my mother, caught my attention as it flipped open from underneath the counter. The book was full of magical potions for me, but to the naked eye it was only a book of recipes. Thank goodness because I didn’t want it to get into the wrong hands.

The book flipped open to a candle lighting ceremony using a honeycomb candle and a pinch of Plantain.

Mewl,
Mr. Prince Charming walked around the corner of the desk and dragged his tail along the shelf where the book was sitting.

“You know exactly what I need.” I bent down and picked him up. He purred in my arms.

I continued to hold him as I retrieved the candle I’d gotten from Scented Swan. I pinched a piece of the Plantain off of the bundle KJ had given me. Before I lit it and did a quickie spell, I looked around the shop to make sure no one needed me.

Since it didn’t look like a spell, and I was simply lighting a candle, I decided to do it on the counter so the flame could flicker all day. I set Mr. Prince Charming down next to the candle. He sat with his eyes on the wick.

Eckla, va, brum, de, sar, la, tom
, I repeated in my head a couple of times as I lit the candle.
Protect the village with all your might, especially on the night of fright. All Hallows’ Eve is a place for fun for all the spirited ones.

The candlewick flickered as I dropped the pinch of Plantain on the wick, but completely blew out when the door opened and two new spiritualists walked in.

“That’s just a coincidence.” My eyes drew down to Mr. Prince Charming who pawed at my wrist. I quickly lit the flame again and took out the business cards Chandler Swan had given me to place next to the honeycomb candle.

“You must be June Heal.” The young man trotted up to the counter with his hand out. I gave it to him and he pulled it to his lips, kissing it gently on the back.

“You must be Patch Potter.” My eyes danced as he entertained me with his bowing, blowing, huffing and puffing as he pulled a pumpkin from the pocket of his overalls.

“This is my brother Patty Potter.” He rolled his hands until they opened to display another young man standing with him. “I’m here to invite you to a special preview of the pumpkin patch tonight and give you this amazing pumpkin for your window.”

“Thank you, Patch.” I was happy to see another happy new citizen to our village.

Patch was a little different. He was tall and lanky with orange hair just like his pumpkin. He wore a pair of worn brown laced boots and overalls with a patch on the right knee along with a black plaid shirt underneath.

“I’m beyond thrilled to have moved to the new development.” He pointed to Patty. “Patty is in town only to help me move.”

“Oh, you won’t stay?” I asked Patty. He offered a gentle smile and shook his head. “Not even a little bit of magic will keep you here?”  I winked.

“Not in the slightest,” Patch rolled his eyes. “Who wouldn’t love this village?” He handed me a flyer with the location and times the pumpkin patch would be open to the public.