A Tale of 3 Witches by Barbra Annino, Christiana Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

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    So, while Birdie was giving him some migraine pills and putting an icepack on his head and a heating pad on his neck, Mara, Stacy and Gus packed up Mr. Henderson's clothes and got rid of his magical accoutrements – which he didn't seem to remember as belonging to him. And then, Birdie shipped him off in a taxi.
    The daily paper came out with a special edition early that afternoon, headlining a story of how a number of trick-or-treaters had fallen victim to what must have been either contaminated cider or contaminated candy. After spending the night in the hospital, they had all been released, healthy as ever, but the city was warning trick-or-treaters to toss out their candy from this year.
    As Fiona happily cooked up a feast with Birdie, Mara and Gus packed and prepared to leave. Gus cleansed the weapons they had borrowed and Stacy promised to return them to Mr. Charon for them -- she was seriously curious to see what one of Birdie's childhood admirers was like.
    Later, the entire coven came over for a late "thank-you" lunch. It would have been dinner, but since Mara and Gus had a long drive ahead of them, Birdie had bumped it up to lunch. And, as promised, it was formidable and incredibly tasty. There was no one, for miles around, who was a better cook than Fiona and Birdie. Afterwards, Mara and Gus left the Geraghty Girls' B&B amid hugs and laughter and promises of more get-togethers in the future.
    As Mara was about to get in the car, Stacy ran up and gave her a small statue of a Great Dane that looked just like Thor.
    "So you always remember us!" Stacy whispered in Mara's ear as Mara hugged her.
    "As if I could ever forget!" Mara whispered back.
    Suddenly, Stacy lurched sideways and then tripped, falling into Gus.
    Gus caught her, laughing. "I think Grundleshanks and Tillie are trying to say goodbye."
    "Your aunt...!" Stacy shook her head in exasperation at Mara.
    "I know," Mara said. "She'll be the death of all of us. But hopefully, not today!"
    And as easily as that, the two witches cemented their friendship, forming a bond that would last a lifetime--and beyond.
    *   *   *
    As Mara and Gus drove away, Tillie shimmered an appeared in the back seat.
    "You'd better get a move on, toots." Tillie snorted.
    "Why?" Mara asked, swinging around. "Is the baby in trouble?"
    "It's not the baby. It's Paul. If you don't want to see his brain splattered on the walls, drive faster."
    "Gus!" Mara said, panicked. "Floor it!"
    Gus complied. And with a buck and a jump, Zed, their Ford Explorer Hybrid, zoomed down the freeway, full speed ahead.
    ~~~
     
    First Witch: When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or in rain?
    Second Witch: When the hurlyburly's done, when the battle's lost and won. 
    Macbeth, 1.1
     

 
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    SOMEBODY TELL AUNT TILLIE SHE'S DEAD (excerpt)
    By Christiana Miller
    At the beginning of this whole, surreal journey, I had no idea you could be evicted from your body as easily as you could be booted out of your apartment. Easier, actually, since there's none of those pesky laws in place to protect you. But it all started out so innocently . . .  With a streak of bad luck.
     
    One of the problems with being a witch is when you ask the universe a question, it generally gives you an answer. Or just enough of one to ruin a perfectly good week.
    But since it was my birthday . . .
    And since I was an eternal optimist . . .
    And mostly 'cause I was stuck at the longest red light in the history of traffic, with nothing else to do . . .
    I dug my tarot deck out of my purse and pulled three cards for the coming year. 
    Death.
    Three of Swords.
    The Tower.
    Transformation. Sorrow. Change through destruction. Happy birthday to me.
    Damn it. I shouldn't have looked. You'd think I'd know better by now. Damn tarot cards always suckered me into peeking into my future and I just about