magical cures 07 - a charming fatality by tonya kappes Read Free Book Online Page B

Good-Siders.
    Eloise was a Dark-Sider, but with a Good-Sider heart. I’ll never forget the first time I had seen Eloise’s name. It was when I had first discovered Whispering Falls. Darla had kept a journal of sorts for all of her herbal remedies, and it wasn’t until I accepted I was a spiritualist that I could really read between the lines of the journal and see and understand what was there. The journal was really a potion book kept safe by Darla. Since she wasn’t a spiritualist, she wasn’t able to read all the potions and that was why she only did the basic homeopathic cures. . .cures without the magic. Truth be told, Darla had opened her shop in Whispering Falls when I was a baby. She would make the homeopathic cures and let Eloise stick the magic in them. According to Darla’s journal, my father, Otto had become furious with her because of the Dark-Sider stamp on Eloise’s forehead.
    Darla had written in the journal and one entry in particular talked about her friendship with Eloise and how they had told each other their deepest and darkest secrets. When I first asked Izzy about Eloise and where I could find her, she played it off like Eloise was not a major part of my life and told me Darla didn’t know her.
    I knew if Darla had written about Eloise, then Eloise had to have been a big part of our lives in Whispering Falls, even if I was a baby and didn’t remember it.
    I was right. Eloise was magical on the day she had come to me. Her emerald eyes glowed. Beautiful fireflies surrounded her and her red hair burned bright like the sunset. She was gorgeous. And I could see where Oscar had gotten his good looks after we had discovered his relationship with her.
    Needless to say, Eloise was not a dark spirit, only her lineage. She helped Whispering Falls every day. But she loved her oasis built between two trees in the woods and I didn’t blame her.
     Mr. Prince Charming darted up the wooden stairs that led up Eloise’s two-story house with the cozy wrap-around porch. There weren’t any lights on, which told me Eloise was probably tending her garden where she grew all of her incense on her own. Plus it was nice and quiet out there.
    I walked around the side of her house and Mr. Prince Charming stayed on the porch. The lanterns hung from the trees leading me to the gravel pathway which led to the back of her house and enchanted garden. I always enjoyed it here. There were beautiful flowers planted on both sides of the pathway. I ran my hand along the vibrant purple, green, red, orange, and yellow flowers. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the wisteria vine canopy over my head. It was the same type growing on the pergola at A Charming Cure since Eloise had helped Darla grow it.
    The sweet humming voice of Eloise’s I loved drifted through the air. My heart leapt and my soul filled with overwhelming joy, bringing a smile to my face when my eyes took in the rows and rows of herbs in her garden before me.
    Out of nowhere, Mr. Prince Charming dove and disappeared into the honeyswell clover. Only his tail danced happily above the magical herb. It was like catnip to him and he loved it.
    At the beginning of each herb row was a small wooden sign where Eloise had painted the name. Rose petals, moonflower, mandrake root, seaweed, shrinking violet, dream dust, fairy dust, magic peanut, lucky clover, steal rose, spooky shroom were just a few that I held so dearly to my heart. Each of these had somehow played a little part in my potion making. They also played a little part in someone’s life outside of our magical village.
    In the distance, nearer to the house, the twinkling lights strung around the gazebo shone down on a table that was set for four. Eloise must’ve gotten wind that Aunt Helena was coming.
    “Hello.” Eloise called out from underneath the singing nettles. “I’ll be done in a minute.”
    The singing flowering plant hummed right along with her. She stood up and used her fingers like a