Read Online Body Bags & Blarney by J.D. Shaw - Free Book Online Page B

two new spells a month,
which currently gave her an arsenal of eleven magical effects that helped to
make life easier. Nana Mary explained that these first spells were of the most
basic variety and referred to them as ‘cantrips’ or spells of the minor power
order. They allowed a novice witch to gain confidence with his or her casting
ability, ingredient gathering, and pronunciation of the power words that
breathed life into the magic.
    “I know you’re
in here somewhere.” Vivienne muttered quietly as she scrolled down the long
document until she found what she was looking for. “Ah, there you are.” Her
finger hovered on the screen where the cantrip ‘Hey, don’t forget about me!’
was underlined in bold text. The ingredients were simple and consisted of a
slip of paper, a pen, and some activated yeast.
    Vivienne
gathered the simple items and placed them in front of the computer. She did as
the cantrip described, writing what was desired on the paper, folding it into a
five-pointed star, reciting the ancient power words, and finished by burying
the folded star into a small bowl of yeast which she activated with warm water.
As the concoction bubbled and foamed, she caught a glimpse of the magical
energy erupt out of the bowl like a volcano. It reminded her of those electric
plasma balls found in gift shops where you could place your hands on the glass
and concentrate the energy into thick bolts. Her words directed the magical
effect to the Nouveau You Salon appointment book, where two new openings were
going to appear.
    The cantrip
danced through the exposed brick wall of the shop and would find its target
within mere moments. All she had to do was wait.
    “It’s probably
a good thing they didn’t have an opening because I’d never be able to figure
out what to do with my hair.” Stephanie emerged from the stockroom with her
arms full of baking supplies. “I just get so mired down in all the details.”
    Vivienne
walked over the computer and closed the magical file on the desktop. “Isn’t
that part of the fun?”
    Stephanie set
the items in her arms down on the counter and frowned at the little bowl of
activated yeast. “What are you making?”
    “Uh, I was
just testing this batch of yeast to see that it was still good.” Vivienne lied.
    “What’s that
floating in there?” Stephanie peeked closer.
    “Oh, just the
packet it came in. I was practicing my origami skills and it slipped out of my
hands and went in.” Vivienne gave her a little smile. “Does it look like a
star?”
    “Yes.”
Stephanie nodded at the wet paper in the bowl. “Too bad you didn’t make a
swan.”
    Vivienne
laughed. “I know, right?”
    The telephone
interrupted them. “Sweet Dreams Bakery?” Vivienne acted surprised. “Oh hello,
Marie. How are you?”
    Stephanie
barely looked up as she began to organize her mise en place for Irish soda
bread. She had canisters of her dry ingredients, measuring cups, and an
assortment of whisks and spatulas all set up within easy reach of her
workstation.
    “Wonderful, I
can’t wait to tell her. Sure, we’ll be there at three thirty.” Vivienne hung up
the phone and whirled around to face Stephanie “Guess what?”
    “No way.”
Stephanie grinned. “They can fit us in?”
    Vivienne
nodded back eagerly. “They just had two cancellations.”
    “Oh wow.”
Stephanie gushed. “That’s so awesome.”
    “I told you
not to doubt your fairy godmother.” Vivienne gushed back.
    “What a stroke
of good luck.”
    “We just need
to be sure we get everything ready so we can close up early tomorrow
afternoon.” Vivienne spoke just as the front door opened and Kathy stepped in.
    “Hello
ladies.” She called out happily. “What goodies are we baking today?”
    “Irish soda
bread.” Vivienne greeted her from behind the counter. “Your king cakes are good
to go now if you’d like them.”
    “That’d be
great, save me time rushing around tomorrow.” Kathy smiled. “I have