“Witch’s Brew” cover, first chapter

It’s finally here! Valenza Publishing and Ella M. Hayes are so excited to share with you the official cover art for “Witch’s Brew,” out this Sept. 2, designed by Matthew Gunther! Let us know what you think and enjoy the first chapter, free, here!

Chapter 1

The Haunted Girl

What is it your heart desires? What is it you’re willing to pay a small fortune for? Maybe you want a more arousing love life, or maybe for your boss to see you in a better light? Are you in need of something certain, or open to exploring the mysterious depths of your soul you’re scared to let see the light? Witch’s Brew can help with that. As I said, for a small fortune, but I’ll make it worth your while.

Ask around, I have plenty of satisfied customers. Take for instance the girl next door. Poor thing had a messy history with the boys. The first one neglected her, the next one lied to her. When he broke her heart, everything else fell apart around her. That’s what happens when you let someone control your heart too much. She never paid me much mind, but once she opened up… oh how I changed her life. From what I can tell, she hasn’t had a bad day since.

Just know I have some conditions to my services. I love a good curse as much as the next girl. Some people just have it coming. But a good curse has to come from a good place. And if you ask me to do something purely out of spite… let’s just say it might find its way back to you.

So what will it be? How about we put a little bit of spice in your life?

“I think I have a ghost problem…”

I feel like an asshole now. I blocked off my night, got my room all set up for this appointment, and all it is is a ghost problem I can’t even deal with from here.

“Have you cleansed the area?” I ask.

“Yes! I burned sage in my apartment until I couldn’t breathe!” Maria is a girl I’ve seen in my store a million times. I have hope for her and try to educate when I can, but up until now she has been an aesthetic buyer. She lacks the proper respect for the craft and it’s obvious why her attempts have failed.

“What kind of sage?”

“White. I think. I don’t know, I just went with whatever the internet said. But it’s not working and I still feel this presence in my apartment.”

At least she burns the right kind. Perhaps my assumption was wrong about her. The problem must be deeper than that.

She goes on. “It’s not like, evil, I don’t think. Oh god, I hope not. It’s just there, you know? But no one else ever feels it. Like when my boyfriend comes over he thinks I’m just crazy. And that really bothers me, but it also bothers me that it bothers me ’cause like, then I feel defensive over this ghost like, come on, he’s right there! Don’t treat him like he’s not! But that’s weird isn’t it? That I feel bad for him? The ghost I mean. I don’t know, maybe I’m just like… such an empath or something. Like I think I’m a really caring person.”

Everybody’s an empath now.

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t think you’re crazy. How long have you been living there?” For as much as she rambles, I don’t believe she’s exaggerating anything. I lean in closer over the candle-lit table and rest my head in my hands. My sleeves fall down a few inches and I see her eyes drop down.

Maria loses focus and reaches out for my hands. “Ooo these are so pretty. Where do you get yours done?” She asks about the tattoos on the backside of my right hand; a bead chain around my wrist and over the back of my hand, and runes on my fingers.

I smile politely but don’t want to get off track. “Not around here. Please, Maria, your apartment.”

“I’ve been wanting to get sleeves like this. I only have a small one on my side right now. But like, it seems like all witches like you have really cool body art so maybe I’m just not like, embracing it all enough you know? Oh! Do you think that’s why I’m not good with the sage?”

Like I said, they like the aesthetic. Next year it will be something new.

I take my hands back from her and cross them on the table. “I think it’s a lack of focus and understanding.” I see her begin to fall back in either offense or shock. “So let’s fix the understanding part. How long have you been living there?”

Maria immediately drops the attitude. I assume this isn’t the first time someone has called her out for this. “I’ve always lived here. My parent’s own the building, but this apartment was always rented out to other people. I started renting it from them, I think… April. Yeah, I moved in back in April, I think. Late April.”

“And is that when you felt this presence? Or has it always been a part of this house?”

“Well, no, never. Wait! No, that’s not true, I lied.” She’s leaned in and talking fast again. “I felt it first a month earlier when I checked out the place to like, get a feel for living here. My parents never let me in when there was someone renting it. But like when, no, before I moved in officially, when I was just checking it out, I think I did feel something but I didn’t think a whole lot of it. I mean it’s an old apartment and everything. And for a while, I thought I felt something in the time between then and moving in, but that didn’t make sense.”

Now my interest is really piqued. “Why do you think not?”

Her cheeks go red. “I don’t know, doesn’t that like, break the rules of a haunted house? I mean, no one died there recently as far as I know. No one ever complained about ghosts, so why would it show up just now?”

I can’t help but smirk. “Darling, I don’t think it’s the house that’s haunted.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t get scared, but, I think it’s you.”

Maria gasps and holds her hand over her mouth. With anyone else, I’d think she was trying to play me for a fool. Not Maria though. She’s too innocent and earnest. I can’t wait to tell her what all of this means for her.

“I wouldn’t call this a bad thing just yet. Sometimes it’s the aura of a person that can attract spirits. It’s not a matter of time or place; those are irrelevant for things such as this.” To help her remain calm I hold out my hands again and she gently rests hers on mine. “Tell me about the energy you feel when they’re around.”

She takes a deep breath like the news was equivalent to being told a family member has a terrible disease. “I mean… it’s not… like, bad. You know? Honestly, I’m kinda used to it now.” She giggles and says, “Sometimes when I come home I say ‘hello’ to it. Just like, at first as a joke, but now it’s a habit.”

“So would you say it’s a positive energy?”

She blushes again. “Sometimes…” Her tone shifts after a short pause. “But that’s weird, isn’t it? I mean, it’s like I’m living with someone. My boyfriend doesn’t even get to stay the night!” She giggles again.

What a shame, Maria. There’s some magic in that too.

“I think I’m getting the right picture,” I say. “You have nothing to fear, Maria. Spirits like this are completely natural and aren’t seeking to hurt you.”

She lets out a deep sigh and laughs. “Phew! That’s a relief.”

“I can’t know anything for sure though unless I feel it first hand.”

“Oh! Yeah of course!” She’s quick to push her chair back and stand. “If you need a ride I don’t mind driving you.”

“Darling, I really don’t do house calls. Your home is your own-”

Before I can finish the sentence she’s rummaging through her purse. The small wad of twenty dollar bills is very convincing.

Three hundred dollars later we’re at her apartment. It’s a quaint place on the upper floor of an ancient house in northern Saratoga. This place must be over a hundred years old. From the moment I step onto the yard, I’m overcome with the energy of a thousand happy memories. Smells from holiday cooking and the warmth of children being hugged by their parents.

“This is a good home,” I tell Maria.

We walk up the stairs to her apartment, up old steps that creak with the slightest pressure. Her apartment holds a similar energy and right away I identify the presence she called me for.

“I was right,” I say to her. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Your smudging wasn’t working because there are no negative energies here. Spirits like this one should be your friend.”

Maria wanders around her living space, looking around the room as if expecting to see the spirit manifest. “But it’s my home. As… comforting as they feel, it’s like having someone always watching me. Even when I’m…” She’s scared to say what we both know she’s thinking. Must have had strict parents.

“This home was never yours.” I expect another offended reaction, but hers is pure curiosity. I find a seat on one of her couches to drive home my point. “This space belongs to the spirits. All of nature does. We merely occupy it for our brief time here until we can join them. While we’re here, we must be respectful.”

Maria is still looking around like a child. “How can I be respectful if I don’t understand it?”

“Imagine if you have guests over at your place,” I begin. “You want them to feel comfortable and welcome. Maybe you make them a cup of tea.” I bob my head towards her kitchen.

It takes her a second, but Maria takes the hint and jumps to heat up the kettle.

As she makes the tea, I continue, “And as the guest, you want to be courteous to your host. Respect their space. Don’t overstep.”

Maria lights her old-fashioned gas stove top. Three clicks and the flames burst out under the kettle. “So, are you saying I can’t get rid of him? I mean… it?”

“That’s not at all what I’m saying. Anyone can be evicted, darling. But do you really want to?”

She purses her lips and looks down at her feet. It’s adorable how easy she is to read.

“If you want my advice-”

“Yes! Of course!” She shouts, unaware of her volume.

I pause, letting the room settle, then say, “Embrace your roommate. This is their home, too. Some people don’t move on because they have unfinished business. But some don’t move on because this is where they will be happiest, surrounded by the memories of their lifetime, and the ones they inherit when they join with nature.”

Maria leans over the counter that divides the parlor and the kitchen. “You are so wise… and you got all this from just walking in the room?”

I look out the window and see the waxing moon. “It’s a good moon tonight. Helps with understanding. But this is all only the start of the matter. As I said, in your case, this spirit is concerned with you, not the home anymore.”

“I still don’t understand what that means. Am I going to be possessed or something like that?”

I laugh at her ignorance. “No, no, don’t worry, darling. When you began living in this place for the first time, the spirit connected with you. It’s extremely rare for something like that to happen. Usually, our worlds are such as two rooms divided by a window. We can see the other world; sometimes hear and feel their presence, but rarely do we actively try to cross over. This spirit is different. You two connected, presumably emotionally, as if they saw a friend in you.”

“So… he’s latched onto me? Like, all the time?”

It’s curious that she continues to refer to the spirit as a ‘he.’ 

“Do you follow your friends everywhere they go? At all times?”

She shakes her head.

“This home is theirs as well as yours. But when you leave, they will not always be with you. There’s that respect. So, what’s your choice?”

Maria pours the tea. It’s probably the first moment since I met her in my covenstead that she’s let herself think before speaking. “Well… I mean… If he’s not… bad?”

My work here is done. I rise from the couch and pull one of the hundred-dollar bills out of my pocket. “Here’s your refund,” I say, placing it on the counter. “Do you have a tumbler I can borrow for that?”

She looks at me, clearly taken aback.

I smirk and tell her, “You’ll get it back next time you come into the store. And I’ll want to hear about whatever happens here.”

To be completely honest, I don’t really want to leave this house. Every inch of this place is oversaturated with joyful spirits, their presence made more clear with the aroma of the tea. I want to wander the halls and knock on all of the apartment doors, asking the residents if I come in and meditate with them. But it’s almost midnight, and that’d be weird. Instead, I make a mental note to look into the history of this building. 

For now, I have other business to attend to.