The Christmas Witch Read online

  He frowned, his eyes still like question marks. ‘Your nonna told me where you might be. But … what are you?’

  She tried not to baulk that he’d already deemed her a ‘what’ rather than a ‘who’. A monster. That he’d already forgotten what they’d once had. Been.

  ‘I’m a witch,’ she risked replying, holding her head high. ‘It’s why you and I were doomed from the start.’ Tears burned her eyes despite the horror-struck way he was looking at her. ‘But you shouldn’t have followed me here, Jadon. It doesn’t concern you and it’s not safe.’

  The crank of a door sounded behind them, warmth and smog gushing out. Obviously, Gardenia had taken advantage of Mina being busy. The licking flames reflected in her eyes made her look even eviler. ‘I have to say it’ll be a shame to turn a guy as dreamy as you into a cockroach. Or—’ she tapped her chin with a gloved finger, ‘—perhaps cockroach spray, and Mina, the cockroach. Then you guys can meet again.’

  Amantha hooted along with her while wheeling the corpse flower towards the yawning furnace. Simultaneously, Mina sensed a sudden, strange shift in the air—a hovering moistness—and flickering blue light. She turned, seeing the craziest thing ever; a contained, mini thunderstorm now heading for the furnace. The thing was, it didn’t have anything to do with her. And the dark witches were also staring at it, their mouths agape.

  She jerked her head back towards Jadon, her calm, measured tone defying the blood pumping in her veins. ‘D-did you do that?’

  He appeared as stunned as her as he watched the fairy-floss-like cloud float into the furnace. There, it grew bigger and bigger before bursting into rainwater, dousing out the blaze. Gardenia and Amantha hissed along with the dying flames. Mina’s focus remained on Jadon, though.

  He scratched his sexy neck mole, still seeming in a daze. ‘I think that might have been my doing. I had this weird recollection the other day, from when I was a kid. I remembered spying on my mum one night when she was doing a rainmaking dance with her friends. So … so I guess it’s in the blood.’ His voice sounded strange, still uncertain. ‘Maybe it’s why I’ve always been attracted to storms, and technology hates me.’

  Mina blinked at him several times, scarcely daring to believe what she was hearing. What she’d just seen. ‘We’re … the same?’

  Because he certainly wasn’t like any of the warlocks she’d ever met before. He was a perfect specimen, inside and out; he didn’t even have jug-ears to hide. Suddenly, she was reminded of the cat with the olive-green eyes.

  It had to be his mum! Mina’s own mother had thought Mr Eder looked familiar from her past. Maybe Jadon’s mum had thought he could supress what was inside of him if he didn’t know where he’d come from, that she could spare him the ‘burden’. Little wonder his powers were late-blooming. But Mina could discuss such theories with him later—

  ‘There are plenty of other witches in the hills, you know, Jadon,’ Gardenia’s voice sliced through the air once more. She tossed her dark mane. ‘You don’t have to settle for the first one to fall into your path.’

  Anger surged inside Mina then and she directed it towards the wind machine, unwilling to let Gardenia ruin the moment. The fan’s propeller-like blades spun violently, knocking both the dark duo off their feet. Thankfully, the corpse flower still stood strong.

  Jadon shook his head at the scowling pair as they dusted themselves off. ‘I thought better of you, Gardenia.’

  Mina watched speechlessly as the duo were then hit by a sudden avalanche of water. The muddy stream swept up the pair, carrying them through the warehouse before lodging them in a mountain of plastic-ridden rubbish. Only their heads were left to poke out. Go, Jadon.

  Quickly, Mina added her own flourish by muting the pair’s frustrated screams. Good could triumph over evil sometimes. The Wiccan powers-that-be would ensure the dark duo were the ones banished for eternity.

  ‘Huh.’ Jadon cracked a knuckle, clearly still surprised by his own abilities. ‘That felt good. Reckon it should keep them detained for a while.’

  ‘I think you’re right,’ Mina breathed. ‘But, anyway … how are you feeling about things?’

  Jadon’s gaze collided with hers. ‘Truthfully, if I hadn’t met you, I think I might have been more weirded out about it all. But, strangely—’ he lifted a broad shoulder, ‘—it kind of makes sense.’

  Mina had to laugh. ‘You sound just like me when I found out. Oh, and by the way, I so don’t want you to stay on in Milan. I just didn’t think we could have a future together. I-I didn’t know …’

  Jadon shot her a crooked grin. ‘I’m not going anywhere. With you, I feel like I can tackle anything, as seen tonight.’ Then he reached for her hands, making electricity buzz through her—nice, warm electricity—and slowly dipped his head towards hers.

  He smelled of nutmeg and the woods, cancelling out their musty surrounds for the moment. She didn’t need romantic settings, just him. Nor could she feel ashamed about who she was anymore.

  He laid a kiss on her lips. And it was magically delicious; a real Christmas cracker. The kind that fogged up her glasses. Deep in her bones, she knew they’d be together until the end of their days. Never in a trillion years could she have imagined things unfolding in such a way, but she was so glad that they had. She’d met her match, on the most perfect of nights.

  Thanks for reading The Christmas Witch. I hope you enjoyed it.

  If you liked this book, here is my other title, The Right Place.

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  ISBN: 9781489297044

  Title: The Christmas Witch

  Copyright © 2019 by CARLA CARUSO

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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