The Accidental Witch: The Water Wraith: The Accidental Witch, #2

By PJ Tremblay

Lily Hawthorn is an Accidental Witch. Her Normy parents were shocked when Lily's magical powers exploded in 9th grade. Now, 3 years after graduation, she owns an Apothecary in Willowbrook and has connected with her school sweetheart, Sheriff Ethan Blake. On Their first weekend vacation to cousin Victor's Devil's Pond Lodge, someone is found murdered in the morbid lake and the Water Wraith, a local mythical creature, is suspected. Lily and Ethan investigate and run into Ethan's ex-girlfriend. Will Lily and Ethan solve the murder? ...and what about their budding romance? ...and what about the Water Wraith?

• Language: English
• Publisher: PJ Tremblay
• Release date: Jun 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227310965

PJ Tremblay

Writer and author of Fantasies and Mysteries. A retired Pastor and Veteran with a MA, a BS, and an AAS in various subjects, I have always loved learning and dreaming. My wife Pam and I have been married since 1979 and we have 5 grandchildren. We live out in the country in what we like to think of as a tiny home where we enjoy nature and critters.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Devil's Dishful

Devil’s Dishful Pond didn’t sound like an exciting destination to Ethan. After all, it’s little more than a swamp. In late Autumn, bare gray trees reaching their crooked branches towards the sky surround the small lake. The dank dark waters, a clear star-filled sky and tonight, a Waxing Gibbous Moon. A few days before a Full Moon, that’s romance. Hey, I’m weird that way. I couldn’t wait to get Ethan out in a rowboat for a nighttime cruise.

My pointy black hat stood tall on the back seat, with Orion, my Main Coon cat Familiar, cuddled up against it. Between low guttural purring, he let out soft meows and I wondered what he might be dreaming. Orion’s long fat body took up half the seat. His black and brown fur would be all over it by the time we arrived, but a simple spell would clean up after him. I nestled our overnight bags in the trunk, along with a cooler, Kitty Kibble, and snacks. It would be our first weekend away together and I wanted everything perfect. As I daydreamed, my phone beeped.

It’s a text from Victor. With our reservations, the lodge is full. Our rooms are numbers one and two, I said. Victor’s in town getting supplies, so he won’t meet us when we arrive.

That’s unusual, isn’t it? said Ethan. The sun was setting, so he kept his eyes fixed on the road watching for deer. I mean, having all the rooms booked?

He says the other four guests belong to some crazy monster-hunting outfit, I said.

Ethan just shook his head back and forth letting out a deep breath. At least they’re not witch hunters.

Victor and Melody, my two cousins on dad’s side, are so different. Melody is an eighteen-year-old wanna-be Anime schoolgirl that moonlights as a MMA fighter, and Victor, her older brother, a wanna-be entrepreneur that never quite gets it right. Investing in a vacation lodge along a swampy lakeside near Peabody, Massachusetts didn’t seem wise to anybody except Victor. I plan a visit every Spring and Fall to help Victor out, and besides, I like the colorless atmosphere.

Sure, I’ll admit it, I’m strange. I’m a wisp of a witch, wearing a short black dress, black spider-web tights, and a tall pointy black hat, with an over-sized Main Coon cat who follows me everywhere. Sheriff Ethan Blake, my heartthrob, is my complete opposite, a tall, thin guy with black-framed glasses, brown hair cut military style, with a pointy chin, and freckles. Just a hunk, if you ask me. We make quite an odd couple. My shop in Willowbrook, The Lil’ Apothecary, was in excellent hands with Melody filling in for me while Sheriff Ethan Blake and I took the weekend off.

I heard gravel crackling as we pulled into the lodge’s short driveway. The sunset lit the sky red above the hills surrounding the lake, casting a bloody reflection across its surface. The car lights lit the sign near the door. It read, Welcome to Devil’s Dishful Lodge. An eerie shadow stretched out from the wide, two-story building and the surrounding trees. The peeling beige paint covering the grooved plywood siding gave the lodge a rundown appearance. A few faux black plastic shutters missing from the windows added to it. In the front right corner, a small porch broke the rectangular shape. The light by the doorway, a single bulb, attracted a flock of gnats. Glittering chrome adorned a Harley parked out front, along with an old rusty red truck, a newer looking green hatchback, and a white panel van.

We parked next to the van and got out. A Celtic symbol painted on its side looked like a knot going in and out between loose strings. I retrieved my hat and woke Orion. He looked up at me with that really-look you often see on teenage faces. After he stretched and jumped out the door, I waved my wand over the seat.

Purus, I said, and Orion’s left behind fur twinkled and vanished with a pop.

Ethan loaded the snacks on the cooler and lifted it out, while I slung the long straps from our bags over my shoulders and put Orion’s Kitty Kibble under my arm. I held the door for Ethan. Orion followed, head held high and prancing like a feline king being waited on by his servant. It made me chuckle, and I followed behind.

We walked into the large meeting room with its high vaulted ceiling. The staircase to our rooms was on the lakeside, near the stone fireplace that roared with a blazing fire. Three people sat on an old sofa while a man with a wrinkled face and gray beard sat on a chair, his back to the fire, telling a story. We didn’t want to interrupt, so we put down our things and pulled up a few chairs behind them to listen.

Long ago, when the first settlers arrived in this area, they discovered Devil's Dishful Pond, a small dismal lake surrounded by dense forests. The native people warned the settlers about a powerful water spirit known as Quinnetass, the Water-Wraith, said the man in a soft bass voice that seemed to echo throughout the room. He nodded when he saw us and continued.

They claimed Quinnetass was the lake guardian, a shape-shifter able to take the form of any aquatic creature. Its primary form is a shimmering, watery figure with flowing seaweed hair and glowing sapphire-blue eyes, said the man as he coughed.

Quinnetass could be kind or dangerous. It might help lost travelers on dark nights with glowing water paths on the lake’s surface. However, Quinnetass might attack those that showed no respect for the lake and its creatures.

"One story tells of a greedy angler