A vial full of magic, p.1
A Vial Full of Magic, page 1
part #6 of Son of a Succubus Series
A Vial Full of Magic Son of a Succubus Series
BOOK 6
SARINA DORIE
Copyright © 2020 Sarina Dorie
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978- 1709151903
NOT-SO-COZY MYSTERIES
IN THE womby’s school for wayward witches SERIES listed in order
Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells
Hex-Ed
Witches Gone Wicked
A Handful of Hexes
Hexes and Exes
Reading, Writing and Necromancy
Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts
My Crazy Hex-Boyfriend
Spell It Out for Me
Hex Crimes
Of Curse You Will
Cackles and Cauldrons
Hex and the City
Wedding Bells and Midnight Spells
Hex Appeal
Safe Hex
The Joy of Hex
Hedgewitchin’ in the Kitchen
The Trouble with Hedge witches SERIES
The Witch of Nightmares
A Cauldron Full of Curses
A Pocket Full of Poison
The Witch’s Familiar
SON OF A SUCCUBUS SERIES
A Familiar Magic
Curse of the Witching Hour
Magical Maladies for Beginners
The Physics of Souls
Incubus Charms
A Vial Full of Magic
A Devil of a Time
SON OF A FAE SERIES
A Court of Muses
A Court of Fae
A Court of Nightmares
A Court of Witchkin
The vega bloodmire cozy witch mystery series
Ghoulish Charms
The Hex Files With Felix Thatch series
Talented and Goblin
No Way in Spell
COLLECTIONS OF FUNNY SHORT STORIES
Fairies, Robots and Unicorns—Oh My!
Ghosts, Werewolves and Zombies—Oh My!
stand-alone Novels
Dawn of the Morning Star
Urban Changeling
The Chronicles of Dartania
Silent Moon
Fairy Godmother Mysteries
Wrath of the Tooth Fairy
The Memory Thief Series
Steamy Steampunk mysteries
The Memory Thief
The Geari Wife
Clockwork Memories
The Lost Memories of Meriwether Klark
Silkpunk and Steam
The Memory Keeper
Other Titles to Be Announced
Table of Contents
NOT-SO-COZY MYSTERIES
AUTHOR’S NOTE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A SNEAK PREVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If you are reading this spin-off series from Womby’s School for Wayward Witches series, I’m guessing you have read the other books as well. Whether you have stuck with the books because you love the quirky characters, you want to know about Abigail and Lucifer’s origins, or you are waiting to see what happens with the potential love interests, I appreciate your enthusiasm.
I want to encourage you to sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already done so. This helps me as an author connect to my readers, lets you know when books are being released, and gives me a way to gift you with free books and short stories.
You can find the newsletter sign-up on my website: sarinadorie.com or you can go to: http://eepurl.com/dEd4oL
Happy reading!
A special note for my fans because you specifically asked for a chronology of events:
The Son of a Succubus Series is its own original series and spin-off of the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series. The first novel in this series, A Familiar Magic, takes place after The Witch’s Familiar, the last book in the Trouble with Hedge Witches Series Bundle. The first novel in this series also takes place around the time of Book 13, Hex and the City from the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series. The second book in the Son of a Succubus Series, Curse of the Witching Hour, spans the time between Book 14 and Book 17 in Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series. The remaining books in this series occur in the aftermath of the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series.
CHAPTER ONE
Cinderfella
Lucifer Thatch sat with the blanket he’d woven to lure Abigail’s soul from the underworld on his lap, the carriage jostling him as it encountered bumps in the road. He touched the amulet under his shirt, reassured by the feel of Abigail’s soul close to his heart. He needed to accomplish three tasks for Abigail’s sake tonight. If he didn’t, he might not have another chance.
Soon it would be too late to restore her soul. If there wasn’t enough soul to fill a body, what was there would grow twisted and warped as it tried to fill its residence. She would become an uncaring monster, selfish and cruel. He needed to plant her soul inside her, using the blanket to keep it in, so that she wouldn’t turn into sociopath.
It was either this option, or grow a new soul for her, but that would mean he’d be giving up on the old Abigail. He’d be abandoning the woman he loved, who had taken care of him even when he’d been stuck in the body of a cat for thirty years. It meant he wouldn’t be able to undo his mistakes, and he couldn’t redeem himself for not putting her soul in her body correctly the first time.
First, he would use his newly gained skills to measure her affinity and determine whether there was still room in her body for her old soul. Second, he would place her soul inside her, using the exercises he had practiced with Baba, and use the blanket to keep it inside. Third, he needed to find out whether Godric had taken advantage of Abigail.
And then, of course, there was Baba Nata’s command. He had to bring her the Ruby of Divine Wisdom so he could restore her youth. Baba had taught him how to spy and transport objects, but he was uncertain this would be enough.
There would be a consequence if he didn’t do as she bade and broke his oath, but he didn’t know what it would be. Probably it would be the same horrible spell she’d used before to transform him into a cat. If she did that, he wouldn’t be able to help Abby regain her soul, and he would never be able to be with her.
The ball no longer held the appeal of a grand adventure and joyous occasion as it had before. He wished Kelsie, Baba’s other apprentice, could have gone in his stead.
Lucifer tried to sort out a plan. He would have to perform the tasks he needed to save Abigail from being depleted of her whole soul first, then he would steal the ruby. He would probably have to flee immediately afterward. On the other hand, if he had the ruby, he would have divine wisdom and be able to do anything. He would only need to touch it to gain its wisdom. He’d be able to restore the entirety of Abigail’s soul without flaw. He would be more powerful and skilled than he ever had been before.
Maybe that was why Baba really had given him this task.
Lucifer hadn’t yet decided what he would do with Godric Tinaalto, that bloody son of a duke, for what he’d done to Abigail. He hadn’t practiced any spells to make the young man’s penis shrivel up and fall off, but he was fairly certain he could come up with something to ensure he never touched another maiden again. Lucifer suspected he should check Abigail for diseases as well. After fetching antibiotics for Godric’s syphilis two times already, there was no telling how many other diseases that disgusting pervert had acquired.
Lucifer rearranged the blanket on his lap. The carriage was pulled by unicorns, but the coachman sitting on top was Fae. He ran the carriage with Fae magic that transported them in a matter of minutes. When Lucifer had last been at the Raven Queen’s castle, it hadn’t been as gloomy as when Queen Morgaine had ruled there, but it was still a formidable piece of architecture.
Minutes ago, when Lucifer had left Baba’s cottage, it had been morning. Only a few minutes had passed along the ride, and the sky was dark with the approach of evening. Lucifer didn’t like the idea of missing a meal when time magically shifted around him. He needed to be strong and clearheaded for tonight.
Servants greeted him and took him inside for a haircut, shave, and fitting.
“I don’t need to shave. I like my beard,” Lucifer protested. He had more important things to do than focus on fashion.
The guards looked him up and down, probably deciding he looked like a pauper and a wildman. Both of which would have been correct.
“Queen Vega thought it would be to your advantage that guests see the family resemblance. It is the queen’s orders that the beard is to go, unless you feel it worth your while to start the evening by defying the queen,” the barber said, a short man with no hair or beard of his own.
Grumbling, Lucifer agreed. His face felt naked without his beard. Worse yet, he looked five years younger. He’d assumed he was in his early twenties, but without the full beard, he looked like a teenager. His stormy gray eyes an
“A bath next, if you please,” a snooty valet said, managing to lift his nose up at Lucifer as he bowed. The older man eyed Lucifer as though he were a filthy piece of vermin.
It was rare to indulge in a hot bath, let alone a bubble bath in a chamber so excessively beautiful. The embrace of the water did Lucifer some good. It wasn’t quite the same as recharging by using pleasures of the flesh, but the sanctuary of water was a start. The fragrance of lavender and orange was heavy in the air around him, making him drowsy.
Lucifer bathed in what he supposed was a private bath in guest quarters. He didn’t remove the amulet, despite the valet’s protests. Baba must not have divined that he would steal Abby’s soul from her when she had bathed, though he wished she had. It was his fault Abigail’s soul wasn’t in her new body.
He was careful not to submerge the vial in the water in case the seal didn’t hold. Not that the soul was likely to drown, even if water did manage to leak inside, but he was careful all the same.
The walls of the room glittered from the light flickering across crystals embedded in the walls. It was the fanciest place Lucifer had ever stepped, far too clean for his liking. He would have preferred the hot springs outdoors to this pristine environment.
Outside the bathroom, he heard the valet’s voice, quiet but unmistakable. “I beg your pardon, miss, but Prince Lucifer isn’t fit to be seen at the moment.”
Prince Lucifer. That title might have meant something once when Queen Morgaine was alive, but now that she was dead and a new queen sat on the throne, Lucifer suspected the title was a nicety. He didn’t feel like a prince. No one had ever treated him as one. But perhaps that was because Baba made him scrub dishes, and Kelsie, the other apprentice, punched him in the shoulder when he annoyed her.
Then again, the bath was nice enough for a prince.
“No one told me he’d arrived,” Abigail said, her voice muffled. “I just want to say hello.”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for a lady of gentle breeding to be exposed to a naked young man as he’s bathing,” the valet said.
Lucifer laughed out loud at that. Neither of them were of “gentle breeding,” but he supposed now that Clarissa was queen of the Red Court, there was royal etiquette to uphold.
Abigail growled something in response. Lucifer glanced around for a bathrobe but didn’t see one.
The valet said, “Return in two hours when he is dressed.”
“Can I at least leave him these cookies?” Abigail asked.
“It depends, miss. Did you poison these?” His indifferent tone gave no hint of amusement away.
Lucifer suspected the man had to be serious.
“No!” Abigail shouted. “Why would I poison him? I like Lucy.”
“I beg your pardon.” The valet cleared his throat. “Did you cast any spells on them like you did the last time you brought someone cookies?”
Her voice was almost inaudible. “I only did that once. Okay, well, twice.”
“Try three times, miss.” He cleared his throat. “I shall check the cookies myself. You may return in two hours.”
Lucifer didn’t care for the servant’s snooty tone, especially not with her. He could imagine how crestfallen she looked, not only denied of seeing him, but unable to give him her gift herself. It had to hurt that the staff distrusted her.
The valet brought a plate of biscuits and set them on the edge of the bathtub. “Servants will arrive with other foods in but a moment. I have checked these myself, but the queens always insist their guests inspect their own food as a precaution. They believe it sets a precedent to show royalty should not take offense when guests do so in their presence.”
Lucifer reached for a biscuit. “And it gives the royal family the excuse to inspect their own food in their guests’ presence.”
Lucifer supposed it was spiteful, but he didn’t intend to inspect the food for spells in front of the servant. After the valet’s insults to Abigail’s honor, Lucifer didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of thinking he agreed with him.
Lucifer inhaled the aroma. Ginger and spices greeted his nose.
The valet grimaced. “Or you may eat at your own risk if it pleases you.” He turned away to tidy a stack of towels.
Lucifer didn’t appreciate the servant’s tone. “Has Abby ever poisoned anyone?”
“Miss Abigail fancies herself a matchmaker. She placed a love potion in Captain Errol’s tea.”
Lucifer had met the captain of Elric’s guard once, though he didn’t know if he would recognize the man now. “Who did Abby try to set him up with?”
“I can assure you, I have no idea.” The man bowed and withdrew. “I have other preparations to make. If you’ll excuse me.”
Now that the man was gone, Lucifer cast the spell for detecting hexes and poisons over the plate of food. He trusted Abigail not to poison him. He just didn’t know about anyone else. Lucifer used a simple spell, the magic flickering and flashing above the biscuits and turning purple to show it was safe.
He nibbled on a gingersnap, finding it perfect, just as her cooking had always been.
A short time later, three women came in wearing little besides leaves and moss. The wood nymphs carried trays, setting them out around the bathroom. One seated herself on the side of the tub and removed a lid from a tray. It was covered with slices of fruit and the juiciest bunch of grapes he’d ever seen. The colors were so bright they looked like they had to be a glamour. These Lucifer thoroughly tested for hexes, toxins, and Fae substances that might make him ill. The magic above the fruit shimmered violet, indicating the food was safe.
The woman holding the fruit waited until he was done before plucking a grape from the bunch and offering it to him. Grapes were a treat, as he and Kelsie only foraged what they could find in the spring and summer before Baba moved the cottage to a different location, and grapes were harvested in the autumn. The woman smiled at him pleasantly as she placed a slice of strawberry on his tongue. He closed his eyes and savored the sweet and tart berry. Between the heat of the bath and the explosion of flavor, the small pleasures tingled into his core where his affinity dwelled. His magic thrummed inside him.
“Can I offer you something to drink? Champagne? Meade? Wine?” the woman asked.
Lucifer caught himself before he thanked her and risked owing her a boon. “That is kind, but no. I would prefer water or tea to alcohol.” He so rarely drank, and Baba had warned him to keep his wits about him.
“Surely there is something that will tempt you?” she said sweetly.
“I only drink for medicinal purposes.”
The three attendants giggled.
One batted her eyelashes at him. “If that’s the case, I should hope you’ll be ill tonight at the ball so that you might enjoy the hospitality of your hosts more fully.”
Lucifer wondered what kind of bath this was supposed to be. This wasn’t like the forest where he knew the rules. He was out of his element here in a castle, with servants, guards, and formalities. On the occasions he was at home and encountered a siren at the stream, he met with them as equals. If they chose to engage in carnal passions, it was consensual. No one told those sirens or wood nymphs at home it was their job to cater to his every whim or to seduce him.
Lucifer wanted to ask if these women were hired to bathe him or to make love to him, but he feared they would laugh. They might report directly to Clarissa and tell her how unfaithful he was to Abigail. Or they might tell her themselves. He couldn’t help but feel like he was in a trap no matter what he did.
The two other women seated themselves around the tub. One took his hand and used the tools in her tray to manicure his fingers. Another fished his foot out of the tub and started a pedicure. It was relaxing in its way, but less so than when he’d been alone. If he’d been given the choice, he would have preferred Abigail’s company to theirs, even if she had simply been sitting on the floor outside the tub, and they’d been sharing a plate of ginger biscuits.
