Witch Dream Team (A Broomsticks & Books Cozy Mystery Book 5)

Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Sign up for my newsletter to get information on new releases and promotions. Chapter 1 At the back of the college lecture hall with a notebook filled with messy notes, Daphne sat and listened intently as the theoretical physicist professor explained the topic of black holes, wormholes, and portals. In a small duffle bag, Dolly sat inside with her head slightly peeking out. For some reason, not many students arrived to the physics lectures as the semester rolled on. This gave Daphne and Dolly an easier time slipping into the background, formulating their own theories while the professor droned on. “Any questions?” The professor gazed around the room with a white chalk piece in his hand, large spectacles sitting on the bridge of his nose. Behind him, a black chalkboard was littered with drawings and equations that would drive an average person insane. “Let me know if I’m going too fast. Yes, you in the back!” Daphne smiled, tapping her pen against the paper. “Has anyone tried to open up a portal yet? Through an experiment or something?” “Well, it’s quite difficult to get the right conditions to do so, you see,” Professor Brown replied, dipping his head. “Of course, we’ve seen some attempts to do so abroad by using the Large Hadron Collider. To open up a wormhole or portal of any kind, you’d need an exceptional amount of energy.” “That’s difficult to do, then,” she remarked. “Would you say it’s impossible?” “Hm. Good question. Not necessarily, but to mimic the precise experimental conditions that we’ve been discussing seems…” Professor Brown clicked his tongue. “Crazy.” Small ripples of laughter cascaded through the lecture hall. “I assume you’d require something to provide enough energy to open a wormhole, but we haven’t figured out how to achieve that.” If only the mundanes knew more about magic, she thought. It’s a good thing they don’t. “Got it,” she replied, scribbling down everything he said. “Thanks, Professor.” As Professor Brown backed his way towards the board, multiple extension cords were in his way. Discreetly, Daphne uttered a spell that yanked them out of the way before the man stumbled on the cables. The one-hour lecture passed by quickly. Once it did, Daphne gathered her belongings, packed them into the bag with her familiar, and hurried out of the class. “Public schools are great, aren’t they?” Daphne mused, heading towards the parking lot where Matthew’s pickup awaited her. To reach the university, she often borrowed her brother’s truck. Matthew didn’t mind, since Lizzy offered him rides more often than not. Either to spend more time with him or to lend a helping hand, everyone won regardless. It also gave the pair time to hang out with Alecia, whose magical skills were starting to flourish. “The mundanes have done a good job piecing things together without the help of magic,” Daphne continued, cautiously gazing at her surroundings before scurrying across the parking lot. “What’s the rush?” Dolly asked. “Scared of seeing Thomas?” “He and I get along fine. You know this.” Unlocking the truck, Daphne put her duffle in the passenger seat. Dolly stretched herself out once she was outside of the bag. “But he doesn’t know about what I’m doing. We should keep it like that.” In the duffle bag, Daphne’s phone illuminated thanks to a text message from John. Dolly purred. “Looks like your boyfriend is texting you.” “Boyfriend?” Daphne scoffed, shifting the truck into reverse. “I don’t have one, so you’re gravely mistaken.” “What about all the flowers and cards John has been sending you?” Dolly’s whiskers twitched. “And the dates?” “They’re not dates.” “Oh, sure. You guys go to parties and out to fancy restaurants for no reason, then.” “We’re investigating his dad. I don’t know how many times I have to repeat this to you,” Daphne answered, sending her familiar a stink eye while she navigated the roads back to Shadow Woods. “Since the elections are coming up, we have to be on top of things.” “Does that mean more dates with John?” Rolling her eyes, Daphne held back a grumpy response. Instead, she sighed. “No. I might have to attend more of his family’s events. I heard Teddy is having a party soon and Veronica told me she wanted me there.” “Two out of three of his siblings like you, so it seems.” “Yeah, Rebecca is still bitter, but she’s always like that, so that’s nothing new.” Daphne reached into her bag, pulling out one of her many notebooks. A quick glance at the pages and she was reminded of her research into Dalia’s recordings. Not only that, but she started writing down details from her dreams. Some of them made no sense, but she wrote them down anyway in the hope something would connect. Unfortunately for her, they never did. In her daze, she forgot that she was at a traffic light that had turned green, earning her a few aggressive honks from the cars behind her. She flinched. “Sheesh, sorry,” she mumbled, putting the truck into drive. “These people act as if the world will end if I don’t start driving.” “People have places to go and stuff to do, Daphne. Us included.” “Yep.” Daphne couldn’t help but glance again at her notebooks. Months of diligent research on her part, facilitated by Dolly’s guidance and the correspondence from Griselda Menzie, the witch Maxie Skoch connected her with. Slowly but surely, she knew she was close to