A Witch Before Dying: A Wishcraft Mystery Read Online Free

evidence of any crime. It’s hard to charge someone without evidence.”
    I put the crostini down. Between this news and the food poisoning worries, my stomach was rolling. “And the other version of what happened to her?” The Crafter version.
    His light eyes held dark foreboding. “That the Anicula amulet led to her demise.”
    “The Anicula amulet?”
    His Adam’s apple bobbed. “It is a powerful, highly sought-after amulet that grants its owner—mortal or Crafter—unlimited wishes. It’s kind of like Aladdin’s lamp, only better, because there are no stipulations other than it is to be used for good, not evil.”
    Do no harm
. It was the Crafting way of life.
    “Rumor is that she had abused the powers of the amulet and was punished for it.”
    “Abused how?”
    “Wishing harm,” he said.
    “On who?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. Rumors don’t come with a deposition.”
    I frowned at him. “Did the rumors offer any speculation on the kind of harm?”
    “No. It had to have been bad, though, as the Aniculadoesn’t have many stipulations. You can pretty much wish for anything, even matters of love, life, and death.”
    I whispered, “Really?” Those things weren’t possible for me, as a Wishcrafter. Some things were out of our hands. All Wishcrafters had to abide by certain laws and rules, the Wishcraft Laws, including the biggies of never revealing our power to mortals; not interfering with life and death; and the fact that we can’t grant our own wishes—or the wishes of other Wishcrafters. Broken rules meant harsh consequences. I’d already been called before the Craft’s Elder (who governed all the Craft laws) twice and reprimanded for infractions. I was hoping to stay on her good side for a while.
    I used to be able to grant other Crafters’ wishes immediately. But after the situation a few months ago where my powers had been somewhat abused by another Crafter, the Elder had created an amendment to the Wishcraft Law stating that no wishes would be granted to another Crafter without approval from the Elder.
    Since the amendment, I’d yet to experience a wish from another Crafter, but the Elder had informed all Wishcrafters that she would somehow (magically, I assumed) hear the wish as it was made and either approve it immediately or summon the Crafter to discuss the wish at hand in more detail.
    Marcus nodded solemnly. “Which is why the Anicula is the amulet coveted by Wishcrafters most of all.”
    I tipped my head. “I don’t understand. Why Wishcrafters specifically?”
    “Darcy, using the Anicula is the only way Wishcrafters can grant their own wishes.”
    I let that sink in—the gift, the potential repercussions.
    Marcus said, “If the Anicula’s owner is not pure of heart, or abuses the power”—he glanced around— “the owner becomes cursed.”
    It took me a second to get his meaning. “So you think an amulet is the reason behind Patrice’s disappearance? What do you think happened to her exactly? I mean”—I poked a crab puff—“where is she?”
    Beads of sweat formed along his hairline. “If you ask me, Darcy, she’s as good as dead.”

Chapter Three
    P atrice Keaton’s house stood at the end of Incantation Circle, near the Enchanted Trail, a path that circled around the village and twined through the Enchanted Woods. The house was a small Cape Cod with clapboard trim, its blue paint slightly faded, the window boxes full of blooming flowers, the lawn and landscape lovingly tended.
    It didn’t look like the house of someone who’d been missing for eighteen months.
    I’d come by to see if Elodie’s warnings held any weight, but as I looked around I had my doubts. The knot in my stomach loosened, unraveled. This job wasn’t going to be so bad after all. The only hint that something might be off with this charming little house was the drawn drapes. What, exactly, lurked behind them? Was she really an extreme hoarder? Or had Elodie been exaggerating?
    I’d have