Myths & Magic - A Science Fiction & Fantasy Anthology - First Chapter Previews

Alchemy with Benefits, by Katalina Leon

What happens when a wacky witch who casts spells that backfire, collides with a hunkalicious food wizard who practices alchemy from a food truck?

Estele "I meant to do well" Esposito is the worst witch in the San Buena enchantment community. When she casts a spell it goes batshit wacky with disastrous results.

Everything changes when a sexy brujo, who drives an enchanted taco truck, shows up with a mysterious warning that he is her new protector. Too bad Estele hates brujos, but when an evil djinn threatens the community, Estele has to put trust issues aside and enter an alliance with a brujo to save the city.

Want the perfect alchemical recipe for hilarious chaos? Mix romance with Estele's brand of loopy spellcasting, hexed food, a ghostly sea captain with questionable vices, a priceless gem of infinite power, malicious djinn bent on world domination and thousands of innocent people trapped at a county fair—what could go wrong?

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Chapter One

There were no appointments necessary at the LuLu Beauty Academy by the Sea. A cheerful pink banner advertised "Walk-ins Welcome," but that didn't mean casual clients could expect to be pampered. Requests for specific operators would be denied. Most regular customers wouldn't bother to ask. On entry, patrons were asked to sign waivers. An ominous plaque on the reception desk stated that "all work shall be done by STUDENTS."

The intrepid ones who used vocational schools as part of their beauty routine knew you got you what you paid for—or more accurately at the LuLu Beauty Academy, you got what you didn't pay for.

So, on that sunny August morning, the blood-curdling screams of horror echoing from the building weren't completely unexpected.

Viewed from the outside, the windows of the clinically tidy vocational school writhed with the silhouettes of panicked people desperate to escape. The screams within reached a glass-shattering crescendo, then fell silent as one by one bodies slumped to the floor in heaps.

Oops, time for full disclosure.

The LuLu Beauty Academy by the Sea hid one crucial fact from the unsuspecting public. More than haircuts, mani-pedis, and ombré dye jobs were being offered. At the back of the rambling mission-style compound, one sub-floor down, was San Buena's preeminent school of sorcery and witchcraft—the Master Mage Magic Academy.

The secret school within a school provided the perfect place to mask the comings and goings of would-be aestheticians, witches, warlocks, and fiends. The false front had been in place for decades and the two schools seldom mixed. For the most part, members of the LuLu Beauty Academy were oblivious to the near proximity to occult danger. Most of the time they had little to worry about. Thanks to caution and strict protocols, Miss Dahlia ran a clean Mage Academy.

Unfortunately for all involved, one incompetent student was enrolled in both schools, San Buena's most vexatious, sure-to-fail, scatterbrained witch ever born into the West Coast Enchantment Community—Estele "I meant to do well" Esposito.

Ashamed and once again needing assistance, Estele picked up her phone and called her best friend and sister in Wiccandom, Frederica De la Cruz, aka Fredi. The call was answered on the second ring.

Estele stammered, "F-Fredi! I need your help right away. I've done it again."

"What have you done?" Fredi sounded blasé. "Did you cast another wacko love spell that hit a speed bump?"

"No. It's worse than that. I was trying to infuse a transformation enchantment into a crystal and—"

"Wait a minute." Fredi became wary. "It's Thursday morning. Aren't you in beauty school? If you're in public, let's not talk enchantment over the phone. It's not safe."