Undeath by Chocolate

Howling at the Moon by Amber Boyd (Paranormal)

You'll likely find this fantasy author with a brew of her favorite tea in hand, crafting her latest bewitching novel. Her spellfully delicious stories include tales of witchcraft, elemental magic, and necromancy.

To discover her latest potion to relieve reader boredom, visit her Wattpad profile, @The3Dreamers, or Twitter account, @AmberDBoyd.

After listening to yet another complaint, I grinned and hung up the phone. The delectable magic aroma of our chocolate Siren cake had once again ensnared customers from every bakery in town. Earlier, I'd propped open the cafe door and let the alluring call of the chocolate waft out into the street. Ten minutes later, a line of people wrapped around the block and our phone rung with protests from our competition.

I grabbed a cloth and wiped the fingerprints from the glass display. The names of today's treats made me smirk as I read them: Cauldron Cakes, Magic Spiced Muffins, Levitating Cupcakes, and Cupid's Heart Cookies.

It reminded me of when my sister, Lilly, proposed the name Spellfully Delicious Bakery and Cafe for our shop. I thought she'd lost her mind.

"No way, are you insane? We can't call it that," I said.

She flashed me a smile that made her blue eyes sparkle like rippling water. "What? Bay, it's perfect. No one's gonna suspect we're witches with an obvious name like that."

As always, she was right. Even the local newspaper played along with the cafe's theme in their review. Spellfully Delicious Bakery & Cafe. Their wicked brews, charming desserts, and enchanting decor will have you under their spell the moment you walk in. If you stay for an insightful tarot card reading, you'll likely make this a regular visit on your cauldron list.

The clipping was pinned to the corkboard next to the menu on the wall. I glanced at the clock for the hundredth time. I couldn't help it. Connor said he had something special planned for tonight. Curiosity was killing me, and I was thoroughly distracted from completing even the smallest task. Lilly had teased me all day about how he was the one.

"You've been dating him for months. I thought you'd be past the school girl crush phase by now," she'd said. Then she shooed me out of the kitchen, so I wouldn't create another baking catastrophe for her to clean up.

I dropped the cloth in the sink, grabbed the tarot cards from underneath the register and the pot of tea off the counter. Here's hoping a couple of tarot readings can keep my mind off him for another hour.

I poured a cup of tea, nestled into my chair at the reading table, and tied my flour-covered, auburn locks into a messy bun. My fingers strummed against the cards making them snap together with each shuffle. When I glanced back at the clock, another five minutes had gone by. My first reading was late.

I watched people come and go from the cafe while I waited. Lilly was talking to someone on the phone and had the cord wrapped around her hand.

"Thanks for letting us know," she said, ending the call.

She looked over at me and shook her head, that was enough for me to know my client had canceled. I took a sip of my tea just as the chimes above the door jingled.

A woman in her early thirties stepped over the threshold and wandered up to the counter. She stuffed her cell into the back pocket of her jeans and adjusted her bag on her shoulder.

She pushed her glasses up to rest on top of her chamomile blonde hair. "I hear your desserts are a sensual explosion of taste, texture, and aroma. One of my girlfriends swears they're better than a boyfriend."