Read Online Spelling Mistake (The Kitchen Witch Book 4) by Morgana Best - Free Book Online

with my parents as a young child. Of course, the only things that emanated from stovetops when I cooked were thick black smoke and hideously charred remains.
    I took the opportunity to study Alder. He was dark and brooding. I didn’t like sulky men, but Alder didn’t have that type of energy at all.
    “So, how are you adjusting to being a Dark Witch?”
    I jumped. “I’m still adjusting to being any sort of witch,” I said with a laugh. “There’s so much to learn, you know, spells, herbs, potions, and all that.”
    “I could give you lessons.”
    I’ll bet you could , I thought, and then fervently hoped Alder didn’t know what I was thinking.
    Apparently, Alder wasn’t a mind reader, and he continued speaking without pause. “Magic comes from within,” he said with a flourish of his wooden spoon.
    “You sound like Ruprecht,” I said.
    Alder flashed me a look before continuing. “If you can visualize and concentrate, then you can do magic. It’s really that simple. All the potions and spells in the world won’t help someone who can’t focus. Some people follow the inner temple tradition. To put it simply, someone can visualize all their ritual workings in a visual temple.” I must have shown my confusion, as he continued. “Say you are somewhere and you want to do a spell for say, communication, but you cannot because of your location. Perhaps you are visiting friends, for example, and can’t just whip out a candle and perform a spell. So then, you go into your inner temple in your mind’s eye. You visualize a yellow candle there and you visualize the spell. That works just as well as a spell carried about with an actual candle. Do you understand?”
    I nodded. “Yes, it makes sense. What a good idea.” To be honest, I was having trouble concentrating, because, well, Alder was there.
    The topic on witchcraft continued over dinner. While I found it interesting, I was a little saddened by this, because I’d hoped it would be somewhat romantic. Alder was still talking about witchcraft when he cleared the table and asked me if I’d like dessert.
    “Do you like baked white chocolate cheesecake with raspberries?” he asked.
    “Do I ever!” I exclaimed. “Would you like some help with it?”
    A look of fear crossed his face. “No, it’s fine! Thanks anyway.” He held up a hand as if to keep me away from the kitchen. Wise, as well as good looking. What more could a girl want?
    The dessert was delicious. When we finished, Alder cleared the table, again refusing my offer of help. “And let’s do what you’ve wanted to do all evening!” he exclaimed.
    I felt my cheeks burn. Surely he didn’t mean…?
    “My ancient books!”
    “Oh!” I was mortally embarrassed. I hoped Alder hadn’t noticed my discomfort. I looked away, and focused on the leg of a chair.
    Alder indicated I should follow him, and so I did, my ears burning and my face burning. He opened the door and I gasped with delight. Whereas the rest of the house was minimalist industrial, this room was everything but. There were shelves and shelves of ancient looking, leather-bound books, all stored flat and not upright.
    I caught a glimpse of myself in the heavy gilt mirror at the end of the room, and looked away quickly. My face was indeed bright red.
    Alder shut the door. “Temperature and humidity control,” he explained. “These are old, rare books.” He threw me a pair of white gloves and I only just caught them.
    I walked along the shelves and looked at some titles: Sworn Book of Honorius , The Magus , A New and Complete Illustration of the Celestial Science of Astrology , The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy , and so it went on.
    Alder carefully opened two books on the table in the center of the room. “These two are most likely. Let’s look through one each.”
    I couldn’t find anything that would help, although the information was fascinating. I lost myself in reading about various hideous demons and their