Choose Your Own LSP Adventure Episode #6

 The LSP reader group chose Option C - Seek out the biggest gossip in town

Tizzy held up a hand. “Don’t be too hasty. Can Patrick be interviewed right now?”

“As far as I know, he’s still in a trance. Amira and Ally are working on a spell to break him out of whatever has been done. According to Sparsh, there are some special ingredients they needed to track down.”

A little of the grump left her system. At least her great-nieces were practicing good old-fashioned magic. That notion brought joy to an old witch. She held out her arms. “Take me downstairs to the van. First you’ll clean up that mess you made with the window, then we’ll go talk to the biggest gossip in town.”

He grabbed her and zipped her down the stairs, and set her down gently by the back door. “Why do we need to talk to the biggest gossip?”

 “If Patrick Henry came back to town, she’ll know his movements better than anyone else.” Tizzy slung her long hair behind her and limped through the door.

She waited for Sidney in the van. At vampire speed, he had the mess cleaned up and repaired in less than ten minutes.

She’d dated a vampire once. Their wild love affair had lasted a total of twenty-three hours before he’d proposed and wanted to turn her into a witch vamp hybrid. She’d sent him on his way.

Sidney casually strolled toward her van. A few drops of rain still fell from the sky and coated the windshield. She clicked the wipers. What would Ally say if Sidney proposed making her a hybrid? Hopefully, it was a situation he’d never put her in.

He climbed into the passenger seat. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” she grumbled.

“Like you want to turn me into a toad.”

Tizzy rolled her eyes and shifted the van into drive, deciding to ignore his comment. After a few minutes, they turned off the main road and toward the local community center. Even with the storm, the Biddies Bridge Club wouldn’t miss their nightly get together.

“Bingo night?” he asked. “Who are we going to find in there that can help us?”

She parked beside a Buick. “Your biggest cheerleader, Mrs. Lorenson.”

He shook his head. “We can question Mrs. L about the symbols. She doesn’t know the town is full of paranormals. And she still thinks I’m a handyman at the B&B.”

“Hasn’t my niece taught you anything about Burberry? We’ll barely have to mention Patrick Henry’s name. Watch me work a magic of a different kind.” She exited the van, and Sidney met her at the back bumper. “Just stand beside me and look pretty.”

He cracked a smile. “You think I’m pretty.”

“No.” But she couldn’t account for Mrs. Lorenson’s taste in men, so there was that.

His smile widened. At least he could take a cantankerous old woman’s sass without wilting.

Inside the community center, Tizzy bypassed the table for purchasing the bingo cards and headed straight for Mrs. Lorenson. No need to oversell their reason for being there.

“Tizzy Walker,” Mrs. Lorenson greeted her. “I thought you said bingo was for old ladies, same as playing cards. I’m so glad you accepted my offer and joined us.”

She sat amongst the other ladies in the Biddies Bridge Club. When Patrick Henry’s mother had been mayor, she’d lorded over the Biddies as if they were her personal entourage. Now, they were open to anyone over sixty who wanted to hang out.

Tizzy placed a hand on her hip. “I still think that. Sidney and I thought Ally was turning the tumbler tonight. I guess we got our nights mixed up.”

“She doesn’t have as much time for us as she used to,” another woman spoke up. “Not since…” she nodded toward Sidney, who stood silently behind her.

He waved to the women, but said nothing. Maybe the vampire could follow directions.

Tizzy opened her mouth to put her gossip plan into action when the lights flickered three times, then shut off, leaving them in almost complete darkness.

“That’s odd,” Tizzy said. “The worst of the storm as passed.”

“I’ll check it out,” Sidney said.

She felt a whoosh as he zoomed away from her.

Then a hand wrapped around her wrist, and an unfamiliar voice said, “I know what you’re after. Come with me.”

***

Here we go again! Does Tizzy…

A.    Say a quick spell to illuminate the room so she can see who it is

B.    Go with the person because she’s a tough witch

C.    Scream for Sidney

Choose Your Own LSP Adventure Episode #5

And the LSP Reader group chose Option A: Give him a history lesson

Tizzy searched for a chair and, finding a folding one in the corner, motioned for Sidney to open it for her. After giving her hip a rest, she gestured for him to sit down, too. “Let me explain a few things to you.”

Sidney crossed his arms and glanced toward the stairs. “I really don’t think we have time for a history lesson.”

She sniffed. “Didn’t anyone teach you not to argue with your elders?”

“Technically, I’m older than you,” he said.

She pointed to another folding chair stacked against the wall. “I wouldn’t take the time if it weren’t important to what you may be up against. I’ll give you an abridged version.”

Sidney unfolded a chair and sat opposite her. “Okay, history lesson it is.”

Lightning flashed, illuminating the room putting the small lamp they’d turned on to shame.

She folded her hands in her lap. “The cosmos is a living thing, but not in a way that we understand living beings. It moves through time and space and allows us to do the same.”

“Is that what that Reg guy does when he’s called to watch over a ritual?”

“Precisely. But watchers aren’t the only ones who can move through the cosmos. In the beginning, the goddesses liked to play tricks on humans and moving through the cosmos is how they did it unseen. Hence, the reason for watchers.”

Sidney rested his elbows on his legs so he could put his chin on top of his hands. “You think a goddess is making Patrick Henry eat raw beef?”

“I don’t think the goddesses care one wit for Patrick. But, I think someone who knows of the history of the symbols might have used the powers to create chaos.”

“How many people in a town that’s now 50% paranormals would know of this history?”

“Other than you? Most likely 38%. That’ll include the non-paranormals as well. Like I said, don’t assume this person was born with any special powers.”

Sidney stared off past her. “Well, that doesn’t narrow things down at all.”

Tizzy stood. “You’re the investigator. Do the work.” She walked over to the small window and glanced outside, noticing the rain had let up some. She’d missed the best part of it. Might as well help the LSP with their goddess symbol issue to fill the time.

Sidney removed a cell phone from his pocket and took pictures of the symbols. “This isn’t something you can stumble on, though, right? This person had to search out the symbols, the meanings, and how to use them to make that happen.”

“The internet is rife with this information,” she reminded him.

Sidney slipped the phone back in his pocket. “We should start with the victim and work backwards.”
Tizzy chuckled. “Now you’re showing off those investigator skills. That will narrow it down to a lower percentage.”

“I think we know our next step,” he started.

She held up a hand. “Don’t be too hasty…”

Another choice for you!!

Should they?

A. Go see Patrick Henry at the Burberry LSP Headquarters

B. Find out where Patrick Henry is staying and investigate his room

C. Seek out the biggest gossip in town and see if they know anything

Choose Your Own LSP Adventure Episode #4

The LSP reader group chose Option B: Break in after the librarian leaves

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Tizzy turned her attention back to Ms. Hornfellow. “I guess we’ll see you in the morning.”

The young woman nodded at them and closed her umbrella so she could climb inside her car.  Tizzy waved her off as she pulled onto the main road.

Sidney leaned close to her. “We’re not really going to wait until morning, are we?”

“We’ll have to do it your way.” She gave him a stern look. “We will not break a single splinter of that door getting inside. Do you understand? It’s a historical building and we’ll treat it with respect.”

“Understood.”  He handed her the umbrella and used his super speed to zip to the back door.

Tizzy heard the crunch of glass. She hung her head in defeat. “I’m getting too old for this.”

Sidney came back and took the umbrella again. “Not a single flipping-flarking splinter.”

“I think the glass shards count.” She’d talk to her sisters about stacking on top of his curse later.

“I’m a handyman. I’ll fix it and the librarian will never know the window has been replaced.” He led her to the back door he’d left wide open.

“The rains getting inside on the floors.” She gestured to his wet boot prints on the hardwood floor.

“I’ll clean that too,” he bit out between clenched teeth.

She smiled. Always good to get on a vampires nerves. “By the way, my hip is bothering me. It always acts up in this kind of weather. Why don’t you bring the table downstairs to me?”

He lifted her into his arms. “Nice try.”

She slapped against his chest as he carried her like a baby up the stairs to the second floor. “I’m going to put boils on your rear end!”

He chuckled and set her down gently. “You wouldn’t do that to Ally.”

“They wouldn’t be on Ally,” she snapped. She’d have to find a curse she could do on her own. No way would she tell Hope and Grace she’d been carried like a useless doll.

Straightening her dress, she stomped over to the table with the markings that matched the drawings inside the journal. One marking at each corner. They resembled versions of the symbols triqueta, horned god, triple spiral, and the spiral goddess.

The table itself was nothing extraordinary. Small and square. Something you might find inside a kitchen in the 1950s. When she’d been donating some items for the Burberry historical society, she’d briefly noticed them but hadn’t given them another thought.

“Do you think our culprit put it there or found them and used them?” Sidney asked.

“I think both are a solid possibility.” She tapped the table. “If someone copied them, then they could have done a few internet searches to trace the origin. Or, we could have a room that’s seldom used and perfect for messing around with otherworldly things.”

“Otherworldly?” he repeated.

“Beyond the cosmos. Beyond time. The space in between.”

Tizzy searched for a chair and finding a folding one in the corner, motioned for Sidney to open it for her. After giving her hip a rest she…

A.    Gave him a history lesson on the cosmos and the markings

B.    Told Sidney they needed to take the table with them to Dara’s

C.    Decided to meditate and ask the cosmos for guidance

Continue to Episode #5: http://lostsoulsparaagency.blogspot.com/2021/08/episode-5-choose-your-own-lsp-adventure.html

Choose Your Own LSP Adventure Episode #3

 The LSP Reader group chose Option A: She's seen the symbols scratched into a table upstairs.

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“Because I’ve seen these symbols carved into a table upstairs in the history room.” Tizzy pulled an umbrella from a decorative umbrella stand beside the door.

“What kind of symbols are they?” Sidney asked, taking the umbrella from her and opening it. He walked her to the driver’s side door of the van like a gentleman.

Not that she’d thank him or give him her approval. She grunted and climbed in. She didn’t mind vampires, but bloodlines couldn’t continue when one half of the couple was unable to produce children. Therefore, she couldn’t encourage him in any way.

He closed the umbrella and climbed into the passenger seat, water dripping from the ends of his shaggy, surfer boy hair.

“The kind of symbols used by those who believe in the old gods and goddesses,” she finally answered as she backed out of the driveway. “Or who’ve researched them and are messing around with things they shouldn’t.”

He stayed silent on the short drive to the library. If he knew anything about old gods and goddesses, he didn’t share and until Tizzy knew more about what they were dealing with, she wouldn’t speculate.

They pulled into the library parking lot and noticed the new librarian, Ms. Hornfellow, locking the front door.

“We’ll have to wait until she leaves and break in,” Sidney said, tapping his watch. “It’s closing time.”

“I don’t do B&E with vampires,” Tizzy said. “We’ll ask her if we can look upstairs real quick.”

“You want me to turn on the charm.” Sidney gave her an eyebrow wiggle.

If she’d had a cane, she’d have smacked him with it.

There’d been a string of librarians who’d come through Burberry since November. The position didn’t pay much and the townsfolk were a strange bunch to contend with even before the paranormals started moving in.

Tizzy exited the van and waved at Ms. Hornfellow. “Hello, dear.”

Sidney followed along behind her holding the umbrella over her head.

“Hello, Mrs. Walker.” She’d opened her own umbrella and when another flash of lightning lit up the sky, she startled.

Tizzy gestured to the library. “We need to get upstairs to the historical room for a few minutes. If you don’t mind?”

She glanced between them. “I do mind. This storm is ramping up and it’s been a very long day.”

“You’d be doing me a huge favor,” Tizzy tried again.

Ms. Hornfellow reached for her door handle. “We open tomorrow at ten a.m. You’ll have to come back then.”

Sidney let out a grunt and Tizzy turned to him and whispered, “have your glamour powers back yet?”

He shook his head.

 

***

Bum, bum, bummmm…

What should Tizzy and Sidney do?

A.    Go to the diner and visit the library in the morning when it reopens

B.    Break in after the librarian leaves

C.    Spell the librarian into doing what they want

Continue to Episode #4: http://lostsoulsparaagency.blogspot.com/2021/08/choose-your-own-lsp-adventure-episode-4.html

Choose Your Own LSP Adventure Episode #2

The reader group chose Option B: In the back of Dara’s Diner eating raw beef by the handfuls.

 

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“Spit it out already.” Tizzy settled into her favorite wingback chair. “I’m getting older by the second.”

“He was found in the kitchen at Dara’s Diner eating raw beef by the handfuls.”

Tizzy snorted while attempting to hold back her laughter. “Better than raw pork or chicken.”

Sidney crossed his arms, giving her a hard stare. “He’s practically froli-loli-locking comatose now.”

“What does Sparsh need me for? If he’s powerful enough to spell you from cursing properly, then he’s powerful enough to figure out what’s going on with Patrick. Honestly, you should start with Dara. It’s usually the spouse.”

“This is obviously a paranormal issue. She doesn’t have any powers.”

Tizzy brushed off his comment with a wave of her hand. “Don’t put anything past Dara Henry.”

“She’s been in Charleston for the past two days visiting family. She’s not on the suspect list.”

“Who is?”

He rubbed beneath his chin. A flash of lightning from outside lit up the room.

“You don’t even have a suspect list?” she asked. “What do you want me to do? Conjure one for you?”

“Ally said that witches can’t use another witches grimoire without side effects or unintended consequences.” He reached behind him and withdrew a pocket-sized notebook. “We found this near him. It contains several half-written spells.”

A makeshift spell book. She didn’t want to be interested. Patrick Henry probably deserved a mouthful of raw beef, but someone playing with spells, now that interested her.

She held out her hand. “Anyone can play with spells. It doesn’t have to be a witch. The cosmos isn’t that much of a snob to limit powers to only those born into covens. Witches are self-made, too.”

She flipped through the pages noting the neat cursive script.  She didn’t want to gender stereotype, but the neatness and loops suggested a woman. Whoever had made the notes had dotted the I’s with little hearts.

“These are emotional manipulation spells.”

“That’s what Sparsh wanted confirmed.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you start with this information?”

“I didn’t expect you to be so stubborn about helping.”

She flipped through a few more pages, stopping at a drawing of three symbols. A normal person would think they were pentagrams, but a seasoned witch knew better.

“Let’s go,” she said, pushing to her feet. “You learn to drive yet?”

“No. And I zipped over here from the diner anyway. That’s why I’m all wet.”

She grabbed the keys to the Volkswagen bus from the side table by the door. “I want to visit the diner, but first we need to make a stop at the library.”

“Why?” Sidney followed her through the door.

“Because…”

Your second adventure choice! Does Tizzy need to stop by Burberry Library because…

A. She’s seen the symbols before scratched into a table

B. She needs to return Hope’s overdue library books

C. She keeps a set of hidden Walker grimoires upstairs in the history room

Continue on to Episode #3: http://lostsoulsparaagency.blogspot.com/2021/08/choose-your-own-lsp-adventure-episode-3.html

Choose Your Own LSP Adventure Introduction and Episode #1

Welcome to Episode 1, Choose Your Own LSP Adventure!

Have you ever wanted a chance to control the characters in your favorite book series? I’ve given my reader group just that opportunity in a Choose Your Own Adventure style story. Through polls on Facebook, they’ve chosen the characters, setting, main crime, victim, and group of suspects. Now, we’re rolling through the story one short clip at a time and at the end of each episode, my readers choose the next direction.

It’s campy, fun, and completely unedited. Come here for the weekly posting of the episodes, and join us in the Lost Souls ParaAgency Reader Group to help choose the direction of next week’s episode.

Are you unfamiliar with the Lost Souls ParaAgency romantic para-cozy mystery series? All 5 books can be found in one awesome bundle here: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Souls-ParaAgency-Books-Paranormal-ebook/dp/B08RJ5DF5G/

Join us in the Lost Souls ParaAgency Reader Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1768437189833082/ 

On to the story!

Sleuths: Tizzy Walker and Sidney Cross

It was a dark and stormy night in Burberry. Never had Tizzy Walker counted so many lightning strikes in a row. Flash, flash, flash. The thunder came quick after each streak of light, confirming the worst of the storm settled overhead.

She cackled like a mad witch. Thunderstorms were awesome. Perfect for meditating and connecting with the cosmos. Rarely did she have the house to herself as well as a lack of drama surrounding her nieces. Peace and storm. Her favorite combination.

Then the doorbell.

Tizzy grumbled. Maybe they’d go away. She shut her eyes.

The doorbell sounded three more times.

How ridiculously annoying. She untangled her legs and took a deep breath. Since her hip injury, she didn’t roll in and out of meditating position as easily as before.

The doorbell rang again.

“If you ring that bell one more great goddesses time, I’m going to box your ears.” She lowered her voice. “Or make you fall in love with a mirror.”

She flipped the deadbolt and snatched the door open. A gush of wind blew her hair into her face.

“I’m getting wet, Aunt Tizzy,” a familiar male voice said.

Ugh. The vampire boyfriend. “I thought I told you not to call me aunt. Ms. Walker will do fine. What do you want? I’m busy.”

“Can I please come inside?” he asked, the annoyance clear in his voice.

She crossed her arms. “Feels like a vampire trick to me.”

“I’ve been in your house before. I’m only being polite.”

She backed out of the doorway. “Fine. What do you want, Sidney?”

He stepped inside and ran a hand over his wet, shaggy hair. “Sparsh needs a favor.”

“Doesn’t he always?”

“He said to remind you about the animal control issue he helped you solve. Whatever that means.”

She always told her nieces not to owe the LSP any favors. Exactly because of situations like this. A perfectly good storm night ruined.

“What does he want?” she asked.

“Patrick Henry is back in town. Tonight he was found…” Sidney hesitated.

Dum, dum, dummmmmm…

Your first adventure choice. What was Patrick Henry found doing?

A. In the middle of town square barking like a dog.

B. In the back of Dara’s Diner eating raw beef by the handfuls.

C. In the local shoe store licking the soles of high heel shoes.

The voting takes place in the Lost Souls ParaAgency Readers Group on Facebook. If the current episode has been voted on, you'll find the link to it below. Join us at any time!

Episode #2: http://lostsoulsparaagency.blogspot.com/2021/08/choose-your-own-lsp-adventure-episode-2.html