Upside Down Magic (Good Bad Magic #6)

Chapter 1

ONE

Thick morning fog clung to the streets of Old Olmeda as I made my way to the Tea Cauldron . Thankfully , I wasn’t the protagonist of a Gothic novel, no matter the ghosts haunting my shop, or I might’ve gotten a little worried.

Only your garden variety paranormal criminals to be found here, no crazy housekeepers reminding me how Ian’s last ex-girlfriend was the best thing ever.

Sharp Claws and the Corner Rose surfaced eerily into full view as I crossed the street, both closed this early in the morning. I shivered against the fog’s wet chill and hurried to get into the Tea Cauldron . If it weren’t for Natalia’s first shift today, I’d have stayed with Ian longer— I doubted we’d have any customers until the fog lifted by lunchtime—but duty was duty. As the official witch of Olmeda , it was my job to guide the local paranormal community—in whatever way they needed my help, magical or not. In this case Natalia , one of Hutton’s teen shifters, needed extra money for the holidays, so shifts I would provide.

I hung my winter jacket on a peg by the entrance and switched on the overhead lights in the shop, then the string of red, green, and blue Christmas lights hanging on the windows. The sight made me smile. As did the Christmas tree cutouts taped to the glass and walls, and the silhouette of the witch hat with a star on top of the pointy end. We had also taped some garland around the shelf behind the counter, and Mei had provided me with a tiny Christmas tree to put on top of the muffin glass display case.

When I’d been awarded the shop in summer, I’d never envisioned how much my life would have changed in a few months: new friends, new boyfriend, new nemesis, new covering up dark magic by the previous owner.

I crossed my fingers and tapped on the counter’s thick wood.

Here was hoping nothing worse came my way than what I’d already encountered because there had been a few too many close calls for comfort, and my position as the Tea Cauldron owner was still in probation for a couple more months.

I reached over the counter and grabbed the handful of printouts I’d been studying at closing time before going to Ian’s . They were mock-ups of cheery cartoon Christmas trees to be printed on cards, with all the decorations missing.

Strange , you might think, but it was all part of my cunning plan.

I , Hope Avery , probational owner of the Tea Cauldron and future pillar of the community, was going to host my first Christmas event in Olmeda .

You read that right.

To my utter horror, I’d discovered a couple of weeks back that there were no Christmas events planned among the paranormal shops in Olmeda . Sonia was busy, the big event had been Halloween , and nobody seemed interested in organizing anything.

What better way to prove my worth to the community?

After a furious night of brainstorming, I’d come up with the perfect idea: a Christmas tree decoration treasure hunt. People would visit the shops included in the event to gain a sticker for their Christmas tree postcard and get a small reward at the end.

So far, the idea had been a decent, if not roaring success. With less than four weeks to go until the big day, I wanted everything to be ready by the weekend so everything got printed and distributed in time. At the moment, participating establishments included Dru’s Sharp Claws , Veva’s Cards & Destiny tarot shop, the creepy doll store next to Veva’s , Janet’s Garden , one of the shifters’ sports equipment stores ( I might’ve threatened to cut Hutton’s supply of dark magic alpha potion for that, but all for a good cause), a pawn shop at Pine St ., and my big crowning achievement: Sonia’s costumes and party favors shop.

I had a feeling Brimstone had something to do with that one.

It was an eclectic group of shops, to be sure, and a few others had turned me down (very rudely, in Bosko’s case), but the point was to spread the joy around. Who knew when one of the participants might find a new hobby they didn’t know they wanted?

“ About time,” Bagley complained from the locket on the windowsill as I went into the first-floor kitchen. “ You know how boring it is to watch this fog all night?”

I put the printouts on the counter and brought out my phone. “ As boring as hearing you say the same thing every morning.”

She snorted. “ Please . At least there are usually birds or something. What about you leave me at your living room window tonight?”

“ You already had your front street view day this week.”

“ Gods , what did I do to end up like this?”

“ Murder and dark witchcraft?”

She cackled. “ All worth it.”

“ And this is why you only get overnight front street view once a week.”

One day, I was sure, I’d convert Bagley , mistress crone of all evil, to the good side of magic. But it would have to be little by little so she wouldn’t know it was happening.

For now we had a simple deal: one good deed from her earned her a night on the windowsill upstairs facing the front street and a couple of audiobook chapters while I got the shop ready in the morning.

I started our current read—a very satisfying tale of a sorcerer setting evil witches on fire—and settled in to choose among three Christmas tree drawings when someone clanged on the backyard gate.

I checked the time—too early for Natalia .

The clanging came again.

“ You better open that before they bring down the fence,” Bagley said sternly.

I went outside, rubbing my arms against the cold, and unlatched the iron gate opening into the back alley.

Brimstone , local fire mage and Tea Cauldron part-timer, stood there, his dark blond hair all over the place, his coat open, and the buttons on his vest made up wrong.

He shouldered his way in, and I let him, gaping the whole time. “ What? —”

“ What did you do to me, witch?” he demanded, towering over me. His eyes were wild and…afraid?

“ What do you mean?”

“ My magic! It’s all wrong!”

He stuck his hand out, and I watched in fascination as frost spread over his palm until icy crystals hung from his fingers.

Ice , not fire.

“ Is this a trick?” I asked, suddenly suspicious—the man did have a flair for the theatrical.

“ Does it look like a trick?” he demanded in high-pitched tones, waving his icy fingers in front of my face.

I had to admit it didn’t. I grabbed his hand just to make sure. Those were definitely frozen water bits covering his fingers.

A deep sense of unease settled in my gut as bits of ice broke off and turned into water in my hands. “ And your fire?”

“ Gone !”

Oh , boy.

“ Let’s go inside,” I urged, all but shoving him toward the shop. Once inside, I held up a finger. “ One second.”

I stepped into the kitchen, grabbed Bagley’s locket, and ran up the stairs.

“ What’s happening?” Bagley whispered avidly. She might not have a human body anymore, but she sure had kept her nose for trouble.

“ Nothing ,” I lied. “ Just a surprise client.”

“ Why is Brimmy here?”

“ Ran out of potions.”

“ If you tell me what’s up, I’ll give you two bits of free advice.”

Considering her free advice usually consisted of wisdom like you put too much sage in that potion or have you tried using Gruyere instead of Gouda on those sandwiches , I would have to pass on that one. “ Nothing important. I changed my mind, Ms . Bagley . You can have a view of the front street this morning. Happy ?”

Bagley grumbled as I dropped the locket on the living room’s windowsill and ran back toward the stairs.

“ You forgot to open the curtains!” she called after me.

Ignoring her, I returned to the downstairs kitchen. Brimstone was standing by the counter, staring at my phone. A particularly gruesome description of a witch being burned alive filled the air, and Brimstone nodded to himself, a slight smile curving his mouth. He turned to me as I entered the kitchen.

“ I like this book.”

I snatched up my phone and turned the audiobook player off. “ Never mind the book. Tell me what happened.”

His scowl made an instant reappearance. “ I told you what happened. I can’t make fire!”

“ Not even a little bit? Like maybe you first make fire and then it turns to ice?” I asked, hopeful.

“ No ! It’s ice from the start! It started this morning when I went to make breakfast.”

“ How long did you try? Maybe? —”

He fixed me with a withering look. “ I tried many, many times, witch.”

I held my hands up. “ Okay , I believe you.” Biting my lip, I considered the issue. Magic didn’t randomly switch elements. For mages and witches, the element they wielded was part of their power, part of their DNA as paranormals—fire, air, water, earth, and spirit. It would be like a wolf shifter randomly turning into a panther. It just wasn’t possible.

And yet, it was happening.

I studied Brimstone again. He was way too agitated for all this to be an act, and I couldn’t see any kind of tubing attached to his hands to make ice happen.

His magic had been turned upside down somehow. The power of a spell or potion able to do that would have to be staggering. And dark magic had to be involved, of course—good magic didn’t work like that. Good magic brought the best out of you, not turned you into a completely different paranormal.

I had dealt with dark magic before, but this was mind-boggling and deeply upsetting. Your magic was part of you, it couldn’t just change like that. The power needed…

Deep breaths, Hope . “ Don’t dwell in what you don’t know, but what you can do.”

“ Then do something ,” Brimstone demanded, shoving his icy hand in my face again.

I pushed it away and retrieved some moon water from the cabinets.

“ What’s that?” Brimstone asked, eyeing the spray bottle with deep suspicion.

“ I’m going to do a cleansing spell on you. Don’t move.” I sprayed moon water on his hands, then set the bottle aside and held them in mine. Closing my eyes, I called in on my magic.

Let any spell disappear .

I put in a decent amount of power into the intention, and a slight tingling spread where our skin touched.

Leaning back against the counter to stay upright, I let go of his hands and smiled encouragingly.

“ Try now.”