Upside Down Magic (Good Bad Magic #6)

Chapter 3

THREE

Dru’s shop was the epitome of simple elegance, and its growing success was a testament to that. It wasn’t opulent and didn’t make you feel bad about yourself and the status of your wallet, but the moment you peered into the display windows, you were filled with the knowledge that the owner had taste and nothing you found in here would ever steer you wrong.

Dresses and blouses of different styles hung from racks along the walls, and a table in the middle showcased artfully folded cardigans and sweaters along with vintage shoes and the occasional handbag. Shelves between the racks displayed more shoes and accessories, while a beautiful array of jewelry shone from under the glass counter at the back of the room.

The space was light and chic, and I eyed a green bohemian style top with interest. The color totally matched the streak in my hair. I was usually a T -shirt kind of girl, but maybe for date night?

“ Came in yesterday,” Dru said from where she was folding clothes on top of the counter. She was dressed in an elegant cream pantsuit paired with small silver hoop earrings. “ Olmeda designer. One -fifty.”

I choked on my own saliva. “ One -fifty?”

“ Gotta support local talent. All organic fiber, good for the environment.”

I licked my lips and forced myself to walk past the top to the back of the shop. “ I brought you breakfast.”

“ So I see.” She moved the pile of clothes aside and took the coffee from me, a knowing look in her eyes. “ What’s wrong?”

My first impulse was to deny the accusation that anything was wrong, but that was a habit I was trying hard to break. “ Are you feeling okay?”

“ Me ?” she asked in surprise. “ Sure .”

“ Are your horns”— I pointed at the top of my head, then waggled my fingers—“and everything working as they should?”

Her eyebrows rose until they were nearly touching her dark tight curls, today held back by a series of small bright-red clasps. “ My horns?”

“ They’re working as intended, right?”

A bit of a pointed horn peeked between the clasps, and I let out a sigh of relief. “ Phew . Good .”

She drummed her bright-red nails on the counter and took another sip of coffee. “ What’s going on, Hope ?”

“ Have you ever heard of a paranormal’s powers going weird?”

“ Weird how?”

“ Weird as in, not working correctly.” After a fast deliberation with myself, I decided to come clean. Dru could be counted on to keep Brimstone’s secret, and she had been involved in the paranormal community a lot longer than I . She might’ve heard of a similar case. “ Brimstone’s powers are acting out of whack.” I leaned in closer. “ He thought it was my potions.”

Dru snorted, and I felt a little hurt.

“ Oh , stop that,” she said at my pout. “ It’s probably one of his enemies or another fire-starter messing with him.”

“ But doesn’t it seem a bit overboard?” I couldn’t help the worry in my voice. “ Whoever made the spell or potion had to be really powerful, and it’s dark magic for sure. That kind of thing must’ve cost a fortune. If they wanted to mess with him, there are cheaper and easier ways to do it.”

“ I don’t know,” she said in a philosophical tone, her gaze growing distant, “there’s a lot of enjoyment to be gained in seeing an enemy go down a slow spiral of doom. That kind of thing is priceless.”

She was totally thinking about Preston , her ex-boyfriend, again. “ Sure , but what if I can’t fix it? What if I can’t reverse the spell messing with his magic?”

Dru snapped out of her fantasy and grabbed the muffin. “ I bet it’ll disappear on its own. That kind of magic should be temporary, right?”

“ I guess,” I said, unconvinced. “ But what if it isn’t?”

“ Then I’m sure you’ll figure it out. It’s not like he’s lost all magic, has he?”

“ No , he’s just producing ice instead of fire.”

She laughed. “ Serves him right.”

“ Come now,” I said, slightly affronted for Brimstone , “he’s been a great worker.”

“ Hey , you can start that ice cream line now.”

I grinned, then wiped the expression off my face and scowled. “ That’s not funny.”

More laughter. “ Yeah , it totally is.”

“ Okay , it’s a little funny.” I sobered. “ What if I can’t fix it and he reports me to the Council ?”

“ Get real, he’s not going to report you to the Council . That man would rather jump into a vat of acid than touch official channels.”

I scrunched my nose. “ Thanks for the visual.”

“ That’s what friends are for.”

“ So , have you heard of anyone’s magic going haywire like that before?”

She took some time answering, and I appreciated the careful combing of her mental gossip archives. “ Sorry , no. Can’t say I have.”

That was good and bad. Good because it meant Olmeda didn’t have a recurring problem with people’s magic, and bad because it didn’t give me any hints as to how it had happened. Unless it had happened but Dru was unaware of it.

My phone began ringing and I checked the caller ID . Speaking of the devil.

“ Hello , Preston ,” I said into the phone after accepting the call.

Dru’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. A Machiavellian , evil Christmas tree.

“ Hope ,” Preston said, a deep note of censure in his voice. “ What is this I’m hearing about a Christmas event that I wasn’t invited to?”

Dru gestured for me to put the phone on speaker. I ignored her and stepped out of reach when she tried to grab the phone.

“ Who told you about the event?”

“ It doesn’t matter. Why was I not invited?”

“ You know why you weren’t invited.” Because Dru was the first one on the list, and I didn’t want an open war during my beautiful, lovingly crafted, cheerful and inspiring holiday fun event.

There was a sharp inhale on the other side of the call. “ Are you telling me I’m … blacklisted from your events? Because of Dru ?”

“ Well …” Clearly , yes.

“ That’s so unprofessional of you. Do I need to file a report with the PBOA ?”

The nerve of this man. I smacked the phone on top of the counter and hit the speaker button. “ Are you threatening me after the blackmail stunt you pulled during Halloween ?”

He sputtered. “ Blackmail ? Me ?”

Dru’s brown snapped together, and she mouthed, what blackmail?

I hadn’t told her about Preston’s lies to get information about her shop out of me in an effort to keep things civil between them, but if he wanted to play that game, then we’d play it. I hadn’t dealt with Bagley’s evil tendencies this long to be cowed by Dru’s archnemesis.

“ Yes . You . Blackmail . Why should I invite you to my event when you’ve shown you like to play dirty? I have a reputation to maintain, and I took great care in selecting the establishments participating.”

“ You invited the tacos food truck in Bolton Square !”

“ Yes , well, those of us in the service industry got to stick together. You wouldn’t understand.”

“ Yes , Preston , you wouldn’t understand,” Dru put in gleefully.

“ Is that Druscilla ?” Preston demanded.

Dru glared at the phone like it was scum fished out from the river of scum flowing from the spring of mighty scum daring to sully her beautiful shop. “ Yes ,” she said in a chilling tone colder than Brimstone’s new ice magic. “ It’s Dru .”

“ Sorry ,” Preston said warily. I wondered if his ear had frozen over. “ I already apologized for the incident during Halloween . What do I have to do for you to stop treating me like your enemy?”

Dru picked up the phone. “ Jump into a hole and d?—”

I snatched the phone out of her hands. “ Okay , I propose a truce.”

Dru shook her head for a second, then appeared to reconsider as a shrewd light came into her eyes. “ Truce . Sure .”

“ Perfect ,” Preston exclaimed with satisfaction, unaware that Dru had probably just come up with a new way to make his life impossible. “ I expect to be added to the event’s chat. You have my number.”

“ Actually it’s a newsletter,” I said.

He made a sound of disgust. “ Chats are the way to go, Hope . Emails get lost among all the other business spam.”

“ In this case, I think emails are the best way.”

“ Fine . Whatever . Add me to the list.”

I checked with Dru . She nodded regally. “ I’ll do that. You’re uhm, aware of what the event entails?”

“ Yes . I hope you’ll be using Tabbies ’ stationary for the card?”

“ No , actually, we’re going with a local printer.”

“ Consider switching, yes? I don’t want to tell you what to do with your event, but it’ll really elevate the quality of the merchandise.”

“ Don’t want to tell you what to do my ass,” Dru muttered, going back to her coffee.

“ It’s too late to change now, Preston ,” I said politely. “ But thank you for the suggestion.”

He grunted, reminded me to add him to the list again, and ended the call.

“ Rude .” I pocketed the phone and pointed at Dru . “ Don’t destroy my event trying to take Preston down.” My mouth drooped at the corners. “ Please ?”

Dru huffed. “ I’m not going to destroy your event, don’t worry. It’s going to be fine.”

The staggering sense of relief I felt at her simple words of reassurance took me aback, and I had to remind myself that my career didn’t depend on the event. It was a nice plus, not a must.

I bid Dru farewell and returned to the Tea Cauldron , nudging the pretty bohemian green top out of view on my way out. In case.