Upside Down Magic (Good Bad Magic #6)

Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

I wiped my eyes, sniffled, and brought out my phone.

It took Brimstone about five rings to pick up.

“ I’m not going to work today,” he said in a groggy voice. “ I had a job?—”

“ Is your magic working?” I cut in with a slight bobble to my voice. I sniffled again and hoped he hadn’t heard that.

“ My magic?”

“ Is it working?”

Silence fell through the call, then there was a sharp inhale and I wanted to sink through the floor. Three out of three.

“ Witch ,” he exclaimed, fully awake now. “ Where is my fire?”

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to stop more tears from flooding out. “ I’m sorry,” I whispered. “ My potion was not potent enough.”

“ So make another.” Surprisingly , there was no outrage in his voice. A little testiness, sure, but it lacked any kind of condemnation.

“ I will, I swear. I’ll figure out how to help.”

“ Of course you will,” he said matter-of-factly. “ I expect another potion by the end of the day.” He hung up.

Again , no bite to his voice. Just the facts, plain and simple.

He had no doubts I’d fix this. He had faith in me. Even after I had hidden the nature of his dark magic potions, even after my potion had worn off in less than two days.

Brimstone , of all people in this town, believed I’d fix this.

If he did, why didn’t I ?

“ Those around you are a mirror of what you project into the world; use it as a guide to see what to become.”

I struggled into a sitting position.

“ Okay , Hope . You had your cry, now it’s time to get things done. Because if you don’t, who will?” And , more importantly, “ Grandma would be so disappointed if you simply gave up.”

That was enough to get me going. I wasn’t sure my legs would be responsive, so I called Ian from the floor and updated him on Lilian’s issue. Shane was indeed stuck in wolf form again, and Ian had smuggled him into the cemetery without anyone seeing. Even if they had, they’d probably think it was Rufus .

“ What do you want to do now?” he asked.

“ I need to talk with Lilian again. She might know what we’re up against.”

“ I’ll pick you up.”

“ No , let’s meet at the bed and breakfast. I don’t want you anywhere near the shop.”

“ Fine , I won’t go in, but I’m picking you up.”

Since I wasn’t willing to waste more energy refusing, I agreed and called Doyle at the Council next. This wasn’t something I should keep secret from the Council . This involved several paranormals with a clear threat to their powers. The Council needed to be informed, even if it cost me the shop.

The thought, now finally in the open, made me gasp for breath. It hurt so much, like a serrated knife plunged into my chest and twisted with a snap.

You haven’t lost the shop, Hope . It’s still here. You can still help fix this.

And if I lost it, it wouldn’t be because I hadn’t tried my best.

“ Hello , Hope ,” Doyle said through the phone. “ It’s good to hear from you. Everything good with the shop?”

I flinched at the good-natured question. “ I’m actually calling because of an incident. I could use your advice, Ms . Doyle .” I proceeded to explain the events, keeping Brimstone’s and Shane’s names out of it—the magic happenings, my potion, the reprieve, Lilian falling sick and my decision to close down the shop until I figured out what to do.

Doyle listened attentively, letting out small sounds of acknowledgment here and there as I told the tale. “ You did good, Hope ,” she said gravely after I was done talking. “ Closing the shop for now was the right thing to do.”

“ Have you heard of anything similar happening before?” She hadn’t, so I updated her on the old case and stories about Olmeda’s dark coven.

“ I know about the old coven, and I think it’s worth pursuing that, but for now we should concentrate on figuring out how people are getting spelled and how to stop it.”

“ I agree,” I said. “ Will you send a Council witch? I’m afraid we’ll need more power than I currently have.” No shame in admitting as much.

“ I don’t think it’s necessary at this stage.”

“ No ?” I asked in surprise. Last time there had been dark magic issues, she’d insisted on sending a witch from Montel .

“ If Lilian Valenti is already there, I’d rather you two talk about the situation before we involve more people and muddy the waters. She’s an expert in the field and nobody we send will be able to top her knowledge. I have faith you two can come up with a plan of action. She might have some ideas about how this spell works and stopping it from impacting more paranormals.”

My chest filled with pride at the fact Doyle considered me important enough to lead this investigation along with Lilian . I reminded myself that I was still Olmeda’s official witch—of course I’d take co-lead in local matters.

“ Once you two draw up plans,” she continued, “please call me immediately. I’d like to keep a close eye on how the situation evolves.”

“ Of course.”

“ I’ll be contacting the local bounty hunter as well, in case things escalate suddenly.”

“ Agreed .”

“ Be safe. And Hope ?”

“ Yes ?”

“ There is no need to panic yet. I’m very pleased you reported this right away.”

I exhaled with relief. She was right. “ Thank you,” I told her from the bottom of my heart.

By the time Ian came to a screeching halt in front of the shop, I had gathered the dogs and was waiting outside, ready to go. I updated him on my conversation with Doyle , and he agreed that it was a good plan and there was no need to panic.

“ But what if Shane is stuck forever?” I asked, daring to voice my deepest fear.

“ That’s not going to happen.”

“ But what if it does?”

“ What do your affirmations say about situations like this?”

I dug deep into my repertoire. “ All storms eventually pass. Nothing in life remains static for long.”

“ Good girl.”

Fluffy yipped happily from the back seat, and I let out a watery laugh. Reaching over, I scratched her favorite spot between her ears. “ That’s right, Fluffy . You’re a good girl.”

Rufus barked and shoved his face in my hand for his round of petting, and between all three of them I felt a hundred pounds lighter.

“ Concentrate on what you can do now, not the things you can’t reach.”

“ I like that one,” Ian said.

“ Good thing I can reach you.” I pressed against his arm.

“ Right back at you.”

I sat up straight. “ Oh , no.”

“ What ?”

“ I forgot to get Bagley .”

Ian barked out a laugh. “ Don’t worry. If there’s a magical apocalypse, that witch will live to cackle about it.”

Dorsey studied us suspiciously from behind the counter as we entered the bed and breakfast. We had made a detour to drop the dogs at the cemetery and found Key was already there, trying to cheer Shane up by watching reality shows together on her laptop. From the woeful looks Shane sent my way and Alex’s silent amusement, I didn’t think it was working.

But he was with his tiny pack, and that was all that mattered.

“ You’re back,” Dorsey croaked.

“ Twice in one day,” I agreed. “ Soon I might need a room here.”

“ You’re not using my establishment for your trysts, young lady.”

“ My …” I choked on the word. “ Trysts ?”

She wagged her finger at us. “ I know what you young people get up to nowadays. This is not a house of ill-repute.”

“ That’s not what Lucy said last week,” Lilian said from the stairwell.

Dorsey giggled like a schoolgirl. “ Oh , shush, you.”

I gaped at Dorsey , then snapped my mouth shut. I would not ask. Some things, once learned, couldn’t be unlearned. And I had a strong suspicion this was one of those occasions.

“ Well , come up,” Lilian said. “ You’re the bounty hunter?”

Ian planted his feet apart and crossed his arms in his trademark tough-guy persona. “ I am.”

“ Good , you can come with. But grab us some snacks from the kitchen first, will you?”

She spun on her heel and went back up the stairs. My stomach grumbled a little. Now that the initial panic had faded, my natural optimism was reasserting itself and wanted to be fed.

“ Thank you,” I whispered to Ian before patting his arm and following Lilian up to her room.

“ Not the macarons, you hear me, Cavalier ?” Dorsey snapped behind me.

We were definitely having the macarons.

“ Start a pot of tea, please,” Lilian said as she got comfortable on the sofa.

I had turned to the electric water heater on top of the long dresser before I caught myself. Lilian Valenti was very good at making people follow orders—a skill I hoped to gain some day.

A couple of minutes later, Ian stepped into the room with a plate piled up with macarons. He put it on the coffee table and took a position by the wall. I poured the hot water into the two available mugs and brought them to the table. Lilian took hers and Ian refused the second, so I settled with it on the other side of the sofa.

“ Now that we’re here, let’s talk this through.” Lilian peered at the elegant watch on her wrist. “ And let’s make it fast. I have ultimate raids later.”