Upside Down Magic (Good Bad Magic #6)

Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

A few panicked calls and a very uncomfortable ride in Ian’s SUV later, he was parking in the alleyway behind the Tea Cauldron .

I jumped out first, then watched in fascination as Tammy extended her hand and shook it imperiously until Ian grabbed it and helped her step out of the vehicle.

“ Thank you, Ian .”

Wow . First the guy at the Cabinet , now Tammy . Had Ian gotten some sort of potion at the dark marketplace without telling me? I eyed him suspiciously, but he had his best unreadable granite expression on. Something to ask later.

Key jumped out after Tammy , then turned to help Lilian . Alex had gone back to the cemetery since there were only so many people we could squeeze into the back seat of the SUV .

“ Lead us in, Faith .”

“ Hope ,” I said under my breath as I unlocked the back gate. I heard a snicker, which I’m pretty sure came from Lilian because Tammy didn’t intentionally misname everything and everyone—except Ian and her friends, apparently—she just…was Oh -call-me- Tammy .

We filed into the backyard, down the stone path, around the metal fire pit, and into the back of the shop. I reset the alarm while Lilian peeked into the kitchen and the storage room, then we moved into the front.

The sight of my shop made my heart ache.

It was the middle of the day, and it was empty, the blinds drawn down, the chairs turned over the two tables. There was a sense of finality about the scene that I wanted gone yesterday, and I had the sudden urge to make everything appear as if we simply had no customers rather than us having had to shut down. I hurried to turn the chairs back up and draw up the blinds hiding the front door window.

Much better.

“ I like this place,” Lilian said, sitting on a counter stool. “ Think you can make us some tea while we wait?”

I brightened at the request. “ Of course.” I slid behind the counter and turned on the water urn. “ Muffins ? Cookies ?”

“ No , thank you.”

“ I’ll take a grilled ham-and-cheese sand-witch,” Ian said, a twinkle in his eyes.

Ah , but he knew how to get my spirits back up. “ No sandwich for you but here, have a muffin.” I set a chocolate one on a plate and slid it his way. Once the water was heated, I made a cup of lemon ginger for Lilian , started a pot of coffee, grabbed a can of diet soda from the mini fridge, and drained half of it in one big gulp.

Back at the scene of the crime.

The evil spell affecting paranormals crime in particular.

I didn’t know what it said about me or Olmeda that I had to specify which crime, but I didn’t care. I wanted my shop back—our shop. Grandma’s and mine.

“ Excuse me a moment,” I said and rushed upstairs.

Grandma’s spellbook lay on top of the dresser, as it always did. I’d almost taken it with me to Ian’s , but the shop could use as many good vibes as possible, and what was more powerful in that department than Grandma’s spellbook? Nothing .

“ I miss you, Grandma ,” I whispered, tracing the embroidered flowers on the green cover. “ I wish you were still here. But don’t worry, I won’t let them shut down the shop. We’re going to fix this and then we’ll be back to normal, serving the community, being flooded by Brimstone’s fans, and sharing breakfast with Dru every day.”

“ Hell , yeah, we are,” Dru said from the hallway.

“ Dru !” I exclaimed and rushed to hug her.

She hugged me back for a second before swatting me away. “ Stop . Bad , Hope , bad.”

I blinked away the sudden wetness in my eyes. “ I missed you.”

“ I missed the free coffee.” She pointed at me. “ Do not cry, Hope . I mean it. We literally saw each other two days ago.”

I blinked faster. “ I would never.”

Her finger moved toward the floor. “ You really think those two witches know how to fix things?”

“ They sound certain.”

“ So do you before you mix some awful new tea combination.”

“ Hey , they might not taste as good, but still works to quench your thirst, right?”

“ I hate it when you make a good point.”

“ I know, I try hard not to.”

We grinned at each other.

“ Let’s get back down before you hug me again,” she said.

I agreed because I was this close to launching myself at her again.

Mark was sitting at the counter, talking to Lilian , which immediately made me wonder if Dru and he had been together when the calls and texts for the meeting had gone out. Dru ignored my questioning look, and I dropped the matter to be revisited later. Plenty of time then, after Shane and Brimstone were back to normal and my shop was open again.

Ian came over and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “ Everything okay?”

I smiled bravely at him. “ It will be soon.”

The front door opened with a slam, the usually soft bell clinking in a panic, and Hutton entered the shop, followed by Keith , one of his seconds in command.

I gaped.

He glared.

Keith beamed at everyone. “ How’s it going, folks?”

I made the introductions, then added, “ Can I talk to you for a moment, Hutton ?”

Hutton gave everyone present another menacing glare, then stomped his way into the back of the shop. I followed, grabbed his arm, and dragged him into the kitchen.

Happy gurgling sounds reverberated through the wall.

“ Not now, Tiny Kraken ,” I said. “ Mommy needs to put some sense into the shifters’ alpha.”

“ You should exorcise that thing,” Hutton ground out through clenched teeth.

Oh , he did not just…! “ Leave my Tiny Kraken alone,” I told him sternly. “ What are you doing here? I told you not to come near the witches.”

“ What else am I supposed to do?” he hissed, for once not trying to loom over me. There was a slight note of desperation in his voice, and I suddenly realized he had tamped his alpha aura all the way down. “ They asked for the local leaders. It’d be suspicious if I didn’t show up.”

“ But what if they notice something’s wrong with you?”

He nearly poked my nose with his pointing finger. “ You better make sure they don’t.”

I’d usually bristle when he talked like that, but he didn’t sound like his usual sneering self. Without the attitude, he looked like a lost boy, and it made me want to hug him.

His eyes widened and he took a step back. “ Why are you looking at me like that? What’s going on?”

“ Nothing .” I blinked fast again. “ Want a hug?”

His jaw fell open. “ No !” Then he stomped his way out of the kitchen and back into the shop.

I patted the wall. “ It’s so nice to see he has human feelings, isn’t it?”

The pipes rumbled in approval.

“ Don’t worry, I won’t exorcise you until you want me to.” Happy gurgles came from the faucet, and I tapped it softly. “ Good kraken.”

When I returned to the shop, I noticed with approval that Hutton had decided to be a cloud of gloom and darkness in the corner by the window, as far as one could get from the two witches sitting at the counter. Key was now behind the counter, from the looks of it trying to make a coffee to Tammy’s stringent specifications. Ian leaned against the wall by the archway into the back, while Dru , Mark , and Keith were by the entrance, chatting away like this was simply another PBOA meeting.

And speaking of the devil, Sonia herself opened the door and walked in, Bosko of all people right behind her. My interest piqued immediately. Was he here as a big-name shop owner or as a big-name magic user?

“ Hello , Sonia ,” I said warmly because my second goal in life after having a successful witch shop was to make her like me. “ Want something to drink? Eat ?”

She opened her mouth to say something (scathing, probably), but Bosko walked around her and stood between us.

“ Witch , we need to talk,” he said in an angry tone.

Did we? I mentally reviewed everything I’d done related to him or his shop in the last few weeks but nothing worth making him mad came to mind. “ Sure . Come into the back.”

He was striding toward the bead curtain before I finished my sentence. He nodded once at Ian , then shoved the bead strings aside before going through. They clattered noisily as they fell back into place.

Nobody else seemed to mind or pay any attention.

I exchanged glances with Ian ; he simply shrugged. Apparently , he didn’t know what this was about either.

I mumbled an excuse and followed Bosko into the back. Rather than going into the kitchen or the storage room, he had chosen to stand by the back door. He gestured sharply for me to come closer.

“ What is?—”

“ I heard you invited Dorsey to the Christmas event.”

Oh , for the love of everything good and green. “ Not exactly.”

“ But she’s part of it now, yes?”

“ Yes .”

“ Why didn’t you invite me?” he demanded.

The nerve of this man! “ I did! You refused to join.” In fact, his exact words had been: Lady , does it look like I have space on my counter for some crappy free Christmas event cards?

“ Whatever . I want in.”

I crossed my arms and lifted my chin. “ Maybe it was a one-time offer, and you’re too late now.”

He snorted. “ I’ve never been late a day in my life, lady. When are you distributing the… what was it? Charms ? Keychains ?”

I would not stamp my foot like a kid. “ Stickers . People get stickers with your shop’s logo on them to attach to the tree on the card.”

“ That doesn’t sound all that fun.”

Probably because years of selling cheap apparel with bad dad jokes on them had done away with his soul. “ It’s fun. Especially for the kids.”

He shook his head. “ Keychains sell better than stickers, trust me.”

“ You’re not supposed to sell them! The event lures people to everyone’s shops so they buy the stuff we normally sell, not the stickers.”

The look on his face told me he had his doubts. “ Are you sure? Maybe we should do badges instead. They don’t do as well as the keychains but they have a decent success rate. People like to put them on their backpacks.”

The man…did have a point there. People did love to do that. But no, badges were expensive and not everyone used backpacks and they took too much space in purses and pockets. Easily gotten, easily forgotten. Unlike sticker collections. “ No badges. Stickers only.”

“ You should think about it. What’s the point in inviting me if you’re not going to listen to the voice of reason?”

Since he had literally invited himself, his reasoning was thin. “ The event is set. Stay in or get out.”

A nod of begrudging respect entered his voice. “ Your event, your rules.”

I inhaled sharply. Was this what would finally earn me some respect among the other paranormal business owners? I would’ve preferred if it had been the grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches I took to the PBOA meetings, but I’d take this too. “ That’s right.”

“ You shouldn’t invite Wyatt though.”

My jaw fell open. How had he heard about that? “ I’m not. It’s a family-friendly event. No bars.” And definitely not Wyatt’s .

From his expression, he didn’t believe me. “ Are you sure? I was told he wanted in.”

“ Wanting and getting are two different things.” I said primly.

“ Hmm . Well , just don’t put him next to my shop on the card, okay?”

“ The participants put the stickers wherever they want as long as they’re on the tree.” Had Bosko even listened to my initial explanations at all? “ But he’s not part of the event.”

“ Sure , okay, lady.” He turned and walked toward the shop. “ Good luck getting people to visit his bar to get stickers.”

“ He’s not part of the event!” I repeated, stamping my foot this time.

Bosko’s response was a wave of his hand.

Ian peeked in after he’d gone through the curtain. “ Everything okay?”

“ Yep .” I went to stand by his side. “ Bosko wants in the Christmas event.”

“ I thought he refused.”

“ He reconsidered after Dorsey wormed her way in. He thinks we should do badges, not stickers.”

“ It’s your event, not his. He can think whatever he wants.”

I beamed at Ian , my irritation at Bosko’s bossy manners disappearing in an instant. “ That’s right.”

Mood much elevated, I took stock of the shop. A second cloud of gloom and doom had joined Hutton in the far corner while Bosko and I were having our conversation. Preston sat on the wall bench, arms crossed, staring daggers at Dru and Mark over at the counter. They looked very cozy, leaning into each other, whispering and all but giggling.

Not once in all my time knowing Dru had I known her to come anywhere near giggling. The fast glance she shot Preston before laughing at something Mark said like it was the funniest thing in the world had me begging the universe for mercy.

I had no doubt Dru’s interest in Mark was real, but leave it to her to dig in the knife that extra inch deeper if she could. She and I were going to need to have a talk about letting past grievances go and the power of being kind to those who were already down.

Later though, because I was still irritated Preston had tried to blackmail me into telling him about how Dru had gotten the money for her shop.

Maybe we’d have the talk on Christmas . Or make it a New Years resolution.

“ Why is Preston here?” I asked Ian in a whisper. As far as I knew he wasn’t any kind of community leader.

Sharp , loud clapping stole my attention. Tammy stood in the middle of the shop, all sleek, professional confidence.

“ Now that we’re all here, we shall begin.”