Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
The room immediately quieted, all focus on Tammy .
“ Please everyone, do call me Tammy . As everyone is aware, there is some sort of hidden spell at work at the Pea Porridge .”
There was a loud clatter as Sonia’s cane hit the floor. Her usual stern expression didn’t change but she blinked slowly as Keith retrieved the cane and handed it back. “ Sorry . Please go on.”
Tammy didn’t appear irritated by the interruption, probably because she recognized a fellow apex predator, and was happy to continue. “ My friend and esteemed colleague Lilian Valenti and I have run some tests on the blood of those affected, and we have come up with a potion that we are confident will nullify the original spell as well as return the affected paranormals to their original state.”
Keith lifted a hand halfway up. “ Do we know who made the spell?”
Ian straightened away from the wall. “ Not at this point.”
“ Then how can we be sure it’ll work?”
“ We will spray the potion everywhere in the shop,” Tammy said. “ Once activated, it’ll be as potent as fumigating a house for bugs. It’ll permeate every crevice and kill whatever dark magic is at work.”
I couldn’t decide if the image of my shop being overrun by bugs was any better than having an undetectable black magic spell at work.
No , the spell was better. Definitely .
“ To make this potion,” Tammy continued, “we’ll need the blood of the most powerful local paranormals and local community leaders.”
My attention snapped to Hutton , but he pointedly ignored me. Did he not realize how bad this was? They’d notice something was off with the potion once his blood was in, even if he kept his aura under wraps.
Tammy checked her phone. “ We have a representative of the bounty hunter guild, also an alpha wolf shifter?”
Everyone looked at Ian . He nodded once.
“ I’ll stand in as the witch and Council representative,” Tammy continued.
I couldn’t help but look at Sonia . Would this be the day I finally learned what kind of paranormal she was? That was almost as exciting as getting this curse lifted.
“ The local PBOA president?” Tammy asked.
Sonia stood a little straighter.
“ The local pack’s alpha?”
“ Present ,” Keith said cheerfully, pointing at Hutton . Hutton simply grunted.
I sighed in disappointment. I’d been so close to figuring out what Sonia was.
“ That should be it for the representatives,” Tammy said. “ As for paranormal types. I’m told the most local powerful fire mage is one of the people affected so we can’t use him, and there are no local air mages powerful enough to help with the potion.”
Take that, Ms . Dorsey . As soon as the thought came, I felt immediately contrite. Mostly .
“ However , the potion doesn’t need all four types of mages to work, and we have two mages present with enough power.”
At this rate Tammy was going to impart more magical knowledge explaining this potion than she had in my whole two-year magical internship with her.
“ That would be me,” Bosko said proudly. “ Water .”
“ And we have an earth mage as well?” Tammy asked.
Key lifted her hand shyly. “ Present .”
“ Berzerker ?”
“ Right over here,” Mark said with a grin. I had seen his zerker side in action during Halloween , and it didn’t surprise me he was on top of the zerker chain in Olmeda .
“ Demon ?”
Preston stood and adjusted his tie. “ Elijah Preston , at your service.”
My eyebrows shot up, and I glanced at Dru , but she appeared unbothered by not being top demon for the potion or having Preston be considered more powerful than her.
“ We’re all here then,” Tammy said. “ I will prepare the circle and the herbs, then we will use everyone’s blood to?—”
Someone knocked loudly on the front door’s glass.
We all turned toward the door. Norman stood outside, hands cupping his face as he peered inside.
Eleven pairs of eyes swiveled to stare at me.
“ Hope ?” Norman asked loudly, his voice muted through the glass.
All twenty-two eyeballs rolled back to stare at him.
I jumped away from the wall and hurried across the shop. “ I’ll , uh, see what he wants.”
“ Please do, Faith ,” Tammy snapped. “ We can’t have any interruptions.”
“ Yes , Oh -call— Tammy .” I jerked the front door open and slipped outside. That’d been close.
“ Hope ,” Norman said with clear relief in his voice. “ I’m so glad to see you. I thought something might’ve happened to you. The shop is never closed.”
“ I’m sorry for worrying you,” I said, the pressure of all eleven pairs of eyes aimed at my back making me sweat. “ There was an emergency and I had to close the door for a couple of days.”
“ Is it something I can help with?” he asked, worry filling his expression. “ Want to come to the Corner Rose and talk about it? I have a coffee maker in the back. It’s not as good as yours, but it works in a pinch.”
My heart warmed. Norman had an infectious golden retriever energy that could melt the coldest of souls. “ No , thank you, Norman . I should be able to open again as usual tomorrow, so why don’t you come for your breakfast in the morning?”
He sent the front door a dubious glance. “ If you’re sure…?”
“ I’m sure. In fact, wait a moment.”
I darted inside, averting my face, and got a muffin from the display case. “ One minute,” I mumbled as I returned outside. “ Here ,” I told Norman , handing the muffin over. “ To tide you over until tomorrow.”
He chuckled softly and accepted the present. “ Thank you, Hope . And please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
“ I will.”
He hesitated a moment, then turned and returned to the Corner Rose . I waved at his back, then slipped back inside and faced the crowd.
“ Sorry about that,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up. “ My neighbor was worried about the shop being closed.”
“ Will he be back?” Tammy asked in a cool voice.
“ Nope .” Rather than scurrying across the shop to retake my position by Ian’s side and delay Tammy any longer, I stood by Dru and Mark’s side at the bend of the counter.
As Tammy resumed her explanation of the potion, I leaned toward Dru and whispered, “ You don’t mind Preston being the big demon around here?”
“ Nah ,” Dru answered gleefully. “ He can go get bled like a stuck pig instead of me.”
Ah , but I missed having her around all day.
“ Now , I will begin making the potion,” Tammy said. “ Faith , bring the items.”
I dutifully went into the back, where Tammy had left a tote with all she needed—from her personal collection, of course. While Lilian should be the one helping, we had agreed it was better if she didn’t touch the ingredients, in case her being spelled affected the potion.
Once she had the tote, Tammy drew a pentacle on the floor and began placing crystals and herbs. She then used my mortar and pestle to grind another selection of herbs. Magic rose in the air, and I knew she was using her power.
Unfortunately , she was the kind of witch to manifest her intention in silence rather than aloud. I’d have given a lot of money to hear how she worded her spells—the choice of words and the enunciation could teach me so much about high-level spells like this one.
However , sticking to her shtick as the worst teacher ever, she kept her spell to herself and kept working on the potion.
I glanced up to see everyone watching Tammy except for Lilian , who was studying me. Her lips twitched, and she sent me a knowing look—she was totally aware of Tammy’s way of dealing with her interns.
“ We are ready now,” Tammy announced. She had placed a glass bowl filled halfway with moon water in the center of the circle, dropped the ground herbs in, and opened a thin leather case. A knife rested inside on a bed of dark-red velvet.
Oh -call-me- Tammy had a special bleeding knife.
Meanwhile , I used a fruit knife I’d gotten on sale.
Was this what separated a witch shop owner from the high echelons of witch society? Something to ponder later.
“ The bounty hunter first,” Tammy commanded.
I watched with some apprehension as Ian walked up to Tammy and knelt on the floor by the potion circle. He sent me a fast, reassuring smile before slamming his granite expression on and offering his arm, sleeve already rolled back.
Ian had the best forearms. The sight made me go a little weak in the knees.
Then Tammy sliced his arm and all lustful thoughts fled my mind as I winced in sympathy.
Ian didn’t react, as usual, just remained still as the blood dripped into the moon water and herbs mixture, leaving behind wispy crimson trails as it traveled to the depths of the bowl.
Tammy slapped a piece of gauze on his arm. “ Next . The PBOA president.”
Ian returned to the wall after giving me a reassuring nod, and Sonia stepped forward, her cane thudding on the hardwood floor.
I chewed my lower lip. It felt wrong not to offer assistance, but Sonia was perfectly capable of asking for help if she needed it.
And she didn’t. With a lot more elegance than I would’ve in the same situation, she balanced on her cane and knelt on one knee. She too offered her arm.
Before Tammy cut Sonia’s arm, there was a loud growl from the doom and gloom corner.
We all turned toward the noise. Hutton was gripping the front of his shirt.
Keith immediately snapped to attention. “ Alpha ?”
“ I’m not feeling well,” Hutton growled.
Keith rushed forward and helped him stand up. “ The paranormal curse?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say curses weren’t a thing, but who was I kidding, there was no other way to explain this magical nightmare. “ Take him to the back.”
“ No ,” Hutton growled. “ I’ll return to Clawstone Park . I don’t want to affect the potion.” He gave me a split-second glower that I barely caught.
Ahh . So this is how he was going to avoid having to give his blood, by faking being sick. A weight lifted off my shoulders as I moved to help Keith shuffle Hutton to the front door.
“ Good thinking,” I whispered. “ So proud of you.”
“ Get lost,” he snapped.
I cooed in fake concern as they went outside and tossed a “ I’ll visit later” after them when they walked to their car.
Turning to the rest of the group, I asked, “ Anyone else feeling sick?”
Everyone shook their heads.
Tammy sniffed loudly. “ Let’s finish this before someone does.” Without any more preambles, she sliced open Sonia’s forearm.
Sonia jerked slightly but kept her usual chiding expression on her face. Once Tammy was happy with the amount of blood, she slapped a gauze pad on Sonia’s arm and indicated she could stand.
“ Do we need another shifter since we don’t have Hutton ?” I asked as Sonia used her cane to straighten to her feet.
“ No ,” Lilian said from the counter. “ It’s not ideal, but the bounty hunter’s blood will suffice since he’s an alpha as well. Now that we’ve started mixing the blood with the other ingredients, we need to finish the potion as soon as possible.”
“ Next ,” Tammy barked.
Key stepped forward, and I took out my phone to send Ian a text: Look at you. BH and alpha. Such multiuse.
Ian checked his phone then sent me a look promising retribution. But he was kidding himself—he was totally fighting a smile.
Once Key was done giving her blood, it was Bosko’s turn, then Mark , and finally, Preston .
With the moon water looking very much like a vampire’s favorite meal, Tammy used a glass stirrer to mix everything. Her lips moved with silent words as she did, and the hairs on my arms rose again. She might be the worst teacher in the whole witch world, but her magic was undoubtedly powerful.
She set the stirrer aside, put her hands on the bowl, and closed her eyes. Magic filled the atmosphere, thick and cloying, and nothing short of amazing. This was the kind of power I’d imagined I would have when I’d first read Grandma’s letter introducing me to the world of paranormals. The kind of magic book-protagonists discovered within themselves. The kind of magic that could change the world.
I reveled in the feeling, the idea of me producing this kind of magic instead of Oh -call-me- Tammy , then let it go.
Power did not always mean goodness. If I had this kind of power, then I wouldn’t be the kind of person I am now.
And I was happy with what I’d become.