CHAPTER 5
S aturday morning, Mr. Darcy patted Mia’s face until her eyes opened.
He was trying to let her know she was late for the party.
The noise from the kitchen told her that the apartment was filled with people and she was still in bed.
She rubbed his head, then reached over for her phone.
It was seven thirty. “I guess weekends don’t mean anything when you’re self-employed. ”
Mr. Darcy meowed his answer, then left through the partially opened door. She shut it all the way and got ready for her day. Her suspicions were confirmed when she was handed a cup of coffee as she walked into her sunny kitchen.
Abigail stood at the stove. “Omelet or fried eggs? We have bacon, cheddar cheese, and some veggies we can add.”
“Omelet. With everything.” Mia sipped her coffee. “Do we really need to be up this early?”
“Stop complaining, you got to sleep in.” Trent leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Mom texted me a shopping list at five. Then Levi had to go over and gather her and her overnight case. She’s staying here for the weekend. Dad insisted.”
Abigail rolled her eyes as she set a cinnamon roll in front of Mia. “That man drives me crazy at times. It’s his way or the highway. But he keeps changing the highway’s location so I can’t find it. I guess I’m stuck with him. I hope you don’t mind me crashing here, Mia.”
“Of course not. Besides, we’ve got a lot of planning to do for Christina’s party.
” Mia dug into the cinnamon roll and enjoyed the smell of freshly baked bread.
Abigail must have been up long before she texted Trent.
A purple face filled the window, and she heard a deep chortle.
“Good morning, Buddy. Glad to see you too.”
“Sorry, we couldn’t leave them home alone.” Trent rubbed Cerby’s head as the Maltese tried not to fall asleep on his lap. Mr. Darcy stood at the window, batting at Buddy’s face through the glass. Muffy was the only animal ignoring the beast.
Grans looked up from the book she was reading.
Her plate was half empty, but she was more focused on the material.
“Good morning, dear. Trent, you need to make a collar for Buddy. That way you can walk him. Exercise is crucial for his development. And in a few months, he’ll hibernate until spring, so he needs a cave on your property. ”
Grans must have been reading about the care and development of dragons. Mia washed down the rest of the roll with a long sip of coffee. “I guess you had that book in your home library? We probably should have had it months ago.”
“Back then”—Grans gave Mia a long look—“Trent was sending Cerby to training camp back then, and we didn’t know about Buddy. Remember?”
Had it only been a few days since they’d retrieved Cerby from camp and hanging out with his best friend? Mia covered her mouth and yawned. “My bad. I’m not keeping everything straight lately.”
“It’s the dragon breath,” Abigail informed her as she set a plate in front of Mia.
It held an omelet with a hollandaise sauce over the top as well as three slices of bacon.
It might not be good for their marriage, but Mia loved it when Abigail came to stay with her.
“It can mess with your thoughts and emotions until you’re used to it.
Most coven kids get shots when they are five for the problem. I guess you didn’t?”
Grans shook her head. “Mia’s mom, Theresa, refused to let me deal with anything magical around Mia. She didn’t want Mia to find out about this life. So no vaccines.”
“Who would have expected a dragon to show up?” Mia joked, but the others didn’t laugh. Instead they were all staring at her like she’d grown a second head or something.
Abigail finally sat down to eat after turning off the stove. “You’re also changing colors. That’s not good. Anyway, that’s why we give the vaccines. You never know when a dragon will show up, and dragon breath is a real problem. I’ll call the coven and have them come over today.”
“I thought you said I’d get used to it?” Mia stared at her food. Was her plate empty? Or did she already eat? The room was getting fuzzy. “Grans? I’m not feeling well . . .”
* * *
When Mia woke, she was back in her bed. She glanced down at her clothes, but she wasn’t in her pajamas. “It wasn’t a dream.”
Trent sat in a chair next to her. He set the book down he’d been reading.
“No, sorry, it wasn’t a dream. You went down at breakfast. The coven medical specialist has been here and given you a shot.
She says you should be right as rain by the end of the day.
I’m sorry Cerby’s friend made you sick. I didn’t even think. ”
“How would you know that I hadn’t had a vaccine?” Mia scooted up in bed and groaned when a wave of dizziness hit her. “I didn’t even know I needed one.”
“But I did,” Grans said as she came into the room with a tray.
Mia could smell the chicken soup as soon as Grans stepped into the doorway. “I think I’m just overwhelmed with everything. Don’t blame yourself. Maybe I’m not ready to take over the kitchen witch role. I’m probably not going to pass my exam Monday anyway.”
“Don’t say such things, child,” Grans scolded as she put the tray on the bed over Mia.
“Intentions are half the battle. If you think you’re going to fail, you will.
You have more natural ability than I had when I started my journey.
Besides, I’ll be around for a long time to help you out unless I’m traveling.
Robert and I want to start seeing the world. ”
“I love the idea of you traveling.” Mia picked up her spoon. “Where are you heading first?”
“Obviously Italy.” Grans sat next to Mia on the bed as they talked. Anytime Mia would try to set the spoon down, she’d urge her to eat more. “Just one more bite, dear.”
Mia felt the spell’s effects before she realized what her grandmother had done. She’d dosed the soup. “I have too much to do . . .”
Then she dropped the spoon in the bowl, and she felt the tray being taken away. She could still hear Grans and Trent talking, even though she couldn’t open her eyes.
“Did you have to knock her out?” Trent asked. Mia could hear the concern in his voice.
“When those shots are given to children, they sleep for a week. She’ll be fine by dinner, and then her head will be clear. Right now, there’s nothing anyone can do anyway until the coven calls about Howard. Since you’re here, I could use some help in the library. The archive spell’s being . . .”
And then sleep overtook her, and she didn’t hear the rest.
When she woke, the sun had set, and she felt back to normal.
She slowly sat up in bed. No dizziness. No fuzziness.
The shot had cured her reaction to dragon breath.
Thank goodness this hadn’t happened when she had been at the Lodge.
She would have found herself in the hospital getting tested for any number of things.
She swung her feet over the edge of the bed.
She thought about what she’d say calling in.
“Sorry, I can’t come to work as a dragon has poisoned me and I’m fighting off the vaccine. ”
At least her current boss would understand. One positive for working for Blake. She wondered if the newest witch was linked into the coven gossip train enough to have heard about what had happened.
Mia looked around for her phone, but it wasn’t in her room.
She slipped on shoes, and then headed out to the living area.
No one was there. She grabbed a soda out of the fridge and glanced out the window.
A firepit glowed in the backyard, and she could see people gathered around it.
“Everyone must be outside,” she said, taking a second drink. The sweetness of the soda was helping.
“Duh,” Gloria said from behind her.
Mia spun around. “You’ve never talked before.”
This time the doll only giggled.
The apartment felt empty except for the doll and her connection to the Goddess. For a minute, Mia wondered if she was even awake. Maybe this was a dream. Then she banged her knee into a trunk someone had left in the hallway. Probably Grans or Abigail, since she’d come to stay the weekend.
Mia wondered if her staying here was for Abigail’s sake or her own. This family, or mini coven, seemed to close ranks here at the academy whenever trouble brewed in Magic Springs.
When she reached the first floor, a knock sounded at the door.
She hadn’t heard the security system go off when she was upstairs, and she didn’t want to take the time to check the screens in her office.
It was probably Mark Baldwin, coming to see if she’d found out anything.
He wouldn’t understand that she’d been asleep all day, but Sarah could explain it to him.
She swung open the door to find Finley Shiley, Abigail’s new hire, on the doorstep. She had a suitcase in one hand and a backpack over her shoulder. “Finn, what are you doing here so late?”
The girl shuffled her feet and didn’t meet Mia’s gaze when she talked. “I’m sorry, but Abigail said if I needed a place to crash, I should come here. My van broke down and was towed off the street, but they only let me grab my belongings. I walked from Sun Valley and just got into town.”
Another stray. Mia didn’t question the timing. The Goddess sent who and when she sent. She reached out and held the door open. “Come on in. Everyone’s out in the backyard. I’m afraid all the rooms in the apartment are spoken for this weekend, but we’ll find a couch or something for you.”
“I can sleep on the floor.” Finn stepped into the academy and sighed. “Have you noticed that there’s something calming about your place? I don’t know if it’s the décor or what, but I always feel like everything is going to be okay as soon as I arrive here for work.”