Chapter 33
Nearly four hours later and Sabrina was still fuming as she did a quick inventory of the housewares section of the shop.
Fuming. That man was an idiot. A handsome, sometimes charming, very generous idiot.
She was also heartsick, but that was her own fault.
She’d obviously read way more into the situation than was actually going on.
That was on her. She owned that. She added two clear glass juicers and one white glass juicer to her list.
She’d told him the truth when she’d said she liked him last night. She really did. In fact, she probably liked him more than she should. Which was why his bombshell today was such a punch to the gut.
She crouched down to check the items on the bottom shelf. How could he just up and leave? What would make him think that was any way to solve anything? Running was a terrible way to face a problem. She frowned. Technically, running wasn’t facing a problem at all.
“Who pooped in your shoe? You look miserable.”
Sabrina looked up to see Julia standing over her. Sabrina sighed as she got to her feet. “I’ll explain later. Tell me about the spell. Tell me you can make it work.”
Julia wiggled her eyebrows. “I think it’s going to be fine. I got some help, like I told you about, and basically once the box is finished, I’ll cast the spell, and you should be good to go.”
“Should be?” Sabrina didn’t need should. She needed definite.
“The witch who’s helping me is very skilled. She checked my spell work, made a few adjustments, and said there’s no way it could go wrong.”
Sabrina exhaled. “Okay, that’s good. That’s really good. I needed that today.”
“Why? What’s up?”
Sabrina rubbed at her forehead. “Something’s going on with Gideon. He finished the music box motor, which he gave back to me—”
“That’s fantastic! And it works?”
“It works like it’s brand new. You should hear it. The little bird sings like the real thing.” Sabrina shook her head. “But that’s not what’s going on. After he told me he was done, I found out—accidentally, I think—that he’s closing his shop and leaving town.”
Julia frowned. “For how long?”
“For good.”
“What? Why?”
“That’s what I said.” Sabrina blew out a breath. It wasn’t her place to tell someone else about Gideon’s curse. “He said it’s for the best. That his curse makes him dangerous to be around and that it would only be a matter of time before something happened to me.”
Julia cringed. “That poor man.” She sucked in a breath. “And poor you. Does he know how you feel about him?”
Sabrina shot her a look. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Okay, but does he?”
She got to her feet. “What does it matter? He’s leaving.” She sighed. “How soon can we do this spell?”
“Anytime, I guess.”
“Okay. I need to have a talk with Korrie. Explain to me how the spell is going to work.”
“It’s going to put magic back into the music box. That way Amelia will think everything is as it should be. But when she goes to release him, the magic will fizzle out. As if the spell to release him has gone wrong. And that’s that. He’ll be free, and she’ll have no idea what really happened.”
Sabrina thought about that. “And you’re sure she won’t know?”
Julia shrugged. “Magic goes wonky sometimes. That’s why it’s magic and not science.”
“What about your friend who’s helping you? Can you trust her to keep a secret?”
“She has no idea what this is for. She thinks I just want to play a little magical trick on someone. She knows nothing about the music box, the sprite, or Amelia.”
Sabrina nodded. “Probably better that way.”
“That’s what I thought.” Julia glanced toward the back room. “You’d better come up with a logical explanation for Korrie about how he ended up in Shadowvale. He can’t be telling people he popped out of a box.”
“Yep. That’s going to be part of my talk with him.”
“So does this mean the music box is done?”
“If I get all the gilding finished this afternoon, it will be. I could technically deliver it tomorrow morning.”
“I could come by your place after I close up. Put the spell on the box tonight. Then you’d be ready to go.”
“That’s not a bad idea. The sooner I can get paid, the better. I want to renew that ad so it keeps running for at least another month.” She also wanted to give Gideon what he was owed of the money. It was only fair. And she didn’t need his charity.
If he thought giving her his share in any way made up for him leaving, he was wrong. She wasn’t about to let him think that.
It would also give her one more reason to see him before he left. One more chance for him to change his mind. So the sooner she got paid, the better. “I should get back there and get to work.”
“Go,” Julia said. “I won’t let anyone bother you.”
Sabrina disappeared into the back room. Trip was curled up on one of the chairs. Korrie was next to him, asleep. Trip’s tail was over him like a big furry belt.
With a smile on her face, she got to work.
By late afternoon, the gilding was finished. She set up an oscillating fan turned to low so the work would dry faster. She’d had to do a mix of gold leaf foiling and gold metallic paint, but she was pleased with the outcome.
A few minutes before her shift was over, she went back to check how things were progressing. She carefully touched a spot where the metallic paint application had been especially thick. Dry to the touch.
She exhaled. This was good. She got the original box out and packed up the motor and housing to take home. She gathered her things, corralled Korrie, got Trip into his carrier, and headed out, knowing she’d see Julia soon.
As soon as they got home and she’d let Trip out of his carrier, she sat on the couch by Korrie, who was about to turn the television on. “Hey, before you do that, I need to talk to you.”
He slanted his gaze at her. “I already said I’d cross wanting to ride an elephant off the list.”
“And I appreciated that, but this isn’t about the list. Which we aren’t going to be able to finish, by the way.”
“What then?”
She explained about Julia and the spell and how they needed to create an explanation for how he’d arrived in town.
He didn’t seem concerned about the explanation. “You’re sure this spell is going to work?”
“Julia seems to think it will, and I see no reason not to believe her.”
“Okay.” He thought a moment. “Can’t we just say magic brought me here?”
“I don’t think that’s specific enough.”
His brow furrowed. “I have a sister here. Couldn’t I just say I came to see her?”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You have a sister here? And you’re just now telling me this? Why haven’t you wanted to go see her?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “How do you think I ended up in that box?”
“What? She put you in there?” Sabrina had wanted to ask him, but the time had never seemed right.
“Yes.” He frowned, wings snapping back and forth. “And I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
She could only imagine what he’d done. “Okay.”
She made a simple dinner of mac and cheese with hot dogs. Korrie loved it, and by the time Julia arrived, he seemed to have forgotten about their conversation.
She greeted Trip, waved hello to Korrie, and went into the kitchen to talk to Sabrina. “Ready to go?”
“I just need to fit the motor back into the housing and screw it into place. Won’t take me a couple of minutes. Can you keep him busy while I do that?”
“You had the talk?”
“We did. All good. Do not ask him how he ended up in the box.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “Nope. Won’t do that. Get the box ready, and I’ll work my magic.” She wiggled her fingers for emphasis.
Sabrina knew how good it would be for Julia to cast a spell that worked. She smiled. “Two minutes.”
“Awesome.”
Sabrina had left everything on the kitchen table. She already had her little screwdriver out, too. While Julia talked with Korrie, Sabrina sat down and fitted the motor back into the ceramic housing, careful of all the delicate gilding she’d painstakingly painted around the rim.
Once it was seated, she secured it with the screws, mindful not to overtighten. She barely breathed. One slip of the screwdriver and she could scratch the work she’d done.
Then, finally, she sat back and exhaled. It was done. The music box was perfectly restored.
Amelia would have it back in her hands tomorrow morning, and it would be as perfect as the day it was made. And once Julia worked the spell, Korrie would be free to live his life, in no danger of having his magic stolen.
Sabrina got up and carried the music box out to the living room. “It’s ready.”
Julia stood, a tentative smile on her face. “Set it on the coffee table.”
Sabrina did as she asked, then stepped back.
Julia kneeled in front of the table, pulling out a slip of paper and a tiny glass vial from her pocket. She set the paper down, then opened the vial and emptied it over the box. Sabrina didn’t see anything come out but kept quiet.
Julia cupped her hands around the music box without touching it and began to read. Korrie hovered over her shoulder, looking extremely curious.
“Secret light, dwell within this vessel. False spirit, manifest here. Let eyes believe and hearts feel. Let this object resonate with magic.”
She repeated the words three times, her voice growing softer with each recitation. And each time, shimmers of light danced over the box. Then she placed her hands on the box and said, “So may it be!”
Magical green energy snapped across the lid. She yanked her hands away.
Korrie let out a little yelp, eyes widening, then suddenly, he vanished.