26. Training Montage #2
“There won’t be a literal battle this time.” Luna strongly suspected this wasn’t the first time someone had tried to explain this. “It’s going to be a demonstration of magic. No actual violence.”
“That’s what they always say,” Ten muttered darkly. “Right up until the cannons start firing.”
“There won’t be any cannons firing—”
“Not with that attitude,” Twelve replied.
Luna decided to let it go. If the Earls wanted to polish their antique weaponry while the witches practiced magic, who was she to stop them?
She leaned against the porch railing, letting the summer sun warm her face.
She listened to the distant hum of Main Street, birds singing in the trees. Peaceful.
Then, of course, her brain decided to ruin it by picturing Elias.
She wondered whether he’d gotten out of Oklahoma.
Whether he thought about her. Or if she’d just been a convenient ally until something better came along.
The worst part was, she missed him. His dry commentary, his old-timey expressions.
The way he’d looked at her like she was the most fascinating person he’d ever met.
Maybe that had been a glamour of sorts. Maybe everything about Elias Shaw had been an illusion, carefully crafted to get what he wanted.
Stop it, she told herself again. Stop torturing yourself.
“You all right there, missy?” Nine had stopped polishing his cutlass and was watching her with surprising gentleness, given his armory.
She could only shrug.
Scarlett exited the hardware store looking significantly more cheerful than when she’d entered. Her hair was slightly mussed and her lipstick was smudged, and Luna decided not to comment.
“Ready?” Scarlett asked brightly.
“Ready,” Luna confirmed.
As they walked away, she heard Twelve say, “Think we should bring the blunderbuss?”
“Absolutely,” Ten replied. “Can’t be too prepared.”
* * *
The town travel agency, All Who Wander, looked like a portal had exploded in it. Probably because a portal had exploded in it.
Kelly stood in the middle of the office, arm raised, looking at something that made Luna’s brain hurt to perceive. It was like someone had folded space in half, then only partially unfolded it again.
“Mama?” she ventured. “Is everything okay?”
“Define ‘okay.’ Catherine here was practicing breaking portal spells, and she broke this one approximately three seconds too late, which meant Margaret was halfway through when it collapsed.”
“Uh-oh.” Scarlett made a face. “Where’s Margaret now?”
“Excellent question.” Kelly gestured at the spatial anomaly. “She’s simultaneously here and in what I suspect is a subway station in Buenos Aires. Though it could also be a parking garage in Oslo.”
Luna stepped closer and squinted at the anomaly. Sure enough, through the shimmer of broken magic, she could see glimpses of another place. Tiled walls, fluorescent lights, and Margaret’s limbs windmilling like a starfish having a seizure. “Can you get her back?”
“I’m working on it. The problem with collapsed portals is you have to rebuild the entire spell structure, but backwards and— Never mind.
As I said, I’m working on it. If you run into Margaret’s mother, don’t mention this.
” Kelly made a complicated gesture and the folded space rippled.
“Margaret, can you hear me? Try moving toward the brightest light!”
A muffled voice came from somewhere within the anomaly. Might have been agreement. Might have been screaming.
The sisters decided they should probably leave Mama to her rescue operation. As they stepped back outside, Scarlett let out a low whistle. “Well, that’s terrifying.”
“Mama knows what she’s doing,” Luna said, hoping it was true.
“I don’t know about you, but I could really use some lunch after all this mayhem.”
Luna’s stomach chose that moment to growl in agreement. “Shall we hit the Double Double?”
“Toil and Trouble,” Scarlett confirmed.
* * *
The pub was crowded and loud and smelled like Zahir’s fish and chips.
Sitting at the best table in the house, treating the place like their personal kingdom, were Ashton Vex and Chuck the Investor.
Vex was so smug, he was glowing like a busted nuclear reactor.
Chuck was even worse: all loud laughter and expansive gestures, the kind of man who took up double the space any person needed.
“—and that’s why I’m telling you, Ash, this is just the beginning!” His voice boomed across the restaurant. “CastR isn’t just an app, it’s a revolution. We’re talking about democratizing magic! This is bigger than Facebook, bigger than TikTok!”
“I share the vision, Chuck.” Vex smiled, but there was something sharp in it. “Believe me.”
Dayo appeared at their table with plates of food, her expression so professionally pleasant that Luna knew she was furious underneath.
“Your halibut.” She set a plate in front of Vex with slightly more force than necessary. “And your ribeye.”
Vex looked down at his steak and frowned. “This isn’t medium rare.”
“It absolutely is.”
“No, it’s not.” He pushed the plate away. “Take it back.”
Luna watched Dayo’s jaw tighten. “I’m confident that Zahir cooked it exactly as you ordered—”
“Then maybe your chef needs to learn the difference between medium and medium rare,” Vex interrupted. “This is basic culinary—”
“Do not,” Scarlett said, her voice cutting across the restaurant, “finish that sentence.”
Every head in the pub turned.
“Well, well. The Melrose girls, nice to see you.” Vex looked like the cat who’d swallowed the entire canary store. “No hard feelings about the whole CastR situation, I hope? It’s just business.”
“Just business,” Luna repeated flatly. “You’re trying to exploit our town, commodify our magic, and destroy our way of life.”
“Destroy, improve . . . tomato, tomahto. It’s not too late to become an investor, you know.
Of course, my new partner here has single-handedly doubled CastR’s value.
” At this, Vex raised his wine glass in Chuck’s direction, and the investor clinked with him.
“But still, we could make room for the Melrose family. Consider it a peace offering. What do you say?”
“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with,” Luna said, trying to keep her voice level. “Magic isn’t a commodity. You can’t just package and sell it.”
“Everything can be packaged and sold,” Vex said.
“That’s what you people don’t get. You women always think too small.
Artisanal, handcrafted, exclusive. But the future is scale.
Mass production. Market saturation. And in two days, I’m going to prove it.
When CastR’s demo goes off without a hitch, and every investor in that audience sees the potential, your little-girl-magic monopoly is going to be a thing of the past.”
Scarlett’s hand moved, as if to cast something terrible. “You smug, entitled—”
Luna caught her sister’s arm. “Don’t. He’s not worth it.”
“Listen to your sister,” Vex said. “Violence would be very bad for your brand.”
“Come on, Scar,” Luna said quietly. “Let’s go.”
Scarlett looked like she wanted to argue, but something in Luna’s expression must have convinced her. They turned toward the door.
“See you at the demo, ladies,” Chuck called after them. “Should be quite a show.”
“Want to go back in there and break some transformation spells? Priti’s class is in the basement.”