Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
Herbs didn’t speak to me the way plants did to Evie, but I knew them.
They were as familiar to me as my own skin.
I knew how they worked with and against each other, how they worked inside a human and a magical body.
I knew how they tasted, whether alone or mixed with something else, what temperature they needed to steep at to ensure the most important flavor or medicinal aspects of the plants bloomed, and what to mix afterward to ensure they worked synergistically.
What I didn’t know was why someone I hired as a master blender was asking me if they should blend the chai with the chamomile.
I stared at her for a long moment. “Do you think you should blend those two together?”
The new hire, Marie, blinked and frowned down at the two piles. “Noooo?” When she looked up at me hopefully, I got suspicious.
I slowly pulled out my cell and texted Ari to ask if she could meet me at my shop. Whether she would come remained to be seen. When that was done, I smiled at Marie and gestured at the piles.
“Why don’t you move them together, mix them up, and see if the blend is pleasant?”
Marie frowned. “Oh. You think I don’t know what I’m doing?” She let out a nervous chuckle. “That’s not it at all! I was only testing.”
Liar, liar, skirts on fire.
“In that case, why don’t you get to work on the other blends we talked about?”
I’d hired her a few weeks ago during a particularly busy time when Ethan was sending me all over the place, and I had zero time to do my own blends. She came with all the right credentials, but I was about 98% sure she was lying to me.
Marie was good at it. Her words didn’t quite register as a lie, but they didn’t register as the truth either.
“Um. Sure!” She swept the piles into the trash at the edge of the table, and I had to stop myself from barking out something unforgivable.
Tea and herbs were expensive. There was no reason for her to get rid of anything other than the tiny amount she mixed to test the blend. Instead, I gave her a tight smile and went back to the front.
I needed to count to ten before I started yelling.
There were two scenarios here. Marie desperately needed a job and had lied about her credentials. Forgivable, especially in today’s economy, but still a fireable offense, in addition to not being qualified for the job I hired her for.
The other was that she wasn’t here for the tea.
She was here to spy on me. With everything going on with my mother still being in the wind, this was possible.
She’d want to keep tabs on me, but Rowan wouldn’t let her into the city.
He and Evie both would know if she was disguised, so she hired someone to do it for her.
Marie didn’t seem evil or anything. Mostly just bumbling. She’d never be a good villain.
The door opened with a chime, revealing Ari. I had my back to Marie and raised my index finger to my lips to signal for her to be quiet.
“Ari is here with some jewelry I need to look at. You okay by yourself for a few minutes, Marie?”
“Totally fine,” she called back. “I’m working on the fog blend now.”
“Alright. We’ll be in the office if you need anything.”
I jerked my head for Ari to follow. When we were safely ensconced in my office, I lowered my voice into a whisper. “Can you set a sound spell?”
Ari looked intrigued. She waved her hand. A bubble rose around us, trapping all sound within.
“Your text was positively cryptic,” she murmured. “Something to do with that witch outside?”
I blinked. “She’s a witch?”
Ari stared at me. “Yes. Don’t you usually know that?”
I did. A thunderous frown took over my face. “How the hell did she manage to hide that from me?”
“Your mother?” Ari said.
The jewelry maker and in-hiding fae weapons maker was with me for much of the Soren debacle. She knew who my mother was, but not all the sordid details that came with her.
I nodded.
“She’s your mother and shares a lot of your DNA. Casting a spell against you is a lot easier than if a stranger tried. She probably cast very specific glamour to work against you.” Ari clicked her tongue. “Clever bitch.”
I barked a laugh. “Both of those descriptions are accurate.”
Ari jerked her head toward the door. “But yes, that woman out there is most assuredly a witch. If I were you, I’d test all your tea before selling it.”
I frowned. “We have cameras all over the shop.”
“Have you tested to see if they’re still working?”
I sank into my office chair. “That’s thousands of dollars in blends,” I groaned.
My mother was the gift that just kept giving.
Ari shrugged. “Trust, then verify. Having a witch here is one thing. If she sabotaged your blends, the end result could be much more disastrous.”
I held up a finger and called Evie. She answered on the first ring.
When I explained what happened, she cursed and said she’d be right over.
Ari nodded. “Good call. Evie will be able to tell right away if anything has been tampered with.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the door. “What’s your plan to get rid of her?”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I guess I need to call Rowan, too. He’ll need to ensure she’s out of town in a timely manner or at least escorted back the moment I fire her.”
Ari nodded. “The shop’s not busy right now. I’ll close the doors and wait around until you do the deed. If she tries anything with us in the store, she deserves whatever happens.”
Ari and I grinned at each other. Say what you would about the fae, but they were good to have at your back.
And looking at Ari, you’d think she’d be an easily defeatable opponent, just by virtue of her looks.
She was tall and willowy, with a face that would stop traffic, but Ari was the daughter of a god and one of the most powerful weapons makers in all the worlds.
Even better? She knew how to use those weapons.
I loved being friends with ass-kicking women.
“Thanks.” I stood and was about to go to the door when I remembered the reason we were supposed to be in here. “Do you have any jewelry I can borrow from you until she’s gone? We’re supposed to be in here looking at some pieces.”
Ari snorted and dug into her pocket, producing a stunning ring with a stone that flashed blue and green in the light. She handed it over.
I gaped at it before sliding it onto my finger. “You just had this in your pocket?”
Ari shrugged. “Hazards of a jewelry maker. I test out all my pieces but sometimes forget where I’ve put them or forgot I put them in my pocket because I had to wash my hands.”
I wiggled my fingers, watching the gem sparkle. “I wish I had so much jewelry I could forget where I put my pieces without freaking the hell out.”
“If I didn’t create…” Ari’s voice trailed off, her eyes haunted. “Let’s just say I would not be easy to deal with.”
“Do you still create weapons?” My mother still had one of the fae weapons Ari was searching for. She’d seriously wounded Cernunnos when he attacked her, taking him by surprise and putting him down for the count.
If one of Ari’s weapons could take down someone like Cernunnos, we had to get it out of her hands, the sooner the better.
Ari shook her head. “Weapons can be things of beauty, but they are meant to harm. I prefer to use my hands and talent for something that brings happiness.”
I wiggled my finger again, showing off the gemstone. “You are doing a fab job, my friend.”
Ari smiled. “Come, Moira. Let’s do a little ass kicking.”
I grinned back. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
When we came out from the back, Evie was just walking in. She took in me, then Ari, frowned, then spotted Marie in the back, still pretending like she was working on blending.
Evie inhaled deeply. A flicker of crimson rolled over her irises.
Uh oh. Marie had definitely tampered with my tea. Shit.
I jerked my head, motioning for Evie to follow me. With her and Ari by my side, I stopped at Marie’s table.
“I’m not sure if you’ve met Ari yet. She’s our town jeweler.” I held out my hand to show her the ring.
A flash of greed rolled over Marie’s face. “Stunning.” She lifted her eyes to Ari. “I’m Marie.”
“And this is Evie. Emberwood’s Lady.”
Marie blinked in surprise. “Errr. Hello.”
“Hi, Marie,” Evie said, a vicious grin sliding onto her face. “Is there a reason you’re poisoning those tea leaves you’re working on?”
Marie paled. She shoved her chair back and was rising when Evie sent a pulse of magic to the plethora of plants I kept all over the shop.
Vines shot out from the pots of soil, snapped around Marie’s body, and brought her down to the ground. It was over in seconds.
Marie panted like she’d run a marathon. Her eyes were wide and frightened as she looked between all of us. She licked her lips. “What do you want?”
Evie’s bark of laughter made me snort. “Who sent you here, Marie?”
The woman pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Can’t tell you.”
“You won’t,” Ari said, crouching beside Marie’s entangled body. The fae’s eyes began to glow molten silver. Magic shivered over Ari’s form, producing a glowing blue dagger. Ari wove it between her fingers like a circus performer. “Speak, Marie. Or suffer.”
My eyebrows went up at that, but I let it go. I wasn’t super into torture or anything, mostly because it was messy.
Ari seemed to have no such compunctions.
Evie watched Ari for a long moment before she shrugged. I almost smiled. In the past, Evie would have insisted there was another way.
Time had only sharpened her edges. Now, there wasn’t much off the table if Evie needed answers.
Marie’s nostrils flared. “Can’t,” she said with a moan.
“Was it another witch?”
Marie’s brows furrowed. Slowly, she nodded, then sagged with relief.
Weird.
“What was her name?”
Marie shook her head again.
“Minka?” I asked.
A low moan came from deep within Marie’s throat. Ari stood and took a step away. “Moira.”
Evie put her hand on my arm. “She’s spelled.”
“Your mother could have turned her into a weapon,” Ari said quietly. “We need to get her out of here.”
A terrible thought occurred to me. “Can you take her here?” I showed Ari the place on the map. “Make sure everyone’s out of the store?”
Ari chewed on the side of her lip. “Cold but effective.” She bent down and touched Marie on the forehead.
The witch immediately went unconscious. Ari slowly ran her hand over the witch’s body. When she rose, her face was unusually grim.
“She’s under a spell. As soon as someone, us in this case, started asking questions, the spell triggered. Your friend here is a walking bomb.”
Evie grimaced and took a step back. “No way to disarm her?”
Ari shook her head. “Only if your mother decided to disable the spell. It’s tied into her blood. Must have been a large payoff for Marie to agree to allow such a thing.”
“Mother Dearest has a way of convincing people to do what she wants,” I said, unable to help the sour note in my voice.
Evie glanced at me. “Where do you have Ari taking her?”
I grinned. “Wait and see.”
Ari scratched her nose. “She’s close to blowing, though I’ve put her in stasis for a bit. You sure you want to do this? It could escalate things.”
The sooner I could get rid of my mother, the better. “Escalation is exactly what I want. Let’s draw the snake out of her warm burrow and see how she fights in close quarters when she’s lost the advantage.”
Ari nodded. “Very well. I’ll be back in a few.” She touched Marie’s prone body, and they both disappeared.
“I hate your mother,” Evie muttered. “Why can’t she be cool and make magical vodka like mine, so she and my mom can be friends?”
“If only the world worked so well,” I mused.
Ari was back in less than a minute, covered in soot and grinning from ear to ear. “I got everyone out and ensured the explosion was limited to only your mother’s shop. There should be no damage to the other structures, and no other injuries.”
“And Marie?” Evie asked.
Ari shook her head. “Your mother’s spell did a thorough job. Marie is a pile of inert ash.”
“Good,” Evie growled.
When someone dying horribly because they tried to kill you made your BFF happy, you knew you had a keeper on your hands.