Delilah let out a disgruntled meow as Menolly snorted and took her from Iris.
“Kitten, you know better than that,” she said.
Even Chase started to laugh.“How often does she do that?”
“More than you want to know,” I said.“Okay, I think with that, we should go to bed.If you need anything, just shout, but I’m hoping my wards keep the demons away for the rest of the night.”
As we headed to bed, Chase following me upstairs to his room.I realized that I actually felt some hope that I’d be able to break the curse.Sometimes, all it took was a few good friends who believed in you to bring light to the darkness.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Next morning,before I even got dressed, I put in a call to Frieda to ask her where I might find spell components from Otherworld over here.
“Oh, of course.I know a little shop in the Greenbelt Park District, near Belles-Faire.It’s near the cemetery on Wyvers Avenue Northwest.That’s the most haunted area in the city, so be cautious.The name of the shop is Ever-Magic.The owner’s a powerful witch named Irena.I don’t know if she’s fully human—that’s hard to tell, and I never felt comfortable enough around her to ask.But she’s probably got the best stock of ingredients around.”
I gave her the directions to break the demon magnet spell.“Just in case you ever need it,” I said.
“Well, thank you.I’ve been wracking my brains trying to figure out what might work—I’m so glad that you managed to find an answer.”She hung up.
I rifled through my closet, finally slipping into a flowing black jersey skirt, along with a black lace top.As I fastened the busks of my blue under-bust corset, I looked in the mirror.
“You can do this,” I said.“You can cast this spell.”I slid on a pair of four-inch stiletto ankle boots and then brushed my hair and applied my makeup.Finally, I felt ready to go.I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs.
I’d asked Iris to take over the bookstore for the day, so she was already gone.Delilah and Chase were in the kitchen, and Menolly—of course—was hidden away in the basement, sleeping the sleep of the undead.
“I made breakfast,” Chase said.
“Youmade breakfast?”I asked.
“It’s better than what I suggested,” Delilah said.“A lot better.”
A stack of toast was on the table, along with a platter of scrambled eggs and bacon, and a tray of sliced melon.While it smelled good, I decided to grab breakfast on the way.
“I’m headed out to get the components for the spell,” I said.“I’ll stop for something to eat and caffeine on the way.”I slipped on a long-sleeved velvet jacket with lace trim.“Chase, take the day off.As soon as I have the components, we can try this puppy out.Here’s hoping it doesn’t backfire.”
He yelped at that, but I headed out the door.I was on a mission, and determined that we would not fail.
Rush hour trafficwas thick as I headed toward the edge of the Belles-Faire district, following the directions that Frieda had given me.I shoved a CD in the player, head bopping as Lined Up by Shriekback blared out of the speakers.
The morning was thick with drizzle, and the storm we were expecting was nearly here.It was supposed to blow in tonight.I turned on the windshield wipers and they seemed to swipe back and forth in time to the music.
As I sang along, belting out the lyrics, I tried not to jinx myself by thinking about what I needed to do.Instead, I thought about my store, about the Wayfarer and how Menolly seemed calmer than she had in over a decade, and about Delilah chasing mice in her Tabby form.
“The strange days of my life,” I murmured as the song changed to a deeper, more somber tune.“But I wouldn’t give them up, not for anything.”
Even Menolly being a vampire, I thought.If Dredge had killed her and left her dead, she wouldn’t be with us now.I knew being a vampire was hard for my sister, but I had to admit—it seemed better than having her gone forever.
Unlike my father, I had come around.Even after she broke my arm the night she came home, crazed, in a haze of bloodlust and ready to kill us, I gave thanks that Menolly was still with us.Her soul statue might be twisted and distorted, but Menolly had survived.One day, I hoped our father would come around.
By the time I came to the turnoff leading into the Greenbelt Park District, my thoughts were back on my store and what I could do to make it more appealing.As I turned into the neighborhood, I started looking for the store.
And there it was—in a narrow strip mall of four shops.One of them was Ever Magic.I turned into the lot and parked directly in front of the shop.
I slipped out of the car and headed inside, my purse over my shoulder.
The shop was smaller than my bookstore—probably half the size.I looked around for the owner.She was over by the cash register, sorting through a stack of magazines.I headed over to the counter as she looked up.
Her eyes flared, as did her nostrils.“Hello…” Her greeting was cautious, and she looked like I had just stepped out of some djinn bottle or the pages of a book.