Page 50 of Strike It Witch

After a sandwich and another shower, I threw on a steel gray cropped sweater, a pair of jeans, and black, spike-heeled ankle boots. I grabbed my purse and headed out to the Mini.

Fennel was perched atop the hood looking pleased with himself. Evidently, he’d decided to accompany me. Contrary to popular belief, not all witches had familiars, and the ones whodid were rarely lucky enough to align their magic with black cats. Fennel’s presence lent me an extrawitchinesswith those in the know, which was one more reason to bring him along.

The cat really would make one heck of a familiar, but he was an even better partner—and friend.

I made a special delivery to the Desert Rose Café. The fae cousins had been thrilled with the culinary lavender and put in a request for some chamomile for their tea recipe. I’d added a couple samples of our other charms, includinghappinessandawaken, to their order. Beau sold them fairly well from his shop, so I figured they might sell there, too.

Plus, if I could get a decent herb and charm business rolling, Fennel and I might not have to take dangerous jobs to make ends meet—at least for as long as I was here.

At the café, I scored another lavender scone and a cappuccino made just the way I liked it. Kiv had added a slice of the turkey they were using for sandwiches to my bag when they found out Fennel was in the car.

We drove into La Paloma after that, stopping in at Wicked to check on a shipment of herb seeds I’d ordered from an earth witch in Texas.

Bronwyn perched primly on a wooden stool behind a glass-topped display case containing wands, scepters, and incense holders. She held a pair of tweezers and a spool of fine thread over a pile of what appeared to be desiccated insect parts.

“Hello, Betty,” she said, without looking up from her task. “Audrey II is gone.”

“That’s good.” I glanced down at Fennel and shrugged. “This is Fennel.”

“Nice to meet you, Fennel. I’m Bronwyn,” she said. “By the way, Betty, your friend Sarai was very nice. The plant seemed happy to go with her.”

A business contact, not a friend, but I supposed that was irrelevant.

“What’re you, uh, doing there?” I asked.

Fennel’s tail whipped unhappily.

“Don’t worry. These bugs died naturally. I’m not dipping into dark magic.” She looked up, and her smile held the faintest annoyance. “They were family pets. We cared for them their whole lives and they died of natural causes. They’ve been dead for over a decade. It’s fine.” She ducked her head again.

Fennel’s tail calmed.

“Hey, did I get an order of seeds?” I asked. “I forgot to ask when I was here on Valentine’s Day. I was a little distracted, if you recall.”

“You and me both. You said it was a seed order?” She moved to another counter and flopped open a large book. Ran her finger down the page. “Yes, it’s here. Sorry I didn’t contact you right away. It came in late yesterday afternoon, but I didn’t have time to call before leaving for the coven meeting, and this morning’s been busy. This is the first lull of the day.”

“I’m sure the meeting was a banger,” I muttered.

Bronwyn gave me a kindly chiding look. “It was a coven meeting, not a rave, Betty. You’re welcome to come with next time. We love entertaining potential new members.”

I gagged. “Sorry. I threw up a little in my mouth.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let me put this away, and I’ll get your package.”

Fennel and I watched her carefully transfer the pile of bug carcasses to a velvet-lined wooden box. She slipped it under the counter before going into the back room.

There were a few white magic spells that used bug parts. There were a whole lot more dark spells that used them, but those witches wouldn’t buy them here. They’d kill their own.

“Thanks,” I said, when she walked back into the room with what appeared to be a cigar box sealed with clear tape.

Fennel meowed at me from the floor. I moved aside to let him jump on the display case and sniff around.

Bronwyn set the package of seeds on the counter and passed them to me. “I hear you’re trying to sell your trailer park to a magical.”

“With an earth magic affinity,” I said.

“I’d wish you luck, but I won’t, because I’d hate to see you go. What will I do if someone drops off another giant carnivorous plant?”

“Call Sarai. For anything like that. If she can’t help you, she’ll know who can.”

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