Page 57 of Love's a Witch
To mortal eye, let naught seem wrong,
Let hearts pass through, nae stay long.”
We repeated her words three times, and a light flashed in the air. I gaped down at the table, where the moss now was bundled with the crystals, the bronze rings wound around them. Four complete bundles.
“Well done, ladies. Now, we’ll need someone to go to the four cardinal points around Briarhaven and repeat the spell there as well. This, along with the fae help, should cause the tourists to overlook vital details. If they do start to look or question too closely, they should be struck with an urge to leave.”
“I’ll go,” Nova volunteered. “I’d like to see more of Briarhaven. It’s been a while.”
“You up for a run?” Tam asked, gesturing with her water bottle.
“I’d love nothing more. I haven’t gotten a chance to go out yet, and it’s making me itchy.” Tam and Nova beamed at each other, and I shuddered at the thought of running on snow and ice before I’d finished my first cup of coffee.
Who was I kidding? I wasn’t going for a jog even if I’d chugged ten cups of coffee.
“Great, that’s you two off, then. I’m sure the rest of us can handle the little book issue together.”
Why, why, did she need to speak about my issues like that? This “little book issue” might solve this curse of the snow, and I felt my back go up as I opened my mouth to speak.
“Stand down, soldier. Just get this done so we can see what the book wants you to know.” Nova squeezed my shoulder as she stood. “I’m going to drop my jacket in the car. Tam, do you have an extra hat and gloves?”
“Aye. And a windbreaker for over your jumper.”
“Perfect. See you back home later.” The two gathered the bundles up and walked out, chattering about pacing and elevation. I turned back to the table and glared at Mandy Meadows.
She smiled at me, sweetly some would say.
Others would say she bared her teeth.
Challenge accepted.
I wasn’t sure what challenge I was accepting, but as I spent more time with these women, I was starting to track the subtle underpinnings and power plays in the group. I wasn’t necessarily yet sure how to navigate it, but I knew a woman who was determined to keep someone in their place when I saw one.
Too bad I was used to not staying in my place. Or any place, really. Metaphorically and physically.
“Shall we deal with this?” Mandy Meadows gestured to the book I’d put in front of me. I wanted to throw it at her face.
Not to harm her, of course.
But just to see her hair fall out of place.
She must have gauged my intention from my expression, because the book slid across the table to her. I narrowed my eyes, annoyed she’d taken it from me, but when she picked it up and it refused to open, I smiled.
It was my book.
“This is old magick.” Mandy Meadows turned the book over in her hands, tapping a shell-pink nail against the cover. “Heavily charmed.”
“Can I see?” Raven held out her hand, and Mandy passed it over.
Bending her head over the book, her beautiful hair curtaining her face, Raven closed her eyes and ran her hands over the cover.
“It wants to tell Sloane its secrets. It has waited to be found. For years now. I sense it’s excited to finally be with her.”
“A family grimoire?” Deidre glanced up from where she typed rapidly on her phone. I had no idea who was buying real estate atseven in the morning, but Deidre had been constantly checking her Apple Watch and her phone since we’d arrived.
“It might be. Hard to say. It opens for you?” Raven handed me back the book across the table, and I was relieved to have it back in my hands. It seemed to warm under my touch, happy to be with me, and I smiled gently down at its beautiful cover.
“It does, yes.” I easily opened the cover. The words still swam on the pages in front of my eyes.
