Page 38 of Curses & Cold Brew
“Shit,” I snarled. “Fucking useless.”
I dialed the next number I could think of and was utterly relieved when a voice answered on the first ring. “Witch’s Brew Café, this is Harlow.”
19
IRIS
With swollen lips and bleary eyes, I darted through the town square, uncaring that I’d be the talk of the town for my dramatics. The tears that came thick and fast surprised me. I couldn’t contain them even if I tried.
I could’ve forgiven Ramona for tricking me into staying, for luring me in with her deceptions. Hell, I could’ve forgiven her for throwing me over her shoulder and tying me to a chair just to keep me there. But kissing me like I was the air she breathed when I knew it was all a ploy had been cruel, even for a demon.
And what was worse was that I knew I had no right to be hurt by it. This was what demons did—toyed with their marks, played with them like a cat with their many mice. I’d dug this grave for myself. After all,Ihad been the one chasing afterher, goading her at every turn, pestering her, even. I was just another soul addicted to her allure. But for some ungodly reason, I still thought that I was different. That maybe I was special to her. I wanted to be.
Fuck.
The thought left me reeling, and I nearly barreled into Agnes and Billy Bacchus as they chatted about the Halloween Festivaldecorations and the fact that everything was “too beige these days.” They ignored me as I stumbled past them.
A single thought rang like a Klaxon through my mind:I wanted to be special to a demon.
Had someone poisoned my tea? Was a lock of my hair being burned in a hex right now? What was I thinking?
I swiped at my eyes as I crunched across the thick layer of golden leaves toward the apothecary. When I reached the front door, Jordyn and Harlow were already standing there. But instead of canoodling like they usually did, they were frantically pouring a line of salt across the threshold while Jordyn muttered incantations while sparks of magic emanated from her fingertips.
“What’s going on?” I called out.
Jordyn gave me a look that meant she was serious. “Get inside, quickly.”
I dashed into the darkened apothecary.
“There.” Jordyn shut the door and bolted it. “That should hold for at least a couple of hours before we have to start the ritual all over again.”
Together, we ascended the stairs up to our apartment. Neither Jordyn nor I had been around much to clean, and we were greeted by sprawling clutter when we entered. Spell books were piled up on the coffee table, kitchen counter, and small dining table. Discarded teacups crowded the kitchen sink. Baskets of dried herbs and hastily discarded sweaters covered the couch.
“An extra-strength warding spell?” I asked incredulously. “What big bad has shown up in Maple Hollow this time?”
“Uh, hello! There’s a rogue vampire on the loose, Iris!” Jordyn balked, grabbing me and pulling me into a fierce hug even as she chastised me.
“Oh, right. That,” I muttered. “Does the whole town know?”
Ichabod mewed from his bed on the windowsill, which was crowded with candles and crystals.
“Ramona called the café,” Harlow supplied, crossing the room and picking up our furry familiar. “She sounded furious.”
My mouth fell open. “Shecalled the café?”
“She said that Wyatt had been attacked by a vampire. And that you stormed off and that we needed to make sure you’re safe and, if at all possible, convince you to go back to her house, which is probably the safest place in Maple Hollow to be right now, apparently.”
“I am not going back!” I erupted. “Not after she—she kissed me.”
“I knew it!” Harlow snapped, pointing a finger at a shocked Jordyn. “Told you.”
“You don’t seem particularly happy about this kiss,” Jordyn hedged. “Talk to us. Harlow brought coffee and sugar cookies to hold us over for the evening.”
“They’re meant to be shaped like broomsticks, but they snapped in the cabinet,” Harlow supplied. “We couldn’t sell them at the café, but they still taste good. We really need to think of sturdier, more reliably shaped objects, like pumpkins.”
“You’ve got a lot to catch us up on.” Jordyn pulled me toward the couch and handed me a cookie. “Now, spill.”
At first, I wavered on how much I should tell them. Tears pricked my eyes as I connected all the dots for them: the knitting circle discovery after the summoning, the stop at Midnight Market, and Wyatt leaving Ramona’s house shirtless. Then I had to give them all the juicy details of the kiss Ramona and I had shared at the summer camp, all the way to Ramona’s kiss less than an hour ago. When I finished, Jordyn stared at me for a long moment, her pinched mouth tight as if holding back her storming thoughts.
