Page 30 of Warmongers and Wands
“Oh, she already does that,” I told the demon. “On a regular basis. They’re quite a good match, you know.”
“I’m regretting my decision to stay here already,” Cassie told me. “And we didn’t even get to eat dinner. Please tell me there’s something to eat in this place.”
“I think Hadur has a rabbit on the fire, although it’s probably a bit past well done at this point.” I motioned over to the shelf of cans. “Or you can take your pick. I think there’s some tuna over there if Diebin didn’t already have it for dinner.”
“I had a pork loin in the oven,” Cassie muttered as she inspected the canned goods. “Pork loin. Fried apples. Roasted brussels sprouts.”
“Did I mention that I just drank Glenda’s fish-oil and barf smoothie? So don’t be complaining about burnt rabbit and canned tuna.”
“Your sister puts barf in her potions?” Hadur looked horrified.
“No, she doesn’t,” Cassie assured him.
“Yes, she does,” I countered. “Barf. Poop. Pureed slugs. Eye of newt.”
“She does not.” Cassie glared at me then took down the can of tuna. “It’s not even packed in water. Oil. Who eats tuna packed in oil?”
“Raccoons evidently,” I told her. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
She ate the tuna while Hadur and I had ultra-well-done rabbit. Then while Hadur and I played a rousing game of go-fish, she roamed the cabin, picking up various objects until she had an entire handful of random household utensils, candles, and scraps of paper and napkins.
“What is she doing?” Hadur hissed.
I shrugged. “Spells. You’re going to see how incredibly paranoid my sister can be when it comes to protecting her family. Got any twos?”
“Go fish. She’s doing spells with spoons?”
“Yep.”
“Are there any light bulbs?” Cassie called out.
“Oh, yes, for all those lamps that we can’t use because Hadur doesn’t have any electricity. Got any sixes?”
“Hey, it’s my turn. Got any fours?”
“How about batteries? Oh, can I use this flashlight? And this packet of mouse traps?”
“Take whatever you want,” Hadur told her.
I handed him my fours. “You might not want to tell her that. She’ll strip the cabin. You’ll find all your belongings strewn along a perimeter enchanted with magical spells.”
“I thought you did the enchantments of the family?” he asked me, putting down his set of fours.
“I do. And I do them better than Cassie.” I glanced over at her, noticing that she didn’t refute my statement. “She’s the only generalist of the family, which basically makes her a jack of all trades.”
“And master of none,” she added wryly.
Cassie was master of plenty. She was the most powerful of any of us. And where I could out spell her when it came to enchanting metal, she was just as good at enchanting other objects. Well, she would have been just as good if she’d practiced her magic over the last few decades. Right now, she had some catching up to do.
“Need me to help with any of that?” I asked.
Cassie looked at her armful of objects. “How’s your pain level? Can you manage some of these spoons?”
The pain in my leg was now more of a dull ache. Actually, the dull ache wasn’t as bad as it had been this morning. And it had improved quite a bit after I managed to choke down Glenda’s disgusting smoothie.
“I can do the spoons right after I finish with the nippers I was working on,” I told her with far more confidence that I would have had just a few hours ago.
I moved the cards aside, aborting the go-fish game that Hadur had been on the verge of winning anyway. She set the spoons down beside me next to the nippers, the frying pan, and the fork.
