Page 33 of Demon's Mate
It made Harper sick. His father’s greed, his conviction that Harper’s only worth was in the power that flowed through him and his ability to carry on the Nightingale name.
Harper shut his memories down. There was no point in dwelling on the past. He was safe now and only used his blood to keep himself so.
Walking around the apartment, Harper sprinkled the dust from the mortar as he recited an incantation to strengthen the protections he had in place. He never used his blood for anything else, not even the stone memory potion or magic suppressant. It wasn’t necessary. His affinity for mixing elements was strong enough on its own.
As he performed his spell, the blood sparked and disappeared into the magic shield guarding the apartment.
It was true that not every witch could transform blood like he did. The skill was tied to his potion mastery. His fathercouldn’t do it successfully, but he could have found someone to do it for him, and Harper had offered once he was old enough.
Some covens were more deeply committed to blood-enhanced magic than others. Most covens banned the use of blood unless the situation was life or death. Not all witches were like the Nightingales.
What would Harper’s life have been like if he hadn’t grown up accustomed to his father chanting incantations while his hands dripped with Harper’s blood?
Once he was done strengthening his protections, Harper gathered the potions he’d brewed over the last several days and headed to The Herb Emporium for the third time in less than two weeks.
Checking the street and noting people as he walked had become second nature. As usual, Harper didn’t see anything amiss, but his neck prickled and he double-checked over his shoulder.
No one was there, just like when he’d looked a moment ago.
Harper frowned and carried on.
Over the last several days, he’d been plagued by paranoia. He swore it felt like someone was watching him.
The relatively relaxed feeling he’d had when going to The Herb Emporium the day after hooking up with Ash had faded. He’d encountered a few witches on his outings since then, but they were all doing perfectly normal, non-stalking-related things, so Harper wasn’t sure what was catching his awareness. At first, he dismissed it as general worry, but after days of uneasiness, he couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that.
Was his coven catching up with him? Had his luck run out? He worried he was missing something the whole walk to the apothecary.
“Mr. Harper,” Nico called from the counter at the back of his shop.
“Hi.” Harper hurried over, glad the place was otherwise empty.
Nico smiled, eyes flashing with something like amusement. “Always a pleasure to see you. It’s been nice having you around more.”
“Oh.” Harper stumbled over the pleasantry. “Yeah. Um, I’m available more these days.”
“Works for me.” Nico opened his notebook but didn’t look at it, studying Harper instead.
He quickly unloaded his potions, hands trembling. He couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder, expecting to see someone peering through the shop window.
There was no one.
“The witch who works with me, making the other potions I sell, is moving,” Nico said, causing Harper’s head to whip back around. “Soon, I’ll be needing a lot more help.”
Harper’s stomach flipped. This could be a great opportunity to go from making part-time cash to a solid income. “You’ll need more potions brewed?”
Nico smiled like he’d noticed the eagerness in Harper’s tone. “I will, but not only that, I’ll need to fill my in-house position. Kat and sometimes her partner Melanie took care of all my made-to-order brews. It’s great having stock behind the counter, but I’ve always done a good trade in unique mixes.”
Harper’s heart sank. He could never offer to fill an in-house position when Nico thought he was human.
“Youremployermight want to consider it. Or”—Nico waved a hand—“anyone else you know who fits the requirements.”
Had Nico said the word employer funny, or was it just Harper’s imagination? He shifted on his feet. “Yeah…I’ll pass it on.”
Nico nodded, gaze fixed on Harper’s face. “Please do.”
Harper finished unloading his bag, keeping his attention on the potion vials.
The way Nico had phrased his request was weird, right? It almost seemed like Nico didn’t believe there was an employer and was just humoring Harper, pretending there was.
