Page 1 of Three's A Wrap
Chapter 1
Chloe Landry
“Were you speaking Latin again?” my mother asks, her tone somewhat patronizing over the phone.
The Belfry market square of London blares outside the large and ornately framed window, cloudy morning light dimly filtering over me as I sit on the floor of my mother’s antique shop. A large pyrite quartz crystal glitters in the light while incense burns in one corner, sweetening the air.
“No, Mum, I wasn't conjugating verbs. The bracelet just latched on and won't let mego,” I answer, cursing when my phone falls off my lap as I pull at the band, my arm now raw from trying to pry it off.
“At least there aren’t demons this time,” she mutters. “What bracelet? What does it look like?”
If only I had accidentally brought forth a demon again, things would be so much simpler. But that was last Halloween, and part of the whole reason why Mum isn’t here taking this thing off me now. After years of mini catastrophes, I decided this yearI'm handling Murphy's Law Day on my own, no matter what happens.
So many regrets.
I tug harder, gritting my teeth as I strain, the white of my knuckles showing from how hard I’m pulling.
“Ouch, bloody hell! Why can’t I have a normal Halloween for once in my life? It looks like a metal bracelet from Hell.”
My shoulders slump when all I manage to do is break the skin around my wrist with a fingernail.
A witch summoning a demon isn’t that big of a deal, but for a witch without any magical abilities, it’s a miracle. I shouldn’t be able to conjure demons, andjewelry shouldn’t be attacking me.
“It’s going to be fine, Chloe,” Mum says, as someone speaks in the background. “Grandma Lu says to send her a picture and to call Delores, she’ll be able to get it off in no time.”
“Ugh, do I have to?” I groan and fall back, laying spreadeagle on the beige carpet.
The last thing I want is my cousin to come help me. It’s not that I doubt her abilities, far from it. It’s that she’ll make it a point to bring it up for the rest of our lives.
“Yes. Now send your grandma a picture.”
I snap a picture of the stupid bronze bracelet and click send just as my phone chimes with a message. I hold it above my head to read it.
Grandma Lu: I called your cousin and told her to come help you.
I quickly shoot back a reply.
Me: Awesome.
Grandmother Lulu is my favorite person in the world, but she’s also sweetly naïve when it comes to Delores. My cousin can be a bit of a know-it-all, resulting from being predicted to be this generation’s most powerful witch.
Grandma Lu: That’s an Egyptian piece and it was a cuff the last I saw it. I remember it being in the shop before you were born.
Grandma Lu: Remind Delores to do a protection charm before she touches it. After that, she should be able to do a location spell easily.
My gaze rolls to the bumpy white ceiling as I shake my head.
Me: Sure thing.
It’s actually not a bad idea to make sure she does a protection spell. Magic is touchy and the last thing I want is it to somehow conjoin thespectacularDelores and me together forever, or something else equally heinous that would make me not want to live a long and fruitful life.
Grandma Lu: And get up off the floor, you’ve no idea how old that carpet is.
“Freaking witches,” I grumble, but move to do as she commands, throwing myself into the nearby shop chair, as the sounds of murmured voices increase across the line.
Witchy Business is notorious for being one of the oldest occult shops on this square in London, going back hundreds of years, so she’s not wrong. And it’s easy for her to say everything’s going to be fine, because things like this would never happen to Lulu Landry. As two of the head witches of London, both my grandmother and mother have always been able to perform spells on the fly with ease and without repercussions.
Me, on the other hand, I’m like a walking magnet for magical disasters. Specifically on Halloween, which is why I’m here stocking the storeroom while my uncursed family members vacation in Cabo safely.
