Page 55 of Chaos
“Sorry. Old habits. Did you like the book?”
“You were right about the pack dynamics in this one. Any news when the next one is coming out?”
“It’s not up for pre-order yet, and it hasn’t been announced, but book four is coming out in audio in three weeks. Dirk Berghan is back for the lead. His voice does things to me.”
“Do you have any tea and those lovely cookies? We usually discuss the books, but I’d be happy to talk curses with you, dear.”
I always kept lemon macrons on hand because they were her favorite. You could only drink it in the atrium or my desk, but there was always tea available in the library. I poured two cups and grabbed the cookies I had just for Minerva Krauss. I was so glad Reyson hadn’t found this stash because he had a bit of a sweet tooth.
“Have you ever heard of someone being doubly cursed with protection spells being woven into it? I used your mugwort trick to combine the two potions I would need for both curses, but it just got worse. I don’t want to try again in case he’s a walking time bomb. I want to get it right when I do it.”
She paused with her teacup halfway to her mouth and her pinky raise delicately in the air.
“Do I want to know what he did to the witch?”
“Broke up with her. She showed up at his place of work and started harassing a female colleague. He almost got fired. She didn’t take it well and started stalking him. When she finally decided to leave him alone, she left him with a curse.”
She held up her hand.
“Say no more. I can already guess the type of curse she laid on him. Those kinds of witches make me sick, though warlocks do those types of things too. I’m afraid there’s no easy option for this one. You have to go all-out nuclear. You have to write a brand-new spell and potion and just bomb it away. I know you’re capable of doing this, Ripley. You were my student for two years, and I know who you studied potions with.”
“He’s going to be very uncomfortable until then.”
“He’s just going to have to deal with it. These things take time. I’m not excusing the witch who cursed him or trying to praise her, but she was quite thorough. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
I sighed. That’s what I was afraid of.
“Thanks.”
“Now, I’m out of books to read. Can you recommend something I haven’t read yet?”
“It’s not shifters, but we just got a new series about vampires calledBlood Feud.My downtime isn’t what it used to be, so I haven’t finished it yet, but I’ve started it. It’s pretty good. We have two copies. Do you want it?”
“You know, I think I do. I’m in the mood for change. I definitely want it.”
I left her to pull the book off the shelf. When I got back, Reyson, Gabriel, and Bram were all waiting at my desk. What the fuck? Reyson was flirting with Professor Krauss, and she was eating it up. Gabriel was just standing there looking at her in awe.
“Oh, thank you, Ripley. Your friends are lovely. Remember what I said, dear. Try the jasmine.”
Professor Krauss floated off, and I glared at them.
“Is it done?”
It didn’t look done. They all looked like they were in a shit mood. Bram ran his fingers through his hair and looked irritated.
“No, it’s not. The painting in the vault is just a regular magical painting. It doesn’t have Dorian’s soul in it. I can’t track the painting because I didn’t make the contract. The only people who know where the painting really is are Dorian and Talvath. Hopefully, Balthazar and Felix come back and let us know Talvath is at that storage facility, and he’s easy to break out.”
Just then, my phone rang. Felix didn’t have a phone yet and found the idea a little foul, but Balthazar and I had exchanged numbers.
“Is the painting destroyed?” he asked.
“No. Dorian gave the library a fake painting. What happened that the storage yard?”
“Someone is definitely in there, but there’s a blood lock, a shifter guard, and all kinds of nasty magic. Getting in there will not be easy.”
I had the phone on speaker. We all exchanged looks. Our plan was so fucked. They were one step ahead of us this whole time.
We needed an alternative plan because right now. We are all so fucked.
