“Can’t we just do it now?”
“The ceremony can only be performed at midnight.”
“Why midnight?”
“Magic is traditional and deeply inconvenient.”
“Fine. But first, I need to test something.” I walk toward the front door, dragging the cat across the carpet. None of this makes sense. None of this can be real.Its just a hallucination due to wine and heart break and reading too many paranormal mystery books while shelving.
“That is inadvisable?—”
I hit the barrier face-first. Walking into the barrier is like pushing through electrified jello that’s been left in the sun too long. The magic sparks through my body, starting at my nose and ricocheting everywhere—fingers, toes, that weird spot behind my knee. I stumble backward, my glasses flying off. They hit the floor with a plastic clatter.
“Ow! Why does it hurt?”
“You are attempting to break a magical contract.” He hands my glasses back, and I have to breathe on them to clear the ice.
“I didn’t sign anything!”
“Verbal contracts are binding.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Magic is rarely fair.” He’s watching me with an expression that might be amusement. It’s hard to tell—his face doesn’t move much, like he’s conserving facial expressions for a shortage.
I rub my nose, which still tingles. “So we’re stuck here. Together.”
“Unless we complete the ritual sooner.”
“Right. The ritual. What exactly does this ritual involve?” I pick up Mister Poofypants again. My own angry security blanket.
He hesitates. His ear does that twitching thing. I’m starting to recognize it as his tell.
“Oh god, it’s something weird, isn’t it?”
“Define weird.”
“Does it involve blood?”
“No.”
“Nakedness?”
“No.” Though his ear twitches again.
“Sacrificing Mister Poofypants?”
The cat hisses from his position in my arms, and his claws prick through my sweater into actual skin.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then what?”
“Synchronization.”
I stare at him. “Like... matching outfits?”
“Like magical resonance between our life forces.”
