"I get the image. It’s like catching fog," I said. "And she really had no idea she was going to die, despite all her power?" I swallowed.
"I swear." He sat up and lifted his paw solemnly.
"Okay. Good. Or not. What next?"
"Now," he said, "we return to the kitchen. The energy blockage should be lifting, if you’ve picked the right killer. You’ve got cookies to prepare and a life to live. And Bex, you did well. Your aunt would be so proud of you."
With those words in my mind, I allowed him to guide me through another baking session. This time, I felt the magic happen as I concentrated on bespelling the ingredients. I imagined lightness—deer and rabbits running over a meadow, an eagle soaring in the sky, the happy laughter of children.
And with every picture in my head, golden sparks swirled in the air.
I was getting the hang of this. When Cosmo declared that I had finished putting the extra touch on this batch of spices, I felt drained but also exhilarated.
"Are we done?" I asked.
"For now. We have enough left in the cookie tins for a couple of days."
He wiggled his eyebrows, which, in his furry face, looked slightly comical, but I didn’t dare laugh at him. He instructed me to pour the spice mix into a Mason jar and label it with Mix #3 and the date.
"Is there an expiration date for spells?" I asked.
"Violet always preferred everything as fresh as possible."
"Okay. That makes sense."
And now, we still had two hours until I was going to reopen the lending library.
He ponderously measured the length of the kitchen. Then he turned back and forth, and back and forth. Obviously, Cosmo had some heavy thinking to do.
"How do you feel now?" he asked.
"Good, I guess.”
“Not tired, or headachy?"
"Nope."
"Excellent." He switched his tail. "Then follow me." He took me to the secret lair. "Close your eyes," he said.
As I sat down on a saggy armchair I hadn’t even noticed before, he sounded very secretive and excited.
He jumped into my lap and touched my face with his paws.
"Now you can open your eyes again," he said. "Lift me down."
I stared at him in surprise. "Why do I have to carry you? Is anything wrong with you?"
"It's a test," he said. "Are you going to second-guess every single thing I say?"
I grabbed him and put him on the floor.
He sashayed over to a locked bookcase I hadn't even noticed before. "Open it," he said.
"There's no key."
"Concentrate," hesaid.
I did. "There's still no key."
