I snatched a mug of tea and a peach biscuit from her. I took a slow sip of the hot beverage, letting it soothe me. Earl grey and spearmint. “Nope, no sale. Do you think they’re playing a prank on me?”
She considered this. “No, it didn’t seem like it. They were just waiting out there. They wouldn’t tell me why.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “How many of them?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Gods, is it that bad?”
She nodded sagely. “It’s pretty bad.”
I took a huge bite of the peach biscuit, chewed it slowly, and swallowed, not even caring about the crumbs I was dropping everywhere. I washed the bite down with a sip of tea. “I’m ready. Lay it on me.”
“At least half of the town is out there, Kiz.”
My jaw dropped open. “You’re joking.”
“I hate to tell you this, but I’m not. Look for yourself.”
“No way! How do I make them leave?”
She shrugged. “Have you tried just… telling them to leave? Asking what they want?”
“Of course not! I refused to open the door.”
“Well, I’d say that’s a good place to start.”
I sighed. The vampire was right. I had been so grouchy from the early morning and all the pestering that I hadn’t felt like entertaining any of it. I simply left my curtains pulled shut and ignored the problem, hoping it would go away. I occasionally shouted curse words at them, but that hadn’t done much either. Clearly my plan wasn’t working.
Speaking of ignoring problems and hoping they’ll go away…
Bracing myself, I turned slowly to the cauldron in the corner. I hadn’t questioned what it looked like this morning, but now that I was more awake, the discovery was… alarming.
The cauldron was full to the brim, the sheet that had been covering it, weighed down with selenite crystals, was crumpled against the wall, and it was oozing magic. I could almostseethe waves of magic drifting down the cast iron, over the floor, cascading across the shop. It was a wonder I hadn’t noticed it before—I had gotten so used to tuning it out.
“Hey, why did you stop breathing? I can’t hear your breaths anymore—” Fiella started before she noticed what I was looking at. Her spine straightened in a jerk. “Oh, fuck. Did you addsomething to it? Wasn’t that thing like half full the first time I saw it?”
I shivered and ran my hands over my arms. Goosebumps rose on my skin. “I didn’t add anything.”
“Okay. Let’s not panic. So, the mysterious and extremely unsettling cauldron creation is… growing?”
I nodded. “It sure seems like it.”
“And we’re not panicking.”
“Nope. Not at all.” My teeth began to chatter.
We stared at the cauldron for what felt like ages. I could almost feel it staring back—my paranoid imagination was out of control.
“Why hasn’t it dried out? Shouldn’t it be shrinking?” she asked.
“It should be. I’ve been keeping it covered, maybe that’s why it hasn’t dried?”
“You should really get it out of here.”
“I could hardly move it to the corner, there is no way I’m going to be able to pick it up and carry it outside!”
“What was your plan?”
