Hades pawed at Malcolm’s leg and whined.
“Don’t worry, we’ll stay for a few days.”
The giant schnauzer harrumphed and licked his lips.
“Why do I have a feeling you only want to stay because treats are involved?” Malcolm ruffled Hades’s ears. “Come on, let’s go.”
Once Hades had settled into the sidecar, Malcolm put his helmet on and mounted his bike. He glanced both ways down the street, wondering which way the town was and cursing himself for not having asked Calli last night. As he turned the engine on, the magic made itself known and tugged at him. He’d always been able to sense the magic and knew just which way to go.
He was really doing this—choosing to go into a town full of magic. At least he was choosing to do it, his father wasn’t forcing it on him. That was something, wasn’t it?
A patch of woods separated Calli’s house and the town. He marveled at the way the trees arched over the road, shadowing it with a fiery gold and red canopy of leaves.
He rounded a bend in the road and saw Moonstone Falls. A painted wooden sign depicting a moon above a waterfall welcomed him as he drove past. The asphalt road turned into cobblestones as he reached Main Street.
Colorful little shops lined each side. A tall Victorian house much like Calli’s had a sign out front that read Moonstone Inn. He saw a fortuneteller’s shop, a candy shop, a coffee shop, a bookstore called Pages & Potions, which he guessed was the store Calli had mentioned, and a town hall next to old-school apothecary with a floating sign that said, “we carry human medicine too.” Next to the apothecary was the Black Wolf Pub, boasting a sign of a half-transformed wolf that looked like something out of an old black and white horror movie. There was even a broom store selling nicely built broom models for the modern witch and warlocks. His lips twitched as he noticed one of the broom models levitating in the window had fancy silver foot rests and a leather grip for the hands.
Malcolm had never been in a town like this before, where humans were the minority. He found a parking space in front of the coffee shop, Mystic Mornings, then set his helmet on the bike seat and released Hades from his travel harness.
“You might have to wait outside,” he said. When they approached the store, he glimpsed a sign that read, “Familiars Welcome.” He blinked. He wasn’t used to being able to take Hades inside a lot of places in New York or Boston. This felt strange… in a good way.
Malcolm shrugged. “I guess it’s okay.” He held the door open for his familiar and was instantly enveloped by the enticing scent of coffee. A bell chimed as he let the door close behind them.
Spells filled the air, floating above the heads of the shop patrons like glittering webs. Curious. He wasn’t used to seeing so many in one place except at his parents’ home, but reading them wasn’t difficult. A spell filled the air with autumnal spices, and another spell determined the next customer’s flavor desires. Others still were simple spells like anti-fire charms. Even the door chime had been a spell. But these were all coming from the same person. Malcolm was actually impressed. A very talented witch must own this place.
He smiled at the patrons who glanced his way. More than one eyed him curiously as he headed to the counter which made sense, since Calli had told him they didn’t get many visitors until around the Halloween festival. A pretty woman about Calli’s age with black hair that looked almost purple in the light waved her hands in the air like she was directing an orchestra. Espresso machines and coffee presses were running at her magical command. Malcolm looked on in awe.
Cups floated along, filling up with coffee and bags of fresh coffee grounds poured into espresso machines by invisible hands. Then the cups floated to the counter where the witch offered them to the waiting customers. It was simply fantastic to see such well-coordinated magic. At home his mother used regular appliances, non-magic ones that his father always seemed to jinx when he tried to use them. But this witch had somehow figured out a way around that. He’d have to ask her about that. When the witch working the counter noticed him, she blushed and hastily wiped her hands on a towel. The cups stopped moving, but many of the simpler spells continued, not seeming to require her attention at all.
She stared up at him expectantly. “Hi there! What can I get you?”
He eyed the menu that hung above her head. “How about the Cursed Bones? What’s in it?”
“It’s a dark roast with some added ingredients gleaned from your past.” She grinned, her blue eyes sparkling.
“Sounds good.”
“Wait here and I’ll whip one up.” The woman went to work, casting a small spell he couldn’t quite make out before stirring it into his cup. Then she topped it with spiced cinnamon, which sank below the dark surface of the coffee.
“Taste this,” she encouraged as she handed him the mug. “Try a sip, let me know if I got it right.”
Malcolm took a sip. Rich dark coffee hit his taste buds, but then he tasted something else…something that brought back the happiest birthday memory he’d had as a boy.
“Bananas foster!” he gasped. “How did you know?”
She gave him a wink. “Trade secret.”
“I haven’t had bananas foster since I was ten. My parents took me to a fancy restaurant for dinner and we ordered one. It was the best dessert I’d ever had.”
The memory warmed him almost as much as the coffee. He could still see his father smiling as Malcolm had blown out the candle perched on the mountain of whipped cream besides the bananas. His father had been filled with such pride.
“I’m so proud of you, Malcolm! Someday you will be the most powerful warlock the East Coast has ever seen.”
He hadn’t known then that Malcolm would turn into a failure. That had been before his broom accident, before he’d pushed away magic as much as possible.
The woman gasped. “Oh no! Your aura just darkened. It was supposed to be a happy memory.”
“It was a happy memory,” Malcolm assured her. “It’s what came later that wasn’t so happy.” He sipped the coffee again and once more the taste plunged him back into a state of renewed joy. “You have a hell of a talent for this.”
