Calli saw Jasper standing in the doorway, with Hades hiding behind him.
“Um… hey Jasper,” she greeted. She felt ridiculously embarrassed that Jasper had just seen her leg and lip-locked around his friend. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
Malcolm turned to his friend, but his gaze was still soft and dazed, like he was still waking up from a deep sleep.
A frightened mewl drew Calli’s focus down to Malcolm’s shin, where the Persephone still clung to his jeans.
“Um…” Malcolm bent down to retrieve the poor little kitten. “Is she yours?” He offered the kitten to Calli.
“Actually, she is.” Calli took the frightened kitten in her arms. After a few gentle strokes down her back, the kitten began to relax and purr.
Malcolm’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “She’s got sharp claws.” He rubbed his leg, then took in the sight of all the books on the floor again. “Seriously though, what just happened?”
Jasper approached them a little warily. “You happened, Mac.”
“Me?” Malcolm’s eyes widened with horror as he stared at the empty shelves and the piles of books on the floor.
“You’re three for three,” Jasper said. “First her pumpkins, then her rug, now her books.”
Malcolm gulped as he dragged a shaky hand through his hair. “Calli, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Calli cuddled Persephone in her arms, thankful she was okay. “I think I can get them back in a place.” She waved her hand to cast a restoration spell.
But rather than her books heading back to the shelves, they flew up in the air and started dive bombing Malcolm like a flock of angry blue jays.
“Wait! No! Stop!” She waved her hand again. The books fluttered to the ground, their covers twitching like the wings of half-dead birds.
Battered and stunned, Malcolm staggered to the checkout desk and leaned heavily on it. The giant Venus flytrap she kept in a pot on the desk suddenly bent down and sank its fanged opening on his arm.
“Ouch!” He hissed and reared away from the plant, clutching his arm like he’d been bitten by a rattlesnake. Calli winced. She’d been trying different spells to make the plant more aggressive at catching mosquitos rather than flies, and it seemed she’d given it a real taste for attractive men instead. The other plants in her shop were all slowly moving as if following patches of sunlight, but in truth they were reacting to her distress.
She drew in a deep breath. If she didn’t calm down, the plants would never calm down. They always responded to her moods.
“Help me out, Persephone,” she murmured to the kitten. It’s what familiars were supposed to do, after all.
The kitten began to purr louder, and Calli felt herself calming down almost instantly. The flytrap relaxed. The books stopped flopping on the floor. She tried her restoration spell again. This time, the books flew up and obediently arranged themselves on the shelves.
“Well… This has been interesting,” Jasper said. “I’m going to head back to Sage’s for more coffee. Call me when the plants decide not to eat anyone.”
“Jasper,” Malcolm called out in exasperation, but his friend was already gone.
Calli set her familiar on the floor and rubbed her temples. She was getting a headache from all the magic misfires.
Hades finally found his courage and entered the store. He crouched down and sniffed at Persephone, who hissed at him. Hades barked once, and the kitten bolted behind Calli’s leg, seeking shelter.
“Hades, leave her alone.” Malcolm said as the giant schnauzer began creeping up to the kitten again.
“Okay, so you definitely need lessons,” Calli said after a moment. “Your magic is?—”
“Dangerous?” he interrupted.
“No, it’s just really strong. And it’s clear you have zero control over it.”
“So it’s dangerous,” he repeated.
“So are cars and motorcycles. You’ve driven those. You can kill someone when driving, but you still learned to drive, right?”
He nodded grudgingly.
