"No no. That's just a fact." She narrowed her eyes. "Why would you want to partake in dark magic? You strike me as," she looked them both up and down before finishing with, "prim and proper and lives by the rules."
"Yeah, why are we trying to partake in dark magic?" Eloise asked Tilly in a lowered voice.
"We can't fight them with what we've got."
"We-" Eloise started but Tilly cut her off, her voice strong and frustrated.
"Ursula can grow plants, you have a weird smell thing, Crystal's magic was bound, and our hexes are protective but no match for the FBI of witches!"
The silence that billowed after Tilly's passionate words, her fear permeating the room in a scent of perspiration mixed withgasoline made Eloise pause, and Cassidy watched them both with a kind of intensity as she tried to work something out.
"Magazines and a monthly visit from someone in your little coven."
Eloise and Tilly turned to look at Cassidy.
"What?" Eloise asked.
"That's my price. You send me magazines and one of your people visits me monthly and I will help you with dark magic."
"You want us to send you Teen Vogue and come hang out with you like we're friends? That's your price?" Eloise asked in disbelief.
"Look, I understand we'll never braid each other's hair and make friendship bracelets," she replied. "But you're interesting and weird and a little sad but in like a fun way. These women in here are idiots who got caught stealing or are on their fourth DUI. No creativity. No brains. You guys," she gestured between the two women staring at her in confusion, "knocked me on my ass." She laughed shaking her head. "Honestly. As pissed off as I am that I'm sitting here, at least you were a worthy opponent. I mean," she leaned forward with a conspiratorial grin, "that fucking peach tree stuffing my mouth with a peach like I was a trussed-up pig for roasting? Brilliant. Also, great peaches. Oh, bring me peaches too. And I am more of a Homes and Garden girl, not Teen Vogue."
They stared at her open-mouthed for a moment.
"And then you'll teach us dark magic?" Tilly hedged.
"Sure. But I mean, if you have goody two-shoes coven in Salem it may be difficult to get away with it. You get caught messing up with their magic system and they're likely to bind yours. Or worse."
Tilly and Eloise leaned forward, lowering their voices as one of them asked, "Death?"
Cassidy shrugged.
"What do you mean," Eloise shrugged, dramatically mimicking her. Then doing it again. "You can't say, or worse, but not know what the worse is."
"I mean, I'm just saying that binding your magic isn't the end of the world. Look at the cougar in your group."
"We don't," Tilly paused and looked at Eloise in confusion, "have any cougars. We have cats, a huge dog-"
"That is not a dog," Cassidy cut her off shaking her head with pursed lips.
"A few raccoons," she continued. "One of which you tried to kill."
"Oh, she made it? Nice," Cassidy nodded.
"Yeah, so did Bess. You know, the young girl you murdered, who was brought back by a vampire," Eloise's stare was solid and unflinching. Tilly could feel the sharp steel of it.
"There's a vampire in Salem? You're shitting me," Cassidy exclaimed with wide eyes then looked around when they shushed her. She lowered her voice. "Okay, I want the full story on that next from you as payment," she pointed to Eloise.
Eloise hiked her thumb to Tilly. "Ask her. She's the one having sex with him."
Cassidy swung her shocked face and open mouth to Tilly who rolled her eyes. "Damn, girl! You're definitely not boring. Okay, best visit I've had yet." She sat back with a grin, arms crossed over her chest.
"Have you hadanyvisitors?"
Her face fell and she glared. "Rude. Okay back to the cougar with bound magic? I didn't mean a literal cougar. The you know, older woman in your group."
"Crystal?" they both said in unison.
