Before she said anything else, I left. Out on the streets of Salem, I followed a nearby energy signature and found one of Nathan’s patrols, an athletic kid with an odd sheen to his dark eyes.
“Keep a watch on that building, but don’t go in,” I told him. “If anything weird happens there, I want to be the first to know about it. Got it?”
“Yes, Mr. Rivers.” The young man saluted, reminiscent of the way Zoomy had earlier in the week. I wondered briefly what Nathan had told them about me, then remembered I didn’t really care. As long as they followed orders, it didn’t matter.
I turned up the street and headed toward Miranda’s shop at a sedate pace. Cool autumn air rushed past, kicking orange and yellow leaves into mini whirlwinds all around. The closer I got, the lighter I felt, as if the proximity of Lexi’s very presence buoyed me. Hopefully she was done with her lessons for the day, because I very much wanted to take her home and continue where we’d left off last night.
Only, when I turned the next corner, I saw her up ahead coming out of the Mystic Kitten. Her head was thrown back in a laugh, arm wrapped around an absurdly large bicep. Nathan’s eyes sparkled as he watched her, his mouth twisted up in a sheepish grin. I knew that look.
I didn’t like that look.
But I’d asked for this. I needed her to have backup when I wasn’t around, and Nathan was the best answer. Squashing down the foreign feeling rearing its head, I picked up my pace to join them.
Chapter 4
Lexi
Music was normally a good distraction, but tonight, my mind kept wandering. While Pantera blasted through the radio speakers in the kitchen, I couldn’t help but wonder where Lucifer was. What he was doing. Why it felt like he was leaving me out of all the planning.
Then again, between school, the bakery, and my new magic lessons, when did I really have time to contribute?
A loud buzz behind me made me jump. I spun to find Kameron wheeling a cooling rack over to the ovens.
“I thought all the ovens were off?” I set my damp cloth down and sniffed the air curiously. “We closed a half hour ago, Kam. What’s that?”
His face flushed as he pulled the tray out and presented it to me. “Um, chamomile sugar cookies,” he mumbled, looking embarrassed.
They looked pretty good, so I grabbed one and studied it. “Where’d you get the chamomile?”
“I brought it from home.” He slid the tray into the rack and pushed it aside, his voice quiet. “You’ve been stressed lately—I can feel how chaotic your aura is. Since you don’t strike me as a regular tea drinker, I came up with this alternative. I hope you don’t mind, it’s vegan.”
The cookie was soft when I bit into it, the texture alone amazing. I definitely picked up on the herbal taste of the chamomile, but it was a sugar cookie. With a hint of… lemon? It made a surprisingly refreshing aftertaste, and I found myself craving another.
“Kameron, these are awesome,” I said. “You made these for me?”
He ran his hand over his head, tugging the white skull cap off and releasing his wavy, light brown hair. “I—uh, well, I saw something about kitchen witches the other day and thought I’d try something. They’re kind of an experiment.”
My grin widened. “So you just used me as a guinea pig?”
“Oh, no, that’s not—”
“Relax, Kam.” I patted his shoulder with one hand and popped the rest of the cookie in my mouth. They probably wouldn’t make it onto Lucifer’s menu, but they really were good. “I know you’re still trying to find where your magic feels right. It took Chloe five years to realize how potions called to her. Experiment wherever you can until you find yourself.”
Kameron ducked his head and nodded. “Chloe was brewing potions before my magic ever even manifested, though.”
I felt bad for the kid—and I used the term lightly since he was only three years younger than me. Ever since my new employees started, I’d been trying to learn more about them. Growing up, I’d had virtually no contact with any magic users outside my mom’s coven and my dad.
Chloe was relatively easy. She was just a few years older than me and had moved back to Salem with her mom when I was in high school. Up until that point, she’d been trained in the art by her mom, but though her magic was small, she’d quickly outpaced her. They’d both returned to Salem, her mother’s childhood home, to reconnect and learn more.
The energetic Izumi had been working with Nathan for the last three years, since she was sixteen. She’d kicked high school with a GED for the sole purpose of, in her words,being the hero this world needed. When Nathan suggested her placement at the bakery, she showed up an hour later and started hyperventilating in the middle of the dining area, she was so excited. I had yet to meet Hermes, her father, but her mother had been by the bakery a couple times to make sure she wasn’t causing us any trouble.
Kameron, though, was an orphan. He’d grown up in Boston’s foster system, moving from one home to the next, though he wouldn’t talk about his experiences in any of them. I assumed a large part of his Eeyore personality was due to those experiences, and it made me a little protective of him. I wanted to do whatever I could to help him find his place among us.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” I whispered, even though no one else was there to hear us. “Chloe might be ahead of you on magic, but she didn’t get her familiar until a couple months ago. And I still don’t have one.”
He looked up at me, the barest curve on the corner of his lips. “With your power, I’m afraid to see what kind of familiar answers your call.”
I laughed and spun him toward the front of the store. “With my luck, though, I’ll end up with a frog or something slimy. A snake, maybe. Ugh.” A shudder rocked through me hard enough to make me stumble. The mere thought of a snake wrapped around my arm or my shoulders while I did spells almost made me panic, but if I did that, I wouldactuallymanifest a fucking snake in this kitchen.
