Ranth had picked up a Lemurian from the crystal table. “Put that down,” I hissed, grabbing the striated quartz crystal out of his hand and placing it carefully back on its wooden riser. Rose was super specific about plant energy and crystal vibration interference—the last thing she’d want was some rando wizard pawing her stuff and screwing up the balance.
“Sorry, but Rose likes to hand you things. The shop is a no-touch zone. Like my bathroom. After I get it re-stocked.” He raised an eyebrow but didn’t use his hands as he perused the shelves. Maybe I was making progress.
A bustle at the back, followed by the tinkling of necklaces, heralded Rose as she pranced into the main room. Today’s black gusseted silk skirts swished around her ankles.
Ranth sucked in a breath as his attention moved from Rose’s toe-socks to the twin buns she wore à la Princess Leia. She returned the once-over with twitchy lips.
“You were faster than I thought. I’m barely put together. Excuse the roughness.” She ran a hand self-consciously over her unshaved cheek. The shadow on Rose’s brown jaw read that her laser appointment was overdue, and she didn’t shave during certain moon phases. Hormones weren’t an option because she believed they messed with her magic. The good news was that the stubble boded well for my rose petals. She must have been up at moon rise doing work.
Side-eying Ranth, she asked, “Who’s the troublemaker touching my stuff?” Her deep voice spread over me like softened butter.
“I am Ranth of Thebais, at your service.” He swept a long arm across his body, bowing his head slightly toward her.
“He’s the wizard issue I need your advice on.”
Ranth huffed beside me.
Rose raised her eyebrows in her signature “oh that could be a problem” reaction. “Let’s take a look. Lock the front and come to the back,” Rose said with a wave that rubbed the dozen silver necklaces around her neck together.
I twisted the bolt on the door, locking it behind us, then followed Rose’s jingling toward the solarium at the back where she did more sensitive spell work. Rose’s witchery was the no-holds-barred, kind of bury-you-alive, in whatever she had planned. It wasn’t my style, but Rose’s spells were effective. She was also a dear friend and had the best quality supplies in town.
“So, what are we dealing with here?” She nodded at Ranth, but her attention was on me.
I pulled up my sleeve and thrust the wrist with the gold chain at her.
“That’s it? It’s just gold?”
“The clasp disappeared. See?” I spun the knitted gold around my wrist.
She rubbed her cheek. Her nails were short and dotted with a pale white opalescent polish. “That’s a problem.”
“Think you can fix it?”
“I dunno. Let’s try a couple of things.”
Ranth stepped in front of me. “No, you will not try a couple of things. If you take this bracelet off her, she will die.”
Rose’s hands went to her hips, sizing Ranth up. “How do you know that?”
“Because every bracelet wearer is cursed to die. That is part of the spell I am under. To remove it, you’d have to kill her.”
Rose swept a hand over a hair bun. “Huh, well we can do that.”
I folded my arms protectively across my chest. “What? No. You’re not killing me.”
Rose studied me. “But he says it’s the only way.”
“Awesome, I’ll take my chances trying to stay alive, thank you very much.”
Rose sat back. “I’m batting .900 with resurrections. You’d be fine.” She waved her hands as if wafting smoke.
Holy Crocus.Brenda’s almost-death had clicked, now making sense. Brenda had died for a second or whatever time it took to transfer the curse. “Yeah still, no,” I replied. I was not okay with magic that dealt with life-force. Messing with the earth, which held power my mother had sworn me never to use, always came with a cost—the one you pay with your own life energy. The one time I’d tried it I’d stopped breathing for a second. My now-silver hair was a reminder not to go there. “Yeah well, not dying today. We’ll figure something else out. ButI do need some stuff while I’m here. I have a spirit raising and a love oil to craft, and my stock is wiped. Did you harvest petals last night?”
“You’re working while you are entangled? I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” Rose said, taking in Ranth’s sandals, cropped T-shirt and tattooed arm.
We both stared at his damned bracelet.
“I made promises. I think I can manage the love intention oil for Violet and Sascha’s handfasting ceremony, but can you take the spirit interview for me, then?” It probably wasn’t a great idea to do spellwork in a graveyard in my current state.
