“You’re just cranky because you haven’t gotten laid in a while,” I grumbled as I climbed in her car, the black of my dress a stark contrast to the leather.
“Neither have you, if I might remind you?” Luna said.
The witch had a point.
Chapter Four
“Doyou thinkBeau’s at Lucky’s, or working on the new restaurant?” I asked as we cruised in what could be called dinnertime traffic on a Friday night. Luna insisted on having the top down even though the heat was as one would expect for September in Florida. I slid a glance at Luna.
Her face didn’t even glisten with sweat.
I could already feel my curls expanding in the heat, so I punched up the AC and glared at Luna when she glanced over at me.
“Okay, first order of business with this whole magick thing – I want you to write me up a spell that makes me impervious to the heat,” I demanded.
“Oh yeah, like that’s a thing,” Luna scoffed.
“It’s a thing. Look at you. Even your linen dress doesn’t wrinkle and everyone knows that’s virtually impossible. People keep insisting that linen is a great fabric but we all know it wrinkles the minute your butt hitsthe seat,” I said, glancing down at my already rumpled dress.
Luna shrugged one shoulder and a corner of her mouth quirked up.
“I knew it! You do charm yourself,” I said, slapping my palm down on the dashboard.
“Calm down, Diva. I’ll teach you some glamour spells and whatnot as we get a little deeper into all this,” Luna said.
“Yes!” I shouted, throwing my hand into the air, as we turned down the street with Miss Elva’s house. “Hey, pull to the side and see if Miss Elva’s on her porch.”
Miss Elva is Tequila’s Key’s one and only voodoo priestess. A mountain of a woman, with sun-kissed brown skin, she smells like cookies and can curse a man at twenty paces. I loved Miss Elva just as much as I feared her.
“Think she’s cursed Craig yet?” Luna murmured as she pulled to a stop in front of a weathered shake house with a wide porch. Miss Elva was sitting in her rocking chair in the corner, a caftan covered in a radiant red hibiscus print floating around her. She lifted a hand in greeting, a wide smile splitting her face. Ella Fitzgerald played softly from an old radio plugged into an outlet on her porch.
“Ladies,” she called, her voice surprisingly melodic.
“Hey Miss Elva,” we called, getting out of the car to climb her porch steps and lean against the railing. Miss Elva only had one visitor’s chair on her porch, her message about overstaying your welcome loud and clear.
Miss Elva ran her eyes over my dress.
“What?” I demanded, shifting under her gaze.
“You’re making her go skyclad?” Miss Elva asked, turning with a raised eyebrow to Luna.
“Damn it. I knew people would know I wasn’t wearing any underwear,” I complained to Luna.
“It’s Miss Elva. She knows everything. You’re fine, I promise,” Luna rushed to reassure me, reaching out to run her hand down my arm.
“Child, I hope you know what you’re pulling her into,” Miss Elva warned.
“Miss Elva, come on now. You know she has magick. I’d rather she learned it from me than try something stupid when I’m not around,” Luna said, her hands on her hips as she pleaded her case.
“Hmpf, I suppose so,” Miss Elva said, turning a critical eye on me again. “How strong do you think she is?”
“Stronger than she realizes. She was able to break open cuffs and a door, and she clearly used your magickal pouch just fine, so I’m interested to see what else she’s capable of. First she needs to learn to protect herself, though.”
“You be careful with her. This one doesn’t always like to follow directions,” Miss Elva warned.
“Don’t I know it,” Luna said, huffing out a sigh and crossing her arms over her chest.
“Um, guys, I’m right here,” I said, annoyed that they were acting like I was a small child.
