Inside, I was jumping up and down in excitement. But I didn’t want to come on too strong, afraid to scare him off. So I played it cool. I kept my focus on the glass front of the display counter I was cleaning. “Oh, sure.”
“Is that, like, difficult?”
“Making any sort of serious change in life is always difficult,” I said. “But sometimes that’s an indication of how important it is to do.”
He nodded. “I guess I’m up to the challenge.”
“Iknowyou are.” I smiled, and hugged him. Conradwas shaggy, his clothes threadbare. But he was kindhearted, and intelligent, and a good friend. “And I’ll be there beside you, every step of the way.”
“Thanks, Lily.”
“It will be my honor, and my pleasure. Now, care to help me set up some tables?”
“It will be my honor, and my pleasure.”
• • •
We had started our day before eight, so by four we had finished all we could do in preparation for the big Magical Match Tea. Tomorrow we would do all the last-minute tasks, like laying out food and flowers. Tonight everyone had baked goods to make, not to mention matching outfits to perfect, so we dispersed early.
I drove Selena back to her grandmother’s house, and we had a long talk about enforcing rules. We decided Selena would come to the tea tomorrow, but be grounded for a week after that. And any further shenanigans—especially putting herself in danger—would mean she might not be allowed to attend my wedding.
Afterward, I hurried back home to bake a few dozen macadamia butterscotch chocolate-chip cookies and wash all the silver cutlery Selena had polished, and I also wanted to brew to help Conrad.
And then I would brew for our safety tomorrow at the tea. I was profoundly worried about the Ashen Witch not appearing the last time I’d brewed, but I didn’t know what else to do but what I’d always done. I flipped through my Book of Shadows, but found no answers. How should a witch respond to such a thing?
As Oscar and I were finishing up our third batch of cookies, I asked: “Oscar, you know how my guiding spirit shows up when I brew?”
“It’s awesome when she does that!”
“What do you... I mean, what would it mean if... I mean...”
“Mistress?”
“What if she didn’t show up?”
He blinked.
“What if she started not showing up?” I rephrased as I used the spatula to transfer a dozen cookies, hot out of the oven, onto the rack to cool. Oscar’s huge eyes followed the progress of each and every cookie.
“I never heard of that,” he said.
“Surely I can’t be the first—”
“Oh, I dunno. Seems to me you’re the first at a lot of things.”
“You’re saying it couldn’t happen?” I gestured with the spatula. “Once a guiding spirit, always a guiding spirit?”
“Pretty much. Maybe she’s just being shy. Or maybe you just didn’t notice her, somehow.”
“Maybe. Hard to imagine, though,” I said as I deposited the empty cookie sheet into the sink. I sensed movement behind my back. “I’m serious, Oscar—you’ve already eaten at least a dozen cookies’ worth of batter. Those are for the fund-raiser tomorrow, and it’s a good cause. Sono more cookies, understand?”
“Yes, mistress.” He grumbled something about me having eyes in the back of my head.
“Oscar, I’m not your mistress anymore. You know that, right?”
He nodded. “And I’m not supposed to call Master Aidan ‘master’ anymore. I remember.”
“Right, because he’s not your master. But... do you ever miss it?”
