Page 48 of The Little Shop of Curiosities, The Music Box Part 2

“I don’t know what to say.” My throat burns as I blink back tears.

“You don’t have to say anything, Harry, but you aren’t alone. We’re all standing behind you. Which is why I told you to tell your dads. Secrets don’t do anyone any good.”

“I will, I promise.” My phone pings in my pocket. I pull it out and read the message, then sigh loudly.

“What is it?”

“Tristan. He’s managed to misplace Dusty...”

“Dusty?”

“The dead drag queen spirit guide in training slash Tristan’s sidekick. Those two are practically inseparable most days. Apparently, she’s missing, but if he’s concerned, there’s probably a reason to be. He wants me to use, and I quote, my magical mojo to find her.” I blow out a breath as my mind ticks over various possibilities. “I could try a summoning circle,” I muse.

“Sounds fun. I’d come with you, but I’m meeting that friend of mine I mentioned. He has the largest underground archive in England. Some of the manuscripts and reference materials go back to the Dark Ages. If we’re going to unravel the mystery of the Crawshanks family, that’s where we’ll do it.”

“An archive?” I perk up, and he chuckles.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go without you, but I need to catch up with Eli first.”

My phone pings in my hand again, and I roll my eyes. “I’m sorry, Grumps, I’m going to have to go. Tristan is getting panicky and that’s usually how he gets himself into trouble, especially with the Grim Reaper as one of his friends.”

“Blimey, you do lead an interesting life. I might just stick around for a while.”

“Won’t your harem of lady friends miss you at the retirement home?”

“I’m sure I can make some new friends.” He looks around. “You know, I spent some time in London back in the sixties. It wasn’t like this though.”

“Well, I imagine a lot has changed since then.”

“Yes, obviously, but that’s not what I mean.” His eyes narrow, and his tone turns contemplative. “There’s something here, a strange kind of energy. It hums just beneath the surface, flowing through the streets like ribbons of energy crackling with power…with magic.”

“Sam thinks something has changed in London in the last year or so. People who’ve had no previous connection to magic are now developing psychic abilities.”

“I think your Sam might be onto something,” he rumbles.

“He’s not my Sam,” I protest, but it’s half-hearted.

He looks at me and raises one bushy eyebrow. “No? So that’s not a hickey just underneath the collar of your shirt?”

My mouth falls open. I made doubly sure it wasn’t visible when I showered and dressed earlier. “How did you know?”

“I’m a witch, boy.” He chuckles, a wonderfully low, growly sound that warms my belly and reminds me of when I was a child.

“I didn’t think that came with the side benefit of X-ray vision.”

He chuckles again. “Go, help your friend. I’ll check in with you later.”

“Fine.” I rise and grab my coat from the back of the chair. “But knowing Dusty, this summoning spell is going to require a disco ball, a pair of stilettos, and a soundtrack that includes Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive.”

Grumps amused laughter follows me out of the café.

12

“Ow,” I hear Tristan wheeze.

I open my eyes and look down to see Tristan staked out on the floor of the circle like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man, Dusty splayed on top of him.

“Wow.” I stare first at them, then up at the ceiling. That worked really well. “I’ve never had a spell react so powerfully before.”