Get with the Potion

by Samantha Silver

  Perfect.

  I decided to take on these potions one at a time. One of them required a standing time of three hours after adding all of the ingredients before it would be ready, so I decided to make that one first. I flashed smiles at people as I made my way to the pantry, got my ingredients, then made my way back to Leda’s workstation.

  For the next twenty minutes or so, I focused entirely on my potion, which was designed to turn water it was added to into a tropical beach, complete with turquoise water, white sand, and a few small fish. I made a mental note to get Leda to get me one of the bath bombs made with this potion; it sounded very cool. If Leda would still be willing to talk to me after what I’d done, that was. I carefully added the ingredients, chanted the incantation, and then had to wait for three hours to see if it worked.

  When I finished, I let out a deep sigh of relief, and the witch working next to me, about three feet away, laughed. I had said hello to her on the way in; she was older, plump and pleasant-looking, with curly dark blonde hair and glimmering blue eyes. “Long day already, is it?”

  “You have no idea,” I said with a smile.

  “Well, it’s been quite crazy here lately, hasn’t it?”

  “That’s right. All over town, really, what with Danielle Dashwood being murdered as well,” I added. After all, you never knew what insights random people in town might have.

  The witch shifted uncomfortably. I had a feeling I knew her name from somewhere, but I wasn’t sure why. That was the beauty of small towns; even when you didn’t know people, you often knew their names. I was almost completely sure this witch was Felicia.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk about it, what with the rumors going around that your sister did it,” Felicia said, but I shook my head.

  “I’m sure she didn’t. Ali might have had an argument with Danielle, but she’s not a killer.”

  “She did hex the witch the day before, though, didn’t she?”

  I sighed. “Yes, she did do that.”

  “Well, let me just say, I am glad that I get to work alongside such a grounded and sensible witch as yourself. I do hope that Chief Enforcer Loeb will quickly discover who really killed Danielle and that they will be brought to justice.”

  “I hope so too,” I said with a nod. “It’s truly awful. Did you know her?”

  “Only through her mother. Julianne Dashwood and I attend the same classes at the gym. I haven’t seen her since learning the news, obviously.”

  “I can’t imagine how devastated she must be,” I said, and Felicia nodded.

  “Oh, absolutely. Danielle wasn’t the best student, but she still had a bright future ahead of her.”

  “She wasn’t doing well at the Academy?”

  “Well, I can’t speak for anything firsthand, but I know Julianne was complaining a few weeks ago that she got a phone call from one of Danielle’s professors telling her that Danielle had been skipping classes. I got the impression Julianne wasn’t happy with Danielle’s recent test results. She was considering hiring a tutor for her daughter.”

  That fit with what I had learned from Jess and Rachel, that Danielle had been acting strangely lately and spending more time in Pacific Cove. There definitely had to be something going on there.

  “Do you know anyone who might have had something against Danielle?” I asked, but Julianne shook her head.

  “Oh, Rhea, no. She might not have been the best student, but Danielle was really a nice young woman.”

  Felicia was obviously never aware of Danielle’s bullying. Then, it clicked. What if someone Danielle had bullied decided to get revenge on her? After all, I supposed even Janet should have been a suspect. Oh, no. I really didn’t want to have to suspect her, but then, what if Danielle really had bullied somebody to the point where they felt there was no other way out?

  I had to get back to the Academy and find out whatever I could about bullies. Now I knew exactly what I was going to do during my break.

  “Well, it’s a real shame,” I said, shaking my head sadly.

  “It sure is,” Felicia said, then she dropped her voice. “Listen, I meant to tell you, I think Sandromira is going to be making the final decision on the promotion to manager in a couple of days. She’s been locked up in her office for the last few days, and whenever she has a big decision to make, that’s what she does.”

  “Oh, that’s great,” I said. I really wanted to know more, but there was no way for me to ask who my sister’s competition was without letting it be known that I wasn’t really Leda.

  “Yes,” Felicia nodded. “I think you have a very good shot at it. You ask me, it’s between you and Oliver.” Her eyes moved past me and I followed them to the next table along, where a tall, slim wizard sat on a stool, carefully pouring a liquid that looked like honey into his cauldron. I narrowed my eyes at him instinctively, even though as far as I knew he could be the nicest guy in the paranormal world. But I was one hundred percent cheering for my sister to get this promotion.

  “Who do you think it’s going to be?” I asked Felicia, who shrugged.

  “I honestly think it’s neck-and-neck, and I’m not just saying that because you’re sitting in front of me. You’re a whip-smart witch and I think you’d be great at it. But while Andrew isn’t quite as talented as you are with the potions, he has a bit more confidence and thinks better on his feet.”

  I nodded. “Well, I guess we’ll find out in a few days if you’re right.”

  “Honey, I’ve been working with Sandromiraa for thirteen years. I’m definitely right. She’s in that office going over her pros and cons list, I guarantee it. I just don’t know who’s going to come out on top.”

  I opened my mouth to reply but was suddenly interrupted by a panicked shout coming from the other side of the room.

  “Fire! There’s a fire!”

  Chapter 11

  Felicia and I both looked over to where the sound was coming from. A witch on the other side of the room, near the pantry cupboard, had done something horribly wrong with the potion she was creating. Her brown hair was on fire, and she ran through the room, panicking.

  That wasn’t even the worst part, though: a giant, flaming monster ghost rose from the cauldron and began flying around the room, setting whatever it could on fire.

  “Oh, Rhea!” Felicia shouted as she darted underneath the table. All around me, paranormals began to panic. Some pushed past me as they ran toward the stairs. Oliver stood rooted to the spot, staring at the unfolding scene in horror.

  The witch whose hair was on fire was screaming; her shirt had now caught on fire too. This was insane.

  I jumped up onto the table to avoid everyone running past me, grabbed Leda’s wand, and pointed it at the witch.

  “Rhea, goddess mother, what I need now is a whole bunch of water.”

  A torrent of water exploded from the tip of the wand and landed on the witch, leaving her completely drenched. But, luckily, the fire in her hair and clothes was extinguished. She had stopped running, as if surprised by what had happened, and stood still, blinking, uncomprehending. I couldn’t exactly blame her. It had been a very crazy fifteen or twenty seconds.

  I turned the torrent of water toward the other fires created by the weird fiery ghost, which floated toward the mob of people heading to the stairs. Globs of fire dripped off it and onto the floor, and I extinguished those as well.

  Finally, I pointed the torrent of water toward the ghost, which disappeared in a giant hiss of steam just seconds before it would have reached the couple of witches and wizards toward the back of the pack.

  I heaved a sigh of relief.

  “He’s gone, you’re all safe,” I announced loudly to the crowd, hoping they’d stop trying to push past each other in a rush to get down the narrow staircase. “It’s safe to come back.”

  Looking around, I checked to see what kind of damage had been done. Random spots in the carpet were now singed, and a decent amount of it was waterlogged. Water dripped from
the ceiling and all over the tables. At the very least, I had ruined most of the potions that had been made so far today, but hey, at least there wasn’t a ghost made of fire terrorizing this place anymore.

  The witch whose cauldron had started it all had settled on crying and was now leaning against the table closest to her, her arms wrapped around herself as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  Oliver and a couple of other paranormals who had frozen in place had started looking around, and an elf came out of the office then, his dark eyes stern as they took in the room.

  That had to be Sandromiraa. Her eyes locked on me and she gave me a small, almost imperceptible nod.

  “Alright, everyone,” she announced. “Leda is right. It appears the danger has passed. Natalie, Leda, if I could see you in my office, please. The rest of you, I think given the events just now, it would be appropriate to take the rest of the day off. Most of these potions are likely ruined anyway. Please dispose of all unfinished potions before going home.”

  It appeared Natalie was the name of the witch who had started this whole thing in the first place. She slipped meekly past me and into Sandromiraa’s office as the other employees began filing back into the space, the murmur of excited chatter filling the room. After all, I assumed it wasn’t every day that a fiery ghost made an appearance at the office.

  I followed after Natalie into an office that was entirely as minimalist and impersonal as I had come to expect from elves. It was like they didn’t believe in personality. A plain wooden desk sat at the far end of the room, with two wooden chairs in front of it. The wall held a single framed certificate acknowledging Sandromira had completed some kind of elf managerial course, and I was fairly certain the potted plant in the corner was fake. Natalie had sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, and I took the other.

  “Are you ok?” I asked her gently, and she nodded. Her hair was a good three inches shorter than it had been before the incident, and the back of her shirt had a giant hole in it. I lifted my wand and cast a quick spell, fixing the hole. “I’ll let your hairdresser take care of the rest,” I said, and Natalie shot me a grateful smile.

  “Thanks, Leda. Thanks for everything. I know I should have put the fire out myself, but I just panicked, you know?”

  I nodded. “It’s not quite as easy to stay calm when you’re the thing that’s on fire. Don’t worry, I get it.”

  Sandromira came back into the office about two minutes later and closed the door. Natalie was so pale I worried she was going to faint.

  Sandromiraa sat down in her chair on the other side of her desk with an elegance only an elf could manage. She looked from Natalie, to me, then back to Natalie before she started speaking again.

  “Are you alright, first of all?”

  I raised my eyebrows. Elves were known to be impassionate, impersonal managers who tended to care more about their bottom line than their employees. Of course, this was just a stereotype, but I was still a bit surprised to see Sandromiraa immediately checking to make sure Natalie was ok.

  “I am, I think, thanks,” Natalie replied, nodding hurriedly. “Thanks to Leda. I don’t know what I would have done without her. She put the fire out.”

  “She did. It was good work,” Sandromiraa replied with an approving nod. “Can you tell us what happened? How did the fire start?”

  Natalie choked back a sob. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. I was making one of the potions on my list for today, the morning shower soap whose scent is designed to put a fire in your belly for the day. I was at the last step, I did the incantation, and the whole thing exploded into fire.”

  Sandromiraa frowned. “Well, that’s strange.”

  “Are there any big changes that have happened in your personal life recently?” I asked, and Natalie’s eyes widened.

  “Yes, actually. I just split up with my boyfriend of four years last night. It was horrible.”

  “Yup, that’ll do it,” I replied, and this time it was Sandromiraa’s turn to look at me strangely.

  “Are you alright, Leda? You seem to be acting a bit strangely.”

  I forgot that my sister would have never, ever been quite so glib in a professional setting. I cleared my throat.

  “My apologies, Sandromiraa. I believe the stress of the situation is getting to me, that’s all.”

  “Of course. Very understandable, given the circumstances. So you believe the emotional event is what triggered the fire?”

  “That’s right,” I nodded. “There’s no guarantee, of course, but in some witches and wizards, strong emotions can manifest through unpredictable magic.”

  “I’ve never had anything like that happen before,” Natalie said, looking stunned. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Well, I recommend throwing that wizard in the trash and getting yourself a new one,” I said with a small grin, earning myself yet another strange look, this time from both paranormals in front of me. Whoops. Time to turn back into Leda. “In order to minimize the impact on your magic in the future, of course.”

  Natalie looked like she was going to cry again. “I suppose I’d better. He already took four years of my life. I don’t want him to take my magic skills for any longer than he has to.”

  “Good,” I said. “If Sandromiraa will accept, I think you should take the rest of the week off in order to get over the breakup, and then when you return, hopefully your magic skills will be back to normal.”

  I looked pointedly over at Sandromiraa, who nodded. “Yes, of course. Taking a few days off for your mental health is probably best for not only your own health and safety but that of everyone else working on this floor.”

  “Thank you,” Natalie said. “I appreciate it. I’m so sorry about all the damage I caused.”

  “Do not worry about it. The superficial damage can be fixed with a spell, I’m certain, and a few potions will not, in the long run, be anything to worry about. Please, feel free to go home, and do not worry about what has happened here today. I’ll see you on Monday.” Wow. Sandromiraa really was a fair and decent boss. If only my old boss at Magical Pharmaceuticals had been that understanding, I wouldn’t have been fired a few weeks ago.

  Natalie gave us both a smile and left, leaving me and Sandromiraa alone in the office.

  “I wanted to thank you for the quick reactions you had,” Sandromiraa said. “If it weren’t for you, there may have been more injuries and damage, as everyone else panicked while you kept your cool.”

  “It was just instinct. But I appreciate the praise.”

  “I also saw how you immediately went to take care of Natalie when the situation was under control. You showed excellent leadership skills here today, Leda. I want to offer you the position of manager, as you’ve proven just how well you act under pressure, but I must admit, there is one thing that worries me.”

  “Oh?” I asked, trying to quell the excitement building up inside of me. Was Leda really being offered the promotion?

  “Something about you seems off today. I can sense it, but I can’t quite place my finger on what it is.”

  Oh, shoot. I had completely forgotten that elves had this magical ability to sense people’s feelings. It wasn’t mind reading, but it was close. Sandromiraa could tell there was something wrong with Leda because she wasn’t here right now. It was me.

  I shot Sandromiraa a polite smile. “I’m afraid that while on the outside I’m acting confident and collected, on the inside I am rather shaken up by the morning’s events. That’s probably what you’re sensing.”

  Sandromiraa looked at me carefully for a minute, and I did my best to wipe my brain of all thoughts as I held my breath. Finally, he nodded.

  “Right. That makes perfect sense, and it only confirms my idea that you’re the perfect candidate to move up in this company and begin managing. Congratulations, Leda. We’ll begin your transition into your new role tomorrow. Now, please, enjoy your afternoon off.”

  Sandromiraa held out a hand and I shook it, thanki
ng him for the opportunity. It was all I could do to stop from running out of the room cheering like crazy. Leda would have never acted that way. But now, thanks to me, Leda was going to be a manager. And I knew she was going to be great at it.

  But there were still a few hours to go before I was going to transform back into myself, and I was going to take advantage. It was time to find out who Danielle had been bullying.

  Chapter 12

  I made my way back to the Academy, where classes were just getting out for lunch. Perfect. There was no way Ali Everwood was going to get any information from anyone here—I had skipped way too many classes to be on the good side of any professors—but Leda was the complete opposite. She had never been the best student, but because she worked hard, all of the professors loved her all the same, and I was going to take advantage of that.

  Before I got a chance to make my way to the classrooms, however, I spotted Rachel’s head among those of a bunch of students heading toward a popular sandwich shop down the road.

  “Rachel!” I called out, and she turned and stopped, frowning slightly when she spotted me. Still, she waited until I caught up to her.

  “Can we walk and talk?” she asked. “The line for sandwiches gets long super fast.”

  “Sure,” I said, matching stride with the younger witch as we made our way down the street.

  “Is there anything else I can help with?”

  “Look, I need to know if there was anyone else Danielle was bullying.” Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but I held up a hand. “I know, you don’t want to speak ill of the dead. And I get that. But my sister doesn’t hex people for nothing, and she told me what happened. Danielle was trying to bully Janet, and my bet is it wasn’t the first time. So you can either sit here and pretend she was a saint even though we both know that’s a lie, or you can tell me what I need to know to make it easier to find the person who killed your friend.”

  Well, that definitely wasn’t the way Leda would have approached this conversation, either. I was not fantastic at pretending to be my sister. Luckily for both of us, the potion would wear off in a few hours.