I shook my head, giving up on the argument. Personally, I thought that if Amy wanted to be a lawyer, there should be nothing stopping her from doing it. Unfortunately, that sentiment was pretty unique in the paranormal world.
Hopefully, over time, attitudes would change. But it certainly wasn’t going to happen overnight.
The next morning, Ellie and I went out to let people know about that night’s movie.
“We need to make sure everyone who was there last week knows about the date change,” I explained. “After all, tonight’s movie is a sequel to the one that I played last week.”
“If it’s a sequel, does that mean people have to have seen the first movie to enjoy the second?”
I shook my head. “No, which is one of the reasons why I chose this series. You can definitely enjoy the second movie without having seen the first.”
Ellie nodded. “Okay, good to know. I think we should split up; we’ll be able to hit up more places and let more paranormals know what’s going on if we separate.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I’ll take everything south of City Hall, and you take everything north of here.”
I made the suggestion entirely because Hexpresso Bean was on the south side of City Hall. I didn’t want Ellie to accidentally end up near the coffee shop right now.
“Sounds good,” Ellie said. “Should we meet up back here when we’re done?”
“I was thinking we should get lunch from Two Wizards,” I suggested. “After all, we’ll definitely have earned it.”
“I like the way you think,” Ellie grinned. “Okay, I’ll see you later.” With a quick wave, she headed off toward the north end of town, and I turned the other way to start my own route.
The first shop I reached was a local gift shop called Once Upon a Trinket, run by a very friendly fairy named Ceres. As soon as I made my way in, a bell tinkled above the door to announce my entrance, and Ceres fluttered over toward me, her purple wings moving at a million miles an hour behind her.
“Tina, how lovely to see you again. Is there anything I can help you with this morning?”
“Hi, Ceres,” I replied with a smile. “I’m actually just going around town letting everybody know about my human movie night. Normally I have it on Fridays, but this week it’s going to be tomorrow, in the Coven Gardens. You’re welcome to come. All paranormals are welcome, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“I actually heard a few of the other fairies talking about it the other day,” Ceres said. “They said the movie you showed last week was very funny.”
“This week is the equally funny sequel,” I said with a smile. “But don’t worry, you don’t have to have seen the first movie to understand what’s going on.”
“I might just come by, then,” Ceres said. “Goodness knows we could use a little bit of a laugh around here after this week.”
I shook my head sadly. “I agree. Poor Luna. She seemed like such a lovely fairy.”
“Oh, she was,” Ceres confirmed. “She worked here, you know. About two years ago, before she began working at Hexpresso Bean. She was a very good worker, but this place just wasn’t busy enough for her. I imagine she would have thrived in an environment like the busy coffee shop.”
“Can you think of who might have wanted to hurt her?” I asked, and Ceres shook her head.
“You know, I’ve been asking myself the same question since I first heard the news. I really can’t think of anybody. She was outgoing, but it was very superficial. On the inside, she was quite a sensitive soul, and it took a lot for her to really let anybody in. You know the type. They’ll talk to anybody for hours, but everything actually important they’ll keep for only the people they’re closest to.”
I nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. Anyway, while I’m here, I think I’ll pick up a few bath bombs. I think Ellie could definitely use them; she’s been having a tough week dealing with Luna’s death.”
“I can only imagine, poor thing,” Ceres said, fluttering toward the display of bath bombs. “Give her a few of these. They are good for the nerves, and they’ll help calm her down and keep the sadness from becoming too overwhelming.”
“Thanks,” I said gratefully as I made my way toward the front counter to pay. “I appreciate it.”
“I do hope she feels better soon. Do you mind if I bring a couple of other fairies over to the screening of the human movie?”
“Of course not,” I said with a smile. “In fact, I welcome it. Everyone who lives in town is always invited to my screenings.”
As I left the gift shop, my heart felt a little bit lighter. I hadn’t really learned anything that I figured would help me solve Luna’s murder, but I did have a few more paranormals who might come and have a look at the movie.
For the next two hours, I went from shop to shop, inviting paranormal after paranormal to come and watch Rush Hour 2 at the Coven Gardens the following night. It was going pretty well, and I had a sneaking suspicion that tomorrow I was going to get the biggest showing of various paranormals yet.
Ellie had texted and told me she was finished, so I replied and told her I just wanted to hit up one more shop and I would meet her at the diner.
There was a store I had never been into at the end of the road, which was going to be my last stop before heading back over to see Ellie and having lunch. I made my way to the window, looking in to find the most gorgeous jewelry I had ever seen in my life.
Huge diamonds glistened in the light; emeralds, rubies, and sapphires set in bracelets, rings, and necklaces were on display; and there were even gems inlaid in wands, giving them an extra elegant look.
As soon as I entered the store, a wizard dressed in a full three-piece suit wearing white gloves made his way toward me.
“Hello there, young witch. How may I help you today?”
“Um, hi,” I said a little bit awkwardly. “Sorry, I’m not really after any jewelry. I just wanted to let you know that I’m running a human movie night tomorrow night, and that you’re welcome to come. It will be at the Coven Gardens.”
“Ah, you’re the new witch,” the wizard said with a kind smile. “I’ve heard about you, and about your movie nights. Welcome to town.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
“I do hope you’re enjoying your time here.”
“Oh, absolutely. It’s been great; most people have been so nice.”
“That’s so nice to hear. I’m just sorry about the dark things that have happened recently, like the death of that poor fairy.”
“Yes,” I replied. “That was a tragedy. Did you know Luna?”
“No, I didn’t,” the man replied. “I had met her wizard lover, though.”
I stifled the urge to let out a giggle; did anyone really use the word ‘lover’ unironically anymore?
“Oh?” I asked. “You know Carson?”
“So sad,” the salesman replied with a sad shake of his head. “He was in here just last week. He was buying an engagement ring for his fairy love.”
“For Luna?” I asked, my eyebrows rising. That didn’t sound at all like the Carson Mase I’d heard about from the other fairies. But maybe he really had matured and was finally looking to settle down.
“Yes, he told me all about her,” the salesman nodded. “It was definitely her. He told me how he would go spend his days off at Hexpresso Bean when she was working there, and that just being around her made him feel comfortable, even though she was working and couldn’t chat with him.”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” I smiled.
“Yes, he seemed to me to be a nice young man. Despite being a wizard here in Western Woods as well, I don’t really know him well. From what I gather, he moved here from the southwest. He had even asked one of the fairy’s friends for advice on picking out a ring. The friend had told him Luna loved diamonds, and amethyst, since it matched her hair. I suggested a ring primarily made of diamond with amethyst accents.”
“What a tragic story all around,” I said.
“I completely agree. Well, sorry to bring you down with such a sad story.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” I said hurriedly. I’d certainly learned some new information, if nothing else. “I hope to see you tomorrow night at the Coven Gardens.”
“I’ll do my best to make it,” the wizard replied politely, but I had a sneaking suspicion I wasn’t going to see him. This well-dressed man seemed to me the type who, in the human world, would subscribe to The New Yorker. I didn’t really see him as the type to enjoy a Jackie Chan movie.
But hey, maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. You never knew.
Chapter 17
By the time I got to the diner, Ellie was already sitting in a booth by the window, drinking a milkshake from a glass the size of her face.
“How on earth do you manage to stay so skinny when you eat so much?” I asked, and Ellie laughed.
“Magic.”
“Teach me your ways. I have the metabolism of a hippo.”
I slid into the booth next to her and grabbed a menu.
“The secret is eating only junk food,” Ellie explained. “For example, I’m about to pig out here. But I’m also not going to eat dinner tonight when we get home, so I can use all of those calories eating here. And sure, I haven’t eaten a vegetable in what feels like days, but it’s worth it.”
I laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe, but I’m a size four ridiculous.”
I shook my head and poked my tongue out at her as I decided what I wanted to eat. “How did your route go?”
“Good,” Ellie nodded. “I’m hoping we’ll have a decent turnout. And no one accused me of murdering Luna—not to my face, anyway—so that was a positive, also.”
“I hope no one was rude to you.”
“No, not at all. I was actually really touched; most people told me they were sorry I had to be there, and a few mentioned that they had heard I was spoken to by Chief Enforcer King and gave me their support.”
“That’s really nice. I guess no one in town truly believes you could be a murderer except the Chief Enforcer.”
Ellie made a face. “Yeah, I’d much rather have Estelle Thurman thinking that; she can’t do anything to make my life difficult.”
I laughed just as the waitress came by to take our orders. Ellie ordered a chili cheese dog with fries while I went for a chicken Caesar wrap and onion rings.
As we waited for the food, I told Ellie what I had found out about Carson Mase and the engagement ring he had bought for Luna.
“That’s sad,” Ellie said, shaking her head. “Though I guess that might rule him out as a suspect. If he wanted to marry her, he wouldn’t have killed her.”
“Unless he did ask her, and she said no,” I pointed out. “After all, it’s been known to happen.”
“The jilted lover,” Ellie said thoughtfully. “That’s true.”
“I really do hope we’re going to solve this for you soon,” I said to Ellie. “I know it must be pretty stressful for you.”
“To be honest, it could be a lot worse. I think my brain is refusing to accept the fact that I might be in real trouble here, which is mentally helping me. If I don’t accept that bad things are happening, I can ignore them.”
“Well, at least that sounds super healthy,” I laughed, and Ellie stuck her tongue out at me.
“Hey, coping mechanisms are coping mechanisms.”
“That’s fair. If you end up needing someone to sneak you into the human world to run away, please let me know. I don’t really have any desire to go back to Seattle, but I’ll do it for you if you need it.”
“Thanks,” Ellie said with a grateful smile. “I appreciate it.”
That afternoon, after making our way back home, Ellie decided to spend some of her time off having a nap, while Amy decided I needed a magic lesson before she went off to coven headquarters to work for Lita.
“You need to work on your spells. Even if you’re not from this coven, you need to learn something to help you be a real witch,” she insisted while, like any student, I complained about wanting to sleep like Ellie rather than study.
“Fine,” I muttered sulkily. It was like I was fifteen all over again. “I really do wish I could do spells from my own coven, though.”
“I wish that too,” Amy said. “Believe me. I really hope we find out sooner rather than later where you’re really from. I know Lita is looking into it, trying to figure out if there were any reports of someone around your age disappearing from any of the other covens. If she finds out anything, she’ll tell you.”
I nodded. I knew Amy was right, of course. There was nothing that could be done. There were no tests that automatically revealed what coven a person was from. But it still didn’t stop me, deep down, from wanting to know where I was really from.
“Alright,” I nodded. “What are we doing today?”
“I was thinking that we should try something a little bit more complicated than what we’ve done so far,” Amy said. “To be honest, I’m surprised at the speed at which you’ve picked up the spells. It seems like the first or second time you’re trying them you’re absolutely nailing them. It could simply be that it’s easier to learn things as an adult—I was speaking about it with Lita, and no one in Western Woods has ever had to try learning magic for the first time as an adult—but it could also be that you’re a gifted witch. There’s something about the power you manage to generate in your spells that’s pretty special, especially since you’re not from this coven, and I want to see how much I can challenge you.”
“Ok,” I said hesitantly. “Are you sure? I certainly don’t feel like I know what I’m doing at all, and I don’t want to accidentally blow up the house or anything like that.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Amy said with a smile. “Besides, the spells I had in mind for today are a lot more demure than anything that could blow up the house. I want to start with an invisibility spell.”
“I’ve done that one before.”
“I know. I want to see you cast it. I think it’s a good place to start. Do you know the incantation?”
I nodded and closed my eyes, focusing my breathing. I had to be clear-headed and relaxed if I was going to try this spell. The last time I had done it, I had never managed to get it to succeed. Of course, that might have been because of the magic done in the stadium to prevent it, but it may also have been because I wasn’t good enough to manage the spell.
“What do you want me to do it on?”
Amy looked around the kitchen for a minute, then grabbed a spatula off the counter and placed it down in front of me.
“How about this?”
I nodded and focused myself, thinking about the energy building up inside of me as I remembered the spell I had to cast.
“Jupiter with your power so mythical, turn this spatula in front of me invisible.”
I pointed my wand at the spatula and let out a small gasp of surprise as it disappeared straight away. “Wow, it’s gone!”
“Good job,” Amy said with an impressed nod as she pointed her wand where the spatula had been a moment earlier and made it reappear as if nothing had happened. “Now, I want you to try and make me disappear.”
“You?” I asked, my eyes widening.
“Yes. I know you’ve done the spell on yourself, even though because of the stadium magic it didn’t work, but I also know the context of the situation you were in. Here, now, in this kitchen, when you have absolutely no reason to make me go invisible, it will be a lot more difficult. Especially since you know that spells can go wrong. I want to see if you can manage it.”
“What if…” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
“What if you mess up the spell and I turn into a giant squid with tentacles for arms?”
“Exactly. What if that?”
“I think it’s highly unlikely. Besides, Ellie is here. She might be sleeping, but if anything really goes wrong, just go a
nd get her. She’ll know what to do.”
“Ok, if you insist,” I muttered, trying to gather myself and my mental energies once more as I prepared myself for the most intimidating spell I had done yet. It was true that I had tried this spell on myself before, but Amy was right. When I had last done it, it was more of a life-or-death situation. I needed to be able to eavesdrop on a conversation that led us to a murderer. I had barely even considered that anything could go wrong. And yet here, right now, was totally different. We were in the kitchen, in the middle of the day, with absolutely no pressure. And besides, in the end, the spell hadn’t even worked; there had been magic in place to prevent it. So I didn’t even know if I had done the spell properly anyway. I knew that I was about to try and cast a difficult spell that I had failed at in the past, and use it to turn one of my best friends invisible. And who knew what would happen if I got it all wrong?
Shaking my head to dispel those negative thoughts, I focused my breathing and my thinking and felt the build-up of energy inside of me. I was ready.
“Jupiter with your power so mythical, turn this woman in front of me invisible.”
My eyes widened as Amy disappeared right in front of me.
“It worked!” I squealed, and I heard my friend laugh.
“Certainly looks like it.”
“Oh my God. Are you ok?”
“I think so. I certainly don’t feel weird. Now, I want you to do the spell to reverse it. Do you know that one?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Ellie and I didn’t get that far.”
“Of course Ellie would give you the spell to turn yourself invisible with no way of reversing it,” Amy muttered, and I could practically feel her rolling her eyes. “The incantation is actually almost the same as the invisibility spell: Jupiter with your power so mythical, turn this woman in front of me visible.”
“Oh, that’s easy to remember, at least,” I said as I jotted the words down in my notebook. “Ok, give me a second.”
Four-Leaf Clovers Page 9
