Page 68 of Cage Me

No, she wouldn’t have other clients at the shop while working on a spell like what we need for Kel. I might not have taken the time to get to know Natalia well over the last couple months, but I do know she honors privacy.

“Why don’t we check around the back?” Drake takes a step back from the door, but I stay put. Something doesn’t feel right.

I don’t answer Drake. I put my palm against the door and close my eyes. A hum of energy moves from the building through my skin and up my arm. There’s nothing dark about the magic, but it’s also not anything I’ve sensed here before.

What are you doing, Natalia?

Maybe something went wrong with the spell and the witch is trying to keep the energy contained. It’s the only other explanation I can think of besides someone else being in there that shouldn’t be. Yet, I don’t sense anyone else.

“What is it?” Drake asks quietly.

“I don’t know, but we need to get in there.” I’m not leaving this shop without that spell. I gave Natalia the time she asked for and one way or another, we’re going to find out if she’s come through on her promise.

Pressing my hands against the door again, I lean into the glass. Magic snakes up my arms and wraps around me like a blanket, warming my body everywhere the energy touches.

“Spencer.” Drake’s tone is warning. “You’re glowing.”

Nothing I can do about that now. Whatever I’ve found myself locked into has a hold on me, but I’m not being attacked so I stay calm.

The glass starts to rattle beneath my touch, and my heart hammers in my chest as I draw more magic into myself. This is a foreign feeling for me, containing this much energy, but I can’t stop. I need to get inside, and the power wants me to unlock this door somehow.

I’m tempted to slam my head against the glass, but I’d rather not get bloody.

Drake’s hand settles on my shoulder and, instantly, the magic I’ve been absorbing starts to move from my body to his. His grip on me grows tighter and he growls.

“What the fuck is this?”

I try to shrug, but my movement is more like a flinch. “One of Natalia’s games. Hopefully.” Glancing over at my mate, I grin. “Hey, you’re glowing now, too.”

Based on the scowl on his face, he doesn’t seem too pleased with that revelation, but he should be. With his touch, the power from the shop is now flowing freely, and the weight of it lightens until I can finally lift my hand from the glass again.

My head tilts to the side as I stare at my skin. I’m not touching the door any longer, but the energy is still alive and moving through me. Shivers crawl along my skin, but I’m not afraid. Hell, I’m not even mad about the power boost.

This time, when I pull on the handle to get inside, the door opens without resistance, and the inside of Spells is brighter than I’ve ever seen it before.

Drake and I step through the threshold together, and the door nearly hits us in the ass as it closes on its own.

“It’s about time you showed up.” Natalia’s voice sounds from behind the curtain.

As she speaks, a soothing chime sounds from above us and I glance up, expecting to see something other than the annoying red-and-black songbird. Yet, it’s the same damn one.

“Did you change the ringtone of that thing?” I call out, asking Natalia.

She pokes her head out from the backroom. “Nope. He just finally finds you worthy. That was his test out there, not mine, in case you’re wondering.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I mutter, glaring up at the bird. “You’ve been screwing with me this whole time.”

He chirps, and I have no clue if he’s some kind of familiar or what, but I still want to strangle him.

Drake chuckles next to me. “No wonder you thought it was odd that I enjoyed the sound he made. I wasn’t hearing the same thing you were.”

I try not to take offense that the bird targeted me and not the cursed shifter from a shadow world, while at the same time, I can’t help wondering how many feathers I could pluck from his back before Natalia stopped me…

“I have your spell ready,” she says, walking into the bright room with one small pouch.

A frown creases my face. That bag, if you could even call it that, doesn’t give me hope that she’s going to be offering us much, but maybe big power comes in small packages. Hopefully.

I glance around as we approach the counter. The floating candles don’t seem any bigger, yet it’s almost annoyingly bright in here. “Did you increase the lighting in here?”

---