Page 75 of Fresh Old Bounties

I fought a grin.

Once inside the kitchen, he focused on me and used his most truculent voice to say, “Prepare my potion.”

As I collected the ingredients to make a show of preparing his potion, his attention never deviated from me. Anyone else would’ve glanced around, curious, but not him. It probably had something to do with his deals with the dark side of the paranormal world, where curiosity might get you killed. See nothing, hear nothing, get out as fast as you can.

Time to put that to the test.

“Have you heard they’re selling the Corner Rose?” I asked.

“I am not here for chit chat, witch.”

And yet chit chat he’d have to endure. I placed some herbs and clear quartz in a circle on the counter. “I heard you might have some competition moving in.”

He stiffened. “Competition?”

“The man interested in buying it? I saw him talking to several…people.” The hint that these people moved in his circle might seem heavy handed, but Brimstone and Destruction enjoyed over-the-top performances. Hence me making a show of producing his potion.

“Bah.” He sniffed. “That man is not one of us.”

“Are you sure? He might be trying to lie low then strike once he settles in.”

“Then he’ll be a lamb among wolves.” He showed me a full smile, all wicked angles and lots of teeth. As soon as I’d obviously given it the appreciation it deserved, the smile snapped out of existence and he said, “Now prepare my potion, witch.”

To underscore his point, he produced a tiny flame in the palm of his hand.

“Yes, sir.” I eyed the flame warily, and wondered who would win in a fight, Jeremy the fire mage or Kraken the pipe ghost. I wasn’t exactly scared of Brimstone and Destruction—not anymore, anyway—or believed he’d rat out my dark magic business to the Council as long as I was good to Key, his niece, but it was good of him to remind me I had no idea how his clients put his fire power to use.

For all I knew, he could be a human incinerator for hire.

I shuddered at the thought and finished preparing the ingredients for the fake potion. Making a big production of it, I mixed the fake blood into the transparent vial already filled by an extra-strength energy drink and some moon water, all the while pouring my magic into it so he’d sense a potion was being made.

Be true to the goodness in you.

I wasn’t sure if my spell would work on him, but one had to try.

Once the potion was ready, I carefully passed it to him. As usual, the satisfaction he showed while he examined the dark red contents made me mentally knock on wood that he’d never figure out I’d been scamming him the whole time.

“So the man interested in buying the Corner Rose is not interested in poaching your territory?” I had to make sure.

Brimstone and Destruction pocketed the vial, exited the kitchen, and walked toward the back door, giving the dogs an abrupt wide berth as he suddenly noticed they’d stepped down into the hallway.

“Many have tried over the years, witch. And he is not one of them.”

With those parting words, he grabbed his lacy black umbrella and saw himself out.

I turned to Fluffy and Rufus. “That’s disappointing. Dru won’t like it.”

They made dog noises of agreement, then I shooed them back upstairs and reopened the shop.

Having Brimstone and Destruction confirm Preston’s involvement in the dark paranormal world would’ve helped our case immensely. On the other hand, I was glad he wasn’t, because figuring out a way to tell everyone he might be involved in shady business while not revealing I might be involved in shady business would’ve proven to be a feat.

Still, I spent the rest of the day preparing a list of cons to present to the PBOA until Ian arrived in his SUV to take me to the meeting.

EIGHTEEN

To nobody’s shock, Dru joined us for the PBOA meeting. The room was already half full by the time we arrived. Veva was here, as were Desmond Crane and other familiar faces. I brought my usual offering of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches to the side table and grabbed one of the top triangles. After taking a big bite, I munched with obvious enthusiasm.

“Yum,” I said loudly before taking another bite. “So yum.”

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