Page 61 of Ancient Magic

Reluctantly turning to face her, Hexx licked his thin lips. “You’re Maya Rosen.”

“Yes.”

“I heard what you did to Jada.”

Maya frowned. “Jada?”

“She was a friend of mine. She did séances to make some extra money.”

“Ah. I remember.” A decade ago she’d heard rumors of a witch who’d moved to the area offering to speak to the dead for grieving families. It didn’t bother her until she’d discovered the woman was gouging the poor humans by demanding outrageous sums of money and threatening to trap their dearly departed if they didn’t pay up. “I did warn her to shut down her business. More than once. She decided she could do whatever she wanted, even if she risked stirring prejudices against magic users. Things could have gone much worse for her.”

Hexx grimaced. “Okay, she made a mistake, but shit...she still breaks out in a rash during the full moon.”

Maya shrugged. It wasn’t her curse that continued to make the witch break out in a rash. It had been a temporary spell that would have dissipated within a few weeks. If Jada continued to have rashes, it was a psychosomatic response. Not unusual and probably a response to her own sense of guilt for taking advantage of vulnerable humans.

“As I said, she was warned.”

Hexx stepped back. “I don’t want any trouble...” His words faded as he dove toward the nearest box and pulled out a small linen bag filled with various herbs. Maya could smell lavender and mint and cloves. Probably the ingredients for a sleep spell, but the magic wasn’t activated. Thankfully, Hexx didn’t seem to know anything about the items he sold, and tossing it in her direction, he watched her with wide eyes.

Maya allowed the linen bag to bounce off her chest before she swayed and lowered her head as if she were going to sleep. At the same time, she reached into her purse to pull out another vial. On cue, Hexx darted toward the door, desperate to get away.

Waiting until he passed, she spilled the contents of the vial onto his shoulder. Instantly he froze in place.

“Argh.” Hexx struggled against the potion that held him prisoner. “What have you done to me?”

“Nothing that can’t be undone.” She strolled until she was standing in front of him. “Answer my questions and you might survive.”

“I...yeah, okay.” He did more lip-licking, a fine layer of sweat coating his tattoos, as if his face really was on fire. “What do you want to know?”

“Earlier today you gave two disguise spells to a demon who goes by the name Long Jong.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting. “Who?”

Maya reached into her purse, pulling out a small crystal. It was nothing more than a healing gem, but Hexx wouldn’t know it wasn’t a dread curse.

“Don’t even start with me,” she warned.

His eyes darted from side to side, but he was stuck. And he knew it. “What about him?”

She dropped the crystal back into her purse. “Who told you to give him the amulets?”

He hesitated, obviously reluctant to reveal the identity of the buyer. “No one told me,” he eventually said. “Long Jong came by the shop to buy them.”

“A lie,” she snapped.

“If Long Jong told you a different story, he’s the one who’s lying,” he insisted. “I swear.”

Maya ground her teeth. Skye was out there somewhere, obviously in trouble. And this idiot was wasting her time.

“You’re starting to piss me off,” she snapped. “There’s a simple way to discover who’s telling the truth.”

Hexx made a strangled sound, his eyes wide with terror. “No magic. Please! I don’t want a rash.”

She rolled her eyes, nodding toward the desk across the room where a small monitor was set on top of an old-fashioned DVD player. Even from this distance she could see it was a security camera monitoring the store.

“There’s no need for magic. We can watch the security video.”

“Oh. Right. The security camera.” His fear remained, but it was threaded with an unease that had nothing to do with her. “Sorry, it’s not working.”

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