Page 44 of The Neighborhood Witch

He pulled out his phone from his pocket. “I can turn my house lights on and off with this. Also, I speak commands to the house, and it does stuff.” He smiled and winked at Alice.

“Yours is magic that ends with aC. A simple parlor trick. Stagemagic,” Alice retorted with a sly smile. “Mine is magick ending with aK. I’m empowered by my own arcane abilities. The difference between me and your phone is that I don’t require a Wi-Fi connection.” She winked.

“Oh yeah, well, can you play music with your magick?” Hugo asked.

“No, that’s what a speaker system is for,” Alice said as she sauntered over to the wine rack.

She pulled out a few more of the dark green bottles. She carefully reviewed and selected each one to be sampled that evening.

Alice handed them to Hugo before placing the vials back on the shelf. She gathered the hourglass resting at the back of the table. She spun the ring to the bottom. The sand fell faster and faster.

“Come on,” she commanded. “You don’t want to be left inside. It won’t feel pleasant.”

Hugo quickly followed.

Alice snapped her fingers, and the room went dark. She shut the door to her wine cellar. “That hourglass will speed up the fermentation time. Everything is automated and will finish the process. Within a few hours, the wine will be ready to drink.”

“I don’t think my phone can do that,” Hugo replied.

Alice laughed while Hugo clutched the wine bottles. They headed back up the basement stairs.

They sat nextto each other on the red velvet couch. Three more empty bottles littered the coffee table—remnants of their night together. Hugo grabbed a fourth. Alice snapped her fingers, sending the cork shooting out of the bottle’s neck and bouncing off the ceiling. He poured the wine into their waiting goblets. They clanged the glasses together, and each took a sip. Hugo’s face recoiled as he took a drink before portraying a look of ecstasy. He set the glass down on the table and then leaned back into the couch.

“That one really packed a punch at the end.”

Alice picked up the bottle. “I call this oneContortionbecause it contorts your face with a bittersweet surprise. Less on the magical side and more of a personal flavor choice.”

She set the bottle back down. She took one more sip, placed the glass on the table, and joined Hugo by leaning back into the couch.

“You should sell these. You’d make a fortune,” Hugo said.

“I do. Sort of.”

“Where?”

“Through Ez, my friend and mentor. She sells it in her nightclub. It’s a magick users only club.”

“So, non-magical people like me can’t get in, huh?”

“I’d sneak you in.”

“Have you tried to sell it in stores? I may know a few people who could help you out.”

Alice gazed up at her ceiling and let out a sigh. “That’s my dream. To have my own wine sold in stores.”

“Do it.”

Alice blinked at Hugo. “It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Have you seen how I make it?”

“So. No one needs to know how it’s made, as long as it’s good.”

Alice huffed. “I don’t think Ez would like that very much. Besides, I don’t exactly have a massive supply of grapes to produce extra bottles. I practically tap out the local supply as it is now.”

“Well, if it’s your passion, you should follow it. I’ll be your biggest supporter.”

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