Page 57 of The Neighborhood Witch

“Throw it in,” Alice said, never taking her eyes away from the spell.

Hugo tossed the stick into the cauldron. It sunk below the bubbling water inside.

“Next, grab that bottle of powder.” She motioned with her free hand to a bottle sitting on a shelf. She never broke her gaze or moved her fingers.

“This one?” Hugo placed the bottle in Alice’s view.

“Dump it in. The entire bottle.”

Hugo poured the powder into the cauldron.

“Spit into the cauldron,” Alice instructed.

“What’s with you and spitting?”

“The spell calls for us to both spit into the cauldron. It’s like we are kissing… in the cauldron. Now spit.”

Hugo hovered over the cauldron.

“Stick your head in and do it,” Alice interrupted.

Hugo stuck as much of his head into the cauldron as he could, but he never took his eyes off of Alice. He spit into the bubbling liquid.

“Now my turn.”

Alice picked up the spell scroll and kept her eyes focused on it. She stuck her face into the cauldron, but kept one eye focused on the spell. Setting the spell back down on the table, she bent over the cauldron and recited ancient, arcane words.

Hugo stood and watched as she worked her magick. He loved to watch her work, invoking her arcane abilities and speaking a language he didn’t understand. He smiled.

Alice pulled away and wrapped up the scroll. She placed it into an open rectangular box on the backside of the workbench. She closed the lid and locked it shut with a clasp on the front. With a snap of her fingers, a stone in the wall of the wine cellar above her apothecary drawers opened to reveal a hidden compartment. She placed the box inside and snapped her fingers again to close it.

“What was that?” Hugo asked.

“That’s why I’m here.” Alice picked up the cauldron and carried it over to the winepress. The reddish, purple wine must bubbled as the green liquid poured in from the cauldron. “This is a very special potion.”

She turned back to Hugo, holding the now empty cauldron. A few strands of purple hair draped over her face, nearly obscuring her left eye. She held an impish smile with her eyebrows furled in a sultry expression of lust, passion, and love. Like she was holding a secret. A secret that only the two of them knew.

Alice never broke her gaze from Hugo. She moved closer. Small steps at a time. Hugo was anguished in how long she took walking toward him. He could tell Alice relished in her seductive waltz, each step slow and languished. Her hips swayed to entice and tease his senses for more.

She continued, “You must always maintain your focus on thespell scroll, or else you forget what was written as soon as you look away. Many have tried to copy it, but it never worked. Some have died trying to obtain it. It’s very sought after in the magical world. I have the only known copy remaining. As far as everyone else is concerned, it’s lost forever.”

“What’s so special about it?” Hugo asked.

“It’s called The Lovers’ Kiss,” Alice said as she moved closer to Hugo.

An unseen force pulled them together. He wanted to indulge in their passions, their desires, for another round.

“How seductive,” Hugo said in a low voice. “What does it do?”

“Its properties are lost to time. No one knows exactly what it does. Few have attempted to make it. Everyone has failed. It can only be made after an expression of love between two individuals,” she said before leaning in closer. She whispered into his ear, “Wouldn’t it be great to find out together?”

The hairs on Hugo’s neck stood up as her warm words rushed over him. She kissed his ear, her tongue exploring the hidden inner labyrinths deep within, ever so gently, softly. Hugo closed his eyes and lost himself. All thoughts and emotions left him. Only a singular thought flowed through his body. How much he wanted her again at that moment.

She pulled back. Hugo opened his eyes to see her smile a Cheshire grin back at him. He laughed. He thought about taking her hand once again and indulging themselves for another session up in the air.

Hugo took the cauldron from Alice and placed it on the ground. He wrapped his arms behind her hips. He placed his hands on the small of her back and pulled her closer. Their mouths nearly touched in a physical embrace. He teased her and made her wait. She smiled a sultry expression. The anticipation filled the minuscule void between the two.

Hugo leaned in closer and asked into her ear, “So, why are you here because of it?”

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