Page 18 of The Accidental Witch

She thought about that for a second. “What if I don’t want to do the things, Greer? As you can see, my life’s in a bit of turmoil as it is. I live in a dump. I have a job that barely pays the rent and buys us barely enough ramen noodles for a week. What if I don’twantto be a witch?”

He looked at her for a moment, his expression gentle. “What if I told you that a whole new community awaits you? People who will embrace you with open arms? What if I told you that I’d lay bets you won’t be saying that in six months?”

“What if I’m not alive in six months because Granny wants her groove back?”

As he was about to answer, Wanda came out of the bedroom, waving her phone. “Word from January. Gather ’round, people.”

“January was Nina’s psychiatrist, right?” Greer said. “I wonder why I’ve never heard of her.”

“I think you travel in different circles,” Wanda said. “The good doctor’s a white witch. A different variety than you, if I understood her correctly, because shehasheard of you.”

Robbie sank to her dilapidated couch, tightening the grip on her right hand. “I don’t understand. Does this mean I’m a bad witch?” Gwinnifer was a horror story; maybe now she was, too.

Greer sat next to her, their thighs touching. “No. You’re not bad. What that means is, white witches are selfless beings and practice only for the service of others. They’re incapable of bringing harm to anyone. Traditional witches, of which you’renow considered, have a broader spectrum of magic that can be used for both positive and negative results. Hexes, bad spells and so on. But we have a strict code of honor amongst us. We can’t use our magic for personal gain, as was the case with Gwinnifer, and we follow the do-no-harm philosophy.”

Robbie gave him a blank stare as she processed this, tucking her hand tighter under her armpit. “Okay, so I can turn someone into a toad, but I probably shouldn’t.”

He winked with a handsome smile. “Unless it’s warranted, no. You shouldn’t. However, you have far greater powers than a white witch will ever possess.”

She leaned forward and eyeballed him. “Like?”

“Like things we’ll discuss later, when you’re less anxious over what’s happened. Because it’s a lot to take in all at once.”

“I feel like this isn’t evernotgoing to be a lot to take in, Greer.”

“I promise you, Robbie, it might take some time, but it’s going to be okay.” Then he looked to Wanda. “So what did January say?”

Wanda looked right at him. “She said she knows of your grandmother. Apparently, Gwinnifer’s legend is global, but she doesn’t know anything other than somegossipshe’s heard.” She sounded as though she were baiting Greer, but Robbie couldn’t figure out why or about what.

With a sigh, Greer didn’t take whatever bait Wanda offered. He stood and looked at them all. “Okay then. Are you all comfortable enough to let me help? Because we need to find some answers fast before I go to the coven and explain this.”

Wanda’s nod was slow, but she agreed. “January did say she thought Gwinnifer was dead, too, but that if she’s alive, she could wreak some mighty havoc.”

“Then that settles that shit, right?” Nina said before she squared up with Greer. “But I’m warning you,GQCover Boy, ifyou fuck with us, I’ll make your life pretty fucking ugly. I mean, I’ll let you live, but you won’t want to. And if anything happens to my new BFF Tater Tot, you’ll pray for death.”

Robbie had to fight a burst of laughter. Poor Tater Tot. He was so uncomfortable with this strange outpouring of affection from a woman who should have “curmudgeon” hyphened on her name. He had a new friend, and it was clear he didn’t know what to do with her.

Greer lifted his chin and stared at Nina without flinching, admirable for sure. “Noted,” he replied, his jaw tight.

Marty cleared her throat and put her body between Greer’s and Nina’s, clapping her hands. “Hey, save the duel for dawn, huh? We have work to do. Now scoot. Go pack a bag, Robbie. We’ll gather up the cats and put them in the car to take back to Nina’s. Skedaddle!”

As Robbie headed toward the bedroom to do as she was told, she suddenly remembered Hervé. “Wait, where’s Hervé been all this time?”

When everyone went silent, she heard him purr quietly, “Oh, mi amore, why do you give Hervé ze silent treatment?”

She went directly to the pantry and popped the door open to the tiny space—to find Hervé winding his handle around her Swiffer, whispering words in French.

Her sigh came out ragged and tired. “Hervé, back away from the Swiffer! Now!”

Chapter

Six

Robbie tucked Hervé under her arm as they headed back down the three flights of stairs to the SUV, all the while giving him what for. “You cannot romance an inanimate object, Hervé! It’s…it’s…what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, I know. Weird. Yeah! That’s it. It’sweird.”

So weird.

“But she is so pretty and green. She has ze soft underbelly, I cannot resist her…”

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