Page 62 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

“Wait there. I’ve got this.”

Byx’s foot landed with a stomp. “That’s not reassuring, Van. It’s a fairy. You need me.”

Byx was and wasn’t wrong. Depending on the fairy, the two of us might be able to take them on, but I didn’t like our odds. Even if we did manage a win, another, stronger fairy would show up. If this turned into a clusterfuck, I didn’t want Byx anywhere near the fallout.

Putting on my cockiest grin, I forced relaxation through my muscles. Hands stuffed into my pockets, I casually rocked back on my heels.

“We don’t even know why they’re here.” That, at least, was the truth. Tilting my head toward the curtain, I said, “Let me go check the situation out.”

Larger puffs of smoke emanated from Byx’s hair clips. Lips little more than a thin line, Byx relented. “Better get out there then. Fairies don’t like to be kept waiting.”

No. No, they don’t.

Byx dramatically rolled her eyes at my responding wink. “You’re gonna get your ass fried, and it’ll be all your fault.” With a huff, Byx walked out of my sight, but I knew she wouldn’t go far. Between one blink and the next, Byx could go wherever she wanted. I just hoped she stayed put.

With Byx out of visual range, I let my casually confident façade drop. Running my fingers through my hair, I realized a comb would have been better, but I didn’t want to waste any more time. Besides, fairies didn’t give two shits what other species looked like.

Casting a longing glance at the anti-inflammatory charm I was working on, I turned and headed through the curtain and into the customer part of the shop. The long fiery red hair I was met with instantly identified my latest customer.

“Ray,” I greeted, purposefully using the more casual version of his name. “I wasn’t expecting a visit. What can I do for you?”

Hellfire Rayburn turned, the move effortless. Dressed in a sharply tailored dark gray suit with a silk, ebony dress shirt below, Ray was the picture of fairy perfection. Twin braids pulled the sides of his hair back, the remainder flowing down his back.

“Warlock Kines.” Ray inclined his head ever so slightly. “Pardon the intrusion, but King Moony requested I speak with you regarding a commission request you recently received.”

“Ah yes.” I mentally slapped myself. I should have expected this. In fact, I had been expecting it. But with everything that happened with Parsnip…I’d allowed it to slip my mind. Remembrance genuinely relaxed my strained muscles. “I assume you’re asking about the beta werewolf that visited the shop.”

“Indeed. Lucroy filled me in on your previous discussion. I would appreciate a firsthand account.”

“Of course.” I didn’t hesitate to retell the encounter.

Ray listened, interjecting a question here and there but mostly remaining silent. A brief, fiery flame lit his eyes but was gone almost as quickly as it sprang to life.

“And no names were given?” Ray asked.

“None. At the time, I didn’t think about pressing the matter, given I had no intention of taking the commission.”

“Understandable. Tell me, do you believe the request is possible?”

Lucroy and Peaches asked me the same thing. I’d had a little more time to contemplate it and had unfortunately come to a rather disturbing conclusion. “I think it might be.” I shook my head as I thought about the type of magic it would entail. “It would be a complicated mess, but given enough time and a little trial and error, I think in the right, or maybe in this case, wrong, warlock’s hands, it could be done. I think the werewolf requesting the charm has no idea just how difficult it would be. If they did, they probably wouldn’t even contemplate it.”

“Desperation and vindictiveness are often the seeds of destruction.”

“True enough,” I easily agreed. “It would take an exceptionally talented warlock. But not just that. Like I said, I think it can be done, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t take a toll on the warlock twisting the magical threads. We can only manipulate magic for so long before we have to rest. Breaking a pixie bond… That would take time and a lot of it. Something like that couldn’t be accomplished in a few days.”

“How long? A week? Two?”

“Not weeks. Months, maybe even a year. And even with that, there’s no guarantee the first charm would work. Like I said, I imagine it would be a case of trial and error, and the spell would need to be specific to the bonded pixie. That’s a hell of a lot of work. Even if a warlock agreed, they’d be out of commission for anything else during that time frame.” Even if I didn’t find what the beta wolf asked morally reprehensible, I couldn’t imagine shutting down the rest of my business for possibly greater than a year to work on a sole project like that.

Ray gazed off to the side, hands clasped at the small of his back. I had no idea what he saw, but I didn’t think it was the shelf of anti-aging charms.

“I realize this may be a delicate question, but I’m afraid the implications of thisrequestare too serious to rely on polite conversation. Can you name a warlock that might be willing to take on this commission?”

I expected the question. I’d even been wondering the same thing myself. “I’ve been thinking about that,” I honestly answered, “but it’s not as simple of a question as you might think. You see, there are two main aspects to consider. First, you’ve got to have a warlock whose moral code is nearly nonexistent. Second, that same warlock has to be capable of manipulating magic into doing something inherently against its will. That’s not an easy combination to find.”

“Forgive me, but I was under the impression that manipulating magic in that way is what all warlocks excel at.” Ray’s tone was absent of an accusation, merely a factual statement as he understood it.

“Not exactly. I mean, you’re not completely wrong, but mostly warlocks use magic to break things down.” I inclined my head toward a shelf holding the pain modification charms. “Take the feeling of pain, for instance. Or, in this case, chronic inflammation. That’s a chemical process that occurs in the body, but it can be broken down and reversed. Warlocks manipulate magic to undo the inflammatory process. Witches manipulate magic to confuse the brain’s response to inflammation. It’s a different approach to the same problem.

---