Page 89 of For Love and Blood and Fury

“Even magic gets commodified,” she joked to stop the swell of anxiety that had slammed into her unexpectedly.

With so many people milling around them, she suddenly felt exposed. Maybe they should have stayed locked in Elena’sextravagant birdcage. At least until they’d dealt with Elena’s bullshit.

Glancing around the market she confirmed that there were no vampires in their immediate area. There was no reason for Zuri to fear her own kind. They didn’t care about vampire intrigue. It had nothing to do with them… usually.

They stopped in front of an amulet shop. Silver and gold and copper and iron pieces shimmered under flood lights perched far above them.

“Looking for something in particular?” the girl with a buzz cut like the rest of her coven sisters asked when she approached the counter.

Marisol looked up from the case of pendants. Knowing what she was thinking by the way she pressed her hand to her own necklace tucked inside her tank top, Zuri spoke before she could open her mouth.

“Just browsing,” Zuri replied.

“We just got some gorgeous brass rings.” She gestured to a case at the corner of her narrow booth. “Excellent for bringing out the truth of things.”

When the girl drifted toward a customer bringing in something for repair, Zuri squeezed Marisol’s hand. Silently, she told her with her eyes to keep her pendant hidden. They would find out if there was more to learn about it, but she wanted to be careful who they asked, cautious about what they revealed. As if she could hear Zuri’s thoughts, Marisol followed her down the winding aisle without a word.

“Have you ever had your cards read?” Marisol asked when they strolled by a white tent draped in colorful fabrics. Decks of Tarot cards and the Spanish playing cards most Miami witches preferred were displayed like hundreds of small art pieces.

“Only a million times,” she replied with a shrug.

Marisol’s hazel eyes were so wide. So overwhelmed by all the new things assaulting her senses. So full of excitement. Zuri stopped to give her the chance to look at the cards.

“If you want to do it, Avani will read them for you.”

Looking away from a black and white abstract deck, Marisol met her gaze. “Who is that?”

Zuri wanted to explain her connection to Avani and Candela. Say that they were the only witches that felt like her sisters anymore. But instead she said, “A friend.”

Thunder cracked outside a moment before rain pelted the metal roof. Deciding there was no reason to hurry, Zuri led Marisol around the market. As she showed her imbued candles and enchanted tokens aimed at tasks as small as warding off the evil eye and as big as severing marital ties, Zuri relaxed into the joy of sharing herself with Marisol.

She skipped the stalls dedicated to black magic on the very edge of the market. Marisol didn’t need to know there was another side to her practice. That anything could be used for a sinister purpose.

Finally stopping at the only place she’d intended to visit, Zuri led Marisol into a store the size of a massive wedding tent. Greeting a woman she’d known since she was a kid, Zuri tried to gather intel while she picked up ward supplies. Other than the gossip about vampire infighting Zuri already knew, she got nothing. She hadn’t been counting on helpful gossip, but it would have been nice to get something useful.

“This place is so cool,” Marisol whispered while they walked, attention fixed on one of the few Salem descendants living among the Caribbean based witches. Seated at her small stand, surrounded by hundreds of bound leather books, she appeared to be asleep though Zuri knew better.

“I wish we had familiars,” Zuri admitted, watching the woman’s glossy black cat resting casually over her shoulders likea living stole. Its yellow eyes followed them with mild interest before deciding there was nothing to see and licking its paw.

“What does it do?” Marisol asked, voice still low over the sound of conversations.

“Probably ensnare your soul,” she joked, handing Marisol two huge canvas bags so she could dig out the umbrella. Unfortunately for them, the rain was only getting heavier the longer they waited. It was going to be such a pain in the fucking ass to do her hair again when they got home.

Home, ha. I’m losing my fucking mind.

She’d positioned the umbrella over both of them just before pushing open the door leading out to the parking area.

“Don’t try to cover both of us,” Marisol said and refused to give Zuri the bags. “Just unlock the car and I’ll make a run for it.”

“You’ll get wet,” Zuri snapped.

Marisol grinned. “I know.” Her lips were on Zuri’s a second before she was bolting out into the sloshing rain making huge puddles in the gravel.

With a begrudging chuckle, Zuri darted out behind her. She was a foot from her car when there was a hard yank on her neck and then a forceful shove. The ground was rushing up to meet her before her brain caught up to her surroundings.

Rocks dug into every part of her body, but she stretched her neck to keep her face from landing in a milky puddle.

“The fuck?” Zuri dropped her purse and let go of her umbrella, but there was no getting up. Not with a weight pressed into the middle of her back. Zuri couldn’t move an inch. Panic and rage and violence burst through every extremity, making her fight harder. “Get the fuck off of me!”

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