Page 19 of Upside Down Magic

“Somestained gauze will do.”Ilooked around. “Doyou have a small knife we can use?”

Ianjerked his chin toward the house, andAlexshot off.Hecame back a couple of minutes later with a small kitchen knife.

“Washedit real good,” he said, handing it over.

“Perfect.”Butto be really sure,Iused an alcohol wipe on it before making a small cut on one ofShane’sfront legs. “Sorry,”Iwhispered.

Shanewhined but stood still.Fluffymade an attempt to barrel toward us, butIancaught her deftly.

“Sorry, little lady.Nointerrupting the witch.”

Fluffybarked in disappointment, then settled in to enjoy the spectacle fromIan’sarms.

Smilingto myself,Iturned my attention to the cut.Isoaked some ofShane’sblood, then used another gauze pad to press on the wound for a few moments. “Thisshould be enough.”

Keytook over keeping the gauze pressed against his leg asAlexjingled the van’s keys. “I’lldrive.”

Iglanced atIan, and he said, “I’llstay withShane.”

Itmade sense.Theirshifter connection was strong, and no matter how muchIandenied it, he wasShane’salpha leader.Shaneappeared calm now, but he had to still be panicking inside and would feel much better ifIanstuck around.

Igave him a thumbs up and got into the van withAlex.Hestarted the vehicle down the path to the gate beforeIgot my seatbelt on, and soon we were out in the streets, hurrying back to theTeaCauldron.

“Shanewill be okay, right, boss?” he asked, an uncharacteristic note of worry in his tone.Hisfocus was on the street, andIhad never seen him this serious before.

“He’llbe fine,”Isaid for both of us.Because, “Ifyou don’t believe in your spell, how can you expect it to work?”

“That’sright,”Alexagreed with determination.

Wearrived at theTeaCauldronin no time.Alexlet me out in front, then went around to park in the alleyway.Iburst into the shop, full fake smile on, and said a breezy, “Goodmorning, everyone,I’llbe in the back” before hastening to the hallway.Markhad already arrived, and he andNataliawatched with curiosity asIhalf ran past them and through the bead curtain.

“Crisisaverted?”Markasked, following me into the back.

“Yup.Ineed to make a big potion.Canyou make sure nobody comes into the back?”

Hestudied my face for a second, seemed to read past my forced cheer, then said in a grave tone, “Yougot it.”

Ihated to admit it, butMarkwas turning out to be a decent guy.

Evenif he still refused to let me into theCrawler.

Iopened the back gate forAlex, and we crowded into the kitchen.Happypipe gurgling sounds greeted us, andIpatted the wall in response. “Yes,I’mback,TinyKraken, but mommy needs some silence so she can focus, okay?”

Therewas an answering thump, and the pipes grew silent.

Alexchuckled behind me, andIwelcomed the burst of genuine humor.Itlessened the tight bands constricting my chest.

“Whatdo you need me to do, boss?”

Iinstructed him to get out the bowl and vials whileIgathered herbs and crystals.Imade a circle with clear quartz, amethyst, and some of the herbs, then ground the rest with the pestle.Afterdrawing the curtains closed,Ifilled the bowl with my extra-extra moon water, kept away from the sun at all times.

Icut off the bloodied part ofShane’sgauze and submerged it into the moon water, holding it down with a smallCitrine, then used more moon water to dissolveBrimstone’sblood in its small vial.Usinga glass pipette,Itransferred a few drops to the bowl.Afterthat,Ipoured the ground up herbs.Theydrifted down the water, avoiding the pink tendrils from bothShaneandBrimstone’sblood.Lastly,Iput my hands firmly around the bowl.

“Heregoes nothing.”

“Yougot this, boss.”

Inodded once and concentrated hard.Thisbetter work becauseIreally didn’t want to have to askBagleyor the blood witch for help.

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