Page 30 of Upside Down Magic

“Youcould’ve done this whileIwas passed out,”Isaid, grunting as we moved it into position. “Itwould’ve been the gentlemanly thing to do.”

Fluffybarked in agreement from her spot on top of the cushions.Apparently, sitting on a moving surface was a lot of fun.

“Andmiss seeing you all sweaty?”Iansaid with a playful grin. “Idon’t think so.”

Iput down my side of the sofa and held my hands to my chest. “Soromantic.Myheart.”

Laughingsilently, he came around to press a kiss on my mouth, then went to grab us a couple of drinks.

Itold him of my plans to go toMontelthe next day while we tested the sofa out withFluffyby my side andRufusby his (the sofa was beyond perfect), and asked him ifIcould borrow theSUV.

HesaidIcould, but only ifItook him along.

Iwas more than happy to agree to that.

Assoon asNataliaandBrimstonearrived for the morning shift, along withNormanfor his morning usual,Ileft theTeaCauldronin their capable hands.Wedropped the dogs at the cemetery and loaded up with some snacks and water, then made the three-hour trip toMontel.

Itwas the first time we’d driven such a long distance together, andIwas happy to learn that he was a great road trip companion.Evenif he refused to sing along with me to the radio songs.

OnedayI’dget him to sing with me.Afterall, his hobby was karaoke at theCrawler.Surelyhe’d eventually share that side of his life with me, right?

Wefound parking near the witches’ headquarters and made our way to the brick building.Montelwas the same age asOlmeda, but whereOlmedawas full of creepyVictorianhouses crowding each other,Montelhad a much lighter atmosphere.Thestreets were wider, the buildings taller and spacious, and the traffic lacking the familiar sounds of people yelling and honking.Notone horse-drawn tour carriage to be seen.

“Theymight not let you in,”IwarnedIanfor the sixth time that morning.

“Don’tworry about it,” he answered also for the sixth time that morning.

Ibit my lip but chose to trust him.Again.

Asit turned out, he was a hundred percent correct.Ipresented myCouncilIDto the security guard, who was the sameI’dmet every timeI’dcome to give my shop reports toMs.Doyle, and he pointed us to a small office on the side, whereIanshowed his hunter guildIDand was promptly issued a visitor pass.

“Amazing,”Isaid.

“It’sgood to be a bounty hunter sometimes,” he agreed.

Wewent down into the archives occupying the basement level and found theCouncil’slibrarian,Dave, who was more than happy to see us.Thevast rooms looked exactly the same as the last time, but he had accessorized with a tinyChristmastree on the counter.Iteven had tiny blinking lights.Absolutelyprecious.

Ishould get a real tree for my upstairs living room, now thatIhad a sofa to sit on and admire it.

“Myassistant for today,”Isaid whenDaveeyedIanwith awe mixed with wariness.

Ianhelpfully lifted the visitor badge hanging around his neck.

Davegave it a cursory glance, then smiled warmly.Goodthing the badge didn’t haveIan’sname on it, as it wasn’t that long ago thatDavewas warning me about the scary bounty hunter rumored to have killed his partner. “Welcome.Whatare you looking for today?”

Iplanted my forearms on the counter and leaned in. “Ineed all you have about an old dark magic coven inOlmeda.”

Agleam of interest appeared inDave’seyes. “Anold dark magic coven?”

“Theyoperated maybe a hundred years or more ago?TheCouncildismantled it.”

“Thenthere should be some records about it here somewhere,” he said enthusiastically.

“Exactly,”Iexclaimed with the same enthusiasm.

Nextto me,Ianlet out a low chuckle.

Davepaid him no attention, his excitement palpable. “Doyou know the exact year they were disbanded?”

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