Page 64 of Upside Down Magic

“Abouttime.Whatdid you find?” she asked as we took the same positions as before—me on the sofa,Ianlooming by the wall.

“Wefound the original coven’s spellbook.”Ishowed her the list of names. “Ringany bells?”

Shestudied the names then shook her head. “Idon’t know any of them.”

Meaning, wherever the families were, they hadn’t attained a coveted spot in the high echelons of witchy hierarchy.

“Anythingelse?” she asked.

Myshoulders slumped.Findingthe spellbook and the names had seemed like a huge win at the time, but the truth was we were no closer to fixing the underlying issues. “Nothingelse.”

“Theparanormals affected?”

“Stillthe same,”Iananswered.

OrShanewas, at least.Ifelt a pang of guilt thatIhadn’t checked onBrimstonetoo.

“That’sgood.”

“Andyou?”Iasked. “Anychanges?”

Shetouched the glass surface of the coffee table and sparks flew at the contact point. “Alsosame.”

“Didyour tests reveal anything?”Ianasked becauseIwas too busy wincing in empathy.Havingyour power turn on you like that was beyond sucky.

“Asa matter of fact,”Liliansaid with satisfaction, “they have.”

Ileaned forward eagerly. “Theyhave?Doyou know how to fix things?”

“Imight.”

Thedesire to clap and thrust my fists into the air was so overpoweringIwent ahead and did it. “Yes!”

“Itwon’t matter, though, unless we find the source,” she said dryly. “Itmight just happen again and again.”

Loweringmy arms,Ireminded myselfIwas supposed to be a professional. “Wealready know it’s something to do with my shop.Usinga neutralizing spell there should take care of it.”

“Thatwas my thought as well.However, if whoever did the spell is still around, they could simply do it again.”

“Doesn’ta spell this powerful require a lot of power?”Ianasked.

“Itwould, yes,”Liliansaid. “Ibelieve once we neutralize the spell, it will give us plenty of time to figure out who and how they did the spell before they attempt it again—if they don’t decide tosimply cut their losses.However, it’s important we figure out the source, in case they decide to do it again.”

Aslong as my friends were returned to normal and my shop stopped being a hazardous zone,Iwas fine with devoting every hour to running down all our suspects and leads. “I’mon board with that.Didyou devise a potion or spell to neutralize the magic?”

“Apotion.Itshould cleanse the shop and fix everyone’s symptoms.”

“But?”Ianasked.

“Butwe’ll need a powerful witch to perform it.”

Meaningit was beyond my capabilities. “SomeonefromMontel?”

Lilianslammed that possibility right into the wall with a sharp wave of her hand. “NobodyinMontelhas the kind of power we need either.”

Itmade sense.Thespell affectingShane,Brimstone, andLilianwas obviously incredibly powerful and complex.It’dtake someone ofLilian’spower to counteract it, sinceLiliancouldn’t herself.Aslovely asMontelwas, witches of that caliber usually lived the good life in the big cities.

“Whoshould we use then?”

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