Page 99 of Upside Down Magic

Rufussniffed the wall, then the floor, then moved along.Ifollowed, because what ifDruwas right and spending a lifetime withIanand the strays inOlmedahad made him magic-sensitive?

Hestopped by a ship made of different bits of metal standing on a pedestal.Thisone was definitely new.

Iused the moon water on it, then my power, and a small bounce of magic hit back.

“Here,”Iwhispered excitedly.Lilianimmediately came to my side and studied the metal construction.

“Boss, what about this one?”Alexsaid from a few paces away.

Ijoined him in front of a small wooden alchemy chest.Thebox was open, showing row upon row of tiny drawers with different herbs and designs painted on them.Thedrawings should’ve been beautiful but, there was something justoffabout them.Theway some leaves curled, or how some of the flowers fought to break out of the drawer’s confines seemed wrong somehow.IfIhadn’t interacted withNormanevery day for the past month,I’dseriously consider him some sort of evil mastermind.Buteven my faulty evil detection system couldn’t be wrong about him—he was too good natured, too much like an eager puppy.Hewas completely oblivious to the bad vibes.

Iused the moon water on the chest and got another hit.

“Thisone has traces of magic too,”Isaid.Iglanced between both artworks.Whichone was it?

“Testevery one,”Liliansaid. “Thenwe’ll decide.”

Iagreed and went through the art gallery, the others retreating to the relative safety of the entrance into the hallway.Noother piece had traces of magic.

“We’llput the potion on both,”Idecided, wiping my forehead and hopingIhad enough power left for the potion itself.EventhoughIhad been using only a tiny flare of my power with each detection spell, it was adding up, and my limbs were starting to feel heavy.

“Yes,”Lilianagreed. “Youhave the ingredients or do we need to go back to the shop?”

Ilowered my tote. “Igot them.”

“Let’sget to it.”

Iprepared the circle of herbs and crystal underLilian’ssupervision, who, unlikeBagleyandTammy, was actually useful rather than simply complaining about my way of doing things, then poured the moon water into the glass bowl.Nextcame my trusty fruit-cutting knife.

“Ready,”Isaid. “Whofirst?”

Alexstepped forward. “I’llgo first, boss.”

Igave him a thankful smile.Withpotions that required blood, there was always an initial reluctance to donate, and him being eager to do it would help the others get it over with.

Heknelt on the floor and extended his arm.Icut it deftly and blood beaded then ran down his skin to drip into the bowl.Oncethere was enough,Lilianslapped a gauze pad on his arm asIcleaned the knife with an alcohol wipe.

WithAlexsmiling like it had been no big deal, the tension in the group lessened and they all stepped forward one by one—Dru,April,Dorsey,Wyatt.Iwent last, trying not to wince at the sting asIsliced my arm.

“Usemine too,”Susysaid, kneeling and offering her arm. “Iwant to help.”

Thatwas really sweet of her.I’dmake sure to serve her free tea and muffins for a month. “Whatkind of paranormal are you?”

“Gotan earth mage somewhere in the family tree.”

Thatexplained the affinity for lockpicking.Itseemed to be a trait with earth mages.

AfterIwas done with her blood,Icleaned and put the knife aside and held the bowl. “I’lldo the spell now.”

“Whatabout him?”Lilianasked, pointing atHutton.

Iavoided looking his way. “He’san alpha.He’stoo powerful for the potion.”

“Ithink a drop or two will help.Afterall you gotta fight fire with fire sometimes, right?”

Mygaze flew toHuttonin alarm.WasLiliansuggesting whatIthought she was suggesting?Thatsince the original spell had to be dark magic, a bit of dark magic in our potion would help?

Hutton’seyes widened in panic. “No.”

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