Page 20 of Upside Down Magic

Magiccomes from thesoul.

Whereit’s been forcedagainst,

may it flownaturalagain.

Magicpoured down my arms and into the bowl asIspoke the incantation in my head, forcing the blood and the herbs to interact with each other in a delicate, swirling dance.Ifed more power into it, holding my intention, emptying my reserves, imprinting my will into the potion with all the magicIwas capable of.

“Done,”Igushed once the last tingling of magic left my body.

ThenIpromptly passed out.

SEVEN

Iwokeup to something wet nudging my hand.Ifelt around and ran my fingers alongFluffy’sfamiliar fur.

“Fluffy?”Imurmured.

“Goodmorning, angel,”Iansaid from somewhere on my side.

Iopened my eyes and searched for him.Hehad dragged my one chair from the kitchen and was sitting by the side of my bed, reading from my e-book reader, his soft black pullover doing a wonderful job of delineating his arms and chest.

“Ian,”Isaid with a grin, slowly sitting up while pettingFluffy. “Whyare you—the potion!”Ithrew my legs over the side of the bed, panic gripping me.

Ianset the reader down on my nightstand and put a hand on my shoulder, keeping me sitting on the bed. “Everythingis all right.”

“Thepotion worked?”Iasked, full of hope.

“Likea charm.”

Ilet out a whoop and launched myself into his arms.Hecaught me, chuckling into my ear asIsqueezed the living daylights out of him.Aftera few moments,Ileaned back to look at his face.

“Shaneis back to normal?”

“Andmad about the whole situation.Hethinks it was a lack of self-control.”

Ifrowned at that. “Itwasn’t.Itmust’ve been a spell or potion someone put on him.”Isearched for my phone. “Howlong haveIbeen out?”

“Aboutthree hours.Alexdrove back with the potion, andIbrought the death trap back.”

“You?DrivingBee-Bee?”Iput a hand to my forehead. “Imust be feverish and hearing things.”

Ianlet out a grunt of disgust. “Thatthing is going to disintegrate under you one day soon.Youneed a car.”

“Nowhereto park it at the shop.”

“Keepit at the cemetery.”

“Ineed something light and fast to make potion deliveries,”Ipointed out. “Findinga place to park a car with every order would only add time.”

Ianharrumphed, then grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door.

“Whereare we going?”Iasked, allowing him to lead me.Fluffyjumped off the bed and followed us, tongue lolling in excitement.

“I’mtaking you out to lunch.”

Asif in agreement, my stomach rumbled loudly.Fooddid sound amazing right about now.Unfortunately,Ihad other things to do.Isqueezed his hand. “Ican’t.Ineed to get back to work.”

“Italked toMark.He’sgot it covered.Alexis helping too.”

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