Page 75 of Upside Down Magic

OnceKeywas done giving her blood, it wasBosko’sturn, thenMark, and finally,Preston.

Withthe moon water looking very much like a vampire’s favorite meal,Tammyused a glass stirrer to mix everything.Herlips moved with silent words as she did, and the hairs on my arms rose again.Shemight be the worst teacher in the whole witch world, but her magic was undoubtedly powerful.

Sheset the stirrer aside, put her hands on the bowl, and closed her eyes.Magicfilled the atmosphere, thick and cloying, and nothing short of amazing.Thiswas the kind of powerI’dimaginedIwould have whenI’dfirst readGrandma’sletter introducing me to the world of paranormals.Thekind of magic book-protagonists discovered within themselves.Thekind of magic that could change the world.

Ireveled in the feeling, the idea of me producing this kind of magic instead ofOh-call-me-Tammy, then let it go.

Powerdid not always mean goodness.IfIhad this kind of power, thenIwouldn’t be the kind of personIam now.

AndIwas happy with whatI’dbecome.

TWENTY-FOUR

Tammyfinished the spell,and the magic in the atmosphere disappeared abruptly.Everyonejumped slightly, as if jerking out of a dream.

“It’sdone,”Lilianannounced, stepping forward to helpTammyup. “Yougood,Tam?”

“Perfectlyfine,”Tammyanswered.Shelooked a little pale but not any worse for the wear.

NowthatIwas a little envious of.Hadit been me,I’dprobably be unable to walk for days.

“Faith,”Tammybarked.

Istraightened into attention. “Yes,Tammy?”

“Fillthe spray bottle and the vials.Hurryup.”

“Yes,Tammy.”Igathered the funnel and bottles and knelt by the bowl.Very,very, carefully,Iset everything up and filled the containers with the potion one by one.

IfIdropped the bowl and spilled any of the potion,Ithink my soul would’ve straight given up and joinedTinyKrakenin the kitchen wall.

Anddon’t worry,TinyKrakenwould be fine even when sprayed with the potion—this kind of potion was made to dispel evil magic, not ghosts.

Oncethe bottle and vials were filled to the brim and plugged,Ibegan distributing them: one forSonia, who snatched it out of my hand and walked purposefully out of the shop on her way toBrimstone; one forIanto be given toShane; one forLilian, who drank it right away; and, lastly, three for backup, in case there had been more cases we didn’t yet know about.

Lilianput the empty vial down on the counter.Weall held our breaths as the shop fell deadly quiet.Thenshe touched the top of the counter with one fingertip and drew a circle.

“Protect.”

Ofcourse you couldn’tseemagic happening, but when she smiled in satisfaction, we all knew the potion had worked.

“Workingas intended,” she said.

Aloudwooshfilled the room as we all exhaled in unison.

“Ofcourse it is,”Tammysaid smugly.Shetook the filled spray bottle from me and began spraying the potion over the surfaces of the shop. “Cleanthe mess, now,” she ordered.

Foronce,Iwas glad to.

Thepotion had worked, thankGreenMotherEarth.ShaneandBrimstonewould return to normal, and my shop would no longer be a magic-interfering hot spot.

KeyandDruhelped me clean up the potion stuff, since they knew where all the cleaning supplies were, andIanwas gentleman enough to carry the used bowl to the kitchen to be washed and cleansed later.

“Everyonewho doesn’t have to be here needs to leave,”Tammysaid.

Keyhesitated.

“Youcan stay,”Isaid. “We’lldrive over toShaneas soon as this is done.”

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