Page 75 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife

I swallowed back my sorrow, feeling bad that I didn’t remember him, but I’d been just a toddler when he’d disappeared.

My aunt continued while rubbing his arms. “You’re not a television character. You’re Shu, our fairy godfather. You’re not a forgotten butler. You’re family, and we’re going to get you some help, okay?”

“I don’t need help.” He motioned toward the lamp. “I should return home. Rose needs a bowling partner for the big tournament, and I have to starch and iron my uniform.”

She gave him a sympathetic look. “Not yet, Shu. Stay with us a while.” She jumped up and pocketed the lamp. “You’ve been in the lamp too long.”

His shoulders fell. “Okay. For a little while.”

I stood and crossed over to my aunt. “What will you do with him?” I whispered.

“He requires a powerful healing spell.” She rubbed her chin while eyeing him as he hung his head in his hands. “I’m not sure I can do it.”

A look of understanding passed between us, and I swore beneath my breath.

I pinned her with a glare. She wanted to use Des to heal Shu. “He’s just a boy.”

She frowned, clasping her hands together. “He’s Shu’s best chance.”

“Don’t give up hope,” Shu said. “One time we thought we were going to lose Sophia to a heart attack. We were so terrified, and the ambulance couldn’t get to her through the storm, but then it turned out to be her gallbladder.”

I inwardly cringed while whispering to my aunt. “We’ll let Des try, but I can’t guarantee it will work.”

She nodded. “I’d go crazy, too, if I’d been trapped in a lamp for forty years.”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “Four decades of hairspray, jazzercise, and neon parachute pants is enough to turn anyone insane.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Gone?” My voice turned shrill as I glared at Ethyl, and I felt as if a banshee was speaking through me. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

Glass shattered somewhere behind me as my vision turned red.

“Luciella, calm down,” I thought I heard my aunt say. “We’ll find him.”

My world slipped out from beneath me, and I was spiraling into a void of despair. I’d returned home from the succubi’s house only to discover my son was gone! My mind raced, my veins turned to sludge, and though I was sorely tempted to collapse onto my aunt’s plush carpet, I had to think. “Did you see who took him?” I asked Ethyl whose eyes were bloodshot from crying.

She vehemently shook her head while motioning to the table where he’d been sitting. “One minute he was playing his computer game, and the next he was gone.” She bit down on her knuckles. “Puffy, too!”

I breathed out a slow breath, forcing myself to calm down. I would find him. I went to the spot where he’d been sitting, noting his laptop and headphones were gone. So was the little case he used to store his computer. If the succubi had somehow broken through the Insurgi’s wards, my son would’ve fought them, and he certainly wouldn’t have stopped to grab his computer case and Puffy. Serena had already sent her best mages to check the perimeters of the underground cavern, but I didn’t think he was here.

I looked at the cold pizza on the table. He’d only eaten a few bites. That was unlike Des. He loved pizza. I took a bite then spit it out. It was so dry and very garlicky. Des wasn’t a big fan of strong garlic.

I grabbed Ethyl’s hand. “Do you know how to get to the restaurant we ate at last night?”

She nodded.

I squared my shoulders. “Then let’s go.” I prayed my son was there and that we found him before the succubi did.

I’D NEVER HAD SUCHa sloppy landing as when I stumbled from my broom and smacked into a waiter’s back, nearly making him spill his plates of pasta.

Ethyl grabbed my arm, steadying me while simultaneously helping the waiter, a stunned little leprechaun, balance his tray.

I heard our Insurgi guards land somewhere behind us, though when I looked over my shoulder, they’d already faded into the shadows.

“Sorry,” I mouthed to the leprechaun while frantically searching the restaurant.

My knees nearly buckled when I saw a lanky boy sitting in a darkened corner, his head buried in a video game, an empty pizza tray on the table. Puffy jumped from his shoulder with a squeal and flew to Ethyl, oblivious to the grumbling witches whose hair he mussed along the way. I didn’t know how I found the strength to walk to my son’s table, but my legs gave out after I pulled out the chair across from him. I was vaguely aware of Ethyl flirting with another waiter on the other side of the room while Puffy perched on her shoulder.

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