Page 86 of Sigils & Spells

As the daughter of an academic I had a fairly comprehensive knowledge of magical subsets. I’d learned more since opening Besoins. For the life of me, I couldn’t think what kind of magic could boost the power of my spell. My fingers itched to pick up the charm and examine it.

Aidan unzipped the bag and looked inside. I hoped the contents would offer up a clue to Jonah’s location. A note with an address would be too much to hope for.

My attention returned to the innocuous silver charm laying on the shadowed ground. A chill of unease dashed through me. Had someone used black magic to alter thehide-itspell? For Jonah’s sake, I hoped not.

Black magic was fueled by torture or death. I wasn’t naïve enough to think we didn’t have practitioners in Kingston. The thought of someone capable of wielding it made me nauseous.

Tearing my gaze from the disk I focused on Aidan. “What’s in there?”

He rooted around in the backpack. “Workout gear. Manga books. Protein bars. Lots of crumbs. An empty water bottle.”

I looked back to the vacant lot. “Do you think he came out here voluntarily? Was he meeting someone? Why is his backpack over here?”

“All good questions. I wish I knew the answers.”

There hadn’t been any bite to his words, but I felt the heat of embarrassment creep up my neck all the same.

I wondered who laid the charms on the bike and bag, and why? I kept those thoughts to myself.

“Hang on.” He pulled out a white receipt and squinted. A smattering of sawdust fell from the paper. He held the receipt out to me. “Don’t touch it, but can you make out the store’s name?”

I leaned forward, bracing my hands on my thighs. Despite the smudged ink, I could make out the letters a-n-d-e-r-s and below that e-l-r-y. The item purchased was easy to read. A gold bracelet and four charms.

Pricey.

“It could be Hollanders Fine Jewelry.”

“Never heard of it.” Aidan stood, holding the backpack by the top strap. Sawdust drifted off it like snowflakes. “Do you sense any more of your magic?”

Since he wasn’t calling his partner or hustling me back to the car I decided the bag, like the bike, wasn’t a vital clue. I felt oddly deflated.

“Not here. I’m happy to search some more. I have time.” I glanced up at the building. “I suppose you already checked in there.”

“We did.”

*.*.*.*.*

After a fruitless sixty-minute search,Aidan brought me back to Besoins. I should have been content with the backpack’s discovery. Instead, I carried the weighty sense I’d let Aidan and Jonah’s parents down.

The atmosphere in the shop crackled with anticipation. Unfortunately, the energy wasn’t generated by avid shoppers. A committee of six concerned parents, comprised of witches and naturals, waited for me.

They swarmed me like a hungry pack of wild dogs, snapping out their questions about the assassin game and my involvement in it, and growling at my “I don’t know” refrain and “I’m not involved!” My protestations that I’d only learned about the game earlier today did not sit well. It became apparent that underneath their bluster was a genuine concern for their children. It made me think of the Budneys and the weight of their worries and fears.

I had no answers for these parents either. All I could do was listen to them. And I did.

Eventually, they ran out of steam and filtered out.

I pressed my fingers against my temples where a headache had bloomed. I needed caffeine and something to eat. Since Rebecca Bauer and Ashley Johnson were bearing down on me a trip to the kitchen would have to wait.

Both women sold spells through my shop, and both were talkers. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to hammer out business negotiations.

Please let this be a short conversation.

“Marin, you know I love you.” Rebecca gave me sweet smile sugary enough to cause a cavity. “But all this drama isn’t good for business.”

“It’s all right,” I assured her. “They’re just concerned about the game. It won’t hur—”

Ashley cut in. “I’m not comfortable with you selling my spells to shifters and naturals.”

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