Page 13 of Castings & Curses

Of course, the notion of actual work didn’t sit too well with daddy’s little princess. “As tempting as the idea of your oil-smeared face and your body in overalls is, I’ll have to give it a pass. Let’s meet tomorrow for phase two, though.”

“Okay.” He hadn’t truly believed that she would go for it anyway.

To Fabian’s surprise, though, Lucille leaned in and kissed his cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

Before he could even process what had happened, Lucille had left his arm and got into the car waiting for her at the corner. As her chauffeur drove off, Fabian raised his fingers to his cheek, the imprint of her lips still burning on his skin. That had never happened before.

Was Lucille interested in him? Was he?

LUCILLE

Unfortunately,phase two was never meant to commence. Before Lucille had even finished her breakfast the next morning, a message from Jan brought dread to the sun-filled parlour.

Jan: I saw Hanne covered in blood last night. We need to talk now.

With a sigh, Lucille typed her answer, inviting the boys to the Magic Circle for a meet-up. I will ask Hanne to meet us there, she offered, the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind. Fortunately, she and the Verenimijä had exchanged numbers the day before. Lucille only hoped it wasn’t a fake number.

She waited with bated breath for Hanne to pick up. After three rings, she heard a sniffled “Yes?”

“Hanne, hey! I hope I haven’t woken you.” Lucille had no idea if vampires like her even needed sleep.

“You didn’t.”

Or perhaps, Hanne was still on her blood spree. “Listen, I had a new idea. Could you meet me at the Magic Circle? I’ll text you the address.”

“I…” On the other end of the line, Hanne didn’t seem too keen. Lucille hoped she wasn’t suspecting anything. “Sure. I’ll be there.”

Lucille let out a breath of relief before cheerfully whistling into the phone, “Awesome. I’ll meet you there.”

That had been the easy part. This time, they would need to have a real talk with Hanne. Hopefully, she would remain as forthcoming as she’d been the last few days. The old romantic inside Lucille really wanted her to be happy with Mikaela. The two of them were relationship goals. That was, if one of them didn’t turn out to be a serial killer.

* * *

Half an hour later,she met Jan and Fabian at the Magic Circle. To her surprise, the shop was still closed. “Is your mother having a break over summer?”

Fabian had brought the keys with him from home and unlocked the magic shop. “No, just reduced opening hours, so she can help out at the workshop. But she’s happy for us to go in if we close up properly.”

He let them in and locked the door behind them, leaving the key in the lock. They had to push aside the outdoor displays filled with local witch puppets, wooden signs, and wind chimes. The store itself was an illustrious collection of candles, gems, tarot cards, incense bowls, and books. Thin swords and decorated daggers adorned a wall in the back. A shelf near the counter carried potions that promised good health, fewer sorrows, and everlasting love.

In the back, the smell of hundreds of dried herbs hit them as they walked into the room with the actual witch supplies. Exotic ingredients and gems filled the shelves, while a row of unopened boxes covered the back wall. A small selection of weapons—sharp ones, contrary to those in the front—were stored to the side. Caroline’s store supported all the witches of the Harz region while keeping afloat with the tourist items in the showroom.

Lucille, Jan, and Fabian settled around the big table, pushing aside a few books to make space. The last time they’d gathered here, they’d prepared to go into battle against an archdemon. Now the next monster awaited them.

Or they awaited it.

“I talked to Mum,” Fabian started, “and she actually heard about those Finnish vampires. Apparently, there aren’t many sources, but the main gist is that they’re immune to sunlight and can only be killed by cutting off their head.”

A loud ripping sound startled Lucille. She looked to the side where Jan had ripped open one of the long boxes. He pulled a sword from it and threw it on the table. Lucille winced at the rough handling of the weapon.

“We can do that,” Jan said grimly.

“Can’t we call Matt?” Lucille asked, the sight of the sword bringing back bad memories. Matt was the only one who was actually skilled with a sword.

Jan’s face darkened. “Absolutely not. We don’t need him to deal with monsters, remember?”

Lucille sighed. “But I have no idea how to handle a sword.” Those things were heavy and unwieldy.

“You’re not supposed to engage in a sword battle, just cut off someone’s head.”

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