Page 350 of Castings & Curses

CHAPTER5

She should have driven rightto Lucia’s, but the whispers in the air tonight felt restless. Kate reached out to her kiss spell, but nothing outright came back. But what she did smell was the poignant scent of sulfur and a tinge of dark magic in the air.

“That’s odd.”

Kendall’s apartment wasn’t too far. She roomed with her girlfriend and odds were, she was just being a snowflake.

Pulling into the driveway, she noticed Kendall’s car wasn’t there.

Minutes later, she was knocking at the door.

“Kendall. Are you in there? It’s Kate.”

The door swung open and a teary eyed Cybelle peered out at her, the scent of patchouli and smoke drifting out to greet her.

“Kate?”

She nodded. It had been a while since she’d been introduced to the younger woman.

“Hey. I know it’s late. I was just wondering if Kendall was here.”

“No. I was just going to text you to see if you’d seen her.” Cybelle wiped at her eyes. “She hasn’t been home since last night when she left to go to work at the shop.”

“What?”

But Kendall hadn’t shown up.

“Where else did she say she was going?”

Cybelle’s lips twisted. “That damned swamp. She’s been selling spells on the side to try to get us more money. Some guy was supposed to buy one off her.”

Unease slid down her spine.

“And she was going to do this before work?”

“Yeah.” Cybelle reached for a cigarette in the pocket of her robe and flicked open a lighter. As she shifted her arm, Kate got a glimpse of a bandage.

“Did you cut yourself?”

Cybelle flinched.

“No.” Her eyes darted away and she arranged the robe so it covered the injury. “I just cut it at work. No big deal.”

“Okay. Is there any place else she would have gone? You guys…are all right?”

The salty scent of fire and clove cigarettes tickled Kate’s nose.

Cybelle shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. “We’re fine. But I’m totally pissed that she went out there.”

Kate hadn’t been to the swamp in years. Not since…Devi. Goddess, just thinking about her gouged out a new hole in her heart. She missed her so much.

But she wasn’t going to think about her. Not now. The connection in their blood was bad enough, she didn’t need to actively pull it up to torture herself.

Kendall was her worry now. Devi was a ghost from the past that just needed to stay there. If someone doesn’t want to stay, you can’t make them. Goddess, but she hoped Cybelle wasn’t about to experience that loss.

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

Cybelle took a puff of her cigarette and held it between shaking fingers.

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