Page 20 of Haunted Eclipse

Once satisfied everything felt intact, I grabbed my phone and purse, and headed for the car. I’d buy my breakfast at Crystal’s.

Midnight Point was bustlingby the time I got to the shop. Shoppers were out in full force, surprising given January usually involved cutting back to pay the holiday bills that always came in around this time.

As I stepped out of my car, I noticed that someone had shoveled the walkway in front of my shop. A shovel sat propped next to Kevin’s bridal salon, so I peeked in to thank him.

“Hey, whoever shoveled my walkway, thanks! I appreciate it,” I said. The shop was still empty, except for Devon, who was one of the consultants.

She winked at me. “No problem. I had to do ours, so I figured I might as well help you out.” She paused, then added, “Maisy, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said, coming fully into the shop. It was too cold to stand at the open door. “What is it?”

“I wondered if you offer readings on relationships? I have an issue I need advice on. If you don’t, I’d still appreciate your input, given you specialize in love and romance.” She sounded worried.

I stifled a laugh. I didn’t realize people thought of me as a romance expert, even though I supposed I was. Kind of. “Of course, I’ll try to help. I can’t guarantee an answer, but we can delve into it.” I pulled out my mini-planner. “When do you want to come in?”

“Can I come over this afternoon?” she asked.

“Sure. When do you have a break?”

“I get off work at 2:30, so how about then?” By the way Devon was fidgeting, I could tell that she was nervous.

“I can do that. I’ll pencil you in. My rates are—” I always felt awkward about reminding people that this was part of my job, that I wasn’t a vending machine for free psychic advice, but Devon put me at ease.

“I’m not worried—whatever they are, I can cover them,” she said. “I’ll see you at 2:30,” she added, turning toward the door as a young woman entered the shop. “I’ve got a client so…”

“I’ll see you then,” I said, heading out the door, past Devon’s client. She looked was both excited and worried. No doubt, she was hoping that she’d find her perfect wedding dress, but afraid that she wouldn’t.

Back at my shop, I dropped off my tote bag, then—carrying my wallet—headed to the Mocha Express. The rush had died down and I had to wait a moment before Karina could take my order. Crystal was nowhere in sight. She was probably in the back, taking care of business.

“Triple peppermint mocha, with a sausage and cheese muffin. Also, add a maple bar to that, please,” I said, handing her a ten and a five. “Keep the change.”

“Sure thing.” Karina adeptly pulled three shots of espresso for my mocha, then heated a sausage muffin. She bagged it separately from the maple bar, so the glaze wouldn’t melt, then handed me the cup and the bags.

I gave her a little wave, then returned to my shop. As I settled in behind the counter, I turned on my computer to find that I had several emails from several would-be clients. I noted down their names and numbers in a spread sheet, then sent out the preliminary information—my rates, what to expect, and what the next steps were if they were interested in proceeding.

After that, I ate my breakfast, then put in a call to Astra.

“Hey, kiddo, how are you doing?” Astra sounded positively joyful.

“I’m okay. You sound like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I am. Teran and I are having as much fun as we can, given her back. I plan on staying for a few more days, then I’ll be home.”

I sighed. “Something happened last night that I need your input on. You know the protection grid around the house?”

Astra’s voice dropped. “Yes. What about it?”

“Either there was already a hole in it, or something punched through. Crystal was over for dinner, and we ended up coping with a visitor.” I told her about the mist-snake. “We got rid of it, but I’d like to know what it was and how it got in.”

Astra paused for a moment. Then, she said, “What happened directly before then?”

“We were just watching a movie. We ate dinner, butthatshouldn’t have caused anything to happen.” I frowned. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that it had to be random. Nothing else would make sense.

“I’ll talk to January. The company she works for—Conjure Ink—has a database of beasties. They specialize in hunting down freakshow things. If anybody’s heard of something like this, she should be able to find out. But remember, we reinforced those wards a month ago. You helped.”

“I know. So they should have been strong as steel.”

“Stronger. Neither you nor I are slouches in the magical department. I’ll talk to January, but this worries me. That something was strong enough to punch a hole in our wards and actuallydid, and that it threatened you… No, we shouldn’t take it lightly. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

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