Page 47 of Iris
“It’s the least I could do to help. The other two will be back soon. I found something, so I called them. I figured we’d need all of us here.” Dorian’s hand goes around the back of my neck, massaging it. “I spoke with Mayor Schnarl, too.”
“What does that mean? You found something? Why did you have to call the mayor about it?” If he has found out who cast the curse, I will be able to save the trees.
“I’ll tell you as soon as the other two get here, okay? We’re all going together to see if my hunch is right.” He adds pressure to my neck, making my knees buckle. He’s found a spot that really needs the massage.
“Igor is coming with.” My forehead is resting against his chest as he continues his magical massage.
“Of course, she is. She’s the muscle.” He is serious as he says it, too. I love him. Head over heels. Or, rather, fuzzy slippers.
No one else comes through the shop's doors over the next twenty minutes. Igor appears shortly after Dorian starts to massage my shoulders because I’ve started to bite my nails. She is unusually quiet. She sits, watching out the window.
“Your mates are here,” she announces just as Dorian turns his head to look out the window.
Dorian steps back as I shake out my limbs. The massage has done wonders. I bet I could bribe him to do that more often. Maybe with some naked time.
Noah and Kieron walk into the shop together. Both are wearing jeans with loose shirts. Noah has pulled his hair into a mini bun.
“Alright. We’re here.” Kieron stops on the other side of the counter. “Tell us what you found out. We’ll see if it’s the same that I found.” He crosses his arms.
“Right.” I lean against Dorian as he begins. “When we were trying to figure out who would curse the plants, a niggling had me thinking about the other shop that was basically fired by the mayor. Flowers by Tessa. She’s located in the next town over. She’s a witch, too. She only found out who replaced her yesterday when the town website updated about the dance. All the vendors were listed. The Mayor even wrote on the page that the replaced vendors just didn’t have the Silver Springs flair.” He holds up his hands to do air quotes.
“Wait. So, you’re saying that this Tessa cursed my plants because she was mad that she wasn’t rehired?”
Tessa. Tessa. That name is familiar, I just can’t quite put my finger on it.
Kieron is nodding. “That’s basically what I came up with in the short time we’ve been gone, too. This Tessa has a reputation in the underground. She doesn’t just dabble in black magic. The local authorities haven’t been able to pin her for anything, though. I’m confused why she just cast such a low powered curse. Not that it isn’t evil.” He nods at Igor. “But if she is such a powerhouse, why didn’t she kill everything?”
Tessa! That’s it! “I know her! Remember that person I said I made mad in high school? That was Tessa! We went to school together. She cheated on a test using black magic, I saw it, and reported it.”
The three of them stare at me for several heartbeats.
“Well, there’s the reason.” Noah rubs his face. “Could she have learned it was Iris replacing her and decided to enact some revenge on both the dance and Iris?”
Kieron leans against the empty flower fridge that’s next to the counter. “Sounds as plausible as the next idea.” He stares off across the store as he thinks. “She might be planning something worse for Iris.”
“So, Iris, you’re not coming with us.” Noah faces me.
“Oh, bullshit. I’m coming with you. I know Tessa. She might have black magic, but I have mine, plus Igor. Really all I need is Igor.”
Igor buts the top of her head against my fist, in our own version of a fist bump.
“As much as I don’t want Iris to go, it’s her decision,” Dorian speaks up when Kieron opens his mouth. “We’ll be there, too. She’ll have four of us to go through before she even could touch Iris.”
“Great. So, let’s go.” I pick up Igor. “Whose car are we taking?”
