Page 2 of Magic & Matchmaking
All his siblings had strong personalities, but Herman seemed to focus his solely on me.
Today, he was finally leaving. Due to his ability to talk, he wouldn’t do well in the wild. He belonged more in the witch world than anywhere else at this point, and we’d found a wonderful witch who wanted to take him in.
Morty Hallow. Owner of Steeped in Love. I looked out the window at the quaint tea shop across the street. It was one of the most popular establishments in Thistlegrove, everyone raving about Morty’s tea. I popped in daily to get a cup. My favorite was the strawberry basil tea with a dash of honey and cream. My mouth watered at the thought of it. It wasn’t just the tea I loved but the cozy ambience. Every time I stepped inside that shop, it was like a breath of fresh air, the opposite of my father’s busy and hectic magical creature shop where I was constantly managing the animals, customers, schedules, and my father.
My father gazed down at Sasha, who was now on her back as he scratched her belly.
“I’ll just go check on Herman.” Morty would be here any minute. I brushed a stray auburn curl from my forehead and wiped my hands on my apron before leaving the side room and emerging into the bigger portion of the shop.
My soft slippers padded against the gleaming wooden floors as I wove my way through the space, crammed with shelves, cages, every nook and cranny filled with something. A few of the smaller, more harmless animals roamed around. A cat that could become invisible brushed past me, and I felt its tail curl around my leg. I frowned down at the empty space. “Kracken, I’ve told you that if I can’t see you, I’m more likely to step on you.”
A meow came from ground, and sparks flickered, the brown and white cat appearing.
My father didn’t just match animals with homes. He also created spells for others to use for their pets. Spells for healing, misbehaving, and training. I looked at one of the shelves, cluttered with tonics. I’d need to reorganize soon.
When my father first opened this shop over fifteen years ago, he’d wanted to let all the creatures roam free, but we quickly realized that wasn’t safe for anyone involved.
“You know, I’m getting sick of looking at the same boring shelves everyday,” a pink dragon said from atop one of the shelves.
That would be Herman. so small he could fit in my pocket. He was actually quite adorable—until he opened his mouth. He and his siblings all slept in various places on the tops of different shelves around the shop.
Be nice, be nice,I reminded myself. It wasn’t Herman’s fault that his previous owner cast a spell to make him talk, then realized she couldn’t stand him. To be fair, he did tell her she had poor taste in clothes and even poorer cooking skills. He tended to rile up his siblings, and the witch thought it best to surrender all of them.
“Your new owner is coming to pick you up today,” I said with what I hoped was a winning smile.
Herman just looked down at me while a rabbit, one with wings, repeatedly flew against the glass windows in the front of our shop.
Herman sighed heavily. “I told you, that’s glass.” He flew over and lifted a foot, tapping his claws against it. “Stop flying into it!”
“Herman,” I admonished. “It’s not his fault he has wings. He doesn’t know what to do with them.”
Another spell gone wrong. This one cast by a young boy who’d just gotten his first wand and accidentally gave the rabbit wings. My father was training the rabbit, working with the poor thing daily. We’d even let him fly with a few of our birds, hoping he might learn from them. I sighed and rubbed my temples.
“Now the real question is when are you leaving?” Herman sent me a pointed look, his big fuchsia eyes trained on me.
Not this again.
“I thought we talked about this.” I swiped some dust off the top of one of the shelves. “I’m not leaving. I work here with my father.”
“Your father who is trained in dealing with magical creatures? Your father who went to the Coven Institute and learned spells and witchcraft related to animals?”
I gritted my teeth.
“Tell me,” Herman went on, “what training do you have?”
“You know I went to school for potions.” I planted my hands on my hips. “And you also know that I have grown up in this shop. I may not have official training in the animal affinities, but I have a special touch.” A bird fluttered through the air, and I raised my hand to brush against it.
Itsnapped at me, and I quickly took my hand back.
Herman coughed, which sounded suspiciously like a laugh. I tapped my foot, looking out the window for Morty. She could not get here fast enough.
The flying rabbit rammed into the glass again, and Herman shot it a glare.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like animals. I liked them well enough. Just not when I had to bathe them and brush their teeth and give them tonics and feed them live mice.
I looked through the little glass window into the room where my father still sat on the table, petting Sasha, whose eyes were now closed as she curled into him. He worried at his bottom lip. I wasn’t imagining it. Something was wrong, and I needed to figure out what.
“I’m going to become worldly. You should do the same,” Herman said, once again resting on top of one of the shelves. “You’re such a hermit. So dreadfully boring. You don’t have a life outside Arcane Creatures Emporium. I talk about it with my brother and sisters all the time.”
