Page 5 of Magic & Matchmaking
I bit the inside of my cheek, thinking of her amazing tea shop. She’d spelled many of the objects in the shop: the broom and dustpan, the tea trays, the rags. Even the sponges, which I’d witnessed scrubbing a dishes many times.
At my father’s shop, I did all the cleaning and maintenance. Like most magicks, we had a spelled broom, but nothing fancy.
Spelling all these objects took time and money. You needed a cauldron, specific ingredients, and the correct spell. If you wanted an object to be spelled for life, that required even more powerful magic, rarer ingredients. You could spell a broom or a rag to just do a one-time cleaning, which meant less ingredients and less cost. Some magicks bought already spelled items, but that meant needing a lot of gold. My father and I never thought any of it was worth the cost or energy, so we mainly took care of everything ourselves.
Those types of items were a luxury.
I’d have the independence I craved while also being close enough to my father to still care for him. Maybe I couldn’t travel the world, but I could expand my own world a bit. Even if it was just across the street.
“Well.” I looked at Morty’s hopeful face. “I suppose I can give it a try.”
Herman whooped, making us all jump. “Thank the Witch Superior. Can I go to my new home now that we’ve got that settled?”
Morty set her green eyes on him and tugged at one of her tight spirals of hair. “Actually, you’re a gift to Emma.”
I whirled to face her. “What?”
“Yeah, what?” Herman’s eyes went wide.
Morty waved her hand. “You’re going to work at the shop.” She shot me a wink. “He’ll be great when it comes to heating the water for the tea. You know, with his fire and everything.”
I knewas well as Morty did that the she had spelled kettles, capable of heating the water without fire.
But before I could protest, my father clapped his hands together. “Well, I’m glad we got that all settled.”
“You know, I’m warming up to this,” Herman said. “It’s actually a lovely idea.”
“Lovely for who?” This was already turning into a headache. “Fine.” I shook my finger at him. “But no trouble. If I’m going to run a business, you’ll need to behave—and listen.”
He bristled. “I always behave. You should be so lucky to have me.”
My father’s lips twitched, and I shot him a withering glare. His expression sobered.
Morty smiled bright. “Ready for me to introduce you to the shop?”
Chapter Three
EMMA
Atea cup flew off one of the wooden shelves and straight toward my head. I shrieked and ducked as it crashed into the wall and shattered. Plates swiveled from the shelves, flying through the shop. A fork nearly impaled Herman, but he flew under a table before it could gouge him.
I crouched under the wooden bar top, Morty joining me. She took off her witch hat, shaking out her coiled hair.
She waved her hand. “Oh, the tea shop is just throwing a little tantrum.”
My eyes bugged.
“A tantrum?” Herman echoed from across the aisle where he still hid under a table as plates and cups continued to whiz overhead. “This is an attack.”
Morty snorted. “Oh, it’ll get over it soon enough.”
“Get over what, exactly?” I asked.
“Well, you,” she said.
“Me?” I pointed at myself. “I’m the reason for this?”
Another few plates shattered overhead. A broom swished past ustoward the mess, and a dustpan trailed the broom. I rubbed my temples, a headache growing.
