Page 3 of The Banning of Bath Bombs
What was he doing again?
He glanced down at the two boxes of Alka-Seltzer and grinned like a naughty schoolboy getting away with mischief. Fizzy bath time! This would surely be epic.
He kept the thought in his head as he unwrapped every tablet in those boxes and tossed the two fistfuls into the water, watching as the tablets erupted with the long-awaitedfzzzzz. Satisfied, he heated the water again as it had significantly cooled, and then finally placed a foot into the water—
—only to bump into his beloved ancient grimoire that had been sitting on the edge, sending it into the bath water.
“Noooo!” He lunged after the book to scoop it up.
The moment he fully stepped into the tub, he didn’t even have a chance to mutter a curse when bursts of light andcolor shrouded his vision for half a heartbeat before slowly dissipating.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Looking up from the bath water as he slowly straightened, Declan peered around…another bathroom.
Had he teleported himself to another bathroom? Or had he changed his bathroom? Or was something else at play here?
While he stood there trying to reason out how he’d managed to swap bathrooms, he turned in the water and inspected the tile.
It did not appear there was a camouflage spell on the walls or tub. Nor were there any on the bathroom fixtures. So while the bathroom was beautiful, it wasn’this.
Or was it?
His feet and calves were tingly, and he looked down to see the murky green water still merrily fizzing away. He stared down at the little jets of water as the sensation tickled his skin.
Something also tickled his brain, an important detail he’d glossed over, and he gasped.
Oh. Oh dear.
He glanced down at the sodden book still in his hands, and shrieked. “My tome! Noooo, my poor grimoire!”
He mentally went through his Rolodex of spells and found one that should dry the tome in moments, but it might react poorly with Declan standing calf-deep in water.
A risk he was willing to take!
As he performed the spell, the fizzing increased, the water almost burbling now as it grew even warmer. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation, but despite the spell, the book in his hand remained damp.
How could he save his precious book? Perhaps there was a useful spell inside?
Declan scanned the semi-dyed pages clinging to one another and blinked at the muddled words. Wait. This word seemed familiar. A spell…to de-coat…cats? Or a spell to shave cats? Or taxidermy?
Declan lifted the book and wrinkled his nose at the page before him.
Damnit. Or perhaps it was the spellword for travel? None of which were useful to him right now. He carefully turned the page with a whispered spellword. Oh, now this one was intriguing—a spell for eavesdropping from long distances. If he could just remember why that might come in handy…
The door opened, interrupting his thoughts, and a young, handsome man with taupe skin and a buzz cut quickly stepped through. His apple green eyes narrowed as he took in the scene. “What the fuck happ— Wait. Who are you?”
Declan blinked.
The man blinked back.
Declan actually didn’t know what had happened. He usually sang a little refrain during such moments, something to the tune ofda-da-da-da oh fuck, oh shit da da da da dum.His natural response to I-have-no-clue-how-I-got-heresituations, mind. He tried his most charming grin. “I, my dear boy, am Master Mage Declan of Clan Galdur.”
Another blink, and the poor boy did seem to have been woken out of a sound sleep, so naturally he struggled to reconcile reality in his half-asleep state. Declan sympathized, as he often had the same trouble, so he smiled winningly at the newcomer, waiting for the realization that a master mage had graced his bathroom like a god on holiday. Well, he was almost a demigod. Or perhaps he was something else? If he could only remember…
“Sir?” The man waved a hand to regain Declan’s attention. His next blink appeared catlike in its indifference. Was this man not frightened by someone appearing in his bathtub?
Previous spell searching forgotten, Declan carefully closed the grimoire and regarded the young vampire. How interesting. He was obviously a vampire, as Declan could see the bloodred energy pulsing in his aura like a heartbeat. He didn’t seem to be a mage as well, so perhaps he had been a mundane human before his turning.
