Page 28 of Curses & Cold Brew
It had taken us hours to find something that Maude Ketchum had been attached to in life. The B&B was full of knickknacks, antiques, and random heirlooms, but we needed something that had truly been hers, something that she’d cherished, which had made the task almost impossible.
Understandably, Jordyn was extra careful with our prep this time. No wine was permitted pre-ritual. The last thing we needed was another sloppy summoning. Jordyn’s experience last year with Lou had shaken her confidence with this type of magic. Harlow, on the other hand, was like an excited golden retriever. She had the good sense not to pepper her girlfriend with a million questions about magic but seemed to have no issue asking me.
“Why salt?” Harlow asked, stir-fried noodles hanging from her overloaded mouth.
Summoning on an empty stomach was not good practice, and we had a few hours before midnight, so we’d ordered dinner from the local noodle shop. After that, we’d spent probably way too long double-checking the incantations and candle placements.
“It’s a purification thing,” Jordyn answered. “Even the best intentions can be muddied if the spell area isn’t purified properly.” She pointed her chopsticks at me. “It also helps if you have more than one witch present to keep the vibes on task. It’s easy to let emotions and the spirit get a bit . . . out of hand.”
I wanted to point out that Lou, her ex-girlfriend, being stuck on our plane for so long had had more to do with Lou’s unsolved murder than Jordyn’s emotions getting out of hand, but I knew Jordyn still bore the burden of responsibility. And Lou was at peace now because of Jordyn—something she might’ve never gotten if Jordyn hadn’t been a witch.
Harlow scooped another bundle of noodles into her mouth, nodding at her paramour.
“We shouldn’t need to hold onto Maude for long,” Jordyn said. “Just one question.”
“What do you need to ask her?” Harlow asked.
I took a deep breath. They needed to know before the ritual started. This would help us properly set the intentions, but would also keep the encounter on track once Maude crossed the veil.
Bracing myself for their reactions, I started spilling my guts. “Ramona’s souls are being stolen. The person responsible has figured out a way of breaking Ramona’s sigil and snatching the souls before Ramona can collect them.”
I waited for the other shoe to drop while they sat there blinking at me.
And waited . . .
And waited . . .
When neither said anything, I continued, “The last soul that was stolen was Maude Ketchum’s, so I want to call hers forth her and hopefully she can tell us who broke the sigil before she passed away. So only one question: who?”
“Okay.” Jordyn looked between Harlow and me. “So explain to mewhywe’re helping Ramona again? Meddling in demon affairs is dangerous, Iris. You know the coven wouldn’t approve. Hell, I don’t approve! Are you sure you want to get further wrapped up in her world?”
I shrugged, feigning casual interest. “She’s part of our town.”
“You’re suddenly concerned with being an upstanding citizen?”
“Yeah,” Harlow chimed in. “I mean, Ramona also tricked you into making a deal with her. Is this part of that? Do you owe her this? If so, this is a pretty lousy date.”
“It’s sort of part of it,” I hedged. “She didn’t actually ask for my help, but Ramona is . . . guarded. This whole thing has her really riled. She seemed upset, and she wouldn’t let a witch help if she didn’t really need it. Right?”
“Oh, so this is because you like her,” Jordyn cut in. “I thought you swore to me no demons?”
“No—I mean, yes, but no.” I stumbled over my words with absolutely no grace. “This isn’t about liking her. If I even did, which I don’t. Definitely not. Not really.”
“Oh, you’re down bad!” Harlow jeered.
Shit. This was the last thing I needed.
I shook my head and held up my hands. “Okay, don’t be mad, but it’s a little more complicated, and I didn’t want to tell you guys, but . . .” I pulled back the collar of my shirt and showed them the mark on my clavicle. “I’m a little more involved than just helping her out.”
Jordyn lunged closer and rubbed two fingers over the mark as if trying to check that it was permanent. “This is much bigger than you let on. I didn’t think she marked you with that deal for information last year.”
“She didn’t.”
“Then why do you have a demon sigil on your skin?” Jordyn screeched.
“It happened when we extended the deal over the summer.”
“What!” Jordyn shouted. “You madeanotherdeal with her? Damn it, Iris!”
