Page 45 of Elixir of Strife
Even in the gloomy light of Silk it was easy to tell that Daniel’s face had gone beet red. “How the hell should I know? We were just finishing up for the night. I set the bottle on the counter, went to look for my car keys, and wham! No more Aqueous Elixir.”
“MyAqueous Elixir,” announced another voice. “And I want it back.”
Flora DeVere stormed toward us, the owner of Atomica, someone I should have recognized from the very start. I’d seen her face enough times in their email newsletter, anyway. She jabbed her finger against my chest. I stared down at it, then back up into her face.
Leon stepped in, menacing and frowning. “You get your hands off him, lady.”
My hero.
“I knew I’d find you two idiots in here,” Flora said, backing up only a single step. “I was prepared to scour every last spider web in the city.”
Vera made a flourish with her arms, gesturing at the expansive bar. “And you won’t find a better spider hole in all of Dos Lunas. Welcome.”
Flora gave Vera an incredulous once-over, glaring at her head, to toe, then back again. Vera gave her the same withering treatment, in not so many words rescinding Flora’s welcome to Silk.
“Hello?” Daniel clapped his hands for attention. “We still haven’t dealt with my missing elixir?”
“Sorry, and just who the fuck are you supposed to be?” Flora snapped, rounding on him.
“Oh, my,” Edel said, hands clasped in delight as she backed up to give the two more room, or perhaps to get a better view of the show. “This is getting quite exciting.”
“And it’s about to get worse,” announced a third voice, one that made my blood curdle.
I turned toward the entrance with a glower. Already stomping toward us in her stiletto heels was one Divina Brillante. She’d come alone. Either she’d run out of goons to sacrifice to the wood chipper, or she really was far more arrogant than I thought.
“Well, well. Would you look at this? I find you here, Maximo, commiserating with the very person who grows those ridiculous olives. And yet you couldn’t spare a single one to give to me for my own experimentation?”
“You should be behind bars,” I told her. “I’m shocked the Masques haven’t locked you up yet. They should throw away the key, too.”
Daniel’s mouth fell open. “I knew it! You stole the Aqueous Elixir back, the way you were plotting to steal my evil olives from me. Wasn’t it enough that I gave you dozens?”
I pressed my finger against my lips, shushing him desperately. But Divina definitely heard every last word.
“You what? You gave him dozens of those stupid olives? Maximo, you selfish, oafish brat. You’ve always been a little turd.”
“He is not a shitty person,” Leon yelled. “You take that back right now, Divina.”
“Divina?” Flora DeVere’s face lit up with interest. “Divina Brillante, of Divinity? Then you have the Ultimate Bean. I’ll trade you for it.”
A hand on her hip, Divina gestured at Flora, waving her fingers from head to toe. “And just who the fuck are you supposed to be?”
“Enough.”
Vera Loong’s voice filled the bar, stunning the room into silence. There was magic behind that single word, a wisp of something smoky and green curling past her lips. I could swear I felt the air shift when she bellowed her command, her very voice conjuring its own gust of power.
“I can see that this grand misunderstanding of yours is going to lead to a violent confrontation. One of the magical sort, if I had to guess.”
“We’re not taking orders from you,” Divina said, pointing right in Vera’s face. Big mistake. Huge.
Vera’s eyes flashed. A moment of tense, agonizing silence. “I suggest you settle this outside.” She smiled, showing many teeth, but no joy. “Outside the bounds of this reality, that is.”
The Jade Spider waved her hand, specks of emerald energy flying from her fingertips.
Brilliant lines connected the dots, drawing the familiar shape of a spiderweb in midair. It grew larger and larger, finally big enough to cover the squawking gaggle of misbehaving bar patrons.
Apparently, that included both me and Leon.
I shut my eyes and winced, waiting for the sizzling agony of electrocution. It must have been some sort of shock spell, a magical form of tasing. Why did I just stand there like a gawping idiot? Why did all of us? We were too transfixed by all the pretty lights and colors.
