Page 24 of Kissed the Mark
“We just did a truth spell and she turnedintofeathers!” I screamed. “How the fuck do you explainthat?”
The pansies stretched toward Griselda’sankles, snatching her up and tripping her. Her body hit the tilefloor with a loudwhump.
“Calm down, Olympia! I’ll call the council!No, Francesca, stay in the back, dammit!”
Francesca peeked out from the back door. Iunsheathed my silver dagger and flung it at her. She dodged at thelast minute, barely avoiding decapitation. The dagger lodged itselfinto the wall, blade wobbling with the force at which I’d thrownit.
I hopped through the broken window. “I needan explanation,” I said, “Now.”
Griselda struggled against the flowerstwining around her limbs. “You don’t deserve anything. I’ll reportyou to the council, I swear it. You’ll lose your job.”
“How many people are going to threaten that?I can get another job. I can skip town.” I leaned down to Griselda.Sweat shone on her forehead. “But you only have one life. So Isuggest you spill.”
“Really? Threatening to kill me?” Griseldaasked, strained. “You wouldn’t dare. They’d hunt you down.”
“I know how they hunt people down. The Guildwould never find me.”
“I’ll tell her, Griselda,” Francesca pipedup. She was wielding a giant magic sword that had been on the wallthe last time I’d been here. “She deserves to know.”
“Is Leandra dead?” I asked. Tears pricked atmy eyes. Frustration, I told myself. I’d been through a lot lately,and for what? “What happened to her?”
“She’s not dead,” Francesca said. “Not anymore than before, anyway.”
There was a distinct puffing noise, and thenBeatrice Newell materialized in the middle of the room. “Really,Olympia. I would have given you a ride here if you’d asked.”
I blinked, disbelieving that she was there.She brushed herself off and waved a hand at Griselda. The vinesbroke away from her and shriveled.
“How did you get here?”
“It’s the witching hour,” she said. It waseasy to forget how powerful she was when she acted so kooky all thetime. I’d never seen someone teleport. “Everyone, put down yourweapons. Olympia, fairy magic to yourself.”
Francesca set the sword on the table,looking chastised. Griselda glared at me with murderous intent. “Ifyou think you can get away with breaking into my shop like thisinstead of being a civilized person, you’re dead wrong. You don’tget to threaten my wife.”
“I’ll threaten both of you. You must bedelusional. You both lied to me so blatantly today. What the hellis going on here?” The vines rose a little at my voice, gettinggreener, and Beatrice sent them skittering back outside withanother wave of her hand.
“None of that!” she squeaked. “Really, theimmaturity in this room! What in Hecate’s name is happening,Griselda Gallo? I can’t believe you’d hide something like this fromme, of all people.” And she looked genuinely hurt too, breathingheavily as though she’d exerted herself quite a bit.
Nervously, Francesca kneaded her hands.“Let’s go into the house. Gris, hon, can you put some tea on?”
“Sure,” Griselda said under her breath. “Teafor three.”
“Tea forfour,” Beatrice corrected,though I didn’t fail to notice that she stepped between the Gallosand I like a barrier.
Ten minutes later I had retrieved my daggerfrom the wall and we sat in two couches facing each other across asingle coffee table—Beatrice and I on one couch, Griselda andFrancesca on the other—each of us with a piping cup of ginger teain hand. Griselda had her other arm crossed over Francescaprotectively.
Francesca took a deep breath. “Leandraapproached us about an almost impossible task,” she started. Shetook a sip of her tea, hands shaking. “I knew this would come backto bite me in the ass.”
“No, honey. You did the right thing,”Griselda said.
“Tell me what the ‘thing’ is,” Isnapped.
“You don’t have to tell her anything,”Griselda insisted to Francesca, who shook her head.
“What did she ask you to do, dear?” Beatriceasked.
“I should start by explaining that I studytime magic,” Francesca said, “for university.” There was a smallwitch university in town that many of the witches attended for theodd class when they were interested in a particular brand of magicthey hadn’t yet mastered—though I hadn’t known time magic was athing. “She asked me to open a time portal so she could go to thepast.”
“That’s impossible,” Beatrice cut in. “Howcould she expect that of you? Clearly she hadn’t done herresearch.”
