Page 84 of Under Daddy's Spell

ChapterTwenty-Four

HAVING PRACTICALLYgrown up in her family’s bookstore, Tessa knew the Canal St. area of the French Quarter like the back of her hand. Nothing much had changed. A few shops were different, including Madame Lucinda’s. As she stood on the sidewalk outside her Magic Emporium, a steady stream of tourists flowed around her. Most paid no attention to her blocking the way; they went around her. Others threw her annoyed glances, especially the couple who weren’t watching where they were going and plowed into her. Shopping bags went all over, but Tessa didn’t help pick them up or apologize, as she usually would.

She was too fixated on the familiar building. The changes were startling. Not the weird items on display in the windows, or the blacked-out glass doors, each with a purple-and-gold pentagram etched into them. What shocked her the most was the sign above them which, until four years ago, had readTournez La Page. Est. 1951.

Tessa didn’t believe for a minute coincidence had brought Ashural’s 18th century spell book into her possession and then drawn her here to consult with the high priestess, or whatever she was, who had set up shop in her family’s former bookstore.

Other forces were at work here. And she was about to walk into Madame Lucinda’s and stir the pot further.

With no one else to turn to for help, she took a deep breath and went in.

As the doors closed and shut out the bright sunshine behind her, Tessa took a moment to let her eyes adjust. There were candles burning, and the air was heavy with incense. She ventured in farther, steering clear of a rack of spell kits and making a wide circle around shelves filled with voodoo dolls, creepy statuary, and realistic-looking skulls.

With her surroundings in focus, she looked for the madame, eager to get the answers to her questions. Seeing no one, she called, “Hello?”

An instant later, a woman in a flowing caftan-like dress, with long dark hair and bright-red lipstick, and a jewel-colored scarf tied around her head, exited a back room through a curtain of beads.

“Welcome. How may I assist with your troubles?”

Already freaked out by the spell gone awry and her former bookstore morphing into a museum of the occult, Tessa was immediately suspicious. “How do you know I have troubles?”

“Few visit me who aren’t searching for solutions.” She walked behind a display case that ran nearly the entire length of the room. Coming to a stop by her register, she patted the glass top and said, “You’ve brought something with you. Let’s have a look.”

Tessa hesitated, but the spell in the book was why she was here. She pulled it from her tote and laid it on the glass counter.

“How did you get this?” the madame snapped.

Her accusatory tone as she used one red-tipped finger to turn the book her way heightened Tessa’s wariness. She answered her question with a question, a little snappish in return. “You’re familiar with it?”

As if realizing she’d broken character, Lucinda smiled, and the dramatic gypsy-like woman who had swept into the room only minutes before returned.

“No. I consider myself a bit of a collector. Seeing something this old and unusual caught me off guard. Who sold it to you?”

“Does it matter?”

She shrugged. “I was simply curious. Let’s get to the reason that brought you here, shall we? What catastrophe has your dabbling wrought?”

“No catastrophe. I was wondering how to undo a spell.”

The madame glanced up from studying the book. “Let me guess. The man of your dreams didn’t fall madly in love with you.”

Tessa stiffened as Lucinda hit a little too close to home. “I didn’t cast a love spell. But I think the one I used may have worked too well.”

She sniffed, her mask slipping again. “How can a spell work too well? You either get the desired result or you don’t.”

“That’s just it. I got a different result entirely. He wasn’t supposed to take it. I changed my mind, never intending to use it. In fact, I poured it out.”

“Then I don’t understand. Why would you ask to undo a spell you never cast?”

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