The bell jingled over the front door as new customers entered. Our triggered enchantment released a plume of glitter when the door’s spell activated. It fell on a group of middle-school girls who sauntered over the threshold. They all giggled when the cloud of sparkles settled on their clothes and exposed skin before it disappeared in an aqua-colored fog.

“Oh my gods, did you see that?” The tallest one inspected her shimmering arm.

“My skin was glowing!” her blond friend exclaimed.

“I looked like a fairy,” the one with strawberry-blond curls chimed in.

I grinned. “I’m guessing this is your first time to Practically Perfect?”

“Yes!” Strawberry-blond Curls replied excitedly.

I eyed the remnants of the aqua-hued cloud. “Potion spells are in the back corner.”

The tall one cocked her head. “How did you know that’s what we’re shopping for?”

I gave her a sly shrug. “Call it a hunch. Oh, and don’t mind the dead guy on the floor. He’ll be alive in another minute.”

They cast curious glances at Dead Dude, then scurried to the back, already whispering and squealing over whatever scheme had brought them here.

I bit back a smile. It’d been my idea to add the front door illusion enchantment when we opened the store. The enchantment specifically homed in on each customer’s desires. The group of girls was obviously here for glamour potions, hence why the glitter was released to make them glow and appear briefly like fairies. Sure enough, their squeals increased as they began reading our potion labels.

I continued dusting from shelf to shelf, paying particular attention to the row of books in our master brewers section. Those bindings beckoned dust.

Whispering a spell, I let go of the feather duster to check the time on my phone. I was expecting a shipment this afternoon and wanted to know if it was still delivering. The duster continued sweeping since I’d temporarily spelled it to clean on its own. I trailed along behind it before I let out a low curse when I saw the shipment was delayed by an hour.

Caught in the magical decontamination ward in Pennsylvania, the email stated.

I grumbled. Those were one of the more annoying delays since they happened frequently to our incoming overseas and fae realm products. The decontamination wards made U.S. Customs look like a well-oiled machine, but the Supernatural Border Administration insisted on the wards since it removed any lingering spells, hexes, or enchantments that could potentially hide black market materials that less scrupulous business owners were trying to smuggle into the country.

“So much for getting out on time tonight,” I muttered before shoving my phone into my pocket.

“So if we buy ten curses, will you drop the price to seven hundred?” My ears pricked toward the voice of Lanky Dude. He was currently fanning through his wad of cash. Acne did the same.

“Well . . .” Tessa’s eyebrows pinched together. The school girls let out another string of giggles as they read one of the potion labels—a love spell. “I mean, we don’t usually allow bargaining.” Tessa twisted her hands.

“No discounts, guys,” I called over my shoulder, knowing Tessa wouldn’t mind this type of interruption. She hated confrontation. “The sale price is five hundred for five curses, so ten curses would be a thousand.” I moved to the next shelf, gripping the feather duster again.

“How about eight hundred?” Lanky Dude asked.

I held eye contact, my expression not faltering. “Ten curses are a thousand even, no bargaining. But, if it makes you feel better, that’s actually a very good deal considering the ingredients used in the product. They’re hard to come by, and I can guarantee you won’t find any legitimate curse on the market like ours.”

Lanky Dude continued to eye me, but when I simply arched an eyebrow, he sighed and pulled out the remaining cash. “You got the other five?” he asked Acne. “That was the deal, right? We pay, and Evan gets the curse placed on him to make sure it works?”

Acne nodded. “Yeah, no problem, bro.”

Tessa mouthed thank you to me and stopped twisting her hands as Lanky Dude and Acne combined their funds.

Evan roused on the floor, his eyes fluttering open, just as they finished.

“Bro, still alive then?” Acne crouched down and clapped his now-alive friend on the back when he sat up.

Lanky Dude checked the wall clock. “Ten minutes on the dot, just like the ad said. How do ya feel?”

Evan yawned. “Fine, I guess. Was I really dead?”

“Yep. Dead as road kill, my man.” Lanky Dude offered a hand to help him up.

Tessa daintily swirled beside him. “Dead for an entire ten minutes and zero seconds, just as promised.”

“Wicked.” Evan dusted his jeans off. “That’s some pretty accurate timing.”

“So you really invented this spell?” Acne asked Tessa as Evan rubbed his face, looking more alert by the second. The side effects of the death curse never lasted long.

“I did.” My sister bobbed her head. “I invented it last year, but it wasn’t an easy one. That one took several months of careful mixing and brewing to get all of the ingredients right. Too much or too little of the ingredients and the soul wouldn’t stay tethered to the body, causing one’s soul to cross to the afterlife. It took a bit of finessing, but I got the concoction right in the end.”

Lanky Dude cocked his head. “Has anyone ever not come back?”

Tessa’s sapphire-colored eyes widened, an offended expression streaking across her face. “Absolutely not. We don’t sell spells that are lethal. Those types of spells are only found on the black market. Best to keep your distance from anything like that.” She sniffed and smoothed her skirt again.

I placed the feather duster on the shelf next to our enchanted clothing section, one of our top sellers to the local supernaturals in Chicago. The wind off Lake Michigan could be fierce at times while the sun downtown could bake you. The clothing adjusted to the elements, either thickening or thinning to accommodate the shifting temperatures.

I made my way to the front counter since the college guys looked like they were ready to purchase. “I can ring you boys up if you’re ready.”

Tessa smiled pleasantly. “Tala will take it from here. She’s best with the legal stuff.” Tessa waved the college guys my way before twirling to the school girls.

“Oh my goddess, here she comes!” one of the girls hissed when Tessa glided toward them.

A grin streaked across my twin’s face, making her cheeks lift as her eyes sparkled.

“It’s really her!” one of the girls whispered loudly.

When Tessa reached them, she beamed. “And what are you young ladies looking for today?”

They all stared at her tongue-tied.

“Is it always like that?” Lanky Dude asked me at the counter, bills in hand.

“Usually,” I replied as I pulled out our curse ledger. “Have you heard of my sister too?”

Lanky Dude shrugged. “Hasn’t everyone? The gorgeous blond witch—” He coughed, his eyes bugging out. “I mean, the young witch with more power than all the witches in Chicago who can brew potions and spells that other witches can only dream of? Yeah, we’ve heard of her. It’s why we’re here.”

“Well, what you’ve heard is correct.” I opened the ledger to the last page. “Tessa’s magic is wickedly strong, which is why you can rest easy that the curses you’re purchasing are not only effective but incredibly safe.”

I pointed at the area on the ledger that tracked who we sold our more dangerous goods to. While the death curses were intended as harmless pranks, they could also scare the living daylights out of someone and warrant unnecessary emergency calls. Our business didn’t need that drama or liability. “All three of you need to read the small print, then leave a drop of blood here, which states that you understand the terms and conditions before I ring you up.”