Evan cocked his head, a lock of shaggy brown hair falling in front of his eyes. “Seriously?”
I smiled sweetly, doing my best to mimic my sister’s natural charm. Given that Evan’s grumpy expression remained, I resorted to my usual directness. “Seriously.”
They all grumbled but allowed the enchanted ledger to prick their thumbs before cataloguing their blood, identities, and acknowledgement of consent. Once finished, I rang them up, then pulled ten tablets of the death curse from the locked box under the counter and slipped them into individually sealed bags, each with an instruction card.
In order for the curses to work, the user had to ingest the tablet and whisper the accompanying spell within ten minutes of taking the tablet. Pretty easy considering that particular curse took months of production to get right.
A waft of raggenroot rose from each bag when I cinched them closed. My senses tingled in awareness at the rare plant. That particular root was only harvested in the fae lands and cost a pretty penny.
Acne held out his hand for the curses, and after placing them all in a carrying sack with our Practically Perfect logo on the outside, I looped it around his fingers. “Make sure you follow the directions and memorize the spell beforehand. If you don’t follow all of the directions precisely, the curses won’t work.”
“Roger that.” Acne saluted me.
The guys dipped their heads together as they began scheming on who they were going to prank at their frat house first. When they reached the front door, the bell jingled again, and each guy went to their enchanted hover board that glided several inches off the ground when they flew.
Outside, dozens of supernaturals walked along the streets as they meandered through our small supernatural marketplace hidden to the humans in downtown Chicago. Autumn had arrived, and the sun shone brightly. I was happy to see a familiar sweater on one supernatural that passed—it was our label.
Turning back to the dusty shelves, I picked up my feather duster and resumed cleaning as Tessa continued to dazzle the middle-school girls.
The giggles in the corner didn’t lessen as Tessa sashayed about the displays, her skirt brushing the shelves and racks. Each girl watched her with rapt attention, and the smile on Tessa’s face grew and grew the more enamored they became with her.
My forehead puckered as I began mentally going through the list of herbs and roots we had arriving in the afternoon shipment. We were still short on disselweed, so I’d have to contact a few more vendors to get the amount we needed by next week—
The front door jingled as a new customer entered. I waited for the spell to trigger, alerting us to what he was here to buy, but . . . it didn’t come.
The newest customer prowled into the shop, his footsteps silent despite his large frame. He was tall, easily six-three with meaty-looking arms and a heavy brow. A black jacket with a stiff collar covered his upper half. Dark jeans clung to his strong legs, and a cap was slung low over his forehead.
I continued dusting but watched him out of the corner of my eye.
“Right this way,” Tessa called cheerily to the group of girls.
I set my duster down again and moved to the counter.
“I can’t wait to try this!” Strawberry-blond Curls exclaimed. “The look on Meredith’s face when I show up to her party glamored, looking better than her, will be priceless.” She sighed. “It’ll be the first time she’s not the center of attention.”
“And she won’t even know it’s you!” the tall one replied.
Tessa waved them off to me.
“Thank you!” the blond one called to my sister. “And thank you for autographing our shirts. Meredith will die when she learns that we met you in person.”
I hit a few buttons on the register when they dropped the potion into my hand. “I take it Meredith’s not a best friend of yours?”
The tall one’s face darkened. “Not at all. She’s a total bitch who stole Ria’s boyfriend.” She nodded toward Strawberry-blond Curls, evidently named Ria.
Ria’s lips turned downward, her face falling. She eyed the potion again, hope blooming in her eyes. “I’m going to use that to win him back. I’m going to look better than Meredith ever did.”
“You’re going to look amazing!” the tall one agreed before she and the blond began thumbing through the trinkets in our display rack.
I checked the potion’s label. Ria had chosen one of our most expensive glamor potions that would transform her into a statuesque magnetic-looking, young woman with perfectly symmetrical features that would rival a supermodel’s.
I leaned over the counter to look Ria in the eye. “This potion will last for six hours and will take five minutes before it’s fully effective.”
Ria smiled, straight teeth appearing between her lips. “Your sister said I’ll be the most stunning girl at the party.”
“You will be,” I agreed, “but if your ex-boyfriend comes crawling back to you just ’cause you look different than you do now, you might want to ask yourself if he’s worth it. Any guy who doesn’t love you for you, is a waste of time in my book.”
Ria’s eyes widened when I straightened, her gaze raking over my unflinching expression. “He said Meredith’s prettier than me. That’s why he dumped me for her. That and she was doing everything she could to steal him from me,” she added bitterly.
I gave a sympathetic smile but then said, “Most guys who allow themselves to be ‘stolen’ would have left eventually anyway.”
Her brow furrowed. “You sound like it’s happened to you before. Has anyone ever stolen your boyfriend?” She eyed her friends who were still caught up in our display rack.
“Yep, it happened to me too when I was about your age. Steven Ghastler. I had the biggest crush on him, but then he left me for Rosey Winters. I was devastated.” I shrugged. “But that happens to most people at some point in their life, and when it does, you have to ask yourself if he was ever worth it in the first place.” Ria’s brow pinched together so I continued. “Because any dude who’s chasing pretty faces is probably a shallow dimwit who’s not worth your time.”
Ria gaped, before she muffled a laugh.
I grinned and winked at her.
She eyed the potion again and swallowed hard. After a moment, she bit her lip, then slid the tiny vial across the counter to me. “On second thought, I don’t need the potion. I’m going to the party as myself.”
My smile grew as I picked up the vial. “Have fun!” Nodding toward her friends, I added, “With a crew like that, it should be a good time regardless. Remember, it’s all what you make of it.”
Ria’s back straightened, a new light entering her eyes before she gathered her friends, hooking her arms through theirs. “You’re right. It’s what we make of it.”
Her friends’ mouths slackened when they saw the potion sitting idly in my hands, but then they caught sight of Ria’s determined expression.
“You’re not buying it?” the blond one asked.
Ria shook her head. “Nope. I don’t need it.”
They shrugged, then let out a string of giggles when they showed her the rings on the counter that told fortunes. The blond girl had put one on. It said she’d find love tonight.
Ria joined in their laughing, before they put the rings back and hurried out the front door.
I straightened the rings, then tossed the unpurchased potion into the box for items that would need re-shelving.
Across the store, the lone man in the shop picked up a glass charm in the shape of a toad. All of the charms on that shelf cast protective wards around valuables when activated.
“Those are perfect for guarding family heirlooms or precious items.” Tessa slid toward him. A pink stain filled her cheeks. “Would you like a demonstration?”
His lips curved. “If you don’t mind.”
Tessa’s smile grew, her eyes sparkling—her telltale excitement obvious as I returned to dusting the shelf.
