Blonde With a Wand (20 page)

And she could also be a pain in the ass. “Stuff a sock in it, Lily.” Smirking at her sister, Anica left the kitchen and walked over to the closet to get her hooded black coat.

“Oooh, some spunk!” Lily followed her. “Glad to see it. So, is everything fine here? Did you e-mail Jasper’s work again?”

“I do it every morning.” Anica buttoned her coat. “He has some work-related things piling up, and I’m wondering if somebody needs to check his condo and collect the mail, but if Dorcas and Ambrose can solve this today, he’ll be able to handle it.”

“Then again, having it take a little longer wouldn’t be so bad, would it?” Lily winked at her.

“No comment. And thanks again for doing the spell.” Grabbing her purse, Anica left the apartment. She knew perfectly well that once Jasper was completely cured she’d never see him again.

That might take place today. She hoped it would, even though that meant she’d never have sex with him again. If that consequence made her sad, she’d deal with it. Jasper’s return to human form was the only thing she’d allow herself to think about right now.

 

Jasper watched Anica go out the door. He’d figured out that she was meeting her witch and wizard friends at Wicked Brew because he wasn’t supposed to be privy to what they said to each other. That ticked him off. He was the primary one involved, after all.

But once again he wasn’t in control of his destiny. All he could do was stay curled up on this sofa and pretend to sleep, when inside he was a seething mass of worry. Another day had gone by, another day when he’d been AWOL at the office. Pickens, the nerd in the office next to his, had his eye on several of Jasper’s clients. If Jasper didn’t get back there soon Pickens might start stealing those clients out from under him.

As he lay there picturing that unwelcome scenario, Lily came over carrying a steaming mug of coffee.

She sat down beside him and adjusted her short skirt. “So, fuzz face, you made it with my sister last night, I hear.”

Jasper kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He’d been irritated that Anica had told Lily about last night, even though her comment about how great the sex was had soothed him somewhat. Fortunately Anica hadn’t gone all mushy when she’d mentioned the incident. Maybe in the light of day she realized it was just sex and nothing else.

“I’m glad you made her happy for a little while,” Lily said. “Because she’s headed to Wicked Brew to lay her reputation on the line for you.”

Jasper thought that was only fair.

“I’m sure you have a mental list of grievances longer than the line at the DMV, but I wonder if you’ve considered the advantages of being a cat?”

Oh, sure. He’d especially loved the Shoumatoff incident.

“Some people see their glass as half-empty, and I wonder if that fits you, Jasper. Let me show you that your glass is half full. For example, as Anica’s cat you don’t have to worry about paying a mortgage or buying groceries. Your food is provided free of charge. You have somewhere to live that’s warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”

He hoped to God he wouldn’t be around to experience seasonal change in this apartment.

“Anica makes sure you have a soft place to sleep and that your food dishes are always clean. And here’s a bonus. You have the flexibility to lick your balls. I would think an oversexed guy like you would love that to pieces.”

If he could talk he’d let her know that contrary to what she might think, he had no interest in that activity.

“Anyway, my big sis is worried that once you’re a man again, you’ll seek some kind of revenge against her for all your supposed injuries. I hope that’s not your plan.”

He hadn’t decided yet. If Pickens had stolen some of his clients, then he was going to be pretty damned unhappy about it, and pretty damned unhappy with Anica.

Lily sipped her coffee and leaned back against the sofa. “Just in case that is your plan, I need to let you know something. You go after my sister, and I’ll go after you. I’m a witch, too, and I don’t have nearly the scruples Anica has. And while you don’t know if she’ll get her magic back, I still have mine.”

How dare she threaten him! Jasper slowly opened his eyes.

Lily smiled. “Got your attention, didn’t I? I thought you were playing possum. Anyway, lover boy, you’d better do my sister right, whether we’re talking in the bedroom or elsewhere. You made some points yesterday when you led us to that mama cat. Very heroic.”

He waited, because she obviously wasn’t finished.

“But I’m not convinced that you won’t try something underhanded with Anica. I’m watching you.” She gave him the two-fingered watching signal.

He was determined not to be intimidated. She’d cleaned up the destruction at Wicked Brew inside of fifteen minutes, which had been impressive. But she hadn’t been able to fix him, so he knew her powers were limited. Yeah, no doubt she was bluffing.

“I sense you might not believe me. Let’s see if I can change your mind.
Doggie, doggie, bold and bright, give this kitty cat a fright.
” She snapped her fingers.

A giant mixed-breed dog came boiling down the hallway, headed straight for Jasper.
What the hell
? Jasper leaped up, every hair on his body extended as he scrambled over the back of the sofa and fled for his life.

The dog snapped at his heels and almost had him, but he made it to the top of the bookshelf just in time to avoid certain death. He crouched there, shaking, as the dog stood snarling below. Then Lily snapped her fingers again and the dog disappeared.

Breathing hard, Jasper met her gaze. Maybe she wasn’t bluffing, after all.

 

Soon after Anica stepped out on the sidewalk, the wind picked up and blew the rain sideways into her face. She adjusted her hood. When she’d been blessed with magic she’d never worried about arriving wet and bedraggled. A quick spell and her hair and makeup had been restored to the way they’d looked when she’d left her apartment.

She’d taken those magic powers for granted. Too bad it’d required a major screwup like this for her to realize how cocky she’d been about her well-ordered life. She dreaded seeing the condition of Wicked Brew. Although her employees cleaned reasonably well, she’d used magic every hour or so to make it white-glove spotless. But her spotless place of business, her spotless life, were no more.

When she pushed open the door of Wicked Brew, she saw an ordinary coffee shop with ordinary spills on the tables, ordinary straw wrappers on the floor, ordinary sugar scattered on the counter. The place wasn’t dirty or in danger of failing a health inspection. But the magic was gone.

The chaos she’d found after the fairy vandalism had been horrible, but this was almost worse because it hadn’t been caused by magic. Instead it had been caused by a lack of magic, and that broke her heart.

She hated for Dorcas and Ambrose to see her shop in this condition, but then again, they wouldn’t know the difference. They’d never seen it the other way.

Several of her regular customers called out to her as she walked in, and she returned their greetings with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She picked up a couple of straw wrappers from the floor and threw them in the trash. If she’d had time, she would have grabbed a rag to wipe down the tables. Todd and Sally were busy filling orders behind the counter and couldn’t do it.

But she wasn’t here to tidy up the place. She was here to meet a witch and wizard who had the experience she lacked to fix the mess she’d made of her life. Lily had given her a description of them, so they weren’t hard to spot. She saw them over at a corner table, sipping on lattes.

They seemed like the sort of boomer couple who would live in Lakefront Towers and have season tickets to the symphony. Dorcas could be a head buyer for Nord-strom, and he could be the CEO of some innovative ad agency. They dressed in a style that never went out of date—sport jacket and turtleneck for him; cowl-necked sweater for her. He was graying at the temples, while Dorcas’s chin-length hair looked as if she’d just spent a few hours with a top Chicago stylist who understood all the secrets of color and cut.

Anica knew about Big Knob, of course. Everyone in the magical world had heard of that peculiar little town filled with people clueless about the town’s magical heritage. When Anica and Lily were small, their parents had taken them for a drive down to Big Knob so they could see the streets laid out in the shape of a five-pointed star and the pentagon-shaped gazebo in the middle of a five-sided town “square.”

Anica remembered the place as quaint but not the least bit sophisticated. Dorcas and Ambrose didn’t look as if they’d fit in with the good folks of Big Knob, but somehow they’d managed to survive down there. Anica was grateful they’d stayed, though, because that placed them close enough to help in her hour of need.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the corner table.

Dorcas glanced up and smiled, but there was nothing jolly about her expression. Sympathetic was more like it. “You’re Anica.”

She tried not to read too much into that smile. “Yes. Thank you for coming.”

Ambrose pushed back his chair and stood. “It’s our pleasure.” He pulled out a chair. “Have a seat. Can I get you some coffee?”

“Uh, no, thanks.” She thought it was cute that he was offering her coffee in her own shop. “But is there anything more you’d like? On the house, of course. We have all sorts of pastries in the case.” She hoped that was true. She hadn’t been around to oversee reorders.

“We’ll probably go out for lunch after we talk with you,” Dorcas said. “So we’re fine.”

That reminded Anica of the expenses they were incurring on her behalf. “Listen, I’ve never asked for this kind of intervention before, and I’m willing to compensate you in whatever way you—”

“Wouldn’t hear of it,” Ambrose said. “We’re always glad for an excuse to get out of town. Big Knob’s okay, but after a while a person wants to—Dorcas, that was my foot you just kicked.”

“Was it? Pardon me. I just wanted to clarify how much we love our little adopted town of Big Knob.”

“Uh, right.” Ambrose blinked. “Love the place. Love. It.”

Dorcas leaned toward Anica. “I’ll admit that we were a little dissatisfied with the move to Big Knob in the beginning, but now we’ve made so many friends, and I’m godmother to several babies.”

“Ah yes.” Ambrose rolled his eyes. “The
babies.
When one of those babies comes to the house, everything has to stop, and I—Ouch, Dorcas! Quit kicking me.”

“You know you love those babies, Ambrose. Anyway, I’d hate for the council to hear that we weren’t thrilled to be there. They might transfer us.”

“But aren’t you both
on
the council?”

“We’re the most junior members,” Dorcas said. “That means we could be outvoted if the rest of the council decides we’d be more useful elsewhere. I don’t want them getting the slightest hint that that’s a good idea.” She glared at Ambrose.

Anica had a disturbing thought. “Is there a chance that you’ll get in trouble with the council by helping me and not telling them about it?”

“We’re not going to worry about that,” Dorcas said quickly. “Now, about your situation, I’ve—”

“No, wait.” Anica had enough guilt already, without adding the Lowells to the list of people she’d wronged. “I asked you to keep it quiet, but never mind about that. I’ve done some soul searching recently and I’ve decided that I’ve been way too concerned about my reputation getting ruined. If the council needs to know about this, please tell them.”

Dorcas laid a hand on her arm. “Listen, sweetie, I know how it feels to have the council pass judgment on you, and it’s not pleasant. I’d like to save you from that.”

“But not at your own expense.” She was determined not to cry. “Promise me you won’t put yourselves in a bad position because of me. I’ve created enough havoc already.”

“Okay, I promise.” Dorcas squeezed her hand. “Besides, I’m afraid there’s not much we can do to help you.”

Anica left Wicked Brew in a daze. The rain pelted her and she didn’t even bother to put up her hood to protect herself. What a stupid fool she’d been to invoke that ancient curse when she’d known nothing about it. She’d spent her whole life avoiding impulsive behavior, and the one time she’d done something reckless she’d created a tangle that might never be undone.

By the time she walked back into the apartment her hair was soaked and water had dripped inside the collar of her coat. She was shivering with both cold and reaction to the news Dorcas had given her. They’d wanted to take her to lunch, buy her a stiff drink, or at least walk her home, but she’d politely refused. This was her problem, and she’d figure it out . . . somehow.

Lily took one look at her and dragged her back into the bathroom, shutting the door after them. “You look like shit on a stick, girl.” She helped Anica off with her coat before grabbing a towel and making Anica sit on the closed toilet lid while Lily dried her hair as if she were four years old.

“Oh, Lil. It’s a hundred times worse than we thought.”

Lily stopped drying. “Hang on a sec.” She went out the door and closed it after her. Within a minute she was back. “Jasper was right outside listening. I put him in the hall and closed the bedroom door, too. But just to be safe, let’s turn on the shower and keep our voices down.”

Anica nodded, ashamed that Lily had to do all the thinking.

“Now, tell me.”

Anica hoped she could without bursting into tears. Clenching her hands in her lap, she gulped back a sob. “The spell was created for rakes and scoundrels back in the 1700s. There is no counterspell, which is why I couldn’t find one.”

Lily sat down on the edge of the tub, the towel forgotten in her hands as she stared in horror at her sister. “So the spell is
permanent
?”

“No.”