The thick smell of caramelizing sugar threatened to suffocate me as I entered Bella’s Bewitching Boulangerie, and just looking at the various cupcakes and sweet treats in the display case built into the front desk made my teeth ache.
“Selena! Welcome in! I was wondering if you might stop by,” Bella shouted as she swept out from behind the front desk like she hadn’t been watching us for the last twenty minutes or more.
In a complete contradiction to the way she’d been staring at me in the square, she threw her arms around me like I was one of her oldest friends, and when she pulled away, I had to beat my robes to get all the flour and powdered sugar off. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Sometimes I just can’t help myself,” Bella laughed and grimaced at the damage she’d done. “Anyway, what can I get you? Anything you want, it’s on the house.”
I shot a glance at Thorn, who shrugged and knelt down in front of the display case to peruse the parade of pastel-colored baked goods — each coated in enough frosting to induce diabetic shock — but even I had to admit how tempting they were.
“What do you recommend?” I asked, unable to stop thinking about Azalea’s theory of poisoned cupcakes. I wasn’t sure Bella would want to target me too, but I also figured it couldn’t hurt to be cautious, especially given the way Bella had so intently watched us speaking in the square. If Bella took a bite first, whatever she gave me was probably safe to eat. Probably.
“Well, that depends on what you like!” Bella said and retreated behind the front desk to slide open the display case’s door. She pointed to a stack of particularly large cookies decorated to look like the night sky, complete with blinding sparkles for stars. “My Starcrest Cookies are the most popular, but you really can’t go wrong with anything.”
“I’ll try one of those then, I guess,” I said, and Bella pulled a sheet of rice paper from a box on the counter to snag a cookie without touching it.
She passed the paper-wrapped cookie to me with a syrupy sweet smile. “It won’t be the only one you eat before you leave here, I promise,” she said and shrugged. “Sorry, not sorry.”
Unable to bring myself to take a bite, I stared at the cookie in my hand. I wasn’t sure if I was afraid of it or if I didn’t want to ruin the artistry of the decoration — or both. Thankfully, Thorn broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth without a second thought, then let out a deep moan.
“Oh, thath heavenly,” he mumbled through a mouthful, then clapped a hand over his mouth to cover his chewing. “Thorry.”
Well, at least we’d be in the same boat together if there was something dangerous in the cookie — and I doubted there really was anyway since Bella had just pulled it right out of the case — so I broke off a piece and from the first rush of flavor, I knew Thorn was right. It didn’t taste like any cookie I’d ever eaten before, but I couldn’t find words to describe it.
“See? I told you,” Bella laughed and produced a paper cup from somewhere. “How about something to wash it down with?” She glided to a nearby glass pitcher that should’ve contained tea or water, but held a deep, bruised purple liquid that swirled with specks of gold. “This is my latest creation. I’m still trying to work out the final recipe but tell me what you think. I call it Night Sky,” Bella said and filled the cup with the almost viscous liquid to the brim.
I took it from her and allowed myself a tentative sip. Despite its consistency, the drink slid down my throat like velvet, leaving behind the vaguely bitter but sweet taste of grape; it paired perfectly with the sugariness of the cookie, like a sweet and sour bomb. Unable to speak, I passed the cup to Thorn and watched a similar flavor journey play out on his face.
“Wow,” he whispered when he’d swallowed. “I feel like I just drank the galaxy.”
Bella beamed. “I think that's the best thing anyone has ever said about my work.” She turned to me, still wearing a smile so tight it looked painful. “So, what brings you in? I noticed you had a little get together with Azalea in the square. Is everything okay?”
I found it very hard to believe that a busybody like her hadn’t already heard — or at least figured out — what’d happened to Oliver, but I played along. “It’s Oliver. He’s… Well, he’s sick.”
Bella clapped a hand over her mouth, leaving a flour print of her palm on her face. “What? What happened?”
“We aren’t sure how, but he’s showing symptoms of vampirism. He got really ill while he was visiting us at Kindred Spirits to—”
“Talk about the groundskeeping gig, yeah,” Bella interrupted. “Whoa. I don’t know what to say. What did you do? Did you get him help?”
“My aunt, Blair, rushed him to Spellfield. As far as we know, he’s having a hard time, but he’s still, um, alive,” I said, struggling to find the right word to describe Oliver’s condition that also wouldn’t give too much away.
“Is that why you were talking with Azalea?” Bella asked.
“We’re talking with everyone who’s seen Oliver today,” I said carefully. I didn’t want to put Bella on edge because I’d already sensed her clamming up. If Azalea had told me the truth about the argument she’d claimed she overheard between Oliver and Bella earlier in the afternoon, Bella had to be nervous about how that might make her look in context.
“Well, I see him pretty much every day, so you’re in the right place,” Bella said, and her smile snapped back into place like it’d never left. “Though I’ve gotta say, I didn’t notice anything was wrong. If you hadn’t told me he was sick, I would never have guessed. But vampirism, huh? How weird and, well, random.”
“Yeah, I thought the same thing. I mean, I don’t know how many vampires live in Starfall Valley, but I’d guess it’s not a huge number.”
Bella shook her head. “No. Well, not for a hundred years or more now, anyway. Starfall isn’t exactly the best environment for the undead. Not much to, um, hunt up here,” she said and shuddered before she collected herself. “Sorry, I don’t mean any offense, I just have a weak stomach for that stuff.”
“Understandable,” I said and took another bite of the cookie before passing the rest to Thorn, who grasped it. I probably wouldn’t get anymore now that it was back in his hands, but I didn’t need it, anyway. “I’ve heard you and Oliver have quite the history together,” I said, testing the waters, and couldn’t help noticing Bella’s shoulders tense.
“Yeah, we do,” she laughed, avoiding my eyes. “No one knew what to do with us at the Institute because we were always trying to one-up each other. There wasn’t anyone in the entire school who wanted to be top alchemist more than me, except for maybe Oliver.”
“Ah, a good old rivalry,” I said, smiling to put Bella at ease.
Bella rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I know. How cliché, right? But we definitely had a little competition going on. In a lot of ways, I guess we still do. Oliver beat me for the top slot the year we graduated, and I still haven’t forgiven him, which is exactly why I rented the shop right next to his,” she said, and I honestly couldn’t tell whether she meant it as a joke. After several seconds passed and I didn’t react, Bella laughed. “I’m kidding, Selena. This was the only building for rent when I started the bakery.”
“Oh, right,” I said and fell silent. Bella seemed like the type who couldn’t stand prolonged periods of quiet, so I wondered if she might incriminate herself if I gave her the chance; she didn’t disappoint.
“I’m glad it worked out this way, though. There’s something special about my rivalry with Oliver. It brings out the best in me, you know? It’s like I never want to let him see anything but my top-notch, which has a pleasant side effect of attracting business.”
“I dunno, that sounds kind of intense to me.”
Bella shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it is, but I thrive on it. I don’t know what I’m going to do if Oliver doesn’t…” she trailed, but then waved both hands in the air as if to banish the thought. “No, I’m not even going to finish saying that because it can’t happen. I won’t let it.”
I didn’t see how there was anything Bella could do to help Oliver overcome his condition, but I knew better than to say so. “Has your relationship with Oliver ever gotten a little, well, too intense to handle?”
Bella’s jaw dropped. “What? No. No, not at all. I mean, we’ve had our problems over the years, but not to that extent.”
“Really? Because I heard that you and Oliver exchanged some heated words earlier today.”
“We had a conversation, sure, but — wait a second, did Azalea tell you that?”
I didn’t see any point in denying it, so I nodded. “She did. She said you came flying into Petals & Potions complaining about the smell coming from the shop, and you were so upset about it that Oliver had to take you outside.”
Bella’s cheeks flamed, and she opened and closed her mouth several times like a fish out of water. “I… I, well, I admit it, it upset me, but it’s not like… I didn’t hurt Oliver, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“I’m not pointing any fingers, Bella, I’m just asking around for Oliver’s sake.”
“Right, of course, I understand. Listen, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea from, well, prying ears,” Bella said, annoyed. “I’m sure Azalea meant well, but she doesn’t know the complete story. The thing is Oliver and Giles have been working on some new product, and every time they do it puts off this horrendous smell. I don’t know what they’re using, but it’s seriously suffocating.”
“Azalea said it’s not that bad.”
“Well, like I said, Azalea doesn’t really know what she’s talking about sometimes. I’m telling you, Selena, I’ve never smelled anything like it, and I’ve gotten several complaints from some of my regular customers, so it’s definitely not just me. I can’t even describe the smell, it’s like… Something died and they left it to bake in the sun,” Bella said, and this time I shuddered.
“What do you think it is they’re doing?”
“I wish I knew, trust me!” she said, and I didn’t doubt that for a second. For someone as nosy as Bella, not knowing the details about something like this must’ve been driving her absolutely crazy. “Giles swore Oliver to secrecy, and though I’ve tried to weasel the details out of him a few times, all he’s ever told me is that it’s something ‘revolutionary’ that will ‘change the world,’ whatever that means. Oliver’s quite the visionary, I’ll give him that, but I’ve never heard of any flower or potion that’s started a revolution. Have you?”
If those were really the terms Oliver and Giles were using to describe their work, then that might explain why someone like Dominique would be interested in swooping in to scoop up exclusive rights to their serum. But what was it? What could warrant that much secrecy — and such an allegedly offensive smell as a byproduct? “No, I can’t say I’ve heard of anything like that either, though I’m not the best with history.”
Bella’s brows scrunched as she thought everything over, and then her face lit up. “Hey, wait a second! I just thought of something. Do you think whatever happened to Oliver could’ve been caused by what he and Giles were working on?”
“You mean like some weird side effect of exposure or something?”
“Yeah. I mean, working around something that smells that awful all the time can’t be good for you.”
“Huh. I hadn’t thought of that,” I lied, mostly because I wasn’t sure if Bella was trying to throw me off her trail or if she really thought that might explain it.
“Well, there are really only two people left to ask about it, though I don’t know if either of them will tell you anything,” Bella said.
“Oh? Who?”
“Giles, obviously, but good luck getting anything out of him. There’s this scary other vampire though who’s been hanging around here a lot lately whispering in Oliver’s ear. I’d never seen the giant until Oliver and Giles started working on, well, whatever it is they’re working on, but now that other vampire’s here pretty much every day. I think his name is Dom?”
Instinctively, my eyes shot to Thorn’s; they were just as wide as mine must’ve been. I’d already known Dominique was trying to strike a deal with Oliver and Giles, but if Bella was telling the truth about his visits, the vampire was obviously much more interested in acquiring the rights to the serum than we’d first thought — so just how far had their negotiations gone? And could Dom have attacked Oliver for backing out? He seemed too aggressive to use something like poison, but stranger things had happened.
“Oh, and you know what? He was here again earlier today. After you guys left the festival, he showed up at Giles’ table demanding to speak to Oliver, but Giles didn’t have the guts to tell him Oliver was busy and to buzz off, so I did it for him,” Bella continued, and my mind flashed back to the look of borderline fear I’d seen in Giles’ eyes when Dom approached his table; I’d seen the interaction on our way out of the square earlier. Was Giles asking for my help when our eyes locked, or was it something else?
When neither of us responded, Bella spoke up again. “I take it that name rang a bell?”
“Yeah, Dom’s staying at Kindred Spirits. He said he’s here for business, but we didn’t really know what kind until recently.”
“Well, that’s perfect for you, isn’t it? If anyone would know what Giles and Oliver were working on, it would be him, judging from how aggressively he’s been trying to court their business. Dom scares me, honestly, but Oliver has had nothing but good things to say about him,” Bella said, which left me wondering why Giles wouldn’t want him meeting with Oliver. Was Giles trying to protect his admittedly gullible business partner from getting swindled, or was he just jealous? “Dom probably knows a thing or two about people becoming vampires too.”
“Do you know where he went after you told him to get lost?” I asked, and Bella shrugged.
“No idea, I lost track of him, but he’s gotta come back to Kindred Spirits at some point if he’s staying there, right? Who knows, you might’ve passed him on your way back into town.”
“We should probably get going then,” I said more to Thorn than Bella. Thorn nodded his approval, but I noticed him staring at the case of baked goods longingly. Bella did too, and she laughed.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you leave here without another cookie or two for the road,” she said and pulled one for each of us out of the case. I doubted I could finish mine, but I also doubted Thorn would object to me giving him whatever I didn’t eat, so I took the cookie.
“Thanks for the food and conversation, Bella. We appreciate it,” I said.
“Sure thing, I’m glad you stopped by. It was nice to get to know you a bit better, though obviously I wish it’d been under different circumstances. Do you know if they’re allowing visits to Oliver?”
“I don’t, but I can’t imagine it’s a good idea right now if he’s turning.”
Bella gulped. “Oh, yeah… I didn’t think of that. Might be a bit too tempting for him, huh?”
“Probably,” I agreed. “Anyway, it seems like you stay up on things around town, so if you see or hear anything interesting, you can call me at the inn.”
“Will do. Take care, Selena,” she said warmly, and I couldn’t help thinking that, for all my fear of her before I’d entered the shop, she seemed harmless. Nosy, sure, but did that mean she’d hurt someone who she had so much history with? I didn’t think so.
“You too, Bella,” I said and ushered Thorn out of the shop as quickly as I could.