“I think it’s time you considered buying a good wand.” Henry was sipping a brew of something thick and licoricey that could probably have resurfaced a road. It looked like total ick to me, but since I didn’t have to drink it, I didn’t have to like it. It smelled better than it looked. “This sounds like a focusing issue, and though you don’t need a wand, it’ll help get you started.”
“Yes, you’re probably right.” I knew Mom would have a fit if she could hear me, but I was a big girl now, and I was here to learn all I could. If that meant I needed a new wand, then a new wand I should have.
Ironically enough, that was the one magical item Sylvia didn’t stock. You needed a special license to sell wands, not to mention the increase she would need in security and insurance. “Where’s the best place to get a good one—on a budget?”
Henry, who had been taking a wee break after restocking Sylvia’s supply of holly berries ahead of the solstice, put down his mug and scratched his chin. “There’s a few places I can think of. Nicholas and Greer’s is the best, but I can barely afford the bags in that place. Duck Bills is dirt cheap, but the wands are a bit dicey and tend to fail after a couple of years. One minute you’re casting a watering spell, and the next second there’s a tsunami in Peru. Do not go. You should try Midas Banks. Never mind the name, her stuff is reasonably priced, and she won’t rip you off. It’s the closest.”
“Just how many wands shops are there in the city?”
“A fair few. There’s a lot of demand, so why wouldn’t there be?”
I couldn’t argue with his logic and closed up my book. Our break was over. It was time to get back to work. “Well, I just hope they’re not too expensive, even the cheap ones.” I stashed my book inside my bag and stowed it under the table. My favorite kitten, a pretty little ginger I called Hex, although none of them had actually been given names, came and sat beside it. When Henry wasn’t looking, I tickled her under her chin—she was the only one who let me.
“They can run from a few hundred dollars to thousands.”
My heart sank. I’d just sent some of my wages home to Mom, and my funds were getting low. “What if I didn’t get a wand? Is there any other way to focus the magic?”
Henry, who was heading to the front of the store, stopped in his tracks and slapped his forehead. “Gaia, am I an idiot or what?”
I stared at him, my brow knitted in confusion.
He pointed to my hand. “The ring. You have a perfectly good focusing object right there.”
I toyed with the azurite ring on my finger. “Instead of a wand?”
“Sure. It can work just as well as a wand, possibly even better if you learn to use it right. We can talk about it later, okay?”
“Sure.”
Funny. I hadn’t thought about the ring in forever. It was funny how quickly you could become so forgetful of something around your fingers, no matter how unfamiliar or heavy it had seemed at first. Yet I had. On the upside, this at least wouldn’t cost me a dime, and that made me a happy bunny indeed.
I was reaching for some empty recyclable glass vials when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a missed call from Jimmy. I grimaced. I really, really didn’t want to talk about what I’d heard last night. All of that was between him and Isabella, not me, and though I couldn’t be certain that was what he wanted, I didn’t want to take the chance that it might be.
All tied up. Call later.
I shot off the quick text and put my phone back inside my pocket, and then pulled the vials toward me and said, “Âðierran.” In a flash, they were all freshly sanitized and ready for reuse. My phone buzzed again. Sighing, I whipped it out. Might as well get this over with.
“Hey, Jimmy, what’s up? I can’t talk long. I’m at work.”
“Hey, you, I was trying to reach Isabella, but she’s not answering her phone. Is she with you?” His tone was anxious.
Young love. Like I can talk. “No. Maybe she’s in the shower. From what I heard, it was quite a night.”
“Oh, right. Made a bit of a night of it, did she? She said she was meeting up with an old friend.”
I caught my breath and switched my phone to the other ear. “Wait. What? You weren’t with her last night?”
“Me, no. She told me she had plans. I guess she got home kinda late.”
Son of a banshee. My heart sank. What on earth was I supposed to say now? I had to think. Maybe I’d got it wrong. I’d been half-asleep last night, after all. “I, um, I suspect she’s lying in. She was—err—off sick yesterday, and I assumed she was pulling the same stunt today. I’d try her again. If you don’t hear from her, call me later when I get home. I’m sure she’s just in recovery mode.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” The phone went dead, and I stared at the wall. Could I have been wrong? Now that Jimmy was gone, I had time to think more clearly. There was no way I’d misheard the party in the room next to mine. No. Freakin’. Way.
I dialed Isabella’s number, but it went straight into her voice mail. “Hi—it’s me. Call me when you get a moment. Bye.”
I stared at the vials, trying to think but my mind was a total blank. I strolled into the main store where Henry was atop a ladder, rotating some of the stock on the top shelf. He glanced down, and seeing me hanging about, he slid down the side of the ladder like a boss.
“How are you doing with those vials?”
“All done.” I stared at my feet.
Henry must have noticed something was up because the next thing I knew, his hand was on my shoulder. “Is something the matter?”
“Did Isabella call in today? I confess, I didn’t bother checking to see she was all right this morning, but it’s not like her to say nothing at all.”
He shook his head. “Not a thing. I texted her earlier, but she didn’t text back. I just assumed her head was still bad.”
I really wanted to tell him what I’d heard last night, but Henry was Isabella’s boss, or was good as, and I didn’t want to get her into any trouble. “Yeah, most likely. Anyway, what do you want me to do with those vials now they’re all cleaned up?”
“As soon as they’re dry, fill them up with Isabella’s good luck potion. The last batch she made for me was pretty good. Just filter them and pop a cork in.”
“Sure.”
I must have sounded flat because Henry crooked his finger under my chin and tilted my head up. “Are you sure you’re okay?” His gaze searched mine, and I stared at my hands, afraid I might give something away.
“Yeah, just tired. I had to spell myself to sleep last night.” I’m not sure he bought my excuse, but he let me go.
“If she doesn’t check in soon, maybe you should head out early tonight and check on her.”
“You sure you wouldn’t mind?”
He grinned. “I think so. Help me through the lunch rush and then head on home. I can hold the fort here. It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”
“Thank you. I’ll come in bright and early tomorrow to make up the time.”
“There’s no need. You’ve earned it, really. I was telling Sylvia last night what a hard worker you are. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
I blushed and returned to the back of the store. The jar of good luck potion Isabella had made was sitting by the sink. I collected it and sat at the worktable. As I began filtering the liquid into the vials, I thought about Isabella. She was a big girl, I supposed. She and Jimmy had hardly been an item for long, and it was her business what she did or didn’t do with her own body. That said, I couldn’t help thinking about what it would do to my brother when he found out, as he inevitably would. I knew Jimmy. He had fallen for her and fallen hard. I didn’t even want to think of what this would do to him.
I spilled a little of the potion on the table. “Shoot. Money down the toilet.” I wiped up the mess with an old rag and shook these thoughts from my head. I had a hundred or so vials to fill before lunch and needed to concentrate. My brother’s love life would have to wait for the time being. I slipped the spout of the filter inside one of the vials and focused on the task at hand.