Monster Baiter (An Obscure Magic Book 6) (9 page)

She pressed her fingers against the brick and tapped out a code. A doorway appeared. She grabbed Magnus’s hand and hauled him with her through the doorway.

The light settled into a very pleasant room with the air of a library crossed with a tearoom.

The woman behind the counter surprised Sophy. “Minerva? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Tabeel drank some of her own tea and had to check into the medical centre. She will be fine as soon as she stops burping up fortune-telling bubbles.”

Sophy looked at her friend and grinned. “When is she going to learn that she can’t try her own concoctions?”

Minerva shrugged and moved to lift a wide box up and over her head.

Magnus moved swiftly and helped her set it in place. Minerva looked up at him. “Well, hello. Friend of Sophia’s, I presume?”

“You could say that. She is responsible for me.” Magnus smiled down at her. “However, if I had known that there was an enchantress such as yourself behind that wall, I would have beaten it down for the honour of your greeting.”

Sophia rolled her eyes, and Minerva grinned.

“You are not from around here, are you?”

“No. I am not. I am a very recent arrival, sworn to the service of the Cursed One.”

Sophy snorted. “Nothing like the word
cursed
to make a girl feel special.”

Magnus moved from behind the counter and returned to her side. “That is not what I meant.”

“You are bound to me. I get it. Now, Minerva, can you help me out?”

Minerva held out her hand. “Give me the list, and I will tell you what is and isn’t in stock.”

“They should all be fairly standard.”

She retrieved the list from her cleavage and handed it over to the most powerful mage of their age. Minerva couldn’t just use magic; she could create a new magical ritual and predict the effect. It was one of the greatest talents of the current age.

Minerva was an impressive woman all around. She was the image of an ancient amazon crossed with a giant and blessed with curves. Everything about her was striking, even when she moved to gather the ingredients on the list.

“How long have you known each other?”

Sophy snorted. “She is too young for you, Magnus.”

“No. It just seems that you have a camaraderie that is surprising, considering what you are and what she is.”

“What? That I am over a decade older than she is? Or is it that I tear magic apart and she creates it?”

He stared at her, at Minerva and back again. “You don’t know what her parentage is?”

Sophy shrugged. Fortunately, Minerva was at the far end of the shop. “She’s adopted. Nothing more needs to be known. Now, zip it.”

He looked like he wanted to fight that comment, but she glared at him.

Magnus quieted as they waited for the list to be gone through. Each item was placed carefully on a separate piece of tissue that would keep them from interacting before it was time.

She bit her lip as she counted and held her breath when there was one item missing.

Minerva tapped the list over and over as she returned to them. “You just need one thing.”

Sophy looked at the list and blushed. “Right. I have that at home.”

“Thought you might but wasn’t sure if it was still good.” Minerva folded the list with a smile. “Well, everything else is here.”

Minerva packed the items up, one by one, until she had a large bag and a smile. “Nineteen, please.”

Sophy reached into her purse and pulled out a small coin canister. She opened one end and poured out the nineteen gold coins. “There you are. Tabeel should be happy. I think I just paid her rent for a month.”

“Or, it will pay for her medical treatment. Either way, she will be happy. Have a great day, and we need to go for coffee at the Patchwork Dragon. It’s illuminating.”

Sophy grinned. “Now that he isn’t occupying it, my phone is at your disposal. Call me anytime. I will be only too happy to meet up. This is my first week off in years.”

It was about the only thing that could have shocked Minerva. “You have time off? What happened?”

Sophy chuckled and took the bag. “Call me when you are done here, and I will tell you over coffee.”

“Done.”

Magnus followed her out of the specialty shop and back to the car. He was still bemused by whatever he had sensed in Minerva.

Sophy didn’t blame him; her friend was fascinating. She was the physical embodiment of strength, intelligence, grace and beauty, not to mention power.

She sighed at the fleeting thought that Magnus was the man for her. He obviously didn’t return the sentiment.

She put the ingredients in a charmed bag in the trunk, confirmed that the case was still in place and slammed it closed. When she was back behind the wheel, she tempered her disappointment and headed for home.

“What is the missing ingredient? Is it a kitchen spice or something?” Magnus was keeping the conversation light.

“Oh, no. It is just a bit of blood. I forgot that I had some at home.”

“May I see the list?” He paused. “Please? I have such knowledge of some of these things.”

She fished the list out again and handed it to him.

He went down the list and paused. “Virgin’s blood?”

“Yeah.”

“And you have some at home?” He raised his brows.

“I do.”

“How fresh is it? It must be bright for this to work.”

She grimaced. “Oh, it’s fresh. That is not the issue.”

He chuckled. “Here, I thought that Delwin was more a man of the world.”

“He is enjoying his freedom at his own pace.”

She continued the drive in relative silence, answering the few questions that he put to her with monosyllabic answers.

Her mind was already on the curse breaking. Some she could do on her own, but others—older curses—required props. The music case was old. The flute looked to be over two hundred and the case might have even changed shape to move with the times.

She pulled into her drive with relief. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she would be able to recover from her exertion and get back into the curse-cancelling business.

Sophy opened her trunk and reeled a little at the heady scent. “That is some strong frankincense.”

Magnus came up beside her. “Allow me.”

He pulled the bag out of the trunk, and Sophy cancelled the wards and unlocked the secure storage. The box was right where she had left it and writhing with energy, as if it knew what she had planned.

“Well, it isn’t happy. Let’s get to the workshop and get this underway.”

She closed her trunk and carried the box past the side of the house and into the back yard. The workshop was deceptive. On the surface, it looked like a small shed, but beneath, it ran the length of the block.

It was nice that the houses next to hers were maintained but unoccupied. It would never do to blow up a property that wasn’t her own.

“Why are you just following me around?”

“I have never seen someone attempt what you are about to do. It is fascinating.”

She wrinkled her nose. “It is my job. I do this, I read books, go for coffee with friends, and then, I do it all over again. In between, I do accounting work for my family.”

“What about a lover?” His words were casual.

She laughed all the way to the workshop and down the stairs.

Three hours of pounding, drying and simmering the ingredients and she was ready to let it sit overnight. The herbs had to steep.

She brushed her leather apron and washed her hands. “So, is it any different from your day?”

He held up the coffee grinder. “This is definitely different. It would have saved days of work.”

Sophy laughed. “It does. My parents insisted I learn the traditional ways first, but every time I think I can insert the modern world without upsetting the balance of the spell, I do.”

He looked around. “Don’t you have to add the blood for the steeping?”

She turned scarlet, pulled a dagger from the magnetic strip on the wall and cut her hand.

She muttered as she held her hand over the bowl. “Not pure as the driven snow but where a man has yet to go. Strip the curse against the tide; accept it from the virgin bride.”

The nine blood drops fell, and the bowl stirred itself. Sophy wrapped her hand with gauze she kept nearby for just such an occasion, wiped the dagger with alcohol and more gauze and tapped Magnus’s mouth to close it.

The dagger went back into place, and she unwrapped her hand to check on the healing.

“You’re a virgin?”

She shrugged. “Is it so surprising? My ancestresses and I were all designed to be tempting and youthful. To find a man who looks beyond our beauty is not something that comes easily. I have been looking for decades, and all I have come across is a man who wants me for my power.”

He frowned. “I... What I mean to say is—”

She cut him off with a raised hand. “It’s fine. I am not your type. Got it. It has been made very clear.” She smiled sadly. “It happens all the time.”

Her phone buzzed, and she stepped away. “Hello?”

“I am officially off work, and Tabeel has stopped blowing bubbles for the day. I can meet you at the Patchwork Dragon on Merry Street in half an hour.” Minerva’s voice was tired but chipper.

“Excellent. I will be there. I just need to rinse off some of the herbs, and I will head over.”

“See you soon.”

Minerva hung up, and Sophy did the same.

She smiled at Magnus. “You are off shadow duty. Come on back to the house. You can frolic on the internet and enjoy the vast array of extranatural porn.”

He cleared his throat. “About what we were talking about before the call. There are reasons for my flirting.”

“Excellent. Keep them to yourself. I am very familiar with the signs of a man who has no interest in me. I am fine with it. We both know where we stand.”

She tidied up and shooed him up the stairs. She sealed the workshop with a strong locking spell.

Sophy took one look at Delwin dressed for the evening, and she grinned. “You look splendid.”

He preened. “Thank you. Magnus, are you interested in coming to a club this evening? There is always room for one more.”

Magnus paused. “I thought to go with Sophia.”

Sophy shook her head. “Minerva and I want to engage in girl talk. Unless you want to sit at a separate table. You will not be sitting with us.”

He wrinkled his nose. “May I decide when you have gotten dressed for the evening?”

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The apron disappeared, the scent of herbs vanished and the wrinkles relaxed into a smooth sheet of fabric once again.

“The wonders of modern magic. So, are you coming with me, with Delwin or staying here and relaxing?”

“I have decided to go with you, only because I have spent enough time relaxing, and Delwin looks far too eager to show me off.” He inclined his head. “I fear I must request coin of the realm.”

Sophy went to the wall, waved her hand and pulled out a stack of bills. She split it in half and handed one to each of them. “Here you go. Do with it what you will. I am heading to the car. If you want to come along, Magnus, you had better be quick.”

He was at her side during the drive to the Patchwork Dragon.

Minerva grinned at her and casually said, “He is staring again.”

Magnus was sitting with a sample of every type of coffee and tea available at the Patchwork Dragon in front of him. The table was covered with little white cups.

The servers were bickering to attend his table as he took sip after sip and made notes on a small piece of paper.

He was looking toward them with a hungry gaze.

“He is staring at you, Min. He and I have already had the talk that firmly lodged him in the friend zone. I am not his type.”

Minerva chuckled. “You are nearly every male’s type. Even the gay ones want to befriend you. I am pretty sure that you just got some signals crossed.”

“I am pretty sure I didn’t. Frankly, it was my virginity that put him off. He’s repelled by it. Funny, right?” She sighed and sipped at her bowl of cappuccino.

Minerva scowled. “You are kidding.”

“Nope. His mouth dropped open.”

“I don’t know what to say. Perhaps things were dif—no that wouldn’t be right. A few hundred years ago, it was a prize.”

Sophy shrugged. “I am used to rejection. Once folks realize what I do for a living, I am out on my own. It isn’t something that most guys would sign on for.”

“Well, I am currently dealing with a similar but opposing situation. I am used to guys running the other way, but an arms dealer is currently after me for sexual purposes.”

Sophia blinked. “You are kidding.”

“Nope. He is one of the mountain dragons. I was singing a few weeks ago to get a treaty ratified for the goblins, but when it was over, he invited me to dinner.”

Sophia winced. “You didn’t.”

Minerva blushed. “I was hungry. It takes a lot of effort to maintain this figure.”

“So, you ate with him, and then, he seduced you?”

“Well, we had sex on the table. I excused myself afterward and made a run for it. The goblins were bound by a geas, and I didn’t think he would be able to find me.”

Sophy chuckled. “You do stand out, and they track by scent and taste. Body and magic.”

Minerva grimaced. “I found that out when I did my research after the encounter. I haven’t run into a dragon before. It caught me by surprise.”

Sophy thought about it. “Zemuel.”

Minerva had a visceral reaction. Her fingers spasmed, she blushed and her pupils dilated. “How did you know?”

“Only so many dragons in North America. He is the only one with mines and property that the goblins would be interested in.” Sophy chuckled. “I have worked with him before. He is a good sort, though he does like to collect mages around him. You would have gleamed like a diamond in sunlight to him.”

Minerva groaned while Sophy sipped at a bowl.

They laughed, and Sophy gave Min some tips on how to handle a dragon with mating on his mind.

The proprietor was going around the coffee shop, reading cups and telling fortunes. When she got to them, Minerva smiled. “Hiya, Jennifer. Business is booming.”