Page 75 of Twice Bitten

That spellwassome of my best work. A combo of mild repelling spells, glamour spells, and one I had to hire out from a tech mage that changed the listing price every time someone logged on to look at the realtor site hosting the building. I’d successfully held off a sale for a few months. I was hoping I could hold it off for a few more.

I wasn’t dumb enough to think that I could get away with it forever, though. I was careful to erase my magical signature from everything, but there were still ways of tracking me down. Expensive ways, but a developer might not care about that if they were determined to sell.

“Thanks. I’m close to having enough.” With what Mom had left me, my wages from the coffee shop and the apothecary, even if the building sold, I’d still have enough to get something else. Maybe not outright, but I could lease.

Cat’s expression turned speculative, but at my questioninglook, she waved me away. “Nothing. Just my mind running away from me.”

The server came back. We both ordered burgers and milkshakes, and as we waited, we passed the time chatting about anything and everything.

Cat was quick and funny, even more so now that she wasn’t pretending to be someone else, and I found myself relaxing around her. I wanted to tell her things, and that felt dangerous to me, even as I thought I might be able to trust her.

Neither one of us walked the straight and narrow, but I considered myself a good and decent person even with what I had brewing down in the basement.

There were too many people around for us to get into a down and dirty conversation about why I wanted the texts I’d asked her to help me find, but once the server brought over the check, Cat waved my money away and paid. “Come have a nightcap with me. We can get into the nitty gritty there. Cool?”

I blinked in surprise and checked my cell for the time, realizing just then we’d spent hours chatting over our meals. I’d expected the night to be over the moment we left. “Um.” This was more socializing than I’d done in years. While I’d had a good time, she was still a stranger and going to a second location hadn’t been in the original plan.

Cat’s eyebrows lifted when I hesitated. “It’s cool if you want to end the night early, but it’s just a drink, Alex. Nothing more. I have no nefarious intentions.” The edges of her eyes crinkled with a smile. “Besides, your apothecary brings in quite a lucrative side income. Why would I jeopardize one of my best customers?”

Her justification made sense and lined up with what I knew about her. Consistent to the bone.

I hitched my purse higher on my shoulder and nodded, burying my hesitation to take a chance. “Sure,” I said after a moment. “You have a place in mind?”

“Sure do. It’s a little out of the way, so we’ll have to drive. Want a ride?”

“My car is here. I can follow you.”

Cat rattled off the location and jogged over to her car, giving me a cheery wave before she got inside.

The place Cat recommended wasn’t much to look at from the outside. I pulled in beside her and stared for a moment, wondering if she was about to murder me and the nightcap was just an excuse to lure me to a dim area.

Cat got out and laughed when she saw my dubious expression. “Don’t look so freaked out. They make the best espresso martini in town.” She slung an arm over my shoulder when I walked around the car to join her. “There are far easier ways to kill someone than luring them to the middle of nowhere.”

“Um. Thanks for the reassurance. I think?”

Cat grinned and held open the door. “You’ll thank me for real once you taste these drinks.”

The bar was called Minnie’s, and the menu only had five drinks, two of them espresso-based. Cat chose a corner table at the very back, away from the bulk of the crowd and prying eyes. She chucked her bag into the booth and sat down.

“I hope you didn’t order that book yet because I brought you something.”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I wanted to look around at some of the offerings in the seller’s shop. He has some…eclectic things.”

Cat snickered. “Dude’s a real weirdo, but he knows what he’s doing. The text I sent you is real, but I managed to procure this one a couple of days ago. I’m not sure what you’re looking for exactly, but this is more of a beginner text.” She slid a fabric-wrapped book over. “And,” she said as she pulled another smaller book out and placed it on top of the first, “this one is beginner Enochian.”

“Angel language?” I knew nothing more than the absoluteminimum, just enough to get me through a small portion of the cord-cutting ritual where Enochian was required.

Cat nodded. “A lot of their spells are written in the language.” She grimaced. “It’s not easy to learn, and I’m not sure you can teach yourself with no starting point. But you never know.”

I stared at her, wondering when the other shoe would drop. “What do you want for these?”

She rolled her eyes. “First, I want you to tell me why you’re so interested in scary shit. Angels and demons are nothing to fuck around with. Second, I want to start selling some stuff out of your apothecary. If you’re amenable.”

Well, the apothecary was already illegal, so it couldn’t hurt to carry a few more things. But there was a difference between illegal and deadly. “What kind of stuff?”

Cat grinned. “I’m an eclectic witch, but I seem to have a knack with tech. My brand of magic isn’t exactly popular with the big boys, so I can’t very well kick off a new magical phone brand and not expect to wind up in the river.”

“You want me to sell phones?”