Page 86 of Impractical Magic

Luna leapt up to hug them. “I was so worried! Mama said not to, but I couldn’t help it.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Scarlett had to smile. “Mama was confident we could handle ourselves.”

“Not especially,” their mother corrected. “But if you failed, we’re probably doomed, so what’s the point of worrying?”

“Right. Great.”

Aphra beckoned the sisters to come join their circle. “We’ve been sitting out here trying to brainstorm more oak-rescue ideas.”

“Not getting very far,” Priti said. An open bottle of white wine was on the table, and Priti offered them both a glass. “Please, improve our evening and tell us you found something.”

Scarlett and Delilah glanced at one another. “We did . . .” Delilah said hesitantly.

“Yeah.” Scarlett nodded. “Whether it improves your evening or not remains to be seen.”

They explained the surprisingly stable portal Max had created and how he’d been moving magicians in and out for some time. They talked about the Vanishing Point and their discussion with Max—about his Secret Agent Man identity and quiz nights at the coffee shop. About the magicians’ plans to turn Oak Haven into Salem. About the creation and intended destruction of the flies.

“Okay, awesome,” said Priti. “So we need to figure out the right predator to clean out the flies and Bob’s your uncle.” She tilted her head. “What a dumb expression, Bob’s your uncle. Why do people say that, anyhow?”

“Bob ain’t my uncle.” Scarlett chuckled.

“Nor mine,” Priti agreed. “Who around here has an Uncle Bob?”

But Aphra wasn’t in a joking mood. “I don’t like this one bit.”

“Aw, c’mon,” said Priti. “How about you lighten up and take yes for an answer.” She abruptly turned back toward Scarlett. “Now, that’s an idiom I can get behind. Take yes for an answer.”

“Priti,” Aphra said warningly. “Think this through. The magicians are our enemies, apparently. Frankly, I don’t care for the idea that anyone in Oak Haven has an enemy, and yet it seems we have a whole pack of them. The predator solution came to us from our enemies. Why would we use their method? Why would we want to act like them in any way?”

Scarlett frowned. “But . . . it’s a good idea. Why not seize a good idea, regardless of the source?”

“Is it a good idea, though?” asked Luna hesitantly.

“Exactly,” Aphra agreed. “There’s a long history of people trying to solve one pest problem by bringing in a worse pest.”

Luna nodded. “Cane toads. I saw them all over Australia when I was there. Cane toads were imported to only kill the beetles that were harming Australian sugar cane crops. Instead, cane toads kill everything in their path.”

“Look, I hear what you’re saying,” Scarlett said. “But until we have our own genius solution—which you all just admitted to me we absolutely do not—I say we at least consider Max’s.”

Delilah reached for more wine. “Remember this, too: magic will return to normal once the dragonflies are cleared out. Then, if we need to remove cane toads, bats, or whatever it might be, we’ll have our powers available to do it.”

“A lot of assumptions there, Del,” said Aphra. “Like, that magic definitely will come back—we hope it will, but we’ve never dealt with this before. Also, you’re assuming the cane toads won’t make things even worse in ways we can’t think of right now.”

Priti held out her glass for more wine. “I think we all agree, cane toads are out.”

Scarlett nudged Delilah. “I wonder which intern took cane toads in the office betting pool?”

Delilah shook her head. “Don’t start.”

But it was too late. Mama leaned forward, sensing trouble. “What’s this about an office pool?”

Scarlett explained about Max gambling on sparrows, dummy Brian with his lizards, and clever Cindy, the intern. “That aspect does bother me,” she admitted. “What office?! Magicians have an office?”

Delilah nodded. “Also, Max talked about his bosses—what they would tell him, what they wouldn’t. So . . . somewhere there’s a group of hierarchical magicians with an office and an internship program?”

“It’s like no matter what we do,” Priti joked, “we can’t get rid of Ricky Gervais.”

Scarlett laughed. “They keep their wands in jelly instead of staplers.”