Page 10 of No Charm Done
Scarlett paused mid-bite of funnel cake. “And?”
“Annnd . . . this gallant knight, this selfless hero, who pulled Mama and the others to safety while the Void eels circled and the darkness pressed in from all sides? He’s still there! Still waiting! And we—” she pressed a hand to her chest dramatically “—we owe him a debt that can never be repaid.”
“Luna—” Scarlett started.
“Someone must go to him!” Her voice rose with passionate conviction. “Someone must brave the infinite darkness. Navigate the treacherous space between portals. Someone powerful, someone with extensive knowledge of arcane magicks. Someone—”
“Someone who’d do anything for a couple days off work?” Scarlett raised an eyebrow.
Luna paused, mouth open, caught between continuing her crusade speech and . . . well, the truth. For a moment she considered doubling down on the heroic rhetoric, but then she thought better of it. Her sister was not fool-able, never had been.
“You guys,” she said, abandoning all pretense, “I’ve gotta get out of there! I’m dying behind that desk! My soul is crushed by reservation books and complaints about thread counts!”
“There we go,” Scarlett said fondly. “Much more believable than the whole ‘noble quest’ routine.”
“Though I have to say,” Nate added, “it was entertaining. Bold speech, dramatic gestures, very Royal Shakespeare Company.”
“I meant every word about the debt we owe. But also, yeah, I will literally explode into a million pieces if I have to spend another week tracking down missing towels.”
“Gosh, I can’t have my baby sister exploding from hospitality-induced despair,” Scarlett said. “And I get it. Truth be told, I hated every minute of running that place, too. So yes. Of course we’ll cover for you.”
“Really?”
“Really. But Luna . . .” Scarlett’s expression grew more serious. “This Void sounds genuinely dangerous. How exactly are you planning to get in and out safely?”
From across the park came a sudden shriek, followed by the sound of Aphra’s voice raised in distressed apology. Luna looked over to see a small crowd gathered around the face-painting station.
“What’s going on over there?” Nate asked, standing up to get a better view.
“Probably just another satisfied customer,” she said, but Delilah’s distinctive posture—hands on hips, head arranged in her iconic this-is-a-problem tilt—was impossible to miss beside the face-painting booth.
The three of them jogged over to investigate, arriving just as Aphra was putting the finishing touches on what was clearly a corrective spell. A little boy who had been sporting a genuinely terrifying zombie face was now enjoying a more age-appropriate version.
“What happened?” Scarlett asked.
“Just a little hiccup,” Aphra explained cheerfully. “I was going for ‘cute zombie’ and got The Walking Dead. But it’s all fixed now!”
“That’s not the first spell that’s gone overboard today.” Delilah’s brow furrowed with concern.
“It’s probably just festival energy affecting everyone’s concentration,” Aphra suggested. “These big events always make magic a bit more . . . energetic.”
“Right, but—”
“Oh, Del,” Luna interrupted, “you worry too much. It’s a festival—c’mon!”
Delilah shot her a withering look. “Someone should go check on the magic wellspring, up at the oak grove. Something’s affecting the magical flow today.”
The sisters exchanged glances, each waiting for another to volunteer. Delilah blinked first. “I guess that means I should go check.”
“Or,” Scarlett suggested, “you could try chilling out and enjoying the festival like a normal person.”
Delilah just growled and stomped away.
The other two watched her go. Finally Luna said, “That is what Mama would call borrowing trouble.”
“You’re one to talk, Miss Vacation in the Void.”
“Seriously,” Nate agreed. “C’mon, I have to get back to my post at the lazy river.”
