Page 41 of No Charm Done

“We’ve come only for Shaw. Surrender him, and we’ll be on our way.”

“And if we refuse?”

The magician’s staff pulsed brightly. “You’ll see what happens when our patience with this witch-infested backwater runs out.”

“How about that, boys?” Nine turned cheerfully to his relatives. “A little excitement around here at last.”

Eleven kicked over his rocking chair and grabbed a rusty harpoon hidden behind the porch railing. Meanwhile, Ten produced a cutlass that caught the afternoon light as if it had waited decades for this exact conflict. Even Nine was suddenly armed, brandishing a flintlock pistol he’d been storing underneath his rocking chair for fifty years.

Kelly’s fingers sparked with magical energy. The magicians raised their staffs in response.

Elias stared at them, these near-total strangers with zero reason to risk themselves for a century-old con man. “Hey, sport,” he whispered to Nine. “Maybe don’t get yourself mixed up in this.”

“Bah!” The old pirate loaded his flintlock with transparent satisfaction. “You’re our guest. In Oak Haven, we take hospitality seriously.”

Chapter 14

The Battle for the Porch

Luna had no idea what Ashton Vex was planning. Apparently, neither did anyone else.

Scarlett’s thumb flicked across her phone like she was trying to return the glass to sand. “Listen to this one: Anonymous insider says Ashton Vex is about to disrupt reality as we know it. New paradigm incoming.” She snorted. “And here: Definitely aliens. Or crypto. Or both.”

“So the internet doesn’t know anything,” Luna said thoughtfully. “Is that good? Or . . . maybe that’s bad? Is it bad or good, Scar?”

“Dunno. Both?” Scarlett swiped again. “Speculation, think pieces, wild theories. Nobody has a clue. Oh wait—” Her breath hitched. “Hold on.”

The shift in her sister’s tone made Luna sit up straighter. “What?”

“There’s a photo of the CEO here.” Scarlett looked suddenly panicked. “Luna, I know this guy. This is the guy from room 12.”

“What guy from room 12?”

“The hermit! He’s been here a while now. Almost never leaves his room except to grab dinner. Even then, he’s always on his laptop, muttering to himself.”

“Wait . . .” Luna shook her head, unable to get her brain around this. “Vex has been here the whole time?!”

Scarlett stood up, pacing now. “I thought he was just some dum-dum having a quarterlife crisis in our quaint little witch town. Lu, I talked to him. A lot. He kept asking me questions about how magic works, and I thought—” She groaned. “Oh gods, I thought I was just making conversation with a lonely guest.”

“What kind of questions?”

“The basics. You know, ‘How do witches cast spells?’ ‘Is there a limit to what magic can do?’ ‘Could anyone learn it with the right training?’” Scarlett’s voice climbed with each question. “At the time I figured he was just curious. I mean, we get that from curious guests sometimes. And I usually just answer honestly because they’ll all forget it when they leave anyhow, so what difference does it make? But what if he wasn’t just curious. What if⁠—”

“He was working on something.”

The sisters stared at each other as the truth settled like an ill-smelling fog. Sounds of laughter from another room now seemed hollow, almost mocking. If Ashton Vex had been staying at the Stargazer while developing this mysterious app, and if Scarlett had been cheerfully explaining the fundamentals of witchcraft to him . . .

The front door banged open, startling them both. Delilah swept in with the energy of someone who’d been solving problems all day and wasn’t quite finished yet. Behind her came a lanky man in a wool overcoat, clutching a leather attaché case like it contained a Higgs boson particle.

“Afternoon, sisters,” Delilah said briskly. She reached behind the desk and extracted a folded piece of paper. “So, first things first. Jasper, this is for you.”

He accepted the paper with obvious confusion. “What’s this?”

“Your cheat sheet. Go ahead and get caught up while I check in with my ladies over here.”

Luna watched with fascination as Jasper unfolded what appeared to be a letter. His expression shifted from puzzlement to surprise to something that might have been delight.

“Dear Future Jasper,” he read aloud. “Past Jasper here. You’ve just arrived in Oak Haven and have, I know, completely forgotten this place exists. Please don’t panic. This is normal. Well, normal for you. To speed up the acclimation process, I’ve compiled a brief guide to the major players in your girlfriend’s hometown.”