Page 9 of Dragon Charmed

Tessa memorized the words in the second paragraph before she picked up her hand from the sleeve and lifted Bella’s as well. How much power did this little girl have to change the words without directly touching the paper?

Megan was going to get yet another surprise for her birthday. She was already a nervous mother—rightfully so, trying to protect her child from anyone bent on keeping the curse alive. This was going to be something new to add to her worry pile.

But Tessa saw this as an opportunity. She could do a bit of digging on her own. There had to be more information out there about this curse and how to finally bring it to its knees, especially now that they were armed with the second paragraph from the scroll.

Tessa would tell Eric and Megan first thing tomorrow about the scroll when they returned to the house. Eric was planning on staying overnight in the cabin, and Tessa didn’t want to interrupt their first time away from home and baby Bella. Megan needed one worry-free night.

Tessa kissed the top of Bella’s head. The protective streak she had for Megan was ten times more powerful for little Bella. If she could find out more information that would lead them to a way to break the curse, it was her duty as best friend and auntie.

And she took both roles very, very seriously.

Bella had finally settled down for a nap, and Tessa was now snooping through the desk to find Megan’s address book. Tessa couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that Megan liked to keep things old-school instead of storing it in her phone, but in this instance it paid off.

She found the book quickly and paged through it for John Baker’s information. Tessa wanted to bring John in the loop on the second paragraph of the curse.

Megan had explained how much of a recluse John was, so Tessa didn’t think he would answer if she called him on her phone. Instead she used the office phone, and hoped John would recognize the number. Sneaky, yes, but Tessa wasn’t above it if it worked.

She held her breath as the phone rang.

“Hello, Megan.”

“Ah, this isn’t Megan.”

“Who is this?” he barked.

“Megan told me you’re a recluse, but she failed to mention you’re also a grouch. A bit of a cliché if you ask me.”

“Am I supposed to know you?”

“Not really. We’ve only spoken once over the phone. I’m Tessa.”

“Megan’s friend? Did something happen? Are Megan and Arabella okay?”

Tessa’s opinion of him rose a few notches at the worry in his voice. “They’re both okay. Megan and Eric are out tonight, but something happened and I wanted to talk to you.”

“Why me?”

“Because it has to do with the curse, and from what Megan tells me, there isn’t anyone more invested in it than you.”

He paused for a moment. “What else did she tell you?”

“That you owned the Death of Magic painting before giving it to the clan, and you want to break the curse that your grandmother cast. And you’re a dragon-witch—or do you prefer witch-dragon?”

“Wonderful. That is something I hope you can keep quiet.”

“And here I was going to post it all over social.” Stop poking the lion or…dragon! She tilted her head at his silence. “Do I need to explain what social media is? I know you’re an octogenarian times five.” Her little voice was not silencing her big voice—wasn’t that always the case with her?

He actually growled before answering. “No.”

“Good. And no worries. I can keep a secret. Heck, my best friend is married to a dragon. After you’ve seen someone sprout wings, you aren’t exactly going to let people know, right? Blurt that out and you end up checked into the hospital for a psych eval.” And now she was babbling…

He sighed. “You mentioned something about the curse?”

“There’s been a development. The second paragraph changed on the scroll.”

His growl was back. “What does it say?”

She closed her eyes and recited it.