Page 78 of What The Hex (The Family Spells)
Vampires, demons, witches, and faeries, I had that covered IRL.
“I see. So, it’s just me that gets that sort of dismissive treatment?” she continued, and I exhaled.
“I figured you might show up here today, but I didn’t know when. If you’d wanted a reception when you arrived, you could’ve tried calling first. Or maybe sent your familiar with a note. Shit, spell an owl and have it drop the letter down my chimney Harry Potter style.” I forced myself to keep smiling when what I really wanted to do was tell this woman what I truly thought of her.
How dare you summon Hex out from under me, knowing that we had a bargain, knowing that you were leaving the rest of us in Hael to be trapped inside a spell circle that you cast. How dare you act like my mom’s life was expendable. How fucking dare you?!
Lulu sighed and set her cup down before looking up at me with a forced smile of her own. She should be affording me more respect than she was; we were both high priestesses, after all. Instead, she was treating me like a young witch with untested powers, someone at the bottom of the coven who was awarded little respect and even less attention.
“We both know why I’m here, Graceley Witch. Where is my grandson?”
“Why? Would you like to summon him again and force him to marry a woman against his will? Or is that no longer fun since Abigail Spells’ life isn’t in danger this time?” I knew I should try to keep things on a more pleasant note, but I wasn’t going to.
I was pissed.
Bastet and Connard were currently following Ved’ma—Lulu’s orange tabby familiar—around the store to make certain she didn’t get into any trouble. I almost called Bast back, just to see if she couldn’t calm me down.
I concentrated on pouring myself a cup of tea instead. Ginseng this time, to promote tranquility and calmness. It was a thoughtful choice on Argent’s part, but it wasn’t doing a damn thing for me.
My hands were shaking; I ended up spilling quite a bit of the drink before I gave up and shoved the pot away from me. Lulu raised a brow, and it was impossible to miss the resemblance between her and her grandson.
“You’re playing games in an arena you were never meant to step foot in. My coven’s plans have nothing to do with Coven Apothecary.” I tasted a lie in those words, but I said nothing. The easiest way to catch someone on their bullshit is to let them talk. “I’ll ask again: let me speak to my grandson.”
“If Hex wanted to talk to you, he has access to phones, laptops, tablets, pens and paper, spell materials, his motorcycle, my car, broomsticks …” I trailed off there and tried not to smile. I mean, Hex had access to broomsticks, but I wasn’t sure if he’d ever get on one willingly again. “He could call, text, write, head over to your place. He hasn’t done any of those things and, unlike you, I haven’t kept him shackled so he’s free to do as he pleases.”
Lulu slammed her palm down on the coffee table, and this time, it was my turn to raise both brows. Thank the goddess’ tits that Caine got me off before this meeting or I’d be even more worked-up right now.
“Do not play games with me, Graceley Spells.” Ouch. She was using my first and last name, an honorific downgrade from ‘Graceley Witch’. It was sort of like calling someone by a nickname you weren’t even sure they used or liked. Imagine calling a Richard you just met, Dick. Some might not appreciate that. “Hex is avoiding me, but he can’t maintain his distance forever; he has obligations. The cabal will not wait long before taking action.”
I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees, letting out a long sigh.
While the spell signature on my mother had once again come up a tangled mess, that didn’t mean we were out of ideas.
Every species left signatures of some kind or another. Usually, the spell I used with the ink and the parchment paper could identify them—regardless of race. But if the caster were, say, a high-level demon? Well then, I might need a different spell to catch them in the act. Substituting Monster’s blood in my usual spell hadn’t been enough, but there were other ways.
I needed an entirely different spell, one that could break the trickery of whatever supernatural hacker had been ballsy enough to attack one of Coven Apothecary’s Three.
“Someone cursed my mother,” I explained carefully, hoping that Lulu was following my train of thought. “And my grandmother. Her mother, too. The spell signatures have always come back an unreadable mess.” I sat up straight and folded my hands over my knee. “In order to dig a little deeper, we’d need blood from a category nine demon which”—and here I laughed—“just isn’t an easy thing to get ahold of.” I leaned in conspiratorially toward Lulu. “But, lucky for us, we have some now! Soon enough, I’ll be able to see exactly who cursed my mother. That, and who put the fertility hex on, well, Hex.”
