Apparently, I wasn’t alone in my caffeinated needs because the line at Brew-Ha-Ha was nearly as long as it had been at the Horned Owl the night before. George, Spellbound’s lone Yeti, held the door open in front of me to allow customers to exit more easily.
“Good morning, George,” I said, squinting up at his tall, furry frame. My eyes were not yet in full working order.
“Nice to see you, Emma,” he said. “I had half a mind to walk down to Perky’s instead, but I figured I’d tough it out. Nobody brews a coffee like Henrik.”
“I totally agree,” I replied. “I have a client meeting to power through, and no magic in the world is better than a latte by Henrik.”
George smirked. “I’m in the mood for an Emma latte today, I think.”
“Have you tried it?” I asked. “I actually liked it.”
“Both times I tried to order one, they were sold out,” George said. “You’re very popular.”
“Have you taken advantage of the open border yet?” I asked. “Lots of residents seem to be making plans for big trips.”
“I’ve been trying to contact relatives in Switzerland,” he said. “I don’t know who’s still around after all this time. It’s my hope to have a Yeti reunion here soon. Invite all my relations for a huge celebration.”
I clapped my hands. “That would be amazing. Please let me know if you manage it.”
“I will.”
The line moved forward, and we finally made it inside. I ordered three lattes—one with a shot of perseverance, one with a shot of hope, and one with a shot of brain power.
“You need a cup carrier today,” Henrik said. “I don’t normally see you with three.”
“They’re not all for me,” I said.
“I didn’t think so,” the barista replied, and passed me the cups in the aforementioned carrier. “Have a good one.”
By the time I reached my office, Micki was already waiting inside. She and Althea seemed to be using the chair as some sort of balance bar.
“Exercise class?” I queried, moving past them to set the lattes on the desk.
“Althea wants to strengthen her core muscles, and I was giving her some tips,” Micki said.
“Micki is an experienced pole dancer, whatever that is,” Althea said.
“Oh.” Was that a euphemism or did she mean a literal pole dancer? Under the circumstances, it could be either one. Or both.
I handed Micki the latte with a shot of hope and Althea the one with brain power.
“Thank you so much,” Micki said, delighted. "Althea has incredibly toned muscle for a woman her age. She hides them all under this oversized housedress."
The snakes hissed in response. Althea reached up to soothe them. "Now, now, girls. Micki was only trying to offer a suggestion. She wasn't trying to insult me."
"I didn't realize you were a dancer, too," I said.
“I trained as a dancer as a young girl," Micki explained. "I suffered a knee injury when I was sixteen, and it derailed my career. I struggled after that because dancing was the only thing I was trained for. I ended up working in a strip club. That's where I met Jax.”
“Who’s Jax?” I asked.
"My boss back in Sparkle City,” Micki said. She flopped in the chair. "He's one of the reasons I decided to move here. I had to get away."
Althea gave Micki a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I'll let you two get down to business. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me. Thanks for the drink, Boss Lady.” She quietly slipped through the adjacent door and closed it behind her.
"He was your…pimp?” I asked.
"That's the human world word for it," Micki said. "We call them solicitation advisors."
"And Jax was yours?"
Micki nodded. "He owned the strip club where I worked. He would suggest certain girls for special client treatment. He didn't hire only succubi. It was a mixture of fairies, pixies, and us.”
"Why those specific groups?" I queried.
“Elves tend to be too flat-chested," she said matter-of-factly. "The one elf we had was a big hit, though. She had these magically enhanced breasts, and the customers went nuts for her because she was such a novelty."
"What made you decide to take that extra step and solicit for him?" I asked.
"I'm a succubus," Micki reminded me. "I feed off sexual energy. It's in my nature, so I get something out of the deal aside from money. That's why he tended to hire my kind. We’re a natural fit. And the customers love our enthusiasm."
“It sounds like you had a good arrangement. Why leave?”
Micki’s expression darkened. “Jax had a tendency to overstep his boundaries. It got worse in the last couple of years.” She hugged herself, and I tried not to imagine the awful possibilities.
"Well, I have to be honest, Micki," I said. "I can't see prostitution becoming legal in Spellbound anytime soon. There are a lot of changes in the works, but the town has been set in the past for quite a long time. I don't think they’ll be rushing to legalize the sex trade. They want to preserve the historic character of Spellbound for tourism purposes. Keep it quaint and charming.” That image didn’t include prostitutes on cobblestone street corners.
"Will I go to prison then?” Worry lines appeared on her forehead.
"Not if I can help it," I said. "That's one of the reasons we need to come up with your defense. Ignorance isn't generally accepted as a defense to a crime, but I feel like our circumstances are unusual. Then again, the court won’t want to set a precedent."
"Then what are my options?" Micki asked. "What if I left town? Would they track me down to arrest me?"
“I don't want you to have to move again," I said. "You wanted to start a new life here, and if you still want to, then I want to help you achieve that."
Micki flashed a grateful smile. "Is everyone in Spellbound as nice as you and Althea?"
"For the most part, I’d say yes." Although not lately. I didn't want to get into that with Micki, though. No need to cause my client any further distress.
“So what else can we use aside from ignorance?" Micki asked. "I was pretty blatant about my solicitation efforts. It's not like I can claim a misunderstanding."
I tapped my fingers on the desk, thinking. "Maybe we should have a word with Rochester. He's the prosecuting attorney and a wizard in my coven.”
"Your coven?" Micki queried. "I thought you were a sorceress, not a witch."
“It's a long story," I said. "Let's just say I got derailed, too, but I was able to get back on my feet thanks to the generosity of paranormals here. I hope I can do the same for you." I got up and knocked on Althea's door. "Would you do me a favor, please, and get Rochester? If you can spare ten minutes, I’d appreciate it."
"What do you think the wizard will be able to do?" Micki asked.
I returned to my seat. "If we can enter a plea with Rochester, then we might be able to avoid court and any precedent-setting. Rochester is pretty sensible, and I suspect he'll think about this the same way I am."
"I appreciate you wanting to help me," Micki said. She hooked her legs together and swung them under the chair in a childlike gesture. "If I can't work here the way I intended, though, I'll have to leave anyway. I won't have a job." Her expression clouded over. "I'll have to start over somewhere else anyway."
"If you can do any job in the world, what would it be?" I asked.
Micki looked thoughtful. "I never really thought about it. I mean, I still love to dance. I love to read.”
I laughed. “I'm not aware of a job that combines those two skills together, but I bet if we put our heads together, we can come up with something." I snapped my fingers. "What about some sort of childcare program? You could teach them dancing and read stories."
Micki gave me a wry smile. "How do you think parents in Spellbound would feel about letting me have unsupervised access to their kids? I don't think they’d approve of me. Anyway, I tend to be better with older folks. A big part of my job was talking to lonely o
lder paranormals. My regular clients wanted the companionship that they were lacking in their personal lives. I provided that."
“Okay, how about a job at the library? I’m friendly with Karen, the head librarian," I said. "I can ask her about any part-time openings."
"That would be great," Micki said. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, though. If you can't make this charge go away, a part-time job at the library doesn't really do me any good."
She had a point.
The front door flew open, startling us both. Rochester appeared in the doorway, looking like he was ready to fight a fire. "What's the emergency? Is CRAPI back in action?"
I stifled a laugh. "Relax, Rochester. Your superhero days are over.” Rochester had come to my aid during a throwdown with former Mayor Knightsbridge. “I’d like you to meet my client, Micki Taylor. Micki, this is Spellbound’s best prosecuting attorney, Rochester."
He came over and perched on the edge of my desk. One look at Micki and I could tell he was smitten. "So nice to meet a friend of Emma's. You're new in town?"
"I said she’s a client, Rochester," I repeated.
Rochester seemed to clear his head. "Right. Client. Committer of crime. I suppose that's why you called me."
“As a matter of fact, it is," I said. I explained Micki’s situation in detail, and Rochester listened attentively, as he always did. He was a close second to Professor Holmes for kindliest wizard in town.
"I understand what Emma is trying to avoid," Rochester said. "Even if the judge doesn't want to sentence you, he or she might feel there’s no choice." He craned his neck to look at me. "You're hoping for a plea, I take it?"
I nodded. "If you and I can work something out between us, then we can keep her out of prison. Give her a fresh start. She has transferable skills. It would be a shame to waste them."
Rochester turned his attention back to Micki. "And you’re happy to start a new career?"
"Absolutely," Micki said. "I've been doing this so long now, that I forgot I was capable of more."
“I don't think that's uncommon," I said. “It's called a rut. That can happen in professional and personal life." I tapped Rochester's back with the tip of my quill. "So, what do you think? Can we work something out?"
Rochester cracked his knuckles. "I'll make you a deal. If you promise to set Micki up with gainful employment that doesn't break any laws before her scheduled court date, then I’ll sign off on the deal.” He swiveled around to face me completely. "We don't know how long we’re going to be able to carry on as our own jurisdiction. There may come a day soon when we’re subject to laws beyond our own."
I took his point. We had to hurry. Now that the borders were open, there was no telling whether Spellbound would we be able to retain its autonomy in legal matters. There was a risk that we’d become subject to the laws of the wider paranormal region.
"Do you think it's possible?" Micki asked. “I’d imagine with all the new residents flocking here, that jobs might be scarce."
Rochester offered a comforting smile. "But you, my dear, have something they don't."
Micki blinked. "Killer abs and a nice rack?"
Rochester nearly choked. "No, my dear. Even better. You have Emma."
“Are you sure you want to do this?" Sheriff Astrid asked me.
We stood outside of Spellbound Prison, where I was about to meet Lady Weatherby face-to-face for the first time since her arrest. The former head of the coven had conspired to prevent the breaking of the curse for her own selfish purposes. She also drugged me with a potion that made me lose my memories right before my wedding. To say that we were not on good terms was an understatement.
"I need to know if CRAPI is behind the spell," I said. "For all we know, this was planned before she went to prison, in the event that the curse was broken."
The sheriff nodded. "A contingency plan. Yeah, that makes sense. That group is ridiculously paranoid about immigrants. I don't get it. We all came here from other places originally."
"Lady Weatherby was more concerned about her own power being usurped,” I said. I wasn't sure which reason was worse. She only supported CRAPI to the extent that their interests aligned.
Sheriff Astrid led me into the reception area of the prison. This was my first visit, and, hopefully, my last. The guard at the desk greeted us with a pleasant smile.
“Haven't seen you in a bit, Sheriff," the goblin said. "I bet you've been keeping busy with the borders open.”
“You're not wrong there, Victor," she replied. "This is Emma Hart. She’s here to see Prisoner 521.”
The guard gaped at me. "Emma Hart? The town hero?”
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Just Emma will do."
He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from his desk. "Would you autograph this for me? My buddies will never believe that I met you here." He tapped the parchment. "And if you could say, ‘to my extremely attractive friend, Victor,’ that would be swell."
I took the quill and began to write. "How about ‘to my friend, Victor’? Will that work?"
"I guess that works, too," he said, mildly disappointed.
I returned the parchment to him.
“I need your personal effects before I let you back there,” Victor said. “Any wands, potions, magical items.”
“I left my wand in the car at the sheriff’s suggestion. My hands are magical items, though,” I said. “What should I do with those?”
Victor seemed impressed. “That’s right. A sorceress. We don’t see your kind here.”
“That’s because I’ve been the only one of my kind in Spellbound.” I guess that could change soon, if another sorcerer or sorceress decided to move to town.
“The sheriff vouches for you, and that’s good enough for me,” Victor said. “She’s a lot more sensible than the last fella.”
I shuddered at the mention of Sheriff Hugo. The centaur would always be a sore spot with me.
"How long do I have with Lady…Prisoner 521?" I asked.
“Thirty minutes, max," Victor said. He glanced at Sheriff Astrid. "Will you be accompanying her?"
"I'll wait here with you," she replied. "You've still got that deck of cards, right?"
Victor broke into a wide grin. "You want a rematch, huh? No worries. I'll kick your butt all over again."
"Them's fighting words," the sheriff said.
Victor picked up a horn behind his desk and blew. It sounded like he was summoning a creature from the deep. The secure door behind him opened and another guard appeared. This one was bigger and more muscular than the goblin. My senses told me he was a shifter, although I couldn't tell which kind.
“Angus will take you to her," Victor said.
“Good luck," Sheriff Astrid called. "I hope it's a helpful visit."
Me too. I was dreading the confrontation. I still felt horribly betrayed by her. She was a mentor to me, and I had trusted her.
I followed Angus down a long, narrow corridor. Although there were no visible doors, I sensed life on the other side of the walls. I realized that the entrances were hidden, much like the door to the secret lair.
"I'm not meeting her in her cell, am I?" That would be far too claustrophobic for me.
"No, ma'am," Angus replied. "We have a special meeting room for visitors."
Even though I didn’t need my wand to do magic, I would have felt more secure having it with me. Then again, I understood why it was best to leave it behind. The first time I’d met Agnes at the care home, she stole my wand and wreaked havoc throughout the building. After that, I understood their precautions. While I didn't think Lady Weatherby was as resourceful as her mother, I had no idea what kind of desperate measures she would stoop to in order to break out of prison. Now that the borders were open, she could leave town and disappear without a trace.
The witch was already in the visitor room when I entered. She looked so different here. Her dark hair was pulled back in a bun and showed streaks of white. She wore a plain grey jumps
uit with bare feet. It was odd to see her without her twisted antler headdress. That honor now went to Professor Holmes, although he opted not to wear it. He claimed it was because he was only the interim leader, but I got the sense that he felt too guilty to wear it. He and Lady Weatherby had been very close, and I had no doubt he took her betrayal very hard.
I expected to be on the receiving end of an icy gaze, so I was quite surprised to see her offer a faint smile instead.
“Have a seat, Miss Hart.” She paused. "I suppose it's Ms. now, isn't it?”
“That's right," I said. I kept my last name after marrying Daniel, which apparently made me a Ms. I felt very grown up.
“There’s a transparent barrier between you," Angus advised. "You're perfectly safe. She can't reach you."
Lady Weatherby chuckled. "I assure you she would be perfectly safe were the barrier to be removed. I hold no grudge against Ms. Hart. The curse has been broken, and I am content to pay for my wrongdoing."
I tried to hide my shock. I didn't expect her to be so contrite. She’d always been a proud and ambitious woman, so different from Agnes.
“And how is my familiar?” she asked.
“Chairman Meow is enjoying life with Professor Holmes,” I said. “He’s been less territorial than expected with the professor’s familiar. He lets the other cat have the coveted spot on the desk.”
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Lady Weatherby said. “Chairman Meow has always shown exemplary behavior.”
“Too bad it didn’t extend further than your familiar,” I grumbled.
"I suppose you’re here for a deeper understanding of my treachery," the witch said.
I folded my hands in my lap. "Actually, I'm not. I'm here to ask questions about CRAPI.”
Lady Weatherby frowned. "What more is there to learn? They are a disorganized group of morons. The remedial witches could have outsmarted them."
"I believe we did outsmart them," I said. "And we’re not remedial witches anymore. We joined the more advanced classes, and you should know that it’s going very well."
Lady Weatherby lowered her gaze. "I know you won't believe me when I say this, but I am pleased. I only wish good things for the coven."
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