by Elle Adams
“Really glad you find it amusing.” I rolled my eyes and turned to the new girl. “Hey, I’m Blair. In two days I’ll be back to normal and nobody will ever speak of this again.”
Lizzie made a sceptical noise. Bethan snickered. I gave both of them a warning look that probably went unnoticed considering my face was see-through.
“Never,” Bethan whispered.
Lizzie nodded, grinning.
The new girl looked utterly perplexed. “Er, hey. I’m Lena,” she said, with hints of an Eastern European accent.
“Nice to meet you.” I sat down, missing the chair and landing on the floor. Apparently judging where to sit was somewhat more difficult when one’s entire body was nearly invisible.
More laughter came from Bethan. The poor new girl looked like she didn’t know where to turn.
“This is not a typical day at the office,” I said, disentangling myself from Bethan’s desk chair and managing to properly sit down this time.
“Yes, it is,” said Lizzie. “Weirdness is standard.”
“Is that why my files are flashing like traffic lights?” asked Lena, returning to her own desk, which had once been Blythe’s.
“New ink,” said Lizzie. “It’ll wear off in a few hours. Unlike someone’s spell.”
“Oi.” I was glad nobody could see how red my face was. “It was a simple mistake. You can’t say you’ve never seen it before.”
“No, I have to say it’s a new one,” said Bethan. “Anyway, Lena is new in town, like you were a few weeks ago.”
“Oh—you lived with normals?” I asked her, momentarily distracted from my ongoing humiliation. Veronica had implied she was more competent at magic than I was, so I’d assumed that meant she’d grown up here.
She nodded. “Yeah, I lived in London for a few years. My dad’s side of the family are normals.”
“But you aren’t? I meant—I’m from a normal town, too. But I was adopted by normals.”
I’d been seriously slacking on keeping in touch with them, but I didn’t know how much they knew about my real family. Though it was probably for the best that they didn’t know that I was about as successful at being a witch as I was at every other job I’d tried.
I went to pick up my files and dropped half of them. Picking up papers one at a time with transparent fingers was torturous enough that Bethan took pity on me and rescued the files, setting them on my desk.
“Are you going to Mr Falconer’s place today?” she asked.
“Like this? Definitely not.”
“Hmm.” Her gaze passed over my transparent form. “That potion is awfully similar to an invisibility potion. Doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you suspect him of hiding something, right?”
Guilty. I glanced at Lena. It looked like Lizzie was showing her the ropes, so I said, “I can’t even pick up the phone, so he’s just going to have to live with the disappointment.”
“Isn’t his new assistant starting today? The one you picked out?”
“Yep.” The universe did most definitely not pull its punches. “He doesn’t need me to be there, so I’m not going to contact him unless he calls me. I’ve enough trouble trying to get through this client list when I can’t see what I’m doing as it is.”
“I can help,” she said, “if you tell me how you ended up like that.”
“I’m the most inept potion-maker in history.”
“I highly doubt it. The academy has incidents all the time. The whole building turned pink once. Did you mean to turn him transparent?”
I nearly said it would be an improvement, before remembering that I’d already told her too much. There was little doubt that Mr Falconer was breaking the rules by threatening me and Veronica, and the idea that nobody was allowed to or able to intervene infuriated me to no end.
“Okay,” I relented. “It was supposed to be an invisibility potion. I followed the recipe to the letter, but one small mistake ended up with this happening. And then I knocked the potion over.”
“So that’s why our coven meeting has been moved to another location.” Her eyes glittered with amusement.
“Probably. Madame Grey wasn’t pleased. Her granddaughter got caught in it, too.”
She winced. “Oh boy. That’s really bad luck.”
“You’re telling me.”
Bad luck, but not impossible to work with. At least I’d turned transparent and not luminescent, and I had a day and a half where most people wouldn’t easily be able to spot me. After work, I’d go straight to the man himself and hope he’d left his door unlocked. And that he didn’t have killer plants in the garden. Killer wands, maybe.
The boss came into the office ten minutes into the work day, just as I’d finally figured out how to type with half-visible hands. Veronica’s gaze swept the room, from the new assistant to me. She gave a double take. “If you’ve met an untimely demise, you don’t need to come into work.”
“I’m not a ghost,” I said. “I had an accident making a potion and I’m stuck like this until tomorrow night.”
“Interesting.”
“Yep.” Ah. If anyone would guess the truth, it was her. “I was trying to get ahead on my potion-making skills, except I might have been a bit too ambitious.”
“Invisibility.”
And now the whole office knew. Wonderful.
“Like I said, an accident.”
She frowned at me. “Are you sure you’re in a fit state to work?”
“I’m perfectly healthy, just… not quite here. I can pick things up—” I lifted a file, with difficulty. “Kind of. As long as I don’t try to use the phone or walk through doors, I can get on with the job.”
“Good. Ask Bethan to help.” She swept from the office.
Crisis averted. For now. Really, I should have pretended the situation was worse than it actually was and used it as an excuse to go exploring, but doubling my clumsiness would not make me an expert spy. Besides, Mr Falconer would be watching his shop like a hawk—or falcon—during the day. Unless I shadowed his apprentice, but he’d be under close scrutiny, too. No… I was best waiting until dark again.
My phone started to ring. I looked at the number, rolled my eyes, and ignored it. The phone continued to ring. Then Bethan’s did, too. Next it would be Veronica. Why, universe. Why?
Three attempts to pick up the telephone later and I had it in my hand. “Get over here,” Mr Falconer growled.
“That’s nice,” I said, through gritted teeth as I fought to keep from dropping the phone. “I’m at work, dealing with other clients.”
“I’m your client.”
“Can’t you tell me what the problem is over the phone?”
“My new assistant,” he growled. “I want him gone.”
I blinked. “What’s the issue with him? Hasn’t he only started the job today?”
“He’s the worst I’ve ever had. Won’t listen to a word I say, keeps knocking things over…”
I tuned out his ranting as I debated whether to attempt to explain the situation or come up with an excuse. “Sorry, I have another call coming in.”
“You—”
I hung up. Way to take the coward’s way out, Blair. But the man was entirely too sharp. He’d guess my attempt to do some detective work had ended badly. And then? The consequences would land on Veronica and the rest of the company. Not to mention the mice.
The phone rang again.
“Is he allowed to do that?” I asked of nobody in particular. “He’s stealing my time from other clients. I should be justified in letting him shout into the void for a bit.”
“As Veronica says, he’s holding the future of our business in his hands,” said Bethan.
“He’s just arguing with his new assistant and trying to drag me into it.” Poor Leopold.
Veronica opened the door. “The wand-maker is after you.”
I groaned. “Sorry. I got him an assistant and he’s now calling me to complain about him. I don’t know what I’m suppo
sed to do.”
“We have to keep our clientele happy.”
“I can barely walk through doors without hitting my head in this state,” I said. “If I go to see him, I’ll probably fall into a ditch.”
And now our new co-worker probably thought I was raving mad. I’d thought the same of the others when I’d first come here, but still.
“Speak to him,” said Veronica, and left the office.
Bethan gave me a sympathetic glance. “Maybe it won’t be too bad. You managed to walk here.”
“There was a lot of tripping over my own feet involved.” And I hadn’t dared switch on my levitating shoes.
Despite his empty threats, Mr Falconer did not call me back, so I took the opportunity to catch up on my teetering list of admin tasks. I should have known the universe would have another surprise in store.
On the way to the coffee machine, Bethan looked out the window. “Huh. That’s… weird.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I thought I saw Nathan. But… wait.” She swivelled to look at me. “Did he get hit by the spell, too?”
“Yep. Unfortunately. He was on his way to see Madame Grey at the time.”
She snickered. “I take it your romantic pursuits are postponed?”
“You’re as bad as Alissa. He can’t see me, besides.”
Bethan swivelled her chair around to face the window. “He’s waving at you. I think. He might just be swatting off a fly.”
I groaned. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Definitely waving at you.”
Great. I climbed to my feet, tripped over the desk chair, and walked into the door frame twice trying to get into the reception area.
Callie frowned at me across her desk. “You’re creeping me out. You look like a ghost.”
“So everyone keeps telling me,” I said. “I’m only stuck like this until tomorrow night. Just have to get through the day—” My transparent boot caught on a slightly raised piece of carpet, and I tripped right into Nathan’s arms.
“Ah!” I jumped backwards into the desk, to the sound of Callie’s muffled laughter. “Sorry. Didn’t see you walk in.”
“No worries,” he said. “I came to see how you were getting on.”
“We should probably talk outside.” I glanced at the boss’s office over my shoulder and lowered my voice. “She still seems to think I can effectively do my job like this.”
“Watch the door frame,” he said, as my shoulder bumped into it. I hadn’t noticed it was raining lightly, but if anything, the water made it easier to see him—and me, come to that.
“Sorry, Nathan.” I hung my head. “I hope I didn’t make it difficult for you to do your job.”
“Actually, it’s been a lot easier to watch people if they don’t know they’re being watched. How’s it for you?”
“People keep thinking I’m dead. Aside from that, I’m not that much more uncoordinated than usual.”
“I scared the elves when I went near the forest,” Nathan said.
“Wait, the elves?” I asked.
“Yes. They were on the witches’ territory again. Not the first incident lately.”
“I ran into one of them in the forest, too,” I said. “It’s where I got the potion ingredients.”
His brows rose. “Alone?”
“I was just having a look around. Witches go into the forest all the time. Anyway, I ran into an elf who didn’t seem happy about me being there.”
He scowled. “Yes, they’re certainly pushing boundaries with their territory lately. Typical of their kind.”
My stomach fluttered uneasily. Did he think the same of fairies? “Their kind?”
“That particular group of elves has been a nuisance to the witches ever since they moved to the forest.”
“Rita told me. She said they kicked up a fuss about the witches being there, but the witches were actually there first. He seemed to really hate Mr Falconer, too. But I know the elves can’t have put the curse on him.”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s not up to me to tell you what to do, but I wouldn’t wander into the forest in that state.”
“Definitely wasn’t on my plan, trust me.”
Mr Falconer’s place, on the other hand, was fair game… assuming his security wands didn’t detect transparent people. Which they might as well do. But I was kind of worried for Leopold. If he was as terrible as Mr Falconer seemed to think, it might not even take two or three weeks for him to be fired. Wait, would being fired prevent the curse from coming into effect? Hmm.
As soon as I got out of the office, I hit the switch on the levitating boots to speed up my pace. Today wasn’t as windy, but I still winced every time a current of air threatened to steer me off course on the way to the witches’ headquarters. If I didn’t used the boots, it’d have taken me three times as long to walk, so I kept going.
Half the building was still transparent, like a child’s drawing that hadn’t been fully coloured in. I tiptoed alongside the wall of the non-transparent side, peering through classroom windows to find the one I needed. Madame Grey wasn’t in her office—I didn’t know what she did during the day, but it involved important head-witchery. I’d just have to utilise the lock-picking skills I’d developed during the phase where I’d flirted with the idea of becoming a cat burglar as an alternate career option.
My own cat would have been appalled at my awkward attempt to climb onto the windowsill. Okay, the window definitely did not unlock from the outside. Inside it was, then.
I entered through the front doors, immediately darting behind the nearest plant pot before I realised nobody was in the entrance hall. Gathering the remaining shreds of my dignity, I walked to Madame Grey’s office and tried the lock pick. No luck. She’d probably put a warding spell on the door so the lock couldn’t be picked. For all the witchery I’d attempted lately, I was still thinking like a normal.
Think. Alissa had said Rita had the spare key. And her classroom wasn’t unlocked.
Luck was in my favour for once. Rita wasn’t in the classroom. Evening classes didn’t start until five, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise, but I still crept into the room like I was auditioning for Mission Impossible. She kept all her keys under the desk, because I’d pilfered the key to the ingredients cabinet during last night’s adventure.
I crouched down, feeling for the desk drawer, but it didn’t open. She must leave it locked during the day. Great.
Wait a moment. The desk wasn’t magical. I pulled out my lock pick again, and tried it on the drawer.
Success!
I triumphantly yanked the drawer open, sending keys jangling. There it was. Grabbing the keys, I hurried from the room and ran back to Madame Grey’s office before anyone spotted the pair of keys floating past.
I tried several keys before one worked, and exhaled in relief when the office door opened. I had to fully close the door behind me, though I didn’t like shutting myself into a room where there wasn’t anywhere to hide—transparent or not. A bookcase filled the entire back wall, filled with shelves of ancient books. Pulling them off the shelves and putting them back in the right place would be tricky in this state and would take too much time, especially as Madame Grey knew I’d been trying to make an invisibility potion. She was perceptive enough that she’d work out I’d been snooping if I left a shred of evidence behind, and then I’d be in trouble.
The books were enticing enough, but she also kept the town’s records of witchcraft supplies. Wands would be a major feature on the list. I imagined that despite the one wand per witch or wizard rule, they’d keep spares for the coven in case someone broke or misplaced their wand. I couldn’t be the only absent-minded and clumsy witch in the whole town.
I sat in the desk chair and skimmed through the book of records. Aha. The funding for all supplies, wands included, was currently in the hands of the Wormwood Coven, apparently. Not the Meadowsweet Coven, the owners of the town. I’d never heard the name before. It didn�
�t lead anywhere, so I left the book where I’d found it and returned to the shelves. I should have searched a library first, but I’d heard that Madame Grey was in charge of looking after the coven’s classified books. The ones detailing the forbidden spells nobody was allowed to use. The mouse curse was illegal, if fairly harmless, but curses were the highest branch of magic and not something you’d find in a regular textbook.
Forbidden curses. There it was. I slid the book from the shelf and I opened it to the introductory page, the old cover catching on my clumsy hands.
The first line leapt out at me: all curses were invented. While some spells were universal, curses were specific and depended on the individual’s magical prowess. To cast a curse requires considerable skill and intent.
Nothing new there…
To cast a curse towards an object or person, one must direct the curse at the person in question, or be in close proximity. If the intended target isn’t present or has a powerful magical defence present, then the curse will rebound on its owner or anyone else unlucky enough to be nearby. Even an unintentional victim is enough to guarantee one’s arrest if the effects of the curse are severe…
So all curses found a target even if they weren’t intended that way at all. For a wand-maker, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that he’d made himself immune to curses and left someone else to take the fall. But he’d said he didn’t recall anyone actually casting the curse on him. Ava’s granddaughter had flat-out said she hadn’t done it, unless she’d slipped it into their argument. But then, she wouldn’t have been able to lie to me without my knowing.
I returned the book to the shelf, doing my best to keep that relevant information in my head. I didn’t have long before the other witches and wizards came in for their lessons and I needed to lock the office and put Rita’s keys back where they belonged before someone else showed up. Besides, it wouldn’t stay light outside forever, and there were a number of places that might be more likely to give me specific information relating to the curse. I didn’t need to be transparent to speak to Ava, but maybe Annabel had hidden something at the cottage. There was also Mr Falconer’s place, but he’d be on the lookout for trouble, and I’d pushed my luck far enough today already. Let’s face it, as long as he had those sentinel wands on duty, sneaking inside would be a distant prospect. But if Leopold had survived his first day, he’d be staying in the shop himself, and might be able to tell me something useful.