Family. Something I didn’t know I would ever have.
“Are we just going to sit here?” Gianna complained, crossing her arms over her chest to sulk.
“Keep your pants on,” I grumbled.
“That’s not how it goes,” Avery said with a grin.
I pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you get started,” I said. “Otherwise I’ll make you ride with Sam.”
Avery held her hands up. “I surrender, I surrender. Don’t kick me out of the car.”
I gave her a threatening look, then broke into giggles. I started Ruth and headed down the mountain.
Chapter Two
Now that Riley had given us the computer back, Gianna and I actually had to open the shop that we had sort of inherited from her mother. Emmaline had run the local pet shop, which had gone to Gianna after her death. Since I was Gianna’s guardian, I now technically owned the shop. At least temporarily.
I stood in the middle of the shop, hands on my hips. Gianna was leaning against the counter where the computer was, looking only halfway impressed. “What is all this stuff?”
“Unnecessary stuff to run an aquarium,” Theodore commented.
I turned and pointed my finger at him. “You're a fish,” I said. “You don't get to comment.”
“Amphibian!” The exasperation was loud enough that I could hear it. “Do I have to say that for you thirty more times?” An axolotl was an amphibian, not a fish. A weird-looking one, either way.
“Apparently,” Gianna muttered.
I turned and looked at her, and she smirked.
“What have you done to her shop?” The voice was older and grumbly.
Of course. All I needed was a party.
Great Aunt Mabel appeared, sitting on one of the glass aquariums. Good thing she was a ghost and didn't weigh anything. She was Marguerite’s sister, a little bit kinder looking, and her fingers were pricked even in death from years of needlepoint. She dressed more conservatively, too. Long skirts, long-sleeved shirts. Apparently it was only my aunts and cousins that had gotten the ‘wear jeans’ memo.
“What are you doing here?” I shot her a look, hoping she would get the hint.
“I got bored,” Mabel said with a shrug. “And I can follow her signature.” She nodded towards Gianna.
Of course she could. Gianna was a spirit witch, somebody who could communicate with the dead and see ghosts. It still freaked most of the villagers out, so we kept it on the down low.
I didn’t think they thought I was any more sane, with the whole standing on the summit with lightning thing. Then again, I was pretty sure after spending a month with this family that insanity was the hallmark of them. Probably the whole town.
“So, fish produce nitrates when they live in an aquarium,” I said, picking up a testing kit. I had been doing a lot of research on the internet, brushing up on my aquarium knowledge. “It starts with ammonia, and then goes through this whole chemical process.”
“This is a fish tank, not biology class.” Theodore looked reproachful from in his tank.
“Do I need commentary from the peanut gallery?” I turned to look at him.
“Yes,” the three of them said simultaneously.
I gave them my best unimpressed look, which did absolutely nothing at all. I should've been surprised, but I wasn't. “Well, that's what the internet said.” At least the three birds were quiet.
I got that look again. They weren’t really impressed with my internet research.
“Don't you just like, put fish in it?” Gianna asked.
“If we want to have healthy fish, this is the safer way to do it.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot, trying to figure out how everything would work together. We could argue over fish safety for quite some time, but I wanted to give this shop the best chance at working out. We had four 40-gallon breeder tanks set up against the far wall. On the wall opposite, there were two 125- gallon tanks that were going to be set up once the breeders were running. The breeders were the quarantine tanks, ensuring that all of the animals were healthy before the fish or corals or invertebrates were added to the main tanks. On the wall connecting the two was an 8 foot long 180 gallon tank. That – that was my favorite.
That one would have to wait to be filled until Avery had confirmed that the floor could actually handle it. Because if we weren’t careful, and didn't make sure that the foundation could support the weight of the filled tank, the whole thing could sort of crash through the floor. I don't know if you knew this, but that was a bad thing.
“So two freshwater, two salt water?” Gianna asked, looking at the breeders.
I nodded. “If that's okay with you?” Technically it was my decision, since I was the adult, but this was Gianna’s shop. It was the last thing she had of her family, and I wanted to respect that.
“As long as I get my Nemo,” Gianna said, seemingly satisfied.
I bit back a grin. “One of the 125-gallons will be freshwater, but I’m thinking the other 125 and the 180 will be saltwater.”
“Nemo?” Mabel shot me a skeptical look.
“It's a fish movie,” Theodore said. “Actual fish. Not amphibians.” He paused. “Not that Natalie can tell the difference.”
“I don't like any of you,” I muttered at them.
I heard Gianna laugh. She was grinning, taking it for the joke that it was.
I’d only had legal guardianship of Gianna for a bit over a month, and it had been almost two since her grandmother had died. Well, been murdered, but you know, same thing. Since I was her guardian, I was responsible for teaching her magic. Which we were working on, because her magic tended to show up in unusual ways. Like the fact that we were having a conversation with a ghost in a pet shop.
“When are you getting fish?” Gianna asked, her voice coming from close by my ear as she stood right behind me.
I didn't drop the test kit I was holding, but it was close. I turned and looked at the supplies that had come in. The internet was a dangerous enabler, that was for sure. “This is some live rock for the saltwater aquariums,” I said, peering at the delivered, still-wet rock in large, mailable tubs. “It's supposed to help get the tank cycled, so it can help hold fish. “
“I think you're making this much more difficult than it needs to be,” Theodore said.
“You’re an amphibian,” I told him tartly. “What do you know about fish keeping?”
He did the axolotl impression of opening and closing his mouth. “Fair point.”
I let myself feel proud about something for a little bit for a grand total of like three seconds.
“Why is it leaking?” Gianna asked.
Of course it was. And we hadn't got the tanks filled with saltwater yet, either.
“Go get that wheeling trashcan that we’re using for water changes,” I told her.
“You're sending a child to do your errands?” Aunt Mabel tsked.
I looked up at the ceiling and prayed for patience. That was when Gianna came back, trundling the 30 gallon trash can on wheels behind her. Carefully I picked up the 20 pounds of live rock that I had ordered and placed it in there, covering it with the water in the tubs.
The internet had said something about quarantining the live rock before putting it in the tank, because it could have strange creepy crawlies that you didn’t want in your tank. I was fine with that. Quarantine away.
“Well, we can at least get the freshwater 40-gallons set up,” Gianna said, looking at me.
I sighed. “Yes, we can. Make sure you grab the dechlorinater.” Regular tap water had chlorine, which was poisonous to freshwater fish, so we had to add a chemical to it that took the chlorine out. Next was setting up the heaters, adding the filters, ensuring that all the cables went everywhere. Keeping fish safe was a complicated process.
At some point we would add some lights, maybe so we could add some live plants. I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. The whole ammonia-nitrite-nitrate thing was called cycling. Once a tank had prop
erly cycled – that was, ammonia was converted to nitrates with no problem – we could add fish. Which was good, because I had a really long wishlist on the internet already.
Gianna looked at the empty aquariums, a smile brightening up her face.
“Excited?” I felt a bit giddy.
“Yeah,” Gianna said casually, reverting to the disinterest of a preteen. “A little bit.”
Great Aunt Mabel snorted.
Gianna shot her daggers. “Thank you for your feedback.”
I bit my lip to hide a smile.
We got the two freshwater breeders set up, got them filled with water and dechlorinated, then started the filter running and turned the heaters and chillers on. Chillers weren’t generally needed in most places, but we lived in Arizona, and all it took was the air conditioner going out once for it to get way too hot for the fish. It was an extra expense, but since the tanks were relatively small, it wasn't that bad. Yet.
“Should we give the shop a new name?” Gianna mused.
The shop had originally been titled Paws and Claws, which was less applicable if we were taking it in a fish direction. “It's up to you. It's your shop.”
Something close to surprise flashed over Gianna's face. Yes, I technically had it in my name right now, because I was her legal guardian, but I fully intended that once Gianna was old enough, if she wanted to run the shop, she could. If she wanted to do something else with it, she could do that too. She could go to college, she could do whatever she wanted. It was the last thing she had of her family, and it was hers to do with as she wished.
“I think we should change the name,” Gianna said authoritatively.
“How about we call it Theodore’s Fish Fry?” I joked, looking at Theodore.
He did not, however, look impressed.
That was okay. I knew I was funny.
“That makes it sound like we’re cooking fish, not selling them,” Gianna pointed out.
“We'll think about it,” I said. It would have to be something funny and pun-based, something cute about fishes or aquariums. I’d think about it more when I didn't have dinner with the family hanging over my head.
That was the other thing. This family that I didn't know I was born into – but apparently was – liked to throw crazy family dinners every once in a while. And by every once in a while, I mean like once a week. It was sort of a roundtable, but you could never guess who they would invite next. Riley, one of the detectives in Pine Lake, often showed up. Sometimes, for what I was betting were political reasons, Marguerite invited the Council.
The Witch's Council were the ones who’d decided what to do with me – and Gianna – when I’d arrived in Pine Lake.
I wasn’t really fond of most of them, especially since their assistant had sort of been responsible for Gianna's grandmother's death. Gianna, predictably, didn't really want to be anywhere the Council was. Even the good ones.
There was a knock on the door and I straightened up. I glanced at Gianna, whose eyes were wide. Even Great Aunt Mabel looked alarmed. I didn't know anybody who knew our address, well – anybody that knew the address that wouldn't text before coming out. Even Sam and Avery would be that respectful. Or were, after I had glared at them enough.
I went to the door, wishing it had a peephole. That was something I was going to have to get installed at some point. Of course, once the city had a new magical handyman. The last one had been arrested for embezzlement. Slowly, I unlocked the door and opened it.
Standing there was a tall blond lady, who looked down at me imposingly. Scary grandmother, or as she was more properly known, Clara. She was the head of the Witch's Council.
“Hello,” I said, my hand on the door. What else was I supposed to say? What are you doing here?
“I'm here to see how you're settling in,” Clara said, tilting her head to the side. Her blue eyes were piercing. Instead of a witch, maybe she was an angel.
But not in the pickup way. She was like three times my age.
Okay, maybe not three. Two and a half.
“Okay,” I said, taking a step back and letting her in. Gianna had moved closer to Theodore's tank, which was sort of amusing. What was Theodore going to do, spit water at Clara? But, if Gianna felt safer there with the talking amphibian, more power to her.
“Council member Clara, this is Gianna,” I said, nodding to her. “You should remember her from the last meeting?” I wasn't sure how many meetings they had, or how important my case had been in the grand scheme of things. But I was going to make sure she remembered Gianna.
“Yes,” Clara said, with the semblance of a smile on her face as she turned to Gianna. “How are you doing?”
Even though she was smiling, and deliberately trying to look friendly, there was a razor edge to it. Something in Gianna's face looked uncomfortable. It was well hidden, for she smiled and nodded, but when she shook Clara’s hand, she dropped it like it had burned her. She crossed her arms over her chest, and a tightness in her body language bothered me. I was going to have to ask her about it later. Was it something about the Council as a whole, or was it something about Clara in particular?
“How have you been enjoying it here?” Clara asked her.
“Fine,” Gianna said stiffly. She looked at me, and I nodded. She disappeared into the back room, which we’d started going through. Some of the supplies we had didn’t need to be bought, because I had found extras of them in the storage room. Emmaline had kept everything.
“She's a little bit shy,” I said, shrugging at Clara.
“Especially around council members, I can imagine,” Clara said, some of the fake warmth out of her voice. Instead it was more of a monotone.
I wanted to say like, well you know, when one sort of murdered your family, you’d be a little bit cranky. But I doubted she would appreciate my humor as much as I did. Besides, I really didn't want to start my time in Pine Lake by making enemies of the most powerful witch in the town. I’d already ticked someone else off, and then gotten her arrested for murder. Fun times.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” I asked politely, trying to keep my body between her and the tanks.
“What are you planning to do with those?” Clara asked, nodding towards the tanks.
“We’re doing small tanks, at first,” I said, nodding towards the breeders. “These are longer and shallower, so they can fit more fish and provide a better space for them to be quarantined.”
Clara looked thoughtful. “Will you have any smaller tanks?” she asked.
I nodded. “Some twenty or thirty gallon ones we’ll use as display tanks for coral or small fish.” Based on my research, I sort of wanted to do a pair of clown fish in an anemone, but that was a risk. Sometimes the clown fish couldn’t figure out what the anemone was for.
“That would be nice,” Clara said. “Maybe you could come do a tank for me?”
I blinked. That wasn't something I’d thought about. But it was definitely something that I could add to the shop services. Installation and maintenance, helping pick fish – all of that sort of stuff. It would require doing more research than I already had, but to be fair, information was power.
“I would be delighted to help,” I said, stumbling over the words. I mean, I wasn’t really, but could it really hurt to do a favor for the Head Witch?
She nodded, her smile frosty. “Please do let the Council know if you have any problems,” she said, and then she turned and left, closing the door behind her.
“That was weird,” I said to the closed door.
“You're telling me,” Gianna muttered from behind me.
Chapter Three
“So what next?” Gianna asked, leaning back against the counter as if nothing had happened.
“I think we’ll get the saltwater mixing,” I said, my hands on my hips. If she didn’t want to talk about it, I could think about it later. “Then we can be done for the day, come back and get the saltwater tanks set up tomorrow.”
Gianna looked
into the giant trashcan. “And this rocky stuff will be safe until then?”
“We'll put it in the saltwater.” I nodded my head decisively. “Need to mix it a bit first.”
“Do we have to use a stick?” Gianna looked put out at the thought.
I laughed. “No,” I assured her. “We use this power head thing.” There I was, using super scientific words. “It’s sort of like an underwater fan, and it pushes the water around so the salt mixes in.”
“Okey-dokey,” Gianna said dubiously, and she straightened up and came over to help me.
It took us about a half-hour before we had enough saltwater stirring in the breeder tanks. We could mix some in the original tanks, because there were no fish in there. Once that was done and we needed saltwater for water changes, we’d have to mix outside of the tank. That was what the giant trash can was for.
“It's really cloudy,” Gianna said, peering inside one of the tanks.
“We'll have to get some substrate for them,” I said with a frown. “It will clear up once the salt is mixed properly.” I'd been doing some research, but like apparently everything else in the fish world, what to put on the bottom of your tank was a huge dilemma.
Seriously, having fish had been so much easier the last time I had done it. Although to be fair, all of my tanks had been smaller.
I straightened up, checking to make sure that all the equipment plugged in was on. I had splurged a bit on some more expensive heaters and coolers, because Arizona wreaked havoc on temperature. They linked to an app on my phone that let me set when they turned on and off, so the tank didn’t get too hot or too cold.
I double-checked the power-head in the trash can, and made sure that the rock was comfortably submerged. The two breeder tanks had ‘wave makers’, which were like power heads, but they didn’t accidentally eat fish. According to the internet.
I would test the saltiness of the water tomorrow, after it had mixed together enough. There was some fancy refractometer thing that you used. Since we wanted corals, there was a smaller ‘specific gravity’ range that had to be adhered to.
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