Making Magic: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure series (The Witches of Pressler Street Book 2)

by Martha Carr

  “Excellent. If you have any more questions I might be able to answer, I’m happy to chat any time.”

  “Well that’s…nice of you.” Laura stuck the small key into the lock of the bottom drawer and slid it open just enough to rummage around for a heavy leather-bound book, then she shut the drawer and locked it. “Hopefully, I won’t have any more questions.”

  “Hey, if everything works out, that’s a good thing. Maybe just another chat, then. You and me and coffee. Or dinner…”

  Is he asking me out? Laura stood and slipped out from behind her desk. “Um…probably not.” She skirted past him, slipping the tiny key into her front pocket, and headed for the door. “I’m just really busy right now.”

  Chuckling, Nathan followed her into the hall.

  She reached into her office, hit the lights and locked the door.

  “Well, if you happen to have some extra free time floating around, you know where to find me.” He looked at her over his shoulder and pointed to his office.

  “Yeah, I sure do.” Laura nodded, gripping the book tight against her chest. “Thanks for the talk.”

  “Yep.”

  She hurried down the hall, feeling like she was back in middle school.

  But at least now I have some idea where to start.

  9

  Gruene Hall was packed that night. As the country rock band opening for Nickie finished their last song, Emily’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. She pulled it out and stared at the text.

  ‘Just pulled up.’

  “That’s gotta be John,” she muttered, stepping away from where she’d watched the opener backstage. She couldn’t help but grin when she typed up a reply. “And now I can mess with him.”

  ‘Who’s this?’

  The three little dots in the bottom corner of her screen blinked on, off, and on again, and it took him a really long time to text her one word.

  ‘John…’

  Emily laughed.

  “Who’s that?” Laura asked, peering over her youngest sister’s shoulder with wide eyes.

  “A friend.” Emily butted her out of the way with her shoulder. “Who I invited to come see the show.”

  “Ooh.” Nickie walked past them with her cable bag in one hand, the other clutching her Strat. “What’s his name?”

  “What? I never said my friend was a he.”

  “Yeah, but you would’ve already said their name if he was a she.” Nickie grinned and peeped out onstage where the lead singer of her opener shouted thank you to the crowd.

  Chuck walked up, a cable coiled over his shoulder and her guitar stand in the other hand. “Hey, Emily brought a date.”

  “It’s not a date!” She shook her head but smiled. “Oh, crap. I better let him in.”

  “Yeah, make sure he knows that,” Nickie shouted.

  Emily darted through the other musicians booked to play as Nickie’s band, smiling and nodding at them on her way to the back door, then she remembered she hadn’t let John know. She stopped and texted ‘Come around to the back.’

  She shoved her phone in her pocket and pushed the back door open. Even from here, she heard the excitement rising from the crowd as her sister took the stage. “Never gets old.” Grinning, she held the door open and waited.

  John walked around the side of the building with his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, looking exactly the way he shouldn’t have looked if he didn’t want anyone to be suspicious. He kept glancing over his shoulder, then caught sight of Emily waving beside the back door.

  “You weren’t kidding.” He jogged toward her, grinning like a lunatic.

  Or a serious fanboy…

  “If I was, you would’ve figure it out pretty quick. Come on.”

  “Awesome.” John hurried inside, and Emily eased the door shut so it only let out a soft click. “So, do you get to, like…sneak right up next to the stage or something? Like special access? They let you right in up the side, or what?”

  Emily laughed. “Oh, we get special access.”

  Nickie’s low voice came through the speakers. “Let’s get rockin’.” The loud first notes of her electric guitar brought a round of cheers and whistling from the crowd.

  Emily nodded toward the stage and raised an eyebrow at John. “You’re still gonna have to stand, though.” He followed her through backstage and behind the curtain with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open.

  “You okay with that?” She had to shout over the music now that the band had joined in with her sister.

  “Uh…” The fog of disbelief lifted from John’s eyes, and he laughed. “I can’t even come up with a witty response. This is amazing!”

  “I know, right?” She led him farther toward the front of the stage and stopped next to Laura. Her sister glanced at her then at John and smiled. Emily leaned toward him to say, “That’s my sister Laura.”

  “Oh!” He turned to Laura and stuck out his hand. “I’m John.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Hey, is this your date?” Chuck nudged Emily’s arm and laughed.

  Emily shot him a warning glance. “And this is Chuck. He thinks he’s funny.”

  John shook Chuck’s hand next. “Yep. I’m her date.”

  “Hey…” Emily slapped his arm.

  “I’m John.”

  “Glad you made it, John.” Chuck pointed at the stage and Nickie stalking all over it, tossing her head as she jammed just like she always did. Perfectly. “Enjoy the show, huh? This is the best way to watch it.”

  “Yeah, I bet.”

  Chuck nodded, stuck out his tongue at Emily, and headed off to go take care of whatever else he needed to do.

  John nudged Emily’s arm with his elbow and grinned. “This is so cool. Thank you.”

  “Totally. Just don’t forget how hard I worked to get you in here.”

  His eyes popped open. “Really?”

  “Oh, yeah. I had to go all the way back there and open the door.”

  John snorted and ran his fingers through his hair. “Good one.”

  “I know.”

  Nickie’s first song came to an end, and the crowd erupted into cheers. From where they stood, Emily and John could see the packed dance hall, the flashing blue and yellow stage lights, and the exaggerated wink Nickie shot them when she stepped back toward the band to signal for the next song.

  “Man, I’m really glad you asked me to come.”

  When Emily looked at him again, laughing, she found him staring at her instead of the stage. Maybe this is a date…

  Two and a half hours later—and three beers each, courtesy of Chuck—they were both covered in sweat from dancing, and Emily was riding a pretty excellent buzz. Nickie and the band finished the set with a bang, which was how the final song ended anyway, and the crowd erupted in cheers, screaming, applause, and whistles. Laughing, Emily dropped the pose she’d struck and let a grinning John pull her against him as they shouted along with the crowd from backstage.

  Nickie flipped her long, dark hair back as she shot up from crouching over her Strat, sending a fanning spray of sweat arcing behind her. She pumped a fist in the air and yelled back at the crowd.

  “How does she do that?” John asked, having to shout above the noise.

  Emily shrugged, vaguely aware of wrapping her arms around his waist as she watched her sister turn toward the band and pump her fist at the drummer, bassist, keyboardist, and saxophone player. “It’s just what she does,” she shouted. Totally Nickie and just a little bit of magic.

  John laughed. “No, I mean how does she play like that for an entire show with what she’s wearing?”

  “Oh!” She barked out a laugh.

  “I mean, if I could take off any more clothes right now, I would…”

  “Woah…”

  He smirked. “Did she think it was gonna be colder in here, or what?”

  “Maybe.” Emily glanced at her sister’s outfit again—a shimmering, gold-copper dress that only came down to the
middle of her thighs. But it had a high button-up collar and long, puffy sleeves that clung to her wrists at the end. “She did that on purpose.”

  “What?”

  “It’s not that hot out tonight, so she made sure she’d end up sweating like she needs to to slide all over the guitar.” Emily wiped her own sweat from her forehead and smoothed away a few strands of wild hair.

  “That’s insanely awesome,” John shouted.

  “I know!”

  “Thank you so much,” Nickie said into the microphone, still panting. She shifted from foot to foot, cradling her guitar, and nodded at the crowd. “You guys are the best. Hey, let’s give it up for these legends playing with me tonight, huh? Melvin Rain on the bass.” The crowd roared. “Kenneth Johnson on keys. Ronnie Smith blasting into that sax. And Marcus Bryant on drums. Let ‘em have it.” Whether she was talking to the crowd or the drummer, it didn’t matter. The audience exploded, and Marcus rolled out a clashing, five-second drum solo. The band jammed for another few notes, and Nickie joined them before pressing her mouth up to the microphone. “And I’m Nickie Hadstrom. Goodnight!” The short-lived music ended with a bang, and the stage lights flashed before going dark.

  The crowd, of course, didn’t let up as Nickie and the musicians headed backstage. The house lights went up, and Emily caught a glimpse of her sister’s face as Austin’s new ‘Queen of Blues’ stepped off the stage.

  Something’s wrong.

  Nickie’s frown looked like she was in a lot of pain, and she clenched her eyes shut. She stumbled toward Ronnie, whose saxophone dropped against his chest and hung by its strap as he steadied Nickie with both hands. “Woah, Nickie. You okay?”

  She peered up at him, confused, then smiled weakly and nodded.

  Emily and Laura shared a quick glance, and the youngest Hadstrom sister knew they were thinking the same thing.

  The drums are back.

  “Hey.” Chuck rushed toward Nickie and grabbed her shoulders. He nodded at Ronnie, and the man stepped away to join the other musicians farther backstage. “Nickie, you okay?”

  She nodded slowly, blinking at him. “Yeah. I’m good. I just…maybe I didn’t drink enough water or something.”

  “Well, that makes sense. Look at you.” Chuck smoothed her soaked hair away from her face. “That was incredible.”

  “Yeah? That felt pretty good.”

  “It was better than good, babe. You killed it.”

  Nickie nodded and seemed to pull herself together. She grabbed Chuck’s hand, and they headed toward Laura, Emily, and an awestruck John.

  “What happened?” Laura asked.

  Nickie eyed her with a tired smile. “Just a bad headache.”

  “Is it one of those…really bad ones?” Laura asked, glancing again at Emily.

  Sure looked like it. Emily tried not to appear worried. And we might be screwed if the Gorafrex goes hunting right now.

  The middle Hadstrom sister shook her head and blinked. “No. For a minute, I thought it was gonna be one of the really bad ones. But it’s…going away.”

  “What you need right now,” Chuck said, oblivious that his girlfriend could hear a deadly creature’s primal, witch-luring drumbeat inside her head, “is a crapload of water, some food, and to celebrate blowing this place outta the park.”

  “Yeah.” Nickie eyed her sisters and gave them a reassuring nod. She squeezed Chuck’s hand. “That sounds awesome.”

  “All right. Let’s get outta here.”

  “Should we wait for the crew to finish breaking down?”

  “Nickie…” Chuck lifted her chin with his fingers. “You look like you’re about to pass out, and that ain’t happening.”

  She laughed and turned toward John, wiggling her eyebrows. “My manager’s a real hard-ass.”

  John chuckled, but his mouth hung open like he was about to pass out. “Great show…”

  “Thanks, man.” Nickie let Chuck lead her toward the back door, and she called over her shoulder, “Hey, it’s up to Emily, but you should come with us.”

  Emily rolled her eyes at her sister, who laughed and turned around in private conversation with Chuck. Oh, good. Like I can say no after she just invited him.

  “Wait…” John blinked, then looked at Emily with wide eyes. “Did I just get an invite from Nickie Hadstrom to an afterparty?”

  Emily smirked. “You wanna come, or what?”

  “I think this is the best night of my life.”

  “I wouldn’t call it that. Not yet…” Laura said, pausing beside them on her way to the back door. “The night’s not over.” She shot a warning glance at Emily, then headed after Nickie and Chuck to the rear lot.

  That was unnecessary. Emily shrugged and shook her head, trying to explain away her sister’s mood. “That’s Laura…”

  “Yeah, you weren’t kidding when you called her serious.”

  “She’s just got a lot on her mind. A few drinks’ll loosen her up.” I hope. She cocked her head and grinned. “You’re still totally invited, by the way.”

  “Cool.” John laughed. “I’m still totally down.”

  10

  They stayed out at Inferno’s through last call, and Nickie thought it was exactly what they all needed. Chuck had ordered her a massive burger, and she’d had her water refilled twice before she felt right enough to order a beer. Laura’s two and a half margaritas put a real smile on her face, and while it was weird to see Emily out with another guy less than two weeks after breaking up with Jeremy, her sister looked exceptionally happy. Or maybe it was the beer.

  When the bar closed and everyone got kicked out, the Hadstrom sisters, Chuck, and John headed to the parking lot. “All right,” Chuck said, turning to walk backward toward his car. “Who here can’t drive home? Besides Laura.”

  Laura snorted and pointed at him, but failed to come up with a retort.

  Emily laughed. “Definitely me.”

  “Well, good. We got you covered. John, what about you?”

  “I’m good, man. Only had one drink after the show.”

  “You sure? We can cram five people in my car…”

  Nickie drew in a loud breath. “Didn’t we fit six one time?”

  “Yeah!” Emily pointed at Laura. “When your friend…what was her name?”

  “Daisy?” Nickie offered.

  “Yeah, Daisy. That woman was nuts.”

  “Woah, woah. Okay.” Laura raised her hands, laughing. “First of all, Daisy is not my friend. She’s a junior instructor, and Chuck offered to give her a ride.”

  Emily laughed. “She was still crazy.”

  “I know.”

  “So anyway!” Chuck clapped his hands, and the sisters burst out laughing. “John, you sure you’re good? Austin’s not exactly around the corner.”

  “It’s only an hour.” John pulled his keys out of his back pocket. “I had to drive to Lubbock a few months ago after closing the last restaurant I worked at. Made that just fine.”

  “That sounds like the worst drive ever,” Nickie said, stepping up to the passenger-side door of Chuck’s car.

  “It was great, actually. Nobody on the road. And I almost got to see the sunrise, so…” He shrugged and jerked his thumb back toward his silver Toyota.

  “All right. Well, thanks for comin’ out, man.” Chuck shook John’s hand. “Great to meet you.”

  “Yeah, you too. Nickie, great show. Really. It was awesome.”

  Nickie grinned. Jeremy never came to my shows. So there’s a point for the new guy. “Thank you,” she said with a wave. “You should come to the next one. On…” She glanced at Chuck.

  “I dunno. Thursday, I think? I’ll hafta check.”

  “Yeah, whenever it is, I’ll ask Emily to sneak me in again. Good to meet you, too, Laura.”

  Laura had already opened the backseat of Chuck’s car and climbed halfway through it. “Later, gator!” She stuck a hand behind her and waved.

  Nickie leaned against the passenger-side door and wa
tched her rarely drunk older sister fumble with the wrong seatbelt. At least she’s not seriously uptight anymore…

  “Hey, guys,” Emily said, drifting slowly with John toward his truck. “Just a few minutes. I’ll be right there.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Chuck waved a dismissive hand and opened the driver-side door. “You have two minutes.”

  Nickie rolled her eyes and whispered at him over the top of the car. “Five minutes.”

  “Five minutes!” He grinned, then jerked open the door and slid behind the wheel.

  Opening her own door, Nickie watched Emily and John walk toward his truck with very little space between them. Not yet, anyway.

  “Hey.” Chuck ducked his head to meet her gaze through the open door. “Did you say five minutes just so you could spy on them?”

  She laughed and got into the passenger seat. “Absolutely not. That’s something our mom would do.”

  “That’s something she did do,” Laura said from the backseat.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Oh, yeah. With Emily and Jeremy, and with you…guys…” The oldest Hadstrom sister still hadn’t figured out her seatbelt predicament, jamming the clip over and over into the wrong buckle.

  “Laura. You got the wrong. Oh, jeeze.” Nickie crawled over the center console to help Laura find the right buckle.

  “Your mom used to spy on us?” Chuck asked, squinting into the rearview mirror.

  “When you first started dating, yeah.” Laura nodded, closed her eyes, and dropped her head against the seat. “She thought it was funny.”

  “What?” Nickie glanced at Chuck, and they cracked up.

  “Glad we’re so amusing. I mean, this is the entertainment industry, right?”

  Nickie snorted and glanced back at her sister. Laura’s mouth had popped open, and a little snore escaped her. “Jeeze, not even three drinks. She probably just made all that up.”

  “I dunno, babe. She’s never really been a good liar, has she?”

  “I mean, except for when she’s drunk…”

  The door behind Chuck clicked open, and Emily jumped in beside her sister. “Okay, let’s go—woah.” She laughed at the sight of Laura passed out. “That was fast.”