by Martha Carr
Laura blew her a raspberry. “That’s right.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get to that point eventually. It’s something you don’t see every day, though.” Emily smirked and tipped her chef’s knife sideways.
“What?”
“Your big sister begging for chaperones on her first date since eighth grade school dance.”
Nickie burst into laughter, leaning over the table and shaking her head. Laura’s mouth opened in surprise and a little amusement. She couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Emily shot her a wink and turned to face the counter.
“At least I can count on you to tell me how you really feel, Em.”
“I got your back. Every day of the week.” Emily shrugged. “Except tonight.”
Nickie jumped in her chair at the unexpected buzzing of her phone in her back pocket. She pulled it out and found the text from Chuck she’d been waiting to get. “Okay, I gotta go. Meeting Chuck for lunch, then we’re heading to Dave’s office.” She took a deep breath and stood. “Wish me luck.”
“All the luck in the world!” Emily brandished her knife at her sister and waved it like she used to wave her wand before their legacy rings took care of spellcasting logistics. Then she noticed what she was doing and cracked herself up all over again.
“You’ll do great.” Laura smiled and gave Nickie a reassuring nod. “You always do. The Queen of Blues gets what she wants.” She pointed at her sister, and Nickie pointed right back.
“I’m gonna give Chuck all the credit for this one. And I’ll tell him you said something about how amazing he is at his job.”
Laura chuckled. “Hey, if anything happens, just send me a 9-1-1 text, huh? I’ll show up and surprise the crap outta Dave. Claim family emergency and get you out.”
“Huh.” Nickie tilted her head in consideration. “Any chance you wanna sit downstairs in the lobby, just in case?”
“Not really, no.”
They laughed, and Nickie stuck her phone in her pocket. “Worth a shot. Okay. I’ll see you guys later.” She didn’t even wait for a response but whirled around and power-walked through the kitchen. When she bent over to tug her boots on, she kept swiping her massive amounts of thick hair away so she could see. Finally, she straightened, tossed her hair, and pulled her shoulders back. She nodded at the door and left the house.
“So…” Emily leaned against the counter and stared at the front door a few seconds. “That was a weird moment of Nickie embodying the worst parts of both of us.”
Laura chuckled. “Definitely not the worst. But yeah, I haven’t seen her that frazzled in a while.”
“Did you just use the word ‘frazzled’?”
“I did, Em. I have an extensive vocabulary, and I’m not afraid to use it.”
With a snort, Emily turned back and combined the separate parts of the salad into a giant green bowl their mom had given them when they’d first moved into the house on Pressler Street. “Well, I promise you your extensive vocabulary never made you salad like this.” She grabbed plates and forks and brought everything to the table.
“No, that’s definitely you.” Laura helped her set the table and peered over the edge of the salad bowl. “You’re my favorite chef ever.”
Emily rolled her eyes and sat. “You don’t get out enough for that to mean much, but thanks.”
They laughed until a low whine came from the mudroom. Speed walked into the kitchen, the tags on his collar lacking their telltale jingle. His paws didn’t even click across the floor before he slumped to the linoleum and splayed all four legs like he was trying to hug the floor. A grunt escaped him, following by a snorting sigh as he dropped his chin to the ground and stared at them with drooping, immortal-bulldog eyes.
Emily grimaced. “You doin’ okay, there, buddy?”
Speed blinked.
“Did you take him to the vet this morning?”
“Did I—” Emily frowned at her sister and cocked her head. “Okay, if he was a normal dog, then yes, I would’ve dropped everything to go get his stomach pumped or whatever they do when dogs eat that much chocolate.” She extended an arm toward their long-time family pet and leaned over the table. “He literally doesn’t die. That’s the definition of immortal. I seriously doubt that those are the first chocolate cupcakes he’s eaten since, well, since chocolate and cupcakes were invented, probably.”
“True.” Laura peered at the bulldog staring at them and gave him a sympathetic frown. “But he looks miserable.”
“Doesn’t he always?” Emily grabbed a piece of chicken off her plate and held it down by the side of her chair. “Are you just tired of kibbles, buddy?” Speed rolled his eyes to look at Emily. The second he saw the chicken at eye level, he grunted his way to his feet and took it from her hand. “Hey. See?” Emily grinned at her sister and ruffled the short hair on the top of the bulldog’s chubby, wrinkly head. “He’s fine. You’re such a drama queen, dog.” As if he’d had enough, the bulldog licked his muzzle and shuffled through the kitchen and the mudroom into the living room on the other side of the house.
“I don’t know…” Laura watched him with narrowed eyes. “He is a dog. What do you think all those cupcakes did to him if they can’t, you know, kill him?”
“I think the right question is what didn’t they…aw, man…” Emily’s fork clattered to the plate, and she flung her arm over the back of the chair to glare into the living room. “Dude! Not in the kitchen. Come on.”
Laura’s nostrils flared, and she grimaced at her sister before giving in and plugging her nose with her fingers. “Was that the cupcakes?”
Emily waved her hand in front of her face and coughed. “If it is, that dog’s been eating cupcakes and chocolate frosting for thousands of years and nobody ever knew about it.” They sat there in disgust until the stench disappeared.
Emily nodded at her sister’s plate. “You better still eat that.”
Chapter Seventeen
Chuck laughed as he and Nickie stepped off the sidewalk on Colorado Street toward the office building’s front doors. “Okay, babe. Tone it down on the nervous smile, huh?”
“What nervous smile?” Nickie peeled her lips back to expose all her teeth in more of a silent snarl.
Her boyfriend snorted and pulled the door open. “Sure, pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ve never seen you this—”
“This what?” Chuck held the door open for her and they entered the lobby. “What do I look like right now?” Just to mess with him, she widened her eyes and forced herself not to blink.
“Honestly, you look like you’re about to be put on trial for murder or something. This is a good meeting, remember?” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close for a sideways hug. “This is all about you being awesome, Nickie. About being the best at what you do. Man.” With a quick glance at the ceiling, he blinked and shook his head. “And I seriously mean the best.”
“Well, you’re the guy who set this whole thing up, so I guess I just have to take your word for it.” She grinned at him as they stopped in front of the elevators and pressed the call button.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do that if you hadn’t been rocking Austin’s socks off for the last six months.”
“Eight, actually. I think.”
Chuck smiled, drew her toward him, and planted a hard kiss on her lips. “See? You’re running the show, babe. I’m just making sure everything in the background does what it needs to do so you can blow us all away.”
Smiling, Nickie rested her head on his shoulder and slipped her arm around his waist. I need to blow that escaped witch-killer away. That’s what I need to do. After this meeting. The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. She turned to reach for the floor buttons and paused. “Which one is it, again?”
“Seven.”
The number seven lit up under her finger, and as the doors closed, she stared at the screen counting up the floors. Chuck slipped his fingers through hers and gave them a li
ttle squeeze. “You already know Dave. You already know he wants to sign you. That’s what we’re here for. Nothing’s gonna mess that up, got it?”
Nickie raised her eyebrows. “You know, I like the way you pep-talk. Can I sign you on as my personal cheerleader, too?”
He cupped her cheek. “Naw. That’s free.” He kissed her again, slow and passionate and the exact opposite of the one from seven floors below. Nickie let herself breathe him in, and then she let go of being nervous because she just didn’t have room to hold onto that and grab two fistfuls of Chuck’s hair. His back thumped against the wall of the elevator, his hands slipping up the back of her t-shirt. The ding and whispering hush of the elevator doors sliding open stopped them from doing more.
Nickie let out a low laugh and bit his bottom lip. “I’m feeling much better.”
Chuck glanced at the ceiling of the elevator and cocked his head. “Yeah, but now I’m not thinking about meetings. Definitely not about Dave. Aw…” He mocked pouting and hunched his shoulders. “Now I just ruined it.”
She pulled him by the hand from the elevator and smoothed down the pieces of his short blonde hair. “Business time for the meeting. And business time again after, huh?”
When she winked at him, Chuck’s eyes grew wide, and he glanced over his shoulder at the empty hallway into the lobby of Blue Silk Records. “You know how confusing it is when you use the same phrase for two completely different things?”
Nickie stuck her tongue out a little through her grin. “I think you can figure it out.”
Her boyfriend pressed his lips together and cocked his head, fighting with himself to get his head back into the game and not somewhere else. “Are you blackmailing me into making Dave sign you?”
“Hey, that is not blackmail.” She shook her hair out of her eyes and shrugged. “That was a thank you for getting me this far. And I’ll thank you again later.”
“Yeah, no pressure or anything.” They both laughed and headed into the lobby toward a huge front desk against the back wall.
“Nickie!” The woman behind the desk, wearing a shimmering silver pantsuit, her hair done up in an elaborate bun on top of her head, leaned over the desk and waved. “Good to see you.”
“Hey, Charlie.” Nickie nodded with an enthusiastic smile. “How’s it goin’?”
“Just another Tuesday. Just got better, though. Dave went on and on yesterday about setting up this meeting. I can’t imagine why.”
Nickie chuckled and held up crossed fingers.
“Is he in his office?” Chuck asked, grabbing Nickie’s hand and peering down the hall.
“Yep. Been in there since he came in. He’s probably getting ready.” Charlie gave them a sweet smile and nodded toward the hallway. “Good luck.”
“This woman doesn’t need luck.” Chuck reached around Nickie’s back and pointed at the top of her head. “She is luck.”
Nickie shot him an amused glance as Charlie laughed softly behind the desk and got back to work. “What does that even mean?”
They stepped down the hall, and Chuck hummed in consideration. “That my entire life has only gotten better since I met you.”
“Hey, good answer.”
“Yeah, I know.”
They stopped in front of Dave’s office, and Chuck paused before opening the door.
Good thing the blinds are down. Just a few more seconds for me to step into my big-artist shoes. Breathe.
“This is just the beginning, babe.” Chuck nodded and took a deep breath. “You ready?”
“I’m ready. Yeah, I’m ready.” She laughed and nudged his arm. “Quit asking me that and just open the door.”
He grinned and grabbed the doorknob. “Here we go.”
The door swung into Dave’s office, which Nickie had only seen once before. She recognized Blue Silk Records’ logo on the left wall, blown to massive proportions, a shimmering blue piece of fabric that was supposed to be silk, draped off the top of the B, flowing out as if blown by the wind. A few more awards decorated the walls since the last time she was here.
“Hey, man.” Chuck entered and stepped aside for Nickie to come in behind him. “Big day, right?”
Dave sat in his huge leather chair behind the desk, his face darkened a little by the bright summer sunshine drifting in through the wall of windows behind him. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be sleeping.
Chuck glanced at Nickie and snorted. “Hasn’t come out all morning? Yeah, he’s sleeping something off.” He stepped toward the desk and rapped on it, loud and fast, with his knuckles. “Dave! This is one meeting you don’t wanna sleep through.”
His friend’s eyes opened slowly, but the guy didn’t look like he’d just woken up. He looked pissed. “Leave.” Dave’s voice came out low and threatening, and he glared at Chuck standing in front of him.
Chuck let out an unsure laugh. “Very funny. Come on, you’ve got the best blues-rock guitarist in Texas standing in your office. Let’s do this, huh?” He stepped aside and opened his arm toward Nickie so the owner of Blue Silk Records got a good look at her.
Nickie grinned and lifted a hand. “Hey, Dave.”
The man she’d come to sign a record deal with sat up straight in his chair and blinked at her. His expressionless face twisted into a snarl. “You.” A silver light flashed in his eyes, and Chuck stepped back.
Crap. No. Nickie swallowed and glanced at Chuck, who stared at his friend, baffled by a display of magic he didn’t know how to explain.
“Dude, what’s wrong with your eyes—”
Dave sent his chair flying backward into the wall of windows and shoved his hands toward Nickie. A thousand black, swirling bubbles erupted from his fingertips and straight for her.
She didn’t have time to think of a spell or some way to keep any of this under wraps before her secrets burst open. The ring did that for her. Nickie lifted her hand, the black legacy ring on her thumb flashed twice, and every single one of the bubbles were swallowed up by a bright yellow light curving away from her fingers.
“What the hell?” Chuck shouted, glancing back and forth between the two people he thought he knew best in the world.
The Gorafrex controlling Dave’s body turned on Chuck and opened his mouth in a silent scream. A massive red bubble grew between his lips and launched at Chuck.
Nickie ran forward and raised both hands. Her ring flashed, putting the same shield around Chuck she’d just used. When the red bubble hit her yellow light, it burst into thousands of tiny round drops, whirling and buzzing through the air like countless flies. One of them made it around the magical yellow shield and a tiny bead of magic landed on Chuck’s shoulder, sending him flying into the bookcase against the wall beside the giant logo.
Nickie lifted a hand at the Gorafrex and shouted, “Sepelio!”
A fiery red streak burst from her hand while she aimed the other at Chuck, keeping the growing version of her yellow shield around him as the air swarmed with tiny beads of blood magic.
The Gorafrex in Dave’s body ducked her attack and leapt up onto the desk. He snarled at her, and as she reached to shoot off another spell—any spell that came to mind—Dave launched off the desk. He darted for the open door, barreling into the hallway, leaving a trail of crashes and surprised shouts behind him. Someone screamed, glass shattered, and Nickie didn’t care one way or the other what was happening out there. The most important thing was slumped against the bookshelf.
“Chuck. No, no, no.” She raced to him and fell to her knees.
He groaned, his eyes fluttering open, and caught sight of the Gorafrex’s red drops of magic swirling around them. “What—” He tried to scramble back, but the bookcase stopped him.
Nickie moved the yellow glow of the shield a little farther away from them and only had to think about it opening up like it had for her a few seconds before. The yellow light curved and sucked the red drops into it and each one disappeared. She dropped her hand by her side, her shield vanished, and the office w
ent silent.
She turned to him with wide eyes and swallowed. “Are you okay?”
“What?” Chuck blinked and shook his head. “No, Nickie.” His hand went up to rub the place on his shoulder where the blood bubble struck before launching him across the room. “I can’t even…” He blinked and glanced around. “What just happened?”
“Does anything hurt? Like, physically? Are you okay?” She reached toward him to search his body, and he leaned away.
“Yeah, I think physically, I’ll manage. I don’t know about the rest of me.” He stared at her with wide eyes.
That’s exactly the look I imagined him giving me if he ever found out about magic. This is not gonna be fun for either of us. Nickie took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Nickie. You don’t ever have to apologize to me.” Chuck shook his head and glanced away from her. “But whatever that was…that was something you should’ve told me about a long time ago.”
She sat on her heels and nodded. “I know. Believe me, it’s not because I didn’t want to tell you. It’s just…there are certain things I can’t do.”
“Not anymore.” He shoved his hands against the floor and pushed himself up, then leaned against the bookcase and grunted. “Please tell me what just happened, Nickie. If I don’t…if I don’t get an explanation, I’m gonna think I’m crazy.”
“You’re not crazy.” She slid her hand down his arm and grabbed his fingers. For a few seconds, he didn’t react, then he laced his fingers through hers and frowned. “Yeah, I guess it’s not actually breaking any rules if you’ve already seen it,” she said.
“Screw the rules, babe. Tell me what’s going on.”
Nickie took a deep breath. “Okay, first, you should know that some people would say the best way to handle this is to wipe your memory of the whole day and call it a job.”
Chuck’s eyes grew wide, and his nostrils flared as he stared at her. “You’re not one of those people.”
“No.” A wry chuckle escaped her, and she bit her lip. “I don’t even know how to do that, so it’s not really an option.”