Alchemy and Arson

by Lily Webb

  Tony grumbled incoherently.

  “So the money Tony gave you and Hilda wasn’t his,” I said.

  “Sure wasn’t,” Sage said. “I wish I’d known that at the time, but when your back’s against the wall and someone offers you a lifeline, you aren’t exactly inclined to say no.”

  “Why did he give it to you then?” I asked.

  “I’m tired of speaking for him,” Sage sighed and whipped her wand out of her robes. I recoiled, convinced she was going to hex me to pieces, and she laughed.

  “After our little chat at Mooney’s I would’ve guessed all your time chasing killers made you fearless, but you’re awfully jumpy tonight, Zoe,” she said. She waved her wand at Tony and muttered a spell I couldn’t hear.

  “Zoe, don’t listen to a word she says, she’s full of—”

  “Good ideas,” Sage interrupted. “Tell her the truth, Tony. Don’t make me silence you again,” she said as she jabbed her wand tip into his chest. He cringed and whined.

  “All right, fine. Look, I was deep in the hole with the restaurant,” Tony said, which wasn’t a surprise to me at all. “So I hit up some old friends I haven’t talked to in a long time for help.”

  “You mean the mob,” I said.

  “Yeah, whatever, call it what you want,” Tony said. “But they gave me more than I needed, way more. I wasn’t going to refuse it, so I thought I’d stash the leftovers by—”

  “Giving it to Hilda as a loan so you could keep making money off the initial amount and they’d never know,” I whispered, my eyes wide.

  “Now she’s using her noggin!” Sage said, smiling, but it didn’t bring me any comfort. I still didn’t know what she planned to do.

  “But then the mobster told Circe you’d stolen money from them, and she must’ve put two and two together. You were terrified word would get back to your friends that you’d duped them, so Circe had to go before she could report back,” I said.

  “I’m sorry, Zoe,” Tony sobbed, but I didn’t believe him or feel sorry for him. He’d gotten himself into this mess.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t want to hurt Circe. I tried to convince Tony it was a bad idea, but he was like a dog with a bone. When the Council announced the curfew and threw Tony out of the meeting, I knew he wouldn’t let it go and I couldn’t exactly tell him what to do.”

  “So he pressured you to make the Wild Fyre for him,” I said. Sage nodded.

  “I didn’t really have a choice. We owed Tony a lot of money for his help, but there wasn’t nearly enough coming in to pay him and Lorelei back,” Sage said. “So we came up with an arrangement: I’d feed him as many tonics as he wanted until we were making enough to start paying him properly.”

  “Where did you get the formula for the Wild Fyre?”

  “Tony’s friends know a thing or two about getting their hands on illegal items, don’t they, Tony?” Sage asked over her shoulder. Tony groaned and nodded.

  “They bought it off some warlock months ago but thought it was fake,” he said. “Least that’s what they told me.” Clearly, it wasn’t.

  “And they got ahold of another formula to stop a werewolf from changing under the full moon,” Sage said.

  “So the Blood Moon was the perfect setup,” I said as I worked through it all. “No one would be out wandering around to see, and Tony wouldn’t be suspicious if he was found out after the curfew.”

  “What a stroke of luck, right? We thought this time would be different thanks to the werewolves working with the Council, but the Council proved us all wrong and implemented a curfew anyway,” Sage said. “But even with the perfect circumstances, Tony still messed everything up.”

  “How?”

  “He got antsy and drank the anti-shifting tonic before it was finished fermenting,” Sage said.

  “So the effects didn’t last long enough for him to carry out his plan to torch Circe’s house. That probably explains why I tripped on this,” I said as I reached into my robes for the vial stopper I’d been carrying since I found it.

  Tony looked like the last of his dignity had fallen out of his rear. Sage whirled on him.

  “What is that?” she snapped.

  “I’m sorry, I dropped it,” Tony said. “My hands were as big as plates and my claws were coming through so I could barely get the thing open. I didn’t think it mattered, I figured it’d burn down with everything else,” he continued and Sage looked livid.

  “Incompetent and irresponsible, just great,” she mumbled. “What else did you leave behind for her to find?”

  “Did Hilda know you were planning to kill Circe when she predicted there’d be death during the curfew?” I asked Tony, but Sage answered.

  “Please, Hilda couldn’t have predicted the rising sun,” she laughed. “If it weren’t for me covering for her, Hypnotic Tonics never would’ve opened and it definitely never would’ve made a dime.”

  “So Hilda wasn’t involved at all?”

  “No, she didn’t have a clue,” Sage said.

  “Then why kill her too?” I asked.

  “Funny you should ask because I was just about to force feed Tony a truth-telling tonic when you walked in,” Sage said. It seemed far more confrontational than that to me, but I let it go. “Don’t forget, Hilda and I were both in the building when it went ka-pooey. So, why’d you try to kill us, little doggy?”

  Tony squirmed in his chair against the physical and magical bonds that held him in place until he exhausted himself.

  “You were two-timing me, the both of you,” Tony spat. “I gave you money that wasn’t even mine and you were turning around and handing it to Lorelei.”

  “But Lorelei told me she wasn’t getting paid either,” I said. “So where was the money go—”

  I cut myself off as the realization hit me like a werewolf’s paw to the face. It was so obvious it hurt: Sage had been pocketing the money and playing everyone off on each other.

  “The secret’s out now,” Sage said with a shrug. “You know, I guess it’s true what they say about what happens when you lie with dogs: you always come up with fleas.”

  “And now you’re here to make sure no one finds out. If Tony dies in a fire, the mob will stop coming after him — and after you,” I said. Sage smiled and clapped.

  “Well done!” she said.

  Sage had pointed the blame for the bombing of Hypnotic Tonics at Lorelei during the Council meeting earlier — and lied to me personally about Lorelei being responsible — not because Lorelei had anything to do with it, but because Sage wanted to distract everyone long enough to be able to take care of Tony herself.

  “You know, I had a feeling Tony might try something — he is a mobster, after all — so I kept an eye out and thank Lilith I did and that he’s such a bumbling fool,” Sage said. “I saw the klutz from the back window of the shop and barely had enough time to cast a protection spell on myself before he tossed the vial and the place exploded.”

  “You were lucky,” Tony said, though he obviously wished she hadn’t been.

  “And it looks like I still am. Zoe showing up makes burning all the evidence that much easier,” Sage said as she reached into her robes again. She pulled out a different vial from the one she’d been holding when I found her. My breath caught in my throat when I saw emerald flames swirling inside the glass.

  “Wild Fyre,” I breathed, bracing to run.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sage asked, her wide eyes filled with green as she held the vial up to admire its contents. Lorelei wasn’t wrong; Sage really was a pyromaniac — and a murderer, even if her hands weren’t the ones that’d committed the crime.

  “You know there’s nothing that can put it out, don’t you? Not even magic can contain it once it starts,” Sage said as she popped the golden stopper off the vial with her thumb. It rolled across the floor and stopped at my feet.

  “But it has to start first,” I said and without thinking, I threw my hands out in front of me, willing every
ounce of magic in my blood to my fingertips. They tingled as psychic energy rocketed out of them in Sage’s direction and collided with her, sending her tumbling backward into the wall — and the open vial of Wild Fyre into the air.

  A whirl of sound and color flew past me and, screaming, I jumped in the direction of the vial, desperate to keep it from hitting the ground. With my eyes squeezed shut, I soared forward in slow motion for what felt like forever — but my fingers never met cool glass.

  I thudded to the ground on my stomach, the wind knocked out of me. The vial fell just a few feet away from me, seconds from crashing into the floor and killing us all. Frantic, I thrust a hand out from under me with another desperate push of whatever powers I had…

  … And the vial froze less than an inch from the ground as if it’d fallen on an invisible pillow.

  Seconds later, the world around me came roaring back into focus. Flashing red and blue lights filled the restaurant, and Marcel was on top of Sage, pinning her to the floor. It took several seconds for my brain to catch up: despite his doubt, Marcel must’ve called the police like I’d told him.

  “Zoe, are you okay?” Marcel shouted as leaned back to avoid Sage’s flailing arms connecting with his face. Terrified, I pushed myself up onto my knees, grabbed the stopper that’d rolled away from me in the commotion, and plugged it back into the floating vial.

  “I’m much better now,” I sighed.

  “Moon Grove Police Department, don’t move!” Mueller shouted as he and Ewan Barrett stormed into the room, hands ready to draw their weapons.

  “It’s okay, we’ve got it under control!” I shouted back. Mueller seemed stunned to see me. He shook his head, his jowls flapping, and let go of the handle to his gun.

  “Where there’s smoke, there’s Zoe Clarke,” he said.

  Despite the bad pun, I’d never been more happy to see him in my life.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You ‘bout ready in there, Sugar?” Grandma called as she pounded on my bedroom door. Flora giggled from the living room.

  “Just a minute!” I shouted back as I sized up the dress Grandma had insisted I buy from Zaria’s earlier that afternoon. She wanted to take me and my friends out to a nice dinner, and she’d insisted that I look the part.

  It was a form-fitting red dinner dress with a cute diagonal slice of frills across the front that ran from the middle of my chest all the way down to the trim. It wasn’t something I’d normally wear, but Grandma swore it would be perfect.

  “You done had fifteen minutes, so scootch your tushie!” Grandma said though I could tell from the sound of her voice that she’d already walked away in disgust.

  “I knew inviting her over here while I got ready wasn’t a good idea,” I grumbled to Luna, who blinked her bright blue eyes at me like she was laughing.

  “She’s just as extra as I remembered her,” Luna said while she groomed herself on my bed.

  “I take it that means you didn’t miss her?”

  “Oh, of course I missed her,” Luna said, one paw held out in front of her face while she decided where to lick next. “But it’s easier to miss her when she’s far away,” she continued and I snorted.

  “Eleanor Clarke in Moon Grove… I never thought I’d see the day,” Luna said, shaking her head.

  “Neither did I,” I sighed.

  “I almost wish I could come with you guys just to see her in action,” Luna said, the beginnings of a smile appearing on her little kitty face. “Where are you going anyway?”

  “I dunno, Raina made the reservations, but I’m sure there’s really nothing stopping you from tagging along. Somehow I don’t think of all things anyone in Moon Grove is going to object to a talking cat joining us for dinner,” I said. “They’ve probably seen much stranger things.”

  “As hilarious as that all sounds, I think I’ll pass. Besides, I still have a few episodes of As the Moon Turns to catch up on,” Luna said.

  “You’re still watching those? Unbelievable,” I laughed.

  “Hey, what else am I supposed to do while you and Flora are out gallivanting around the town?” Luna asked.

  “You mean other than getting up and going to an office every day for a paycheck?”

  “Sounds horrible, not interested,” Luna said.

  Grandma pounded on the door again, making Luna jump.

  “Lilith, I’d forgotten how persistent she can be,” she sighed.

  “Not me,” I laughed.

  “Hurry up or we’re gonna be late, Sugar!” Grandma shouted. “Our reservation’s for seven, I ain’t about to miss it. I’ll leave your tail here if I have to.”

  “All right, all right, I’m coming, relax,” I said and stepped into my dress to tug it up over myself. I had no hope of zipping it on my own, so I went to the mirror across from my bed and fluffed my flaming-red curls so it didn’t look like I’d literally gotten ready in less than twenty minutes. At least my makeup looked nice.

  “It’s a good combo, the dress and your hair,” Luna said and I couldn’t believe my ears. She rarely paid compliments.

  “Did I hear that correctly? Did you actually just tell me something looked good on me?” I asked.

  “Don’t get used to it,” Luna said. “Now get out there before Elle has an aneurysm.”

  “Fine,” I said and flung the door open. Grandma sat in a midnight blue gown on the couch next to Flora. She stared at me with wide eyes and let out a squeal.

  “Oh my Lord, it’s perfect, Zoe! You look amazin’!” she shouted as she bolted up and dashed to clutch my shoulders. She turned me from side to side to take it all in. “I love what you did with your eyeshadow. The red smokey eye with the gold sparkles is really gonna pop.”

  “Thanks,” I said, blushing though I didn’t know why.

  “Here, turn around and let me button ya up,” Grandma said and spun me like a top. She yanked the zipper up my back in one easy motion and turned me back to face her. Tears were in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Ain’t nothin’ wrong, I’m just so proud of you,” Grandma said and threw her arms around me.

  “Be careful, you’re gonna ruin your makeup,” I laughed as I hugged her back.

  “Oh, who gives a hoot?” Grandma asked, holding me at arms’ length to take another admiring look at me. “Isn’t she gorgeous, Flora?”

  “She always is,” Flora said, smiling, and my cheeks stung. That was saying something coming from her. In her pearl-colored gown with her flowing hair dangling in curls from a sparkling tiara, she looked like a princess straight of a, well, fairy tale.

  “All right, are we ready or are we ready?” Grandma asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I sighed and slipped into my matching ruby heels. Grandma escorted me outside, my arm linked in hers, and as the bright light of the moon bathed us I couldn’t believe I was walking through Moon Grove with her — and how right it felt to have her there. My face hurt from smiling.

  “Which way, y’all?” Grandma asked when we got to the end of the pathway leading to Flora’s front door.

  “Good question, I dunno where we’re going,” I said.

  “You’ve been there before, Zoe, though you might not remember it. It’s called The Root,” Flora said and I laughed.

  “Oh, I remember it all right,” I said. It was the restaurant I’d run out of the last time Flora and I went on a double date with Ewan and Beau.

  “My Lord, your wings are so beautiful in the moonlight, Flora,” Grandma said.

  “Thank you,” Flora said and blushed as she fluttered them. They shimmered like light through a crystal. “They won’t be the last ones you see tonight, Mrs. Clarke.”

  “Please, darlin’, call me Elle,” Grandma said and my eyes went wide. She only asked people she really liked to call her that, so that must’ve meant Flora was okay in her book. It put a smile on my face.

  “Okay, then follow me, Elle,” Flora said.

  We headed east down Swiftsage in
to the Fairy’s Quarter of Moon Grove and once more its trademark luscious, vibrant, and magical flowers surrounded us, their buds following us as we passed like the eyes of the Mona Lisa.

  “Are they alive?” Grandma whispered and I chuckled.

  “Of course, they’re plants,” Flora said and reached out to touch the rich pink petal of the nearest flower. When her fingertip made contact, the plant swooned and its vine wrapped around Flora’s arm like a snake.

  “Are they dangerous?” Grandma asked.

  “Only if you treat them poorly,” Flora said. She stroked the petal like she might a pet, and the vine released her. “Come on, we don’t want to be late.”

  Three blocks further down, we stopped outside of an unimpressive building that looked more like a cottage in a children’s story than a restaurant, but a wooden sign out front labeled it as “The Root Vegetarian Cuisine” in a twisted, tangled ivy font.

  “Here we are,” Flora said and gestured for us to go ahead. I took the charge, my arm still linked in Grandma’s, and led us inside. I spotted Beau immediately in the middle of a long picnic-style wooden table. Raina sat a few seats down from him and Mallory and Ewan sat across.

  Beau wore a powder-blue dress shirt under a navy blazer. A beautiful red flower peeked out from his chest pocket. He smiled and stood to wave us over. Grandma was about to meet my golden retriever shifter of a boyfriend for the first time and my heart hammered in my chest at the thought.

  “Wow, you weren’t kiddin’, Sugar, he’s a looker,” Grandma said and I snorted as my face burned. I walked her over to Beau, my throat so dry it hurt to breathe.

  “Beau, this is my Grandma Eleanor,” I introduced her. “Grandma, this is my boyfriend, Beau Duncan.”

  Grandma extended her hand for him to shake and, always the perfect gentleman, Beau scooped her hand in his and placed a kiss on the back. Grandma fanned herself.

  “You better watch it, boy, I ain’t been treated like that by a man in a long time,” Grandma said and I almost died of embarrassment right then and there, but Beau laughed.

  “I’m so glad to finally meet you, Mrs. Clarke,” he said.