The nearly empty bottle of lemon-scented wood polish soars through the air, whacking into my shoulder.
“That answers that that.”
“They must not be at full power.Yet.”Prudence’s tail tickles my nose and I swat it away, rubbing my now lemon-doused shoulder.
“I’ll take your word for it.Any ideas about how to evict them?”
“You’re the witch.Use the spellbooks Tara gave you.”
“The spellbook—” I pause, my tired, overworked brain finally kicking up something useful.“The fucking spellbook,” I repeat excitedly.
“Gods, I hope she didn’t give you a fucking spellbook.I don’t need to witness any sex magic, thank you.”
The lemon bottle rams into my shin and I kick at it, still doing my best to form at least one (1) cogent thought in the wake of Prudence’s pervy sex comment and the fact I’m being attacked by household cleaners.
It’s a bit surreal, which is why I can’t totally hold myself responsible for the choice I make next.
“Run,” I yell at Prudence, and then I’m sprinting, taking the creaky ass stairs two at a time to my apartment.A black blur at my ankles is confirmation enough that she’s listened.
The empty shelves lining the walls stretch ominously in front of me, and while the book lover in me loves the idea of shelving stretching to infinity and beyond, the woman currently trying to get away from ghosts is less amused by the weird cartoon funhouse effect.
“Fuck off, ghosts,” I screech, irate.“This is my bookstore, bitches!”
The ground slams into my feet, and then I’m in front of the door, disoriented, like I just stepped off one of those airport treadmills.
I don’t hesitate, though, ready to get the hell out of whatever the fuck is going on in here, and reach for the knob that will let us back into our apartment.
The brass doorknob is so cold to the touch that it burns the skin of my palm, and I suck in a pained breath, forcing myself to keep contact with it until it finally unlatches.
Prudence and I spill over the threshold.
I, of course, fall onto my side after pushing so hard on the damned door.Prudence leaps delicately over the salt line, which, thank heavens, is still intact across the threshold.
Something shrieks in the bookstore and I kick the door as hard as I can, sending it flying back into the jamb.Golden light pulses over the wood and I lie back, panting.
“Well,at least they waited until Colton left.”
“At least I got to see you fall down again.My day really isn’t complete until you make an ass out of yourself.”
Something about the cat’s flippant, jerkish remark tickles me, and I lie on the floor for a long while, laughing hysterically and blinking up at the ceiling.
Prudence’s paws, which seem to defy the laws of physics—seriously, how in the world do they feel so heavy when she is so light?—step all over my stomach until she finally curls up on my chest, watching me laugh-spasm.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I finally manage to calm myself, and tuck my chin in to look at the little black cat.“That was wild.”
“Welcome to the world of witchcraft,” she says.
I don’t know which of us is more surprised when she starts making biscuits on my sternum.
Tactfully, I decide not to mention it.
“So.That could have gone better,” I finally manage.
“You don’t say?”The sharp tip of her claw pricks my skin through my shirt, just enough to make me squirm.
“Listen.”I pause, trying to come up with an excuse, but I don’t have one.“I made a mistake.I should have done the magical cleaning before the physical cleaning.”
Prudence tilts her head, regarding me with those luminous eyes.“Magical cleaning.I like that name.”
