“Is…uh…everything all right in there?” I asked, glancing at Portia.
She didn’t seem concerned. “Everything’s fine. He’s been a grouchy bear since coming out of hibernation and learning I wasn’t pregnant.” She gave me a sly grin. “Not for a lack of trying, however.”
She already had two littles, I thought, remembering her young son and her baby on the ferry. My science-loving head filled with all sorts of questions about hibernation, gestation, and the mating habits of bear shifters, but I held them in check.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.” I started to reach into my beach bag, but Portia stopped me.
“You’ll mess up your polish,” she said. “I’ll get it.”
“It’s at the bottom.” I held out the bag to her. “A jar of lotion from my online apothecary shop. A little token to say thank you for all your help. I honestly don’t know how I could’ve made it through these last few days without you. You’ve been a godsend.” Although I hadn’t made it specifically for her, I had a feeling she’d like the sage-mint scent, so I’d popped one into my bag from my stash at the hotel.
“Honestly, Daphne. You didn’t need to—” Portia reached inside, then instantly whipped out her hand as if she’d been bitten by a sharp-fanged spider. “What. Is. That?”
“What is what?” I asked, confused.
Wide-eyed, she pointed to the bottom of my bag. “That…that book.”
I’d completely forgotten I’d brought along the leather-bound tome. I figured I could page through it on the beach if I tired of my book or the copy of Paranormal Paradise I’d swiped from the lobby.
“It’s from back home. I picked it up in my boss’s office by accident. Ex-boss, actually. I probably don’t have a job anymore. It’s a long story—he’s possibly a murderer. I tried giving it to the authorities, but when that didn’t work, I…” My voice trailed off asI remembered how I hadn’t been able to tell Scully and Mulder about the book. How I’d thrown up in front of them.
So how was I able to talk freely about it now? Was it becauseIhadn’t told her myself? That she discovered it without me?
Portia’s gaze bounced between me and my beach bag. “Is your ex-boss a dark wizard?”
“What?” I nearly choked.
“Your ex-boss. Is he a…a dark wizard?”
Images of Sauron, Voldemort, the Night King, and the Lord Ruler came to mind.Fictionaldark wizards, but still fairly disturbing.
“He’s a horrible man, yes, but I don’t think Pharma-Douche is…is a wizard.” But even as I said the words, I couldn’t be so sure.
I knew now that paranormal creatures lived secretly in the outside world. Was it possible that Pharma-Douche was one of them? Was he a supernatural CEO? But he’d hit on me, and I’d rebuffed him. If he were a dark wizard, wouldn’t he have cast a spell that made me say yes to his advances?
Portia scribbled something on the back of a business card and thrust it at me. Just an address. No name.
“Go here. They’ll know what to do.”
“Is this your friend Cassie?” I asked, recalling Portia telling me about her friend who made the Date-A-Wolf charms.
Portia looked horrified. “Cassie? Why on earth would you think that?”
“Didn’t you tell me she’s in one of the local covens?” I twisted my wrist and made the bracelet jingle.
She was quick to correct me. “No, no, not her. Cassie and her family don’t…uh…do that sort of work.”
Before I could ask what sort of work that was, she was ushering me out of the salon. A mix of worry and confusion churned in my stomach as Portia glanced nervously up and down the street.
“You didn’t tell anyone you were coming here with…that, did you?”
I shook my head. “The one time I tried to tell someone about it, I puked. I don’t really want to do that again.”
“Okay, good.”
I didn’t know what was good about puking, but I didn’t press further.
“That’s some bad juju, Daphne. I can feel it, and I’m not even a witch.”
