The mayor thought for a moment and nodded.“Okay…” he said, looking at Rafa, “if that’s all it takes.”
“Does this mean I can never leave St.Stephenshire?”Rafa asked.
Pic gave another astonished laugh.“Of course not!One thing you need to learn about old magic is that it is bound to the will of its caster.The three crones had their precious land stolen from them, but now that the conditions are going to be met—which are the custodian being given the land, and the grimoire staying on that land—then all will be well.”
Upon hearing that explanation, Rafa couldn’t help but sit down and heave out a sigh of relief.Thank God,he thought.
“Will this spell over the town ever end?”asked the mayor.
“You mean of its being in a perpetual autumn season?That we do not know,” Pic said, scuffing his beard, thinking of a probable answer.“Maybe the spell will slowly dissipate once the conditions are met, and all four seasons will grace the town again, or maybe the magic will continue until it is worn out.”
In just one conversation, Rafa received a new house, new land, and became a custodian of a magical book that could be sold any moment now.Upon realizing this, he stood up and dashed to the door.
“W-where are you going?”the mayor called after him.
“I’m going to drive until I get some damn cellular signal!”Rafa said as he opened the door and steeled himself for the icy wind.He didn’t know why he didn’t think of having Auden drive out of town to look for cellular signal and warn Sal, but that was water under the bridge now.Rafa had to contact Sal and hope to dear God that he wasn’t too late.
Chapter Forty-Four
The Choices We Make
SAL
Presently
Therewasnotimefor Sal to celebrate.She hurried and told Willow and Theola that she needed to speak with Harmon about the grimoire.And before she knew it, she was in Harmon’s hotel lobby.
Harmon hurried out of the elevator in his all-black ensemble, looking concerned.“Is everything all right?”he asked.“What happened?”
“We need to talk.It’s about the grimoire,” she blurted out.
Harmon nodded slowly.“Let’s discuss this in private?”he whispered, easing her forward.
Sal obliged, eager to get the conversation over and done with; she had no time to argue about where she was going to tell him.Upon entering his hotel room, she saw scattered papers on every surface, and a coat or two lying crumpled on the sofa.Memories of that fateful evening in Dusit Thani with him came rushing back.
“I rarely have company except for Baron and a few associates,” he said, sounding embarrassed that she noticed the mess.He grabbed the used glasses and quickly made his way to the kitchen, with Sal hearing him moving around loudly, along with the sounds of clanking and splashing water from the sink.When he emerged, he wiped his hands on the back of his pants and smoothed out his hair.
Goodness, he looked like a walking sculpture come to life, perfectly chiseled and soft where it mattered.But now wasn’t the time to fall prey to his looks again.
She took a deep breath.“Harmon…I’m sorry, but we can’t sell you the grimoire anymore.We can wire you the money back,” she said, looking at him with pleading eyes.
Harmon blinked, looking confused.“Why the change of heart?”
“I think we need to sit down.”
For the next half-hour, Sal recanted as best she could everything Rafa had told her over the phone.When she finished, Harmon’s eyes had a thoughtful glaze to them, and he had grown pensive.He scrunched his brow and started pacing.
“If you give me the money back, then you give up your win…” he said.“I can’t allow that.”
“Harmon…” Sal began, “you helped us win—”
“No,” he shook his head.“You won because ofyourhard work.Even the critics gave you guys a higher score.Trust me, if I hadn’t bought that, someone else would have...”
“I know that.But this is more important than the wager.If we don’t bring the grimoire back, there won’t be any livable property left to dispute.”
Harmon sat down again and leaned forward.“To hell with that.I don’t care about the property anymore,” he muttered.“I stopped caring about the inheritance because…” He paused and turned to Sal.“Because all this time, I thought I was chasing something that was taken from me.But I realized everything is as it should be, because it was you all along.It was you I was meant to find and be with.”He held her hand and squeezed it tightly.“So let’s say I won’t get back the money, I return the grimoire to St.Stephenshire and everything is fixed.”He paused, looking unsure of what he was going to say next.“Come with me to Budapest.Let’s just forget it all and be together.We’ll make a place for each other.”
Sal took a breath, considering what was at stake.When she looked into his dark eyes, she felt lost again in the pull of his gaze and wondered if this was where life was taking her next.
