Page 13 of Devils Don’t Deal

The rabbit struggled to get out of my arms and back to the cursed macarons. Did he have a death wish?

“You shouldn’t go without me. You aren’t safe out there.”

“I’ll take Rawley. The rabbit…” We both looked down at the rabbit, who’d gone still then started to twitch.

I ran.

The healery wasn’t very far from the shop, so I just ran out the front door, leaping off the stoop and spreading my wings so I’d make better time. The world blurred by as I rushed, and then I was outside the ancient stone building. The courtyard was open as I ran in, and a large woman put out a hand to stop me.

“What’s the issue?” she demanded in a deep voice.

My heart beat so fast as I gasped, “I accidentally cursed my rabbit!”

She blinked at me then frowned at the convulsing, sad-looking creature. “That rabbit’s been cursed for a long time.”

I hiked the rabbit up and studied it. Still breathing. Barely. “Right, but I accident doubly cursed it. We don’t have time to argue! It’s a house curse I put into my macarons. Well? Can you help?”

“A doubly cursed rabbit, you say?” a cheerful voice asked from behind me.

I whirled around then beamed when I saw Anna. My mother had gone to the extremely scarred healer before she got really sick. She wasn’t the best healer, but she was really kind.

“Yes. Can you help? I don’t know what to do. I have to save him. It’s all my fault. I never should’ve taken my eyes off him when I was baking, but I swear I only turned my back for a second.”

She leaned down and peered at the shivering and quivering thing. She raised a finger and poked it, sending a ray of green light patterns through it in the most horrifying way, like an x-ray that turned the rabbit see-through for a second.

I gasped and pulled the rabbit back, staring at the woman in shocked horror. I’d expected some blended-up herbs, not this…dark magic. That’s what it was.

“What did you do?” I asked as the rabbit shivered harder, convulsing so badly I could barely keep hold of the fluffy bundle.

“Mostly just charcoal,” she said with an unstable smile. Had she always been slightly unbalanced? Yes. But the power was new. It roiled around her like a thunderstorm.

That green flash wasn’t charcoal. The rabbit started retching then out came the macarons, only along with the pink smoosh was darkness, curling like live smoke.

“Oh, yes, that’s definitely a curse,” Anna said, crouching to look at the vomit mess. “Definitely a curse, but I don’t know about it being a house curse.”

I held onto the rabbit. “Well, it was in the house. I’m not sure what kind it was exactly. I just baked the curse into my macarons so I could burn them up.”

She looked up, concern on her face. “You shouldn’t burn curses inside city limits, particularly a city like Singsong. You never know what the smoke will trigger.”

“My dad’s got it handled. He’s really good with curses.”

She shook her head, frowning. “You’re saying that, right now, he’s burning cursed macarons in the city? Where is he?” Her frown made my stomach twist, and the feeling of facing down a storm grew stronger and stronger.

“He’s a goblin. He’s really good with dealing with curses.”

She blinked at me. “Your dad is a goblin? Adopted, I presume.”

“Um…can we focus on the rabbit?”

She looked at the rabbit, head cocked, but the way she was looking, I felt like she was also analyzing my blood and makeup as well. Did a flash of green light go through me, turning me transparent?

She finally said, “I think we got all the cursed macarons out. He’s still not healthy, but he’s not going to die today.”

I frowned down at the rabbit. He was shivering but no longer convulsing. “Thank you.” I looked up at her and wanted to burst into tears. “Thank you so much. I have to keep him alive or I’ll lose my bakery before I even get it running properly.”

“The bakery where your father is burning cursed macarons.” She raised her dark brows and smiled, but it was a dangerous smile. “Where is it located?”

I hesitated. “I don’t⁠—”