Page 10 of Vengefully Matched

She stared at him for a moment.

“Absolutely,” she deadpanned.

It was Uncle Larry’s turn to smile. “That’s my girl.”

He raised a hand in the air, and Daniel came scurrying over with the beers and a cocktail.

“It’s time for the switch to tequila. Let’s have two tequila sunrises and two shots.”

“Right, two Tatooine Sunrises and a pair of Blasters.”

“Thanks, Daniel,” said Larry.

“Good. I’m feeling cross enough to switch to plain old alcohol.” After a beat, Priscilla added, “So, I do think it’s about more than Council business. Just not the way you think. The pranking probably doesn’t help, but it’s just so fun to mess with her. I have a history question for you, though. Spell work logistics, really.” If anyone could help with the note from Constance that was nagging at her, it would be Larry. He’d taken up amateur magical history in his retirement, and this sort of thing was his Roman Empire.

“Ah,” said Uncle Larry shrewdly. “Go on.”

“There’s something on the Council agenda I feel I should have paid more attention to. Magic I don’t quite understand. I have a hunch about it. When I close my eyes, it’s shrouded in shadow, the thought of it.”

“You’re growing paranoid.” His eyebrows raised. “I couldn’t be prouder, pumpkin.”

Priscilla took a long drink of her mojito, ignoring the green alien on the side of the glass.

“What do you know about forbidden magic?”

“Far too much.” Larry cackled and took a deep drink, snapping his fingers to covertly refill their ice waters and staring her down in that way he always did. “There are only four types that are entirely forbidden, no exceptions. Immortality, raising the dead for misappropriation of corpses, forcing a love spell, and what I like to call Gremlins magic.”

“Gremlins?”

“Yes, that’s a new one, coined in the nineties. No mass-producing magical creatures that might cause an infestation if something simple causes them to multiply.”

“I don’t think it’s that,” she said. She wished she had paid more attention to the discussion points on the von Auden estate.

“Well,” said Larry, “then you had better read up on raising the dead, love, and living forever.”

“What a time to be alive.” She tapped at her glass thoughtfully. Priscilla wasn’t sure that she needed to be so worried about a Council item that was not her jurisdiction, but Constance was her problem, and she had left that note.

But Priscilla was not president. And that made it not really her problem.

Besides, hadn’t Agatha said that Priscilla was not mature and experienced enough to be a strong leader? If the Council was going to treat her like a child, she was within her rights to occasionally act like one.

“Well, good luck with the most carefully guarded concepts known to witchkind. You’ll probably have to override some security spells for the information you need there.” Uncle Larry laughed, slapping his knee with a glee that let her know that he didn’t actually give a bat’s ass about her rule breaking. “How’s the other thing, that secret project with the mayor, going?”

“It’s good.” Sure, it wasn’t great to keep it from Agatha. But in the end, the project was in the best interest of the witching community. And she had given the mayor her word.

Larry smiled. “Your secret’s safe with me, viper.”

Daniel dropped off their drinks and shots.

“Let me know if you two need anything else,” he said.

Priscilla resisted the urge to say something salty to Daniel about his shirt, along the lines of how people who lean too deeply into fandoms risk not getting laid. It wasn’t true. And besides, he was a nice guy.

“Bottoms up.”

She checked the time on her phone. It was early enough that she could still get pleasantly drunk, call Larry a cab, and then walk over to the Council office. She would set a new trap for Agatha and still be home in time to sleep off the tequila. If she alternated with water, well, she might even feel just fine in the morning.

Clinking her glass with Larry’s, she took a shot and gestured for Daniel to pour another.