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Tori took a shaky breath, gathering her strength. “I want to thank her properly for saving your life, and for coming so quickly to train Lola.”
Hoping to lighten the suddenly somber mood, I changed the subject. “Have you come up with a name for the studio yet? How about Tori’s Torture? Or Tattoos R Us?”
As I hoped, she laughed. “Not sure Tori’s Torture would attract many customers.”
For the rest of the walk, we threw some more name suggestions out there, as well as ideas for her grand opening. When we got to Lola’s office, the main door was ajar. I put my finger on my mouth, indicating that Tori shouldn’t call out to Lola. We carefully pushed the door open and stepped into the waiting room. Nothing was out of place, but it was empty.
While I didn’t believe Eleanor would harm Lola, something about her made me uncomfortable. Her reactions had been at odds with her words, and I didn’t like the way she’d dismissed Clawson and me. Something was amiss.
Lola’s consultation room and the door to her private quarters were both locked. Tori knocked, but there was no reply.
“Ridge, do you smell that?” Tori whispered, her nose twitching.
I took a sniff and picked up on Lola’s scent. It was blended with Eleanor’s. To my relief, there was no hint of fear.
“Let’s follow Lola’s scent,” she suggested.
Allowing our wolves to come through slightly, we both took a deep inhale of Lola’s scent. Through the layers, we found the most recent trace, and tracked it through town until we reached the Moonlight Café.
Inside, we spotted Lola sitting at a table by the window. When she saw us, her face brightened. Tori and I shared a look of relief before going inside and joining her, both of us looking around for any signs of Eleanor.
Looking completely unconcerned and, more importantly, unhurt, Lola stood and threw her arms around Tori.
“Thank you so much, Tori!” she exclaimed, then lowered her voice. We all sat down at the table, where Lola continued to speak in a hushed tone. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” Lola sighed. “I was starting to doubt myself, questioning whether I was really a witch or if I’d made a big deal out of some flickering lights, and that what happened with Zander was medical, not magical. I was so worried I’d gotten everyone’s hopes up that I could heal him.” Lola took a sip of her tea, cradling the cup in both hands. “Eleanor taught me a simple spell and confirmed that I truly have magic. I’ve been learning so much. She’s a fantastic teacher.” Lola was as excited as I’d everseen her, almost bouncing in her seat like a toddler on a sugar high. “I have to learn as quickly as I can. I have to help Zander.”
Just like that, her happy mood evaporated.
“If anyone can do it, you can, Lola. I believe in you,” Tori said encouragingly.
“Tori’s right,” I said. “Lola, you’ve come so far. Your world changed overnight when Tori shifted in front of you, and you’ve taken everything in your stride. Believe in yourself.”
Lola stared at me, and whatever she saw in my face had her nodding and smiling.
The waitress came to our table, and Lola went quiet as she took our order. After the waitress left, Tori said, “We were really worried when we got to your place. The door was unlocked.”
Lola clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh my gosh! I’m normally so careful about locking it, especially after what happened with Mrs. Marrow.”
Marrow was the murdering, double-crossing librarian. If anyone had told me she was a hunter’s spy, I’d have laughed in their faces. If you’d opened a dictionary and looked up the word‘librarian’you’d have seen Pattie Marrow’s photo.
When she’d helped Lola move into her office, Mrs. Marrow saw a knife made from the claw of an alpha shifter. At the time, Lola had no idea what it was, just a family heirloom—it had belonged to one of her witch ancestors—and had brought it along when she moved here. However, Mrs. Marrow had recognized it for what it was—one of the few weapons a human could use to kill a shifter. She’d broken into Lola’s office and stolen the knife, then used it to kill Deputy Phil Hill.
In a strange, roundabout way, I had Mrs. Marrow to thank for bringing Tori and me together.
Lola’s voice was much more subdued when she spoke again. “Eleanor has been keeping me so busy. When she left, I was in such a rush to come out and grab something to eat, I mustnot have locked the door. If any of my patients’ records were lying out, and someone saw them or took them, I could lose my medical license to practice, that’s for sure.” She sounded like she wanted to run back to the office and check that all her files were in place.
“It’s fine. The door to your office and apartment was locked. It was just the waiting room,” Tori explained.
“Where is Eleanor now?” I asked, scanning the café for any sign of the experienced witch.
“She went to the airport.” Lola took another sip of tea, her eyes dancing. “You won’t believe everything Eleanor’s been teaching me. All the stuff I was trying to do out of my ancestors’ books is advanced magic. I was trying to run before I could even sit up unassisted. When I told her what I’d taught myself, she was really surprised. She says you can’t learn magic from a book until you know the absolute basics.”
Tori leaned in closer when Lola’s voice dropped again. “She explained to me that every witch has their own inner magic, and for simple spells, we combine them with the elements. Different elements for the type of magic—fire for defenses, water for healing. The more complicated the spell, the more you have to add ingredients and potions.” Lola sat back and went quiet when the waitress arrived with our coffee.
“Is there any chance you and Eleanor can help Zander?” Tori asked, hope tinging her words.
“Maybe.” Lola pursed her lips. “I need to learn more about what’s happening to him, but we’ll definitely do our best.”
“Thank you, Lola,” I said. “We appreciate any help you can offer.”
