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Eli had his own misgivings because if Iris accepted this at face value, Mira might end up living here for free or at least paying only a nominal amount. And it wasn’t that he disagreed on principle—the house did need work. And he himself had thought that a tech witch might be the better option instead of doing deep and messy work in the house walls. Hell, from what he’d heard, tech witches could even transform pipes and wiring without needing to touch the plaster. But Iris also needed money to live on; if she kept taking in people and agreeing to barter, she might end up—
No, it’s her decision. Not yours.
Mira nodded. “Absolutely. For instance, I could make the woodwork look like new. That would be one spell. I could renew the paint in the hallways upstairs. I could restore the gingerbread or revitalize the peeling exterior. Each task would be an additional spell.”
“Doing everything all at once would require too much energy?” Iris guessed.
“Exactly.” Mira paused, as if weighing her next words. “You’re taking this better than I expected. Some people laugh and say I’ve read too many magic academy stories. Others get nervous and stop talking to me.”
“We’re trying not to make it weird,” Eli said.
Iris added, “It must be harrowing to come out with it like this.”
Mira nodded. “A little. There still some risk involved in self-identification, but I wanted you to know before I moved in.”
She must be referring to the proposed legislation that would require a database monitoring all paranormal citizens and the rise of HAPI. Eli had his own fears connected to those issues. He would follow Iris’s lead, however. At this point, only she knew about his double nature.
Sally bounced a little in her chair. “I’ve bothered Ethel and Gladys about this ever since I found out, but they won’t tell me anything. Can I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure,” Mira said warily.
Eli smothered a smile. He also noticed that Henry Dale was lurking in the hallway outside the kitchen beside the china cabinet full of ceramic angels. The old man was interested but refusing to admit he was. Henry Dale’s irascible nature made him endearing rather than annoying. Eli had no idea why he felt that way, but he wanted to look after the old fellow, almost as much as he did Iris.
Sally got started right away. “I don’t understand what a tech witch does, exactly. Danica and Clem seem to fix broken machines mostly. But you’re talking about refreshing paint? How does that work?”
“‘Tech’ makes it sound like it needs to be a gizmo with moving parts for me to impact it. But actually, my magic works on pretty much any nonliving thing. Wood is a bit of a gray area because it was alive, but now it isn’t. So it’s inert if organic. But if you wantrepairwork done on it, that’s the tech side. If you want a witch to take an old cypress board and turn it into a living tree, that’s on the vivimancer side.”
Eli blinked. “Is that even possible?”
“It depends on how much…life is left to the board. Andthat relates to a lot of esoteric factors that would take me ages to explain.”
Henry Dale stomped out into the open. “What’s this nonsense? You’re all acting like this is real. Don’t be taken in by such baloney.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Henry dale!” iris scolded. “Youdidn’t want to hold a séance because you’re willing to believe ghosts are real, but you draw the line at witches?”
Before Iris could say more, Mira stood. “I take it this is my other potential roommate?” She stepped toward him and offered a handshake. Looking bemused, Henry Dale accepted, and Mira went on, “Have you ever met a witch?”
“Of course not! They’re fictional,” the old man snapped.
“See, that’s where your analysis breaks down. That would be like you claiming that because you’ve never met an Italian person, that they too are fictional. I’m a witch. You’ve met me. And hopefully, you’ll see that it’s merely one facet of my existence.”
At that point, Iris stepped in because she could see that Henry Dale was about to escalate the argument. “So you were saying that you can actually use your magic to update the house?”
“Precisely. I’m willing to do one spell per month for a discount on the rent. Though bear in mind, for larger tasks, I need to break them down into more manageable stages.”
That explanation made sense to Iris. Energy was finite, soMira wouldn’t be able to snap her fingers and restore the whole house exterior. At least, not without more witches to increase the size of her magic pool. Otherwise, she’d be too exhausted to function at her day job. Sally was practically vibrating with excitement over the idea while Iris found Eli more difficult to read. He wasn’t openly antagonistic like Henry Dale, but it seemed like he might be reserving judgment.
“Would it be possible to get a tiny demonstration? Not that I don’t believe you, but…” She couldn’t think of a way to finish that sentence.
“But you’d still like to see for yourself?” Mira’s gentle suggestion took the pressure off, and Iris nodded gratefully.
“Me too!” Sally put in.
Henry Dale made a skeptical sound, but she noticed that he didn’t make himself scarce either. Instead, he perched on the edge of the sofa next to Eli, as if he had no intention of missing whatever the next step might be. Mira glanced around the house as if seeking something in need of repairs, and Iris promptly pulled out her phone.
“It has a tiny crack, right here.” She pointed at the lower right corner of the screen, showing the minor fault to everyone before she handed it over.
