It’d been just over a month since I’d confessed the whole of my screwed-up situation to Officer Peter Flint. I’d already told him that I’d been cursed by a jealous former coworker and as a result had lost my magical powers, my career as a lawyer, as well as all my friends and possessions. And Peter had taken it in stride—even got indignant for me.
But I’d finally worked up the courage to tell him the last bit—that I was a shifter and that the curse had reacted to my powers and given me the ability to speak to animals. He’d enjoyed the speaking to animals part, as it allowed me to translate for him and his lie-sniffing canine partner, Daisy. But the shifter thing hadn’t gone down so well.
Magical folk on our island were prejudiced against shifters, and while I’d hoped Peter would be different, it hadn’t turned out that way. As a cop, he’d had enough bad experiences with shifters to make assumptions that we were all the same.
The thing was, while it wasn’t technically illegal to be a shifter, people were allowed to deny shifters housing and jobs for being who we were, and the justice system kept us in a blind spot. Which meant we had to look after our own, and mob boss Ludolf Caterwaul had stepped in to fill the role of king, judge, police, and loan shark for shifters as a whole.
I’d done my best in life to avoid being under his thumb, but working with Peter, a cop, had broken a lot of shifter rules, and I was under more scrutiny than ever. And now that Peter wasn’t speaking to me or bringing me in on police consultant jobs, I was back to struggling to make ends meet.
And while my fake pet psychic business had picked up a little from word spreading around my corner of the Darkmoon District about the police hiring me for my talents, I wasn’t bringing in nearly the money I earned as a consultant for the cops.
I sighed as I marched back downhill through the lush landscaping, Heidi’s heels clicking along behind me as she and Will bickered. If I hadn’t gone back to being poor and desperate, I’d never have let myself get sucked into this “business opportunity.”
“Why not?” Heidi whined.
“Uh…” Will let out a humorless laugh. “Because I was mostly tagging along for something to do. But no thanks! Don’t feel like getting sucked into a pyramid scheme tonight.”
I stopped and spun around to wait for them to catch up.
Heidi tipped her head to the side and raised a finger. “Actually, that’s a common misconception. We’re not a pyramid scheme, we’re—”
Will and Heidi rejoined me. “Oh, it’s we now.” He thumbed at her. “Caught and cleaned.”
I nodded my agreement, and we turned to go, but Heidi stomped her foot. “Guys, wait!”
Will huffed, and I crossed my arms, but we both slowly half turned to face her.
She splayed her palms. “Look, you already came all the way up here, there’s tons of food inside….” She flashed a grin at me.
Snakes. The girl knew her audience. I was always hungry… especially now that I was broke once again. My shoulders slumped.
“Just come in and support me. You don’t have to buy anything.”
Will and I exchanged looks. He leaned into one hip. “Open bar?”
Heidi’s smile broadened and she nodded.
I looked up at Will again and shrugged. “We did hike all the way up here. I probably need some sustenance to make it back down.”
He arched a brow. “And I need a stiff drink.” He looked Heidi up and down. “Fine.”
“Yay!” She clapped and bounced on her heels. “Okay, we have to hurry for real though.” She slid between us and once more dragged us back up the path, past the fountain and up the stone steps to the hotel.
She glanced right and left at each of us as we climbed, my thighs burning. The island of Bijou Mer was a mountain, and getting up to the top tier was a workout. Also, I really needed to get in better shape.
Heidi clicked her tongue. “You didn’t wear white though. They told everyone to wear white.”
Will huffed. “Right… and this isn’t a cult pyramid scheme.”
I smirked.
“And besides—I wore white.”
Heidi shot him a look. “Your lab coat? Really?”
I grinned wider until she whipped her head my way and leveled that disappointed look on me.
I recoiled. “What? I didn’t have any clean whites. It’s such a pain to have to pay for separate loads.” And again—I didn’t have the money to do laundry at the moment.
She tipped her head to the side. “Okay, but did you have to wear all black?”
“I’m just expressing the mood of my soul.”
Will snickered.
“Whatever you guys think, this is a big deal to me, okay? These tickets are going for nine hundred merkles apiece.”
Will choked.
We reached the top of the stairs and stepped out onto the level ground in front of the hotel. The chanting of the protestors grew louder. Women, faces red, shouted at us and jabbed their signs in the air. “Potent Potions poison people! Potent Potions poison people!”
I lifted my brows at my friends. “Try saying that three times fast.”
A few security officers in black uniforms rushed out of the hotel entrance just as we reached it. I glanced back as they stretched their arms wide and ushered the women back.
What was I getting myself into?
THE HARDER THEY FALL
Heidi, Will, and I jostled into the crowded lobby, nearly shoulder to shoulder with the huge crowd gathered for the Potent Potions summit. I curled my lip at the prominent Potent Potions logos on everything.
The gold double P’s surrounded by a silver heart glowed on the walls, was stamped on the black tablecloths, and was worn on necklaces, rings, and bracelets by many of the women. I’d bet they’d even paid