“Speaking of deals, I’m prepared to make one with you.” Rolling my shoulders back, I relied a little on Dash’s confidence to boost my own.
Lorelei looked me up and down. “You want a full makeover? Bigger breasts, thinner waist, more manageable hair? Hmm, maybe slim down your backside?”
My hands curled in and out of fists at the nerve of her trying to size me up. “No.”
She looked at me like I had unicorn manure spread all over me. “Need some money to get out of this dump? Maybe you want to get rich fast?”
“Money isn’t an issue for me,” I dismissed, wanting her to shut up and let me say what I’d rehearsed with Nick and Lucky. “Listen—”
“I don’t know why Nicky’s wasting my time with sending you here.” Lorelei retrieved her phone from her bag and scrolled through it. “It’s getting dark, I’m going to get more mosquito bites, and I’m bored.” She flashed the fakest smile. “Tell my older brother that I’ll be reporting this to Daddy.”
Nick’s sister started to walk away, leaving the enclosed targeted area. Dash’s anger mixed with my panic and almost choked me.
I reached out in her direction as if I were close enough to grab her and drag her back before she crossed over the mushrooms again. “I’m a witch!” I shouted.
She stumbled forward and stopped moving a step shy of leaving the circle. “Good for you,” she said with mock appreciation. “And what does that have to do with me?”
A figure walked out of the tree line behind Lorelei. “Everything, sis,” Nick shouted.
Chapter Twenty-Two
An immediate rush of anger and nerves hit me. Words that weren’t mine pressed into my head. Traitor. Not planned. Danger. I needed to change tactics, but I couldn’t think when my thoughts weren’t the only ones taking up brain space.
“Nicky,” Lorelei crooned. She held out her hands for her brother to embrace her. After they hugged, she pulled away and hit him. “You’re late, and your choice in locations is abysmal.”
“Sorry, Lorelei,” Nick said with great affection. “The choice of place was hers.” A predatory smile spread on his face. “Hello, Charli. Did you honestly think you had the upper hand? You’ve been played this whole time, and now I get to gift my little sis her surprise. It’s a shame you couldn’t have gotten dressed up in prettier packaging.”
His sister shared a laugh with him. “Oh, Nicky, it’s not her fault for being so plain. She is limited by the gifts she was born with.” She clapped her hands together. “Now, give me my present.”
Nick nodded at me. “You’re looking at it.”
“Be serious.” His sister pouted. “Well, whatever it is about her, you better tell me fast.” She patted her large handbag. “I’ve got a payment to collect.”
I narrowed my eyes at Nick, wondering if any of the story he’d fed me was true. Still unsure of what to do, I stayed still while he paced around me.
“Like she said, Charli is a witch, and that makes her soul a little more valuable to begin with. But,” the demon paused as he stood close enough I could smell scented oil on his skin, “it’s her talents that make her the perfect present for you. How would you like your own personal tracker at your beck and call?”
Lorelei stared at me, her mouth agape with her upper lip curled just enough to convey her absolute disbelief. “You’re joking. You know that Daddy had to pay a pretty penny to even find someone with abilities like that to locate you. If I had a witch with tracking abilities, I could rise to the top.”
“And once you’re in a better position, you can help me get ahead as well,” Nick encouraged.
“Yeah. Sure.” His sister approached a little closer to examine me. “We’d have to do something about her wardrobe. Cut and color her hair. If she’s going to be out there attached to my name, then she has to look appropriate.”
Nick flourished his hands and a pen and parchment scroll appeared in them. “All you have to do is write up the contract and she’s all yours.”
“What kind of a present is that, making me do all the work?” Lorelei complained.
With a sniff, Nick shrugged. “If you want the contract done in my name, then I’ll be more than happy to claim her magic for my own use.”
“Not on your life!” his sister shrieked, taking a picture of me and blinding me with the flash. “But if you want to fill everything out for me, that would be super helpful.”
Nick cleared his throat. “Name?”
I refused to answer, unsure of whether or not to call in the cavalry.
A pointed talon-like nail poked into my side. “Answer his questions, witch.”
“Charlotte Vivian Goodwin,” I stated.
He scribbled it down on the parchment. “Occupation…tracker. We can skip over the part about physical details for the moment. Let’s get right down to what it is she wants.” Nick widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows at me. “Didn’t you tell me specifically what it is you’d be willing to make a deal for?”
Questions filled my head, but I did my best to block them out. “Yes, specific details. I want for all the residents of Honeysuckle you affected to be returned to their original state.”
“Original or how they were prior to their change?” Nick clarified.
Lorelei stopped texting on her phone. “Why are you helping her?”
“Sorry. I got used to trying to satisfy the customers at the spa,” he apologized. “Please continue.”
I chose my words with care, a little relieved to find him still on my team. “My grandmother needs to be released from whatever spell she’s under and have her health returned to how it was before she was affected.” If I was making demands, why not shoot for the moon? “In fact, I’d like for her to be
