Cover

Mom always told me to stay away from the love spells. She would know; she and Dad tried them all, back in their "Let's stay together for the children" phase. We had the therapy bills to prove it. So I resolved early on to learn from their mistakes and get my dates the traditional way. Most of the time.

This didn't apply to selling the tools to others, however. Love and lust are big sellers here at Lovejoy's Magical Books and Mystical Goods Emporium. You name the spell workings and we sell it. Still, I usually left my work at work and sent the crazy stuff out the door with the herbs, the candles and the little books in the customers' shopping bags. Or at least I did until Mona Santiago came back into my life.

Mona and I had history, provided "history" refers to major dyke drama. I dumped her in college for some sweet young thing who seemed like less work. After that, Mona made it her mission to break up every subsequent college relationship I had. After awhile, it got to be a game. I'd pick up girls just to see how long it would take her to steal or drive them away.We feuded right up until graduation, then went our separate ways, her to the big city life of corporate magic she'd always dreamed of, me to run the family business in the burbs. We hadn't done more than exchange the occasional email in six or seven years. Except, of course, for those dreams I had about her almost every night.

Still I'd almost forgotten just how . . . compelling she was in person. Especially when she was standing in front of me in my own little shop. That gorgeous face with those huge dark eyes, the most kissable lips I'd ever seen, that spectacular body. I made myself stop inventorying and plastered on a nonchalant welcoming smile that fooled no one.

"Selena, honey! It's been ages!" Mona lunged around the counter and clutched me to her curves in a way that made me feel more than friendly. She followed it up with a kiss on the lips, which was good, except it was the kind you give your ex. No tongue and less passion.

Not the kind of reunion I'd hoped for, alas. I bit back a sigh. I hadn't dated in months and Mona was looking better than good. But then, she always did. I made my lips form words. "What brings you out to the burbs? Need some candles for that thriving corporate Santeria practice of yours?"

"Sweetie, that's old school." Mona gave me a blinding smile. "I use circuits and wires for the work stuff now, not candles. But you have some things I do need." She looked around and wrinkled her nose at the stuff piled on the shelves. And hanging off the shelves. And sitting on the floor. Okay, at least I knew where everything was.

This visit was beginning to depress me so I switched modes. "Then what can I help the corporate director with today?" With any luck, she'd buy enough of the special books in the back to pay my property taxes this year. After all, hot is hot but business is business.

"Still your repressed New England shop keeper self, I see." Mona wrinkled her perfect cocoa butter skin on her almost equally perfect nose. Someone had clearly had some work done since graduation.

Despite a mild twinge of envy, I couldn't help but notice her lack of enthusiasm. Maybe it was time to be less repressed. "Not all of us can handle those cool corporate jobs. But since you're out here in the sticks anyway, how about I show you the books in the back and maybe take you to dinner for old time's sake?" I leered hopefully and managed, just barely, not to bat my eyelashes.

For an instant, it looked like she was reminiscing about the good old days. Then, as if oblivious to smacking down one of my favorite fantasies, she shook her head, spilling glorious jet-black locks over her shoulders with abandon. "I'm sorry, Selena. Sometime soon, I promise. I have to get back tonight for work. And I still need this stuff." She pulled a list out of her bag and dropped it on the counter.

I looked down as I picked it up so that she wouldn't see how much I wanted to plead with her about going out with me tonight. At that moment that I realized how bad I still had it. I wondered if she felt even a ghost of all that college passion. Some crazy part of me parted my lips to ask.

"You can see what I want it for. I mean it seems nuts, right, me trying to use a love spell to get someone infatuated with me? But it's only a little one, just enough to give her a crush on me. I can do the rest but I need a way in." Mona leaned against the counter and stared dreamily past me like I was part of the wall.

I cringed inside and made myself read the list. Red candles, the ultimate love spell cliché. The usual herbs: Dragon's Reed, lavender, laurel and some other miscellaneous leafy greens with a kick. Then the title of the first book caught my eye: Making Them Your Own by Owen Lovejoy. Dear old Dad's first book, the one where he explored using love spells for manipulation and control. I shuddered. Maybe she didn't know what she was asking for. "You sure you want this book? I've got a lot better titles."

She had the good sense to look very contrite; it suited her. "Oh hon, I'm sorry! I know how you feel about your dad and all that craziness between him and your mom when you were growing up. I didn't mean to be so thoughtless. I can get it somewhere else if you'd rather; I just figured you'd have it. And could use the business." This time she frowned at my poor shelves and they sank under her stare.

"Hey! Stop torturing my furniture!" I was frowning now too, and Mona had the good grace to look guilty. "At least tell me why you're doing this. You, of all people, should have women eating out of your hand without using magic."

"I'm in love and she likes me, I know she does. But I can't tell how she likes me. My regular magic doesn't seem to work on her. I'm worried that she might be . . . het." Mona blushed scarlet and stared down at the carpet, then looked up defiantly. "But she'll be hot for me within in the week once I work this spell."

I was horrified; this kind of stuff always ended badly for everyone involved. It was at that moment that my duty became clear. I had to save her from herself and I had to do it soon. Plans galloped into and out of my brain. I dismissed several at lightning speed until I got to the last one. I could do what I'd wanted to do since college and make Mona fall in love with me again. After that, I was like a missile pointed at a target.

I walked out from behind the counter over to the shelves without meeting Mona's eyes. She had a gift for seeing truth and I was guessing that this wouldn't look very honest. "Just hang out for a minute. I know where everything is. I'll bring it all out," I called over one shoulder.

Then I made a mad dash for the shelves in the back. I kept the serious stuff back there and given Mona's powers, I was going to need anything I could find. I got the stuff from her list as I went, leaving the herbs and the books I needed until last. My Book of Shadows came easily from its hiding place and I greeted it like an old friend. It had been far too long since I'd done any real magic.

I found Dad's book on the darkest bookcase in the back. This was where I kept that stuff that actually worked, mostly because it had unintended consequences. The tourists never made it back here; a simple "Don't Notice Me" kept them out of trouble. But then trouble was my business, more or less. "I've got everything. Had to grab a few more things for a mail order while I was at it." I gave Mona my cheeriest smile.

She frowned suspiciously. "Aren't you going to say anything about what I said?"

"Like what? Chasing het girls is a bad idea? You know that. Using love spells on the wrong person isn't that great of an idea either? Think you've got that one down too. What more can I add?" I bared my teeth in something like a smile.

"I dunno. Maybe ‘Why is this one so special, Mona'?"

Great. She wanted to talk and I just wanted to bewitch her back to our red-hot salad days. I found myself momentarily distracted by a vision of what she looked like when she was wearing a lot less than she had on now. She must have read my mind since she scowled at me long enough to bring on wrinkles. "I guess I don't want to know right now," I mumbled.

She looked apologetic, then shrugged. A few moments later, money had changed hands and I was watching her nearly perfect butt swing its way out the door. If I were a TV witch, this would be the point where my chatty familiar would give me sound advice, which I would then ignore. But then, if I were a TV witch, I wouldn't be a dyke with the hots for her old college sweetie. Not to mention the fact that my familiar, Pyewacket, never said much except "Meow."

I pulled my Book of Shadows from my back pocket and flipped through its stained and dog-eared pages to some notes that I remembered making a few years back. Ah, there it was: Rekindling Lost Loves. There was the light and fluffy version, all scents and candles and romantic dinners. Then there was the one I adapted from Dad's original, with a few extras from other sources. I'd never had the nerve to try them but this situation called for something extra.

Whatever rational parts of my brain that I had left were making unhappy whimpering sounds by now. I overruled them. I had enough control now that I could make this work without permanent damage or side effects. I hoped. In any case, I could always call it back and what I was doing was no worse than what Mona was planning on. At least I was doing it to someone who liked girls.

I concentrated on that thought while I read my notes, dismissing the last of my guilt pangs. I'd never done the full spell. The spell wasn't complete and my notes pointed me at another book. I found myself staring at the cover of Spells and Enchantments by Lady Isabelle Hubert as it sat there in all of its crumbling leather splendor. I couldn't shake the sense that it was looking back at me.

I made myself touch the cover. For a book with such an innocuous title, it had the worst magical feel of any book I kept in the store. Lady Isabelle was an ancestor of mine and family history held that Lady Isabelle had narrowly avoided the stake, back in the seventeenth century. The witch finders had lost their clout by then anyway, but the fact of the matter was that Isabelle had a way of seeming to be someone else whenever there was a problem. She lived to a ripe old age, using her powers to get whatever she wanted well past her hundredth birthday.

One thing that Isabelle liked was reliable companionship. She was a woman ahead of her time so gender was less important than susceptibility to her magic. There were one or two grim little stories about her taking over her lovers' bodies, but I wasn't after those spells. No, what Isabelle had to offer was love spells with speed and effectiveness. Anything else I had would take months to reel in my prey but one of hers would take no more than a few hours.

I flipped her book open and paged through until I could read the words in Lady Isabelle's flowing script in several languages: Finding and Holding Love. She wasn't big on titles. I looked over the wording: calling on Hecate and Aphrodite, calling on various demons, blah, blah, herbs, something of the beloved's, something of yours. Mostly the usual stuff, with a few exceptions. One was the added line: "Let the one who belonged to me once be mine forevermore until death or I release them." The other was a few lines in some language I'd never learned; I decided they were footnotes since they weren't part of the ritual itself.

In a saner frame of mind, the whole until death do us part or else thing always gave me the shivers. Anything could happen with that in a casting. Sometimes the person you used it on figured it out enough to take death as an out. Sometimes the witch got too power hungry and did things just because she or he could get away with them.

Then there was my own internal moral compass. Despite Mom and Dad's general insanity, they always brought me up to be responsible for the outcome of my spells, good and bad. Sure I wanted her now but did I want Mona to be mine forever? It wasn't a question I could answer so I hoped I could edit it when I read the spell.

I checked the calendar to see which moon phase we were in. The sun had set so I went and locked the door and pulled down the shades, officially closing shop a bit early. I looked at the phone and thought about calling my parents or someone from my part-time coven for advice. Then I looked at Mona's receipt on the counter and thought about her. After that, I called the local Chinese place for delivery instead.

An hour or two later, I gathered up the various things I needed and headed out to the little private patio in the back of the store. I drew up my pentagram in chalk and sprinkled the salt around it in a circle. Then I lit the candles at the appropriate points and did some of the other odds and ends that I usually did before I began my ritual. I made a mental checklist and looked around, feeling vaguely uneasy. But I decided to hope for the best. Pyewacket wandered out and stretched herself over a lawn chair to watch me. I scritched her behind the ears, then I went to work on my notes and Isabelle's spell.

First of all I decided to make her work less dire. So I decided not to call on Hecate and opted for a lesser demon than the one she used for the original. I tweaked one or two other things and decided I was ready. I recited the spell aloud, Mona's face hovering before me as I changed the last line to "Let the one who once belonged to me renounce the one she now desires and turn to me instead until I release her."

There. It was official. I was now the wimpiest practitioner of the dark arts in the entire metro area, but at least it wasn't quite so awful. Even so, there was a cold wave of power that washed its way through me when I was done, followed by a flash of heat that made me sweat. It washed over me, then out into the world toward its intended target. I closed my eyes for a minute to savor the sensation, which lasted until Pyewacket started howling.

I looked at my normally imperturbable black cat as she shook her head and raced around the patio. Her ears were flat and her fur was standing on end from one end of her plump body to the other. I lowered my hands and blessed the circle to end the ritual. Then I tried to call her to me but she went to ground in the farthest, darkest corner of the yard.

Her eyes had an odd blue gleam in them when I followed her over and her expression was starting to freak me out. I left her alone to go back into the store and turn the patio lights on. At least I'd be able to see what was wrong with her that way. The phone rang just as I hit the switch and I reached over and picked it up automatically.

Mona's voice hit my ear like a gentle sigh. "Oh good, you're still there! Listen, I've been thinking. I need to stop by and talk to you about that spell again."

I smiled at the empty shop. Nothing like that old black magic, courtesy of good old Lady Isabelle. "Of course, hon. Come on over." The phone clicked off like Mona couldn't wait to be at my side and I hung up the receiver with a huge grin. This time, I wouldn't give her up for some twit. No, I was all grown up now and I knew what I wanted. She was the one and we would grow old together, scaring the neighborhood kids in our rambling old house.

I heard a growl from the patio and remembered Pye with a guilty start. I dashed outside to see what was still bugging her. Now instead of hiding out in the corner, she was up on the table, staring down at Lady Isabelle's book for all the world like she was reading it. She was even wearing what looked like a little kitty frown of concentration and she was warbling some little cat song at it. I laughed as I shut the book and tucked it away in the store, along with the rest of my paraphernalia. Mona didn't need to know what I'd been up to.

Then I came back out to give Pye an ear scratch and her eyes slitted in pleasure. Judging from the way she was purring, whatever had scared her was getting erased from her little brain. Nothing a few treats wouldn't completely wipe out. I walked back inside and opened up a can of Pye's favorite food.

She sauntered, rather than ran in when I called, much like a queen accepting her due. The regal air lasted until she got a whiff of what was in the bowl in front of her. She unleashed an unearthly howl of pure indignation and hissed at the food.

I gaped. "Pye, what's the matter? You love this stuff!"

There was a sharp rap on the door behind me and I jumped about a foot. Mona's face stared back at me through the glass when I opened the blind, then unlocked the door. My heart was racing as she charged inside, almost knocking me down. She stared around, her eyes wild, her face haggard as she demanded, "Where is she? Where is my precious little one?"

I said the first intelligent thing that popped into my head. "I'm right here, love. Who else are you looking for?"

That question got answered the split second Mona and Pye spotted each other. Next thing I knew, my once and future girlfriend and my cat were wrapped in each other's arms, figuratively speaking. Mona murmured, "Is that bad witch trying to feed you icky canned cat food? You just come right home with me, snookums and I'll cook you up something good." She mumbled some endearments and Pye purred back at her like she was the coolest thing ever. She turned and headed for the door with my cat in her arms.

"Snookums?" Mona could barely tolerate cats; she was more of a purse dog kind of gal. Something was clearly very wrong. I stepped in front of them. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You are not walking out of here with my cat. Besides it's me you're supposed to want."

Pye turned her face so her ears framed Mona's eyes and her head blocked out the rest. Mona looked completely blissed out but Pye gave me a look of purely malevolent intelligence. For an instant, her eyes were blue not green. I stumbled backward in shock, catching myself on the open door as Mona and the cat swept out of my shop and into the night.

My heart was still racing and my legs shook as I watched them climb into Mona's sporty little car and drive off. But I had to do something and fast. What had I called up that had taken over my cat? And what did it intend to do with Mona? I forced myself into action as the taillights disappeared and pulled out the books that I had hidden away behind the counter and spread them out in front of me. Book of Shadows, Isabelle's book, and Dad's book: the answer was in here somewhere.

I flipped Isabelle's book open and almost screamed when it opened to the print of her face, just after the title. There was something so fierce in that face, something almost . . . feline. A ghastly realization shook me. I'd brought Isabelle back somehow, and stuck her, presumably temporarily, inside Pyewacket. How the hell had I done that?

I paged quickly through to the spell and read it again. Nothing registered the first time. But the second time through I looked at the line I didn't understand. This time I recited a charm to translate it, not perfectly but better than Babelfish, on average. The words flowed across the page: "Let the recitation of this spell by one of power call me back from wherever I am that I may resume my mortal span of years as I have enjoyed them ere now." Okay, I got the calling back part but how was she planning on resuming much of anything wasn't too clear until I remembered the other story. Lady Izzy was some sort of body snatcher. And I had just put my cat and my girlfriend in her clutches.

I needed help and I needed it right away. Dad's book practically wiggled for my attention until I grit my teeth and opened it up at what I thought was random. The chapter title made me cringe: Consequences and Quandaries -The Aftermath of Love Spells. "All right, Dad. You've made your point," I growled down at the page. I nearly tossed it onto the nearest shelf but somehow, my hand wasn't cooperating. Instead, I started reading.

By dawn, I had read my way through Dad's words of wisdom and what I could find of family history. I drank my fourth cup of coffee and packed the things I was going to need. This time I went for the charm bags, the oils, and one or two other things. For one thing, Lady Izzy needed a new shell and I wasn't volunteering, so that meant bringing along the best spirit holder receptacle I could find. I just hoped Dad wouldn't mind.

Then I went out, got into my battered little Corolla and headed for Mona's condo. This time, I knew what I was getting myself into. She'd probably never talk to me again once she figured it out. The thought gave me a sharp pang in the vicinity of my heart but it was too late to worry about that now. I'd put things right, then worry about the rest later. Maybe there was a "Making friends with your ex after you screwed up" spell floating around somewhere.

The drive was much shorter than I remembered it being, probably because hardly anyone was out and about yet. I buzzed downstairs and didn't get an answer so I spoke a minor cantrip into the security lock and walked in. The elevator was mysteriously out of order so I hiked up to the fifth floor, swearing quietly under my breath. Someone knew I was coming and it wasn't Mona.

When I got to the right floor, I was struck with the realization of how silly this all was. Clearly, I hadn't cast a spell on Mona since she wasn't in love with me so why was I here? I could just go grab breakfast at my favorite diner and open the store up early, maybe get all those mail orders done.

Uh huh. "I know what you're doing," I said to the empty air of the hallway as I waved my hands in a gesture of dismissal. For added emphasis, I whispered a spell that caused misused magic to return to its source. Something thought dark thoughts back at me, but the feeling that this was all pointless went away.

I walked down the no longer apparently endless hallway to Mona's door and pulled one of the charms from my bag. I fastened it to the doorknob, then used the same spell I'd used to get into the building. It didn't work this time so I broke out the angelica and the vervain, sprinkling it over the hall side of the threshold to drive back evil. Then I tried the knob again.

Mona's apartment was dark so I stumbled over and opened one of the blinds so I could see my way around, stumbled being the operative word. Once I got some light on the living room, I could see why. Mona's apartment was filled with all kinds of ottomans and cushy chairs, most of them fairly low to the floor. An elaborate scratching post tree filled one corner. It couldn't be like this all the time so this had to be Lady Izzy feeling her oats. I wondered what else she could control Mona to do and shivered.

My quarry was nowhere to be seen so I started for one of the doors that I thought would lead to the bedroom. I uncorked a bottle of Ava Rosa for binding evil and let its scent cloud around me as I walked. Something wasn't happy but I made it across the room unscathed.

The first door turned out to be a closet so I went for the next one. Mona was sprawled on the bed, mouth open in a gentle snore. I gave her a regretful glance before I focused on the being I had come to see.

Lady Isabelle Hubert stared back at me from Pyewacket's now completely blue eyes. She growled and hissed as she tried unsuccessfully to form words with her kitty vocal cords. I had the feeling that intent was more important than execution so whatever I was going to do, I needed to do fast. There would be no time for the candles that I usually used or the normal opening verses of my ritual.

Instead, I reached into my bag and pulled out the object that I'd brought with me from the shop. Holding Dad's book at arm's length, I started my chant, my eyes holding Isabelle's the whole time.

She shivered, then wailed in Pye's voice, a tiny cry of pain that made me falter for just an instant. Mona sat up, eyes blazing. I had always thought that was just an expression, but apparently not. I was very nearly singed. She spoke, her voice a howl of fury. "What the hell are you doing to my cat?"

For an answer, I opened Dad's book and shouted the last few words of the entrapment spell. A sharp force slapped me against the far wall, knocking all the air out of me but I fought through it. After the longest minute of my life, the force shot past me and into the book with a hideous wail. I dropped to my knees and slammed the book shut. I shoved it into my bag but not before Mona was released from Lady Isabelle's hold, just in time to see me doing it.

She recovered fast. "What the hell did you just do? And why are you and your cat in my bedroom at the crack of dawn?" She and Pye shared a baffled stare before turning back to me.

I held out my carryall. "C'mon, Pye. Let's go home."

"If you think you're walking out of here without an explanation, you've got . . ." Mona's eyes narrowed. "You did a love spell on me again, didn't you? Just like the obsessive crap you made me do in college?" Her jaw was tightening and her beautiful kissable lips were getting thin. Her hands were beginning to make gestures that I knew would probably lead to me spending the next year as furniture if I didn't get out.

"If it'll help any, I've regretted doing that for years now. I just didn't know how to tell you." I was babbling when I should be fleeing. Pye chose that moment to jump into my bag and I bolted for the front door, running as fast as I could.

I slammed the door behind me as something hard smashed into the area my head had just occupied. Then I hauled my butt down the stairs like I had wings. Hell hath no fury like the ex you emotionally jerked around because you liked the attention. I drove home, swearing off love spells for the rest of my magical existence. Maybe this time it would stick.