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  Mira walked Emmit to the door, Alchemy and Oracle flanking her on either side. “Good night.”

  For a moment, Emmit looked like he was going to say something, but then he appeared to stiffen his resolve. He nodded and left.

  Alchemy and Oracle remained in place, staring at the door as though they could see Emmit on the other side. Mira tried to pet Alchemy, but he dropped his head, never taking his eyes off the door. Oracle did the same.

  The Ether. The thought had Mira’s imagination running wild. The spell for Emmit fell into the ‘helping supernaturals’ column, even though she still had no idea what the Harkers really were.

  She didn’t make a conscious decision to help with the spell, but the next day, she found herself thinking of exact ingredients. She even jotted down a few cryptic notes for herself before work.

  Once at work, Mira let her employees handle customers while she took inventory of what she had in the store. That helped shake out a few more ideas for the spell.

  When Brian Benton walked in, Mira sighed and put the spell out of her mind. Dealing with Brian needed her concentration.

  “Ms. Owens,” Brian said, all smiles. “I am so happy to run into you. Did you review my proposal?”

  “I did,” Mira said, wondering if vaguely flipping through it counted, “and I’m afraid the answer is still no. I’m sure you’ll understand that the lease we have now in this location suits our needs.”

  Brian’s smile was gone instantly. “I am sorry to hear that. You will be hearing from my lawyers shortly.”

  “Okay,” Mira said. “My lawyer will be happy to review what they have to say.”

  Brian chuckled cruelly. “I’m sure your legal representation is adequate.”

  “I’m sure it is, too,” Mira said cheerfully, knowing that Della would point her in the right direction.

  He was taken off guard by her quick acceptance of the situation. “You’ll be hearing from my attorney.”

  Mira kept an eye on him as he stormed out of the store.

  “That man is more dangerous than you might suspect.”

  Mira startled at Emmit’s voice. He was standing only a few feet from her with his eyes on the door. If he noticed her alarm at his appearance, he didn’t show it.

  “You startled me,” Mira said carefully, looking at his stormy gray eyes. “Don’t worry about Brian. He’s just upset because I won’t let go of my lease.”

  “He holds your lease?” Emmit asked.

  “I helped his dad out when he still owned the property, so I have a really good deal. One that he can’t terminate.”

  Emmit finally took his eyes off the door. “I hope that your day is going well.” He sounded stiff and formal, which Mira hadn’t expected.

  “It’s already getting better,” Mira said.

  Emmit’s face broke into a soft smile and Mira’s heart began to race. She watched the gray of his eyes melt to green.

  They stared at each other, and something else began to stir in Mira. An intense attraction that she hadn’t felt in a long time began to bubble up and she relished the feeling.

  Mira saw the way he looked at her and knew he had similar thoughts. The air around them was charged with it.

  Then Emmit looked away, breaking their contact. She watched him take a deep breath and step back, putting physical distance between them.

  But why?

  The atmosphere dissolved when he took that step back.

  Maybe it was because she hadn’t given him an answer.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt your work,” Emmit said formally.

  “It’s no trouble,” Mira said, trying to stay optimistic.

  “I was in the area and thought I would step in for a moment.”

  “I’m glad you did—” The bell on the front door rang, and by habit, Mira looked up. Ian and Detective Flint were paying her a visit as well. Frowning, Mira turned her attention back to Emmit. “This isn’t going to be my day.”

  “Do not be concerned if your answer is no,” Emmit said.

  She thought she could detect a note of sadness in his voice, but his face was unreadable.

  “What?” Mira asked. Then she shook her head and smiled. “Sorry. That wasn’t directed at you.”

  Emmit followed her gaze to the detectives as they approached.

  “Mira, we’re sorry to bother you,” Ian said, looking and sounding far from sorry. “And I don’t know if I caught your name,” Ian said to Emmit.

  Emmit ignored him and turned back to Mira.

  “Would you like for me to stay, Mira?”

  “It’s better if we talk to Miss Owens in private,” Detective Flint said.

  Once again, Emmit ignored them and waited for an answer.

  “Thank you for the offer,” Mira said, keeping her focus on Emmit, “but you don’t need to stay.”

  “Are you certain?” Emmit pressed.

  She gave him a weak smile. “No, but I’m sure it’s better.” She cleared her throat and thought fast. “But the answer to your other question is yes.”

  “Thank you,” Emmit said without hesitation. Once again, he watched the detectives.

  “Get in touch with me later?” Mira suggested.

  “I’ll do that.” Emmit appeared to be focusing his attention on Detective Flint. His eyes narrowed in on the man, and for a moment, Mira was worried he was about to say something. Then he nodded curtly at them and stalked past, leaving the air almost cold in his wake.

  “There is something wrong with that guy,” Ian said to Emmit’s back.

  Both detectives watched him go.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Ian said shortly, once Emmit was out the door.

  “Would you like some coffee or tea?” Mira asked.

  “Miss Owens,” Detective Flint started.

  “It’s Mira,” she interrupted. “We seem to be seeing each other more often, so we should be on a first name basis.”

  He cleared his throat and started again. “Mira, we’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  “I can’t imagine you’d be here if you didn’t.” Mira resigned herself to the fact that Detective Flint wasn’t going anywhere.

  “If you’d rather, we could do this somewhere else,” Detective Flint replied.

  “Let’s go to my office,” Mira said. She led the way before anyone could suggest otherwise.

  Chapter 10

  Mira would be the first to admit that her office wasn’t meant for three people, but at the moment, she didn’t care if the detectives were uncomfortable.

  “What can I do for you?” Mira asked, sitting behind her desk and gesturing for the detectives to take a seat.

  “We received your file this morning,” Detective Flint said.

  Mira nodded, but Detective Flint appeared to be waiting for something else.

  “Was there a question in there?” Mira asked.

  “The FBI has you listed as a consultant on the occult.”

  She nodded again, but seeing both detectives still watching her, she added, “Yes, I have consulted.”

  “Why the occult?” Detective Flint asked.

  Confused, Mira looked from one man to the other, trying to understand their intentions. “What do you mean, why the occult?”

  “Why do you know about it?” Detective Flint asked. “Why are you the expert?”

  “I’m the expert because I studied it,” Mira said.

  Ian rolled his eyes and started looking around the office, obviously aggravated.

  “Look, there was a need and I filled it.” She tried not to get upset, but was having a hard time. “I studied various religions, historical practices, and case studies while I was in school.”

  “So," Detective Flint said, “if you wanted to create a scene that looks occult, what would you do?”

  Mira rubbed her forehead. “I know I’ve mentioned this before, but there are a thousand different things that are considered occult. Can you get to the point of what you’re looking for?”

 
Once that was out there, she wished she could take it back. She hadn’t intended to be so direct, but the day had already been going on too long, even though it was still morning.

  Detective Flint didn’t look put out, but he studied her briefly before continuing. “Obviously, we can’t use you as an official consultant on this case.”

  “Do you need one?” Mira asked. “And why not me?”

  “I have a picture.” Detective Flint appeared to be determined to ignore her questions. “If you were to be used as an expert, tell me what you see here.”

  He pulled some papers out of an inside coat pocket and handed them over. Mira noticed him give Ian a coarse look before she began studying color-copied photos.

  The pictures demanded rapt attention. “What is this?” Mira asked poring over the details.

  “You mean you don’t know?” Detective Flint asked.

  “Honestly?” Mira flipped the page to the next. “This is a huge mishmash of stuff.”

  “Such as?” Detective Flint prodded.

  “Here you have the pentagram,” Mira said, concentrating on one photo. “It’s a sign of protection, but no one using it for protection would use spray paint to make one. Too many chemicals. There’s a smudge stick to cleanse the area of evil, but over here is an upside-down cross and a skull with horns that suggested devil worship.”

  “You seem to know a lot about it,” Ian muttered.

  “Look up the term expert,” Mira said dismissively without looking up. “Some of this is religious. The other items don’t make sense either. The knife looks brass, which is used in many different mythos. It stands for gold, fire, and energy, and it is used for healing and prosperity. But this over here—I can’t be certain without seeing its contents, but it looks like a Voodoo curse bag. They just don’t mix.”

  “Anything else?” Detective Flint asked.

  Mira looked up and saw that he was scribbling furiously on a notebook, and Ian had his arms crossed and looked like he wished he were anywhere but here.

  Ignoring Ian, she flipped the page to another picture. “This looks Wiccan, but—”

  “As in witchcraft?” Ian asked.

  Mira frowned and looked at him. “It depends on how you are defining witchcraft, I suppose.” She shook her head, trying to rid herself of Ian’s attitude. “Anyway... some of this stuff doesn’t mean anything at all.”

  “Say that again?” Detective Flint said.

  “It’s like someone watched a B movie with some sort of fake sacrifice and copied it. Is that blood on the smudge stick?”

  “Which is the smudge stick?” Detective Flint asked, leaning forward.

  “This could be one,” Mira pointed at a bundle that appeared to be herbs. “It was probably meant to be one, anyway. I can’t tell what it’s made of by a picture, and the knife, it looks like there’s blood on the knife. You mentioned sacrifices before. Was there an animal around or something? Santeria still uses animal sacrifice, but so do your older belief systems.”

  “Who uses human sacrifices?” Detective Flint asked.

  “Well, the Aztecs used to…” Mira stopped and stared at Detective Flint. Her veins felt like they were filling with ice.

  What was she looking at?

  Mira leaned back in her seat. She wanted to ask, but she didn’t want an answer. Not really.

  “Several different cultures used to use sacrifices,” she said in a quieter, less direct tone. “Is this…” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Was this…”

  She couldn’t get the words out.

  “You’ve been a big help, Miss Owens,” Detective Flint said, taking the pictures. He almost sounded remorseful. “If you could, we’d like you to come down to the station for a further interview.”

  “What?” Mira asked, trying to shake the feeling that she had just seen her friend’s blood splashed across a crime scene. She was starting to feel numb.

  “Not now,” Ian said.

  “Right,” Detective Flint said. “If you could call and make an appointment, that would work best.” He took out a card and slid it over. “Um, thank you for your time.”

  It was obvious that even he thought it was a bad way to end things.

  “Right,” Mira said, trying to pull herself together. “Sorry,” she forced herself to say. “You caught me off guard.”

  Detective Flint nodded, looking more confident. “Let us know if you think of anything else.”

  Mira nodded. “And I’ll call later to make that appointment.”

  “Thank you for your time.”

  Mira stood as they did and shook Detective Flint’s hand. They left the office, Ian following Detective Flint out. Mira dropped down into her chair and took a few deep breaths. If she was going to lose it like this, working with the police wasn’t going to work.

  Detective Flint and Ian were talking in the kitchen, but she ignored them. There was nothing in there that she was worried about them seeing.

  Had she made a mistake volunteering to work with the police?

  No, she made it through during college; she would make it through this.

  “You okay?” Ian was leaning against the doorframe, watching her. He didn’t look happy, but he did show signs of concern.

  “Yeah,” Mira said, “I wasn’t expecting…”

  Ian nodded. “There’s a lot of that going around.”

  Mira sighed. “I guess so.”

  “You were right, you know,” Ian said.

  Confused Mira tried to think over what she had told Detective Flint. “About the pictures?”

  Ian looked behind him to make sure they were alone. “I wasn’t able to tell my partner anything about last night.”

  “It has to be that way,” Mira said, trying not to sound like she was pleading to make him understand. “You see that, right?”

  “What I see is that it ties my hands in more ways than one.”

  “I’m sorry about that, but it’s the best we could do.”

  Ian looked back out into the kitchen again. “I have to go and catch up to Gabe, but we need to discuss this further.”

  “Sure,” Mira said, “I can be home after four.”

  He gave a curt nod and walked out.

  Mira put her elbows on her desk and leaned forward to rub her temples. Everything would be so much easier if Ian would accept the situation. Maybe tonight he would.

  “Huh,” Mira muttered to herself. “Not going to happen.”

  She went out front and helped with the customers, all the while wondering how to get Ian more comfortable with the idea of the supernatural community.

  Without spelling him further.

  It wasn’t until she received a text from her sister that she came up with an idea, though it was a long shot. She invited her sister to come over after the kids were out of school.

  With that handled, she tackled the problem of how she was going to survive the next few days. Bliss was the first thing that popped into her head, but it was easy to dismiss the idea.

  Well... easier than it could have been.

  Contentment and Comfort were out. People were dying, and Mira did not intend to let the situation feel tranquil. She toyed with the idea of Clarity. That might be better for Ian. Maybe she’d bring it up.

  On her way home, she came up with the solution. Fortitude. It wasn’t something that she’d made in ages, but it was a simple spell. Everything needed for it could be found in her own kitchen.

  At home, she had all the ingredients pulled out when there was a knock at the door. Oracle and Alchemy meowed and excitedly herded Mira to the entrance.

  As soon as the door was open, Mira’s niece, Megan, burst through and wrapped her arms around Mira’s legs.

  “Aunt Mira!” she squealed.

  Her nephew and sister came in at a more respectable pace.

  “Thanks for coming by,” Mira said after Megan disentangled herself and ran off. “Come on in. Can I get you anything?”

  “What are you making?” Megan c
alled from the other room. “Can I help?”

  Robin looked alarmed. “Don’t touch anything! We’ve talked about that!”

  “I’m only looking!” Megan called as her mother made a beeline for the kitchen.

  “How’s it going, Mark?” Mira asked her nephew while she picked up Megan’s coat that had been discarded on the floor.

  “It’s okay,” Mark said.

  Mira smiled. “That’s good.” The more excited her niece was, the calmer her nephew seemed to become. Maybe it was an effort to balance things out.

  Mark glanced to the kitchen.

  “Toss your coat on the couch,” Mira said. “Let’s see if your mom will let us cook something up.”

  Mark grinned and hurried into the other room.

  Megan had already lost interest in the ingredients on the table. Alchemy and Oracle were demanding attention and she was more than happy to oblige.

  “What are you making?” Robin asked, looking carefully over everything.

  “Fortitude,” Mira said. “Low dose.” Catching her sister’s eye, Mira silently asked if the kids could help.

  Robin gave a slight nod. “What do you guys think? Want to help Aunt Mira with her spell?”

  “Yes!” Megan responded, and she jumped up off the floor.

  “Yeah,” Mark said, much more low-key than his sister.

  Megan, concentrating very hard, went to work with a mortar and pestle under her mother’s watchful eye.

  Mark, being older and calmer, got to read the spell and measure out ingredients.

  When the doorbell rang, Mira’s heart started to beat faster and she looked at her sister. This had to work, right?

  “I’ve got this,” Robin said, waving Mira to the door.

  Mira had to take a deep, steadying breath before opening the door. Ian stood on the deck, looking even more disgruntled than he had earlier in the day.

  “Do you have—” he started.

  “Shhh,” Mira cut him off.

  Frowning, Ian came inside and remained silent.

  “Why don’t you join us in the kitchen?” Mira led the way, not waiting for a response.

  Ian hesitated at the kitchen entrance.

  Mark noticed Ian and took his hands off the ingredients, looking worried.