Persephone Alcmedi 00 - Wicked Circle

supposed to do this spell at the den this afternoon.”
    “He’ll be there.” Beau puffed on the cigar, held it out as he blew smoke at the ceiling. The peach aroma was nice. “I haven’t seen his face in”—he calculated—“twenty years.”
    My brows knit. “I don’t understand.” If they were on the outs with each other, Beau couldn’t assume his son wanted this, and if his son didn’t want this, then I certainly couldn’t include him in the spell. That was a rule.
    Then I noticed he was shaking. “Beau?”
    “He’s been half-formed for two decades.”
    My mouth dropped open. I’d seen the cages where the pack kept half-formed wæres. To my knowledge, there were three of them in the top of the den. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”
    “You didn’t do it to him, doll. All I ask is that you try to undo it.”
    “I’ve never tried this on a wære who was trapped in a half-formed state. I can’t guarantee—”
    “Look, doll. In theory, his present state doesn’t make any difference. You just stir up enough energy to kick-start the shifting process and maintain it for a full transformation. It works for the others, it should work for him.”
    That was true, but I would still have to give this a little more thought and consider how it might affect the spell. I had time, but it meant no potion. Not that I had an inkling of what potion I’d have tried to brew this afternoon anyway. “I’ll do the best I can.”
    “What time?” he asked.
    “At three thirty.”
    “I’ll be there.”
    Maurice’s voice rose from the front room. “You want me to ring up these items now?”
    I nodded at Beau, but he shouted back, “No!”
    “Beau—” I protested.
    “You’re going to bring my boy back.” He stood. “It’s the least I can do to give you the supplies.”
    “I’ll wear the charm you gave me for an extra boost.”
    He winked. “Atta girl.”
    Out front, Beau told Maurice to bag the items. Without question, he began.
    I roamed over to Zhan, who had found the essential oils and was sniffing deep of the scent of some small bottle. “Smell this.”
    “What is it?” I leaned into the bottle and sniffed. It was all vanilla, but sweeter, like it had been caramelized with maybe brown sugar. “Wow.”
    “I’m buying this.” She carried it to the register. I followed; Maurice was almost done.
    Zhan held the little bottle out, and Beau quickly handed it to Maurice. “That too,” he said.
    Zhan protested. “I’ll pay for that.”
    “Not today,” Beau said firmly.
    I thanked Beau again. He rolled the paper top down and gave it to me, quietly saying, “Don’t be nervous. You’re the Lustrata.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

    W e weren’t too far from home when I called my best friend since college, Celia. She was caring for my foster daughter, Beverley, while I attended my mother in Pittsburgh. After perfunctory greetings, a brief catch-up on what Beverley was doing in school, and my reiteration of how much I appreciated Celia stepping in and stepping up so the kiddo could keep her schedule mostly normal, I spilled the reason for my call. “I wanted you to know I’m back a few days early, but that Beverley should continue to stay with you until next week like we’d planned.”
    “What’s happening now?” she asked drily.
    “Menessos. Johnny. Lustrata stuff.”
    “The usual.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I have no problem with her staying. We’ve been working on the science project and I’d like to finish it with her anyway.”
    In the background I heard, “That’s Seph? Can I talk to her?”
    “Is that Beverley?” I checked the clock; it was only one fifteen. School wasn’t out yet.
    “Yes.” Celia was quiet.
    “And?”
    “I wanted to hear what was up with you before telling you this. I picked her up from school today. She, uh . . .”
    I heard Beverley say, “Let me tell her, please, please?”
    “I’ll let her tell you. But don’t freak out, okay? Everything’s fine.”
    That was a terrible thing to say. I was freaking out.
    There was a rustling static, then Beverley’s voice filled my ear. “Hi, Seph! Guess what?”
    “What?”
    “I fell off the merry-go-round and broke my arm! At the emergency room they let me see the X-ray and everything.”
    “Oh my gosh! You have a cast?”
    “Yeah. You’ll sign it, won’t you?”
    She sounded like it was no big deal. I relaxed some. “Sure. Does it hurt?”
    “Yeah, but they gave me some medicine for that.”
    I spent a few minutes