The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic(106)
“Then let’s walk around like this forever,” she answered, her voice laced with desire and a hunger for more. Always more.
“I can’t pretend to understand … magic, or any of it. But I did the wrong thing once. And I’m not going to give up this second chance. I’ll be here for you. With all of it.”
“Are you asking me to go steady?” she teased.
“I’m asking for a lot more than that, but sure, let’s start there.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her gently.
They made it back to their booth fifteen minutes before opening time, Sadie’s cheeks flushed, her hand in Jake’s. Raquel gave a slight smirk and bumped her shoulder, her eyes smiling.
Already there were a few customers browsing the table. Sadie finished wrapping up their purchases just as she noticed Seth’s fidgeting. It would only get worse as the night wore on and more people came.
“Go,” she told him. “Raquel, you go with him. We’ve got this covered.”
“Thanks, sister,” he breathed quietly. “It’s just, it’s hard to deal with it all. All the secrets and voices and—all of it.”
“You won’t have to deal with it much longer,” she whispered, her heart beating fast at the thought of what was coming. “We’ll meet you at Old Bailer.”
When Seth was gone, she let herself enter into the enchantment of the festival, all thoughts of Old Bailer and conduit magic forced away. Until Sage gasped.
“Look!” She pointed to the sky, where the pale shadow of a full moon was rising.
Sadie’s heart beat double time, her muscles tensing. She suddenly wanted to throw up.
The rest of the festival passed in a blur. Finally, Jake and Sage went to get the car to load up while Florence and Sadie broke down the tables. They’d been wiped out, every single jar and pastry bag gone except for a single lone Black and White cookie that had been hidden behind a crate. Sadie suspected Sage.
“I’m proud of you,” Florence said as she folded the tablecloths.
“For what?” Sadie laughed.
“Everything. For making the hard decisions. Facing your greatest fear to sacrifice for your brother. The life you’ve built here. I know I had nothing to do with it. But I’ve got some damn fine kids. I know I don’t deserve it. Deserve all of this. But everything is going to work out. Just you wait and see.”
And Sadie knew, in that moment, that being afraid didn’t make someone weak or a coward. Doing something in spite of heartbreak and fear, that’s where courage came in.
Do it afraid, she told herself. Your brother’s life depends on it.
Orange-Infused Honey
This is sure to bring joy back into the lives of those who eat it. Don’t have too much, though, because when your life is full of blessings, you tend to forget gratitude. And that right there is the key to keeping a happy life.
Ingredients
honey (preferably raw)
oranges, sliced thinly
mason jar
Directions
1.?Stack the orange slices and place them in the mason jar. Pour the honey over until nearly full. Put the lid on tight, and slowly tilt to make sure the honey coats everything.
2.?Let sit in the pantry for 5 days (the longer you let it sit, the stronger the flavor).
3.?Strain—be patient, this may take a while.
??19??
THIS WAS IT. THE moment her brother would finally be free. The balance would be paid.
No more magic, a small voice whispered in her head. Are you sure you want this to work?
Shut up, she told the voice, and it snickered, but the echo faded.
As her foot pushed harder on the pedal, her thoughts were wild things, chasing futilely after each other until her head spun. She could still feel Jake’s kiss on her lips. The way his fingers curled into her hair, her skin. The maddening way his body suspended hers against the wall. And before she knew it, they skidded into the Old Bailer parking lot, and their mother’s beat-up old red Corolla that Seth had driven was already there. A faint red glow surrounded the old building, reflecting off the chain link fence that still circled it.
The air had turned wickedly cold, biting into their bones as though it knew what they were trying to do and wanted to thwart them. After all, magic was about balance, and the earth was owed its dues.
Sadie took a container of salt from the trunk and started scouring the grounds, looking for the right spot. The silence compared to the noise of the festival was jarring. Only the whistle of wind through trees and the stars, clear and bright looking down on them. The scent of pine and brick and damp earth smelled like lost secrets and dark promises.
“Here!” Sadie called to the rest. She was forty paces from the main building, in a field of grass. Around her she’d poured a ten-foot circle of salt. The wind picked up, and Sadie pulled her jacket tighter against her, trying not to be sick, ignoring the clamminess that had broken out on her forehead and the back of her neck.
“You sure there’s not some blood sacrifice we can do instead?” Seth asked his sister, stepping into the circle with her.
“I’m sure,” she answered. “Hand me that bowl,” she said, gesturing to the items next to her bag on the ground.
“From a few twigs of sacred oak,” she explained, dipping her finger in the ash of the wood she’d burned earlier and drawing a Y shape on her and Seth’s forearms. “The Elhaz rune, for the divine might of the universe. We’ll need all the strength we can get. This is where Julian is buried,” she added.