Astrid moved her brilliant green eyes in my direction. Her suspicious gaze skipped to Wanda and then to me. “You know how to make brownies?”

  “You bet. I’ll even let you lick the bowl.”

  Her gaze snapped back to me, and her eyes widened. The Crescent Circle Coven might be the greatest witches on the West Coast, but if they didn’t know how to make brownies, I didn’t put much stock in their ability to raise children.

  Astrid stood up from her bed and shot Wanda another wary glare. “Alright. Just don’t start preaching again.”

  “I didn’t preach!” Wanda bellowed.

  I stepped between them and took Astrid’s arm. “We aren’t here to preach. We’re here to eat. Come on… We have a date with the refrigerator.”

  I steered her to the kitchen and sat her down at the table. Then I started pulling open the cupboards. “Here’s a package of chocolate chips. We’ll also need…”

  “Wait, you’re making them from scratch?” Wanda asked, sounding equally amazed and impressed.

  “What other way is there to make brownies?”

  “Um, a box.”

  “You should know better than to ask me if I make box brownies, Wanda,” I chided her.

  “I guess now it’s your turn to be called Barfa Stewart,” Wanda answered while I gave her a surprised expression.

  “You were listening, after all.”

  “Yeah, it just wasn’t that funny,” she said with a shrug as she started pouring herself another drink.

  “Blah.” I searched through her cupboards for sugar, flour, and vanilla.

  “What should I do?” Astrid asked.

  “How about you start the spaghetti?”

  Astrid nodded and put a pot of water on the stove to boil while I pulled everything out of the pantry. Wanda lurked in the doorway, scowling at us both. She didn’t uncross her arms.

  “Grab a seat, Wanda,” I told her.

  She slunk to the table and, very reluctantly, took the chair across from Astrid as I gave them both a big smile and did my best to play the part of peacemaker.

  ***

  After thirty minutes, we were ready to eat. Grabbing a few plates, I dished up the spaghetti and placed the dishes in front of both women.

  “I’ll have another,” Wanda said as she handed her glass to me.

  I put my hands on my hips and glared at her. “No, you won’t.”

  Her eyes widened and she wore the look of surprise. “I won’t?”

  “No, you’ve had enough already and you shouldn’t be day drinking, anyway.”

  “If you lived my life, you’d be day and night drinking.”

  “Both of you are going to stop playing the victims and, instead, you’re going to focus on how to make your lives better and how you both can start getting along,” I said as I put the bottle away to make my point. I might as well have been talking to two teenagers instead of one and a witch almost four times my age.

  “Talking some sense into Astrid about going to school would be a good place to start,” Wanda said.

  “Why do I have to go to school, anyway?” Astrid countered. “Witches are always schooled at home unless they need special training in something like medicine or history or the law. Why can’t you teach me?” she demanded as she faced Wanda. “We’re our own coven now, anyway.”

  “We are NOT our own coven,” Wanda told her. “In the first place, you need at least three witches to make a coven and I… DO… NOT… TEACH.” She took a breath and took turns glaring at us both. “That’s ridiculous to even ask me that. As if I have the time to teach you your lessons! In case you haven’t noticed, Astrid, I’m busy running a small business!”

  “I haven’t noticed you doing much other than drinking and complaining about Darla, Libby and me,” Astrid responded. “Oh, and that vampire who keeps calling you. I forgot his name.”

  “Lorcan,” I filled in as Astrid nodded.

  “Yeah, him.”

  Wanda just ignored us. “I don’t have time to homeschool you, Astrid. I still have to pay rent and keep my store open so I can claim Haven Hollow as my territory. Now that I’m on the Council, I can veto other witches moving in, but it still isn’t safe to live here without a sanctum.”

  “Wait,” I started, looking at her. “What do you mean you’re on the Council?”

  Wanda looked at me. “Haven’t you heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  She sighed like she didn’t have the time to explain. “After Ophelia’s… timely demise, I received a letter asking if I’d care to join the Council, which of course I did.”

  “You’re interested in supernatural politics and law-making?” I asked, with a confused frown.

  “Of course not!” Wanda answered with a little laugh as she waved me away. “What I am interested in is making sure no other witches move to Haven Hollow to claim sanctum before I do.” Then she glared at Astrid again.

  “I didn’t move here to claim sanctum,” Astrid said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not old enough to do that, anyway.”

  “Right. And don’t you forget it,” Wanda said as she faced me again. “Anyway, what were we talking about again?”

  “Astrid going to school.”

  “Ah, that’s right.” Then she turned to face Astrid. “You have to go to school. It’s only for two years. After that, you can get a job or retire under a bridge with the other trolls, for all I care.”

  “Wanda, take that back, because you do care,” I said.

  She frowned at me. “Fine. I take it back. I hope you don’t retire with the trolls.” Then she took a deep breath and pursed her lips, raising her brows as she did whenever she was irritated. “I know it isn’t the most ideal situation, but we have to play the cards we’re dealt.”

  Astrid glanced up at me for confirmation, and I shrugged. “You can’t argue with that. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  Astrid slumped her shoulders and groaned. “Do I have to go to school?”

  “Yes,” Wanda finished.

  “You heard her,” I added. “Wanda is your guardian now and that means she’s in charge. Besides, do you really want to stay pent-up in this house with Darla and Libby all day? Darla about drove me mad when she was haunting my house, I can’t even imagine what life would be like with Libby added to the mix.”

  “Thanks for that,” Wanda grumbled.

  “That’s a good point,” Astrid said as she cocked her head to the side. “They both are super annoying.” Then she faced Wanda again. “But the issue about my education is still there—I have to learn magic—not just math, science or whatever! I’m going to get so far behind other coven girls my age because no one is teaching me! And what is a witch who doesn’t know magic?”

  “She has a point,” I said as I faced Wanda.

  “I will teach you spells and charms when you aren’t in school and I’m not at work,” Wanda replied staunchly, “and Poppy can teach you potions.”

  “Poppy is a gypsy,” Astrid muttered.

  “And what’s wrong with that?” I demanded, putting aside the fact that I was annoyed Wanda had just volunteered my services without even asking me.

  “There’s nothing wrong with that,” Wanda answered as she looked from me to Astrid. “And I won’t tolerate any gypsyism in this house. Poppy is the best potions maker I’ve ever met—she’s easily better than anyone in the Coven.”

  I brightened up and couldn’t hide the surprise that ricocheted through me. I had no idea she considered my skills so highly. “Wow, thank you,” I started but Astrid interrupted.

  “Fine!”

  Wanda blinked at her. “That’s it? Just fine? You made my life a living hell for more than two weeks and now you’re saying fine? Why couldn’t you just say that to begin with, instead of kicking up such a stink?”

  “Maybe if you’d explained the situation in a rational tone to start off with, you could have avoided this whole argument!”

  “Now, ladies,” I interrupted, as I took their empty spaghetti plates to the sink and then checked on the brownies. They still needed ten minutes or so. “We’ve solved your dilemma, so let’s move on, shall we?” I turned to face Wanda. “I still have my own favor to ask you… which is the whole reason I came here.”

  “Oh, right,” Wanda muttered. “What’s that favor?”

  “Can I go back to my room?” Astrid asked. “I’m sick of adulting.”

  I took the brownies out of the oven and placed them on the back burner so they could cool. “I’ll call you when the brownies are ready, Astrid,” I said as she nodded and stood up.

  “Cool.” Then she disappeared back into her bedroom as I faced Wanda.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “I have a big problem and I need help.” I took a breath. “It’s about Fifi.”

  “This ought to be good,” she said and faced me with drawn brows. I then took the next ten minutes to explain the entire Fifi situation, from Angelo’s involvement to Fifi’s attempt at abstinence, to the potions I’d tested on her that hadn’t worked. When I was finished, Wanda nodded at me and then looked over at the brownies.

  “Are those ready yet?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Can I have one, anyway? I need some chocolate to continue this conversation—my energy reserves are low.”

  I laughed as I walked over to the pan of brownies and cut her a fairly large one. Then I pulled out a plate and walked it back over to her. She nodded in thanks and stuffed about half the thing in her mouth as she chewed, talking at the same time. “That makes sense.”

  “What makes sense?” I asked, frowning. “None of the potions worked, might I remind you?”

  She nodded and stuffed the other half of the brownie into her mouth and then swallowed that down, licking her fingers until I couldn’t watch her anymore. “Remind me never to give you another brownie again—that was pretty gross.”

  “Sorry,” she said, brown all over her teeth. “I just… chocolate is my weakness.” Then she motioned to the pan. “Can you cut me another one?”

  I did as she requested and handed the brownie to her. “Can you face the other direction while you’re smacking away on it?”

  “No,” she answered, then took a big bite and smiled at me, half her teeth covered in the gooey stuff.

  “Wanda!”

  She started to laugh and then put her hand in front of her mouth to shield me as she snorted.

  “I had no idea you were so unladylike!”

  She nodded. “I’m only like this around you.”

  “I feel so lucky.”

  “Anyway, you can’t remove someone’s essence with potions, charms or spells—that requires dark magic,” she said as she swallowed and dropped her hand from over her mouth. “Does Fifi know that? Who is this witch who’s going to do the spell?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know—on either account. Although, I doubt Fifi does know it’s dark magic because she never mentioned that to me.”

  “Maybe she didn’t want you to know.”

  I nodded. “Maybe.”

  “Anyway, you need seriously evil magic to divorce Fifi’s succubus side. It’s dangerous so don’t even think of trying it, Poppy.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of trying it and I’ve been warning Fifi from the beginning not to go through with it at all. I’ve been telling her there has to be another way… but, so far, I just haven’t found that other way. Hence, why I’m here.”

  “Right. So, let’s talk about what you have been trying to do.”

  “I’ve been attempting to brew a potion that would reduce her sexual pheromones so men wouldn’t respond to her the way they currently do.”

  “Why would she want you to do that?”

  “Because she wants a man to like her for her, not because of the way she looks or the fact that she’s a succubus.”

  “Good luck with that. She seems as interesting as a legal document.”

  “Wanda, that’s not nice,” I said with a smirk. “And since I’ve been getting to know Fifi a little better, she’s not as vapid as you think. She’s actually really sweet and I feel for her.”

  “Moving on,” Wanda griped. “You know how I feel about all this emotional stuff.”

  “Sorry,” I said and then gave her another big smile, to which she frowned. “The other potion I was trying to brew would basically stand in for the energy she takes from other people. Think of it as a Monster energy drink in potion form.” I took a breath. “But I know I’m missing something because everything I’ve tried so far doesn’t work. Sometimes, my concoctions even do the opposite.”

  Wanda had me run through the ingredients I’d used in each potion as well as the process. Twice. Then she started nodding as she pointed to the brownies and I cut her another square.

  “I think I understand the problem,” she said between mouthfuls. “Basically, when you brew a potion, you’re asking the universe to grant you something—money, attraction, protection—whatever.”

  “Okay.”

  “The potion works by channeling your energy and intention toward whatever it is you want. With this potion, though, you’re trying to do the opposite. You’re asking the universe to take something away—as in you’re trying to dull her pheromones and you’re trying to make her need to feed less than what it naturally is. That’s taking away, not adding to.”

  “Okay, that makes sense.”

  “And what you’re trying to take away is Fifi’s essential nature. So, of course, it won’t work. You’re trying to change Fifi into something she isn’t, so what ends up happening is that the magic just swings back the other way, reinforcing what’s already there—Fifi’s nature.”

  “So, what am I supposed to do?”

  She shrugged. “Nothing.”

  Chapter Seven

  “What do you mean, nothing?” I demanded, my expression falling.

  “There’s nothing you can do because your white magic isn’t going to cut it here.”

  “My white magic?”

  “Might I remind you Fifi is a demon?”

  “I’m well aware of that.”

  “Well, is demon magic light or dark?”

  “Dark,” I answered slowly.

  “Right. Lust, sex, desire—all of those are foundational parts of Fifi. And they’re all manipulated through dark magic, not light. White magic won’t be able to stop something as intrinsically coercive as Fifi’s aura. Someone would need to perform something closer to a curse to bind Fifi’s sexuality.”

  “A curse?”

  She nodded, then shrugged. “That’s what this separation spell she’s considering is, in essence—a curse. It changes the person by adjusting who they are at their core.”

  “Could you cast something like that?” I asked, knowing Wanda possessed dark magic, courtesy of Lorcan’s blood flowing through her veins. “Please tell me you can. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it.”

  She shrugged again and accepted another brownie, this one without request. “If you asked me a month or so ago, I might have been able to.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means the vampire blood in me is getting stronger by the day,” she answered with a shrug. “I don’t trust my own magic anymore.”

  “What does that mean in this case?”

  “I don’t know—that’s the problem. I’d be too afraid to try it because who knows what could happen? What if I killed Fifi?”

  “Hmm,” I started as I worried my lower lip.

  “And even if I could accomplish it, I wouldn’t do it anyway,” she answered with another shrug.

  “Why is that?”

  “It goes against everything witches believe. Bodies are natural. Sexuality is natural. I wouldn’t feel right taking away a part of Fifi that makes her who she is. Witches are taught and we believe that however the goddess created you, you should love yourself for it.”

  I slumped, defeated. “Yeah. That’s what I thought, too. I told Fifi the spell was a bad idea, but she’s so set on it. She doesn’t want to consider any other options, and the more I keep failing to come up with an alternative, the more fixated she gets on thinking there’s only one way—one way that requires dark magic that could potentially kill her.”

  “There are other possibilities...”

  I looked up at her immediately. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, there’s always more than one way to skin a cat,” she answered, and gave Hellcat a meaningful glance as he walked into the kitchen.

  “Oh, bite your own arse,” the rude cat responded.

  Wanda looked up at me again. “Well, with regard to throwing off Fifi’s pheromones so she’s not the sexual candy she currently is, we could draw her succubus spirit to the surface and then douse her in one of your potions laced with one of my minor repulsive curses. I used to cast them on my sisters when they annoyed me.”

  I gaped at her, even as the idea appealed to me. “Even though you’d never win sister of the year award, that’s… a great idea.”

  She chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it. That little potion-curse made sure none of my sisters came near me again and no one came near them, either. It was priceless!”

  “What would it do where Fifi’s concerned?”

  “It’s simple. No one will want to be around her. They might not know why, but instead of attracting everyone, she’ll repulse them.”

  “Hmm,” I started, chewing on my lip.

  “Just like how no one can really explain what about her makes her so enthralling, once we work this spell, no one will be able to pinpoint why they don’t want to be around her. They’ll just want to get as far away from her as possible.”

  “But it won’t affect her nature?”

  “No. She’ll still be a succubus, but she’ll have the opposite problem—no one will want to be around her.”

  “Right. I’m not sure how that’s going to solve her problem. It’s just introducing a new one.”

  “So, we’ll make the potion and the charm not quite so strong. It’s like tea—we just won’t steep it too long.”