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He hadn’t realized that she was still hearing the kelpie’s cry. He can’t hear it—has never been able to hear it, in fact. He sighs. “I’m sure there’s a way to help her while keeping our distance.”

She nods enthusiastically. “Yes. We can use a location spell to find the bridle. Once we have that, we can leave it somewhere she can grab it.”

“Can you still do magic like that?” he asks, gently.

“Sorry, when I said spell, I meant potion. Which is really just alchemy. Right? Or, not really, but close enough, yeah?” She scoots forward, grabbing Rory’shand. “And you can do that, right?”

His fingers twitch against her grip and, feeling a surge of something like bravery, he interlaces his fingers with hers. It feels like he’s reached into an open flame. The edge of a manacle digs into his wrist. “We’ll do whatever we can to get that bridle,” he assures her.

“Thank you,” she says, pressing a kiss to his cheek, her lips warm as he leans into the touch. She pulls back, a small smile tucked into the corner of her mouth, her emerald eyes sparkling with excitement.

Kane squawks. “We can search the grimoires for a location spell.”

Calliope looks away, though Rory can’t help but let his gaze linger on her, storing the image of that smile, like a pebble in a pocket.

“I’m way ahead of you,” she says, reaching for a sage-green book. There is a delicate floral pattern gold-stamped into the front cover. “Our good friend Griselda has the perfect spell.”

Excerpt from the Grimoire of Griselda Jones - 1890-1891: For the Finding of Lost or Stolen Items - particularly if they are sentimental

Start with Common Base (see Appendix A).

Add—

A piece of the object you are searching for, or something from the owner, such as nail clippings, blood, orhair. If this cannot be acquired, one may find some measure of success with a representation of the missing object, though results may be lacking

Shavings from the horn of a minotaur, willingly given

Rosemary, cut with a silver ceremonial knife, tied with a piece of string soaked in thieves’ oil.

Petals of forget-me-not, ground up as fine as possible

Poke berries, pressed and strained

Cowslip—a small bunch, tossed in

Leave for three days to cure. Coat an adder stone. Follow.

Excerpt from the Grimoire of Griselda Jones- 1890-1891: Appendix A: Common Base

Purified water

Salt

Gum arabic powder

Neutral spirits

Bring all to a boil in your favorite cauldron. Remove from heat. The boil should die naturally. Use only once water has stilled.

22

The Grackles Are a Menace

Rory

The Clayton Farm stands before them in the gathering dusk, a soft white structure against the teal-blue sky with its sweeping arcs of pink. Beside the house, fading off into the distance, are rows of squat red barns and a system of fencing that separates cows and goats and even a few horses from the fields of produce. Beyond that, Rory can see the beginning of an orange grove. Bill once told him there’s a few grape vines out there too, from which the somewhat illegal Clayton Farm Wine is made.

Behind the main house, just out of view, Rory knows there is a chicken coop, and off to the side, he can see the silhouette of Elijah, leaning over the engine of a beat-up Chevy truck. The automatic front porch light clicks on as the sky darkens, illuminating thebrown door with its handmade wreath of sunflowers.