Page 39 of Seven Secret Spellcasters (Kitchen Witch Mysteries #7)
“Secrets always get you in trouble.” Trent finished his lunch and leaned back. “Levi and Christina said they’d stay at the house to babysit if you want some company this afternoon. Maybe we could watch a movie while Sleeping Beauty gets better?”
Mia thought that sounded like a wonderful idea.
The next morning, Mia was up and ready for work early. She had to visit Cleo, then get to the Lodge by nine. She sliced the zucchini bread she’d made as soon as she’d gotten into the kitchen.
Finn came out of the bedroom. “What happened to me? I feel like I’ve slept for days.”
“It’s only Monday. Sit down and eat. We need to talk. Coffee?” Mia held up the pot. Finn nodded and slipped into a chair.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. I was reading in one of those comfy chairs in the library.
A cat was there and jumped on my lap. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, it was lunchtime.
I came over here, and you let me in, then nothing.
Did I pass out?” Finn’s eyes widened. “I missed my shift—I mean, seeing my cousin.”
“I talked to James and told him you weren’t feeling well. He said you still have your shift tonight if you’re better.” Mia paused. “You didn’t have to hide the fact that you were working at the Lodge. It’s your life, and I know you want to save up money.”
“I should have told you, but I didn’t want to lose this job.” Finn sipped her coffee after she’d added milk and four tablespoons of sugar. “Is that what you wanted to tell me?”
Mia shook her head. “No, I think I’m going to say something hard to understand, and I don’t want to scare you. So can you have an open mind for a minute?”
Finn took a bite of her bread. “Of course.”
“Finn, I think you come from people who, I mean, a family with witch’s power.” Mia nodded. “I think you’re a witch.”
Finn finished her bread, then sipped her coffee as she considered what Mia was saying. Finally, she nodded and said, “Cool.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
Finn shrugged. When she finally spoke, she chose her words carefully. “I’ve felt different all my life. My mom said my dad was special. I thought she meant I had Asperger’s or something like that. The cat in the library—she’s not real, is she?”
“Peaches is real, but she’s a ghost. We have ghosts in the building too. I’m what they call a kitchen witch. And so is my grandmother.” Mia decided that Abigail and her family needed to decide on when to tell Finn themselves.
“She felt strange. I could feel her weight, then it would disappear and I’d think she’d jumped down, but when I’d look, she’d be there, purring.” Finn got a second slice of bread. “Did she make me sick yesterday?”
Great, now I have to tell her about dragons too. Mia took a deep breath. “Not quite.”
The alarm she’d set on her watch went off as Abigail pulled into the parking lot. “Sorry, I have to run. Abigail’s here. I’ll have her come upstairs. We can finish this talk tonight when you get back from the Lodge.”
“Cool.” Finn pulled a bride’s magazine over and started flipping through it. Then she paused and looked over at Mia. “Does Abigail know about you and the ghost cat?”
Mia smiled as she answered. “Abigail knows everything.”
Downstairs, she filled Abigail in on what they’d talked about. “I left out your status. I thought I’d let you make the decision about telling her that.”
“Dear, we’re in for a penny, we’re in for a pound.
But thank you. I’ll talk to her about the situation she finds herself in and what happened yesterday.
And I’ll tell her about Buddy and Cerby.
If she’s going to stay here, she needs to know to take care of herself.
” Abigail held the door open for Mia. “Tell Cleo hi for me.”
Mia was halfway to the coven headquarters when she realized she hadn’t told Abigail where she was heading.
Maybe Trent had mentioned it or Cleo. Probably not, but thinking that kept her from worrying about Abigail reading her mind too.
Having Trent there before she found out felt weird enough.
Having his mother able to hear her thoughts, well, that just felt icky.
Oh, the joy of living in the witchy world.
She parked in a two-hour-free space and grabbed her purse.
She hurried up the stairs and found herself back inside the large rotunda.
She took a deep breath. This place made her happy.
Probably something they pumped into the ventilation system, but right now, she didn’t care.
She walked over to the desk, where Cleo was on the phone.
When she got off, she smiled and nodded toward the clock. “Five minutes early. I knew I liked you. Come this way.”
Mia followed Cleo past the doorway that had Examination Room etched on the frosted glass.
The hallway looked like they were at Harvard or any Ivy League school.
Finally, they stopped at a door labeled Summons and Requests .
Cleo opened the door and they walked into a room filled with wooden file cabinets.
A table with a pen and paper sat in the middle. There was no attendant.
Cleo indicated that Mia should sit. She pushed the pen and paper closer to her.
“So this is based on a simple request system. Write down what you want to know, and the room will provide any file that has at least some of that information. Be as specific as possible. One witch was hurt by falling files one year for requesting all information on illegal spell work. Way too general.”
“Okay, write down what I want, then what? Where do I put the note?” Mia looked around at the file cabinets. “Is there a slot or something?”
“Just write the question and wait. All will be clear soon enough.” Cleo turned and walked toward the door. “I’ll be back to get you in forty-five minutes, so you won’t miss your meeting.”