CHAPTER 2
C onjuring clitweasels and cockmonkeys!
Grady stretched his neck from side to side, trying to alleviate the dull ache in his temples. A muscle twitched beneath his left eye.
He let out a weary breath. “I think we are almost ready to open.” He glanced at Leo and Jasper, his identical twin brothers.
From before dawn yesterday, Grady had been here setting up the Magic Bakery stall at the Christmas markets. It had been a long day assembling the wooden stall, setting up the large oven to one side, and then decorating it with garlands, fresh pine, tinsel, and baubles.
Magic bakery stall set up. Check.
Decorations. Check.
Fire lit in the oven. Check.
Grady assessed the pastries, tarts, truffles, and other baked goods lined up on the counter. They made those in the bakery and carried them here as needed.
Ready to sell. Check.
Now they just had to make dough to bake bread fresh at the markets. He stifled a yawn. After days of preparing and barely sleeping, they were finally ready to open. On the first day, the markets opened late afternoon. They’d open midday throughout the rest of December.
Several protection charms Grady had made hung from the roof. Grady pressed his hand to the wooden wall of the stall, to a sigil he’d carved into it.
“Protect this space. Protect my kin,” Grady whispered. Warmth flared beneath his hand as the charm charged, his energy passing into it.
Protection charm charged. Check.
Grady dropped his hand. Hopefully, the rest of the day would run smoothly.
“Shit!” Jasper groaned.
Then again, probably not. Grady’s jaw tensed, the muscle beneath his eye fluttering. “What’s wrong?”
“We don’t have enough flour.” Jasper rummaged through their supplies. “We only have enough for…maybe a few hours.”
Leo made a face. “That is, if we aren’t too busy.”
“Fucking frog guts,” Grady muttered.
Jasper frowned. “Sorry, Grady. I must have miscounted.”
“It’s fine.” Grady rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to release some of the compounding tension.
“I can go back to the bakery now and get some more. As long as we have enough to cover the time it will take me to get there and back, everything will be fine.”
Jasper nodded. “We should have enough for that.”
“Do we have everything else we need?” The muscle beneath Grady’s eye felt like a butterfly had burrowed beneath his skin and was fluttering as it tried to escape. He hoped no one else could see the twitching muscle.
Jasper glanced down at the supplies. “I think so.”
Still, Grady stepped forward and double-checked. Which was what he should have done earlier instead of relying on Jasper and Leo.
Once certain they only needed flour, Grady straightened. “I’ll go now and be back soon.” Grady opened the side door of the stall and stepped out, not waiting for a response.
He strode through the markets, passing the other stalls still setting up. Soon the crowds would come, marvelling at the picturesque decorated wooden stalls and the Christmas trees towering over them. The scents of roasted nuts, hot chocolate, grilled meats, mulled wine, fried bread, and sugar would meld in the air. As darkness fell, candles along with magicked glowing globes would illuminate the picturesque wintery wonderland.
Grady didn’t give two shits about any of that right now. He had too much fucking work to do.
Cauldrons and clusterfucks. Of course the first day of the Christmas markets wouldn’t go fucking smoothly! When did anything ever go fucking smoothly?
Grady hunched his shoulders as he strode through the falling snow. His temple throbbed, and the muscle beneath his eye wouldn’t stop twinging. He rubbed at the muscle, trying to get it to stop to no effect.
Why hadn’t he double-checked the crates to make sure they had enough flour? Why had he relied on Jasper and Leo? If he had just checked, then he wouldn’t be racing across town to get more.
His stomach grumbled as he walked. When had he last eaten? Fuck if he could remember.
He walked the streets through the city to the quarter where the family bakery lay. He came around the back. He glanced up and spotted the gargoyle squatting on the rooftop, gaze fixed on the alley below. Horns twisted above his head, and wings curled around him.
Everyone in the neighbourhood knew of the gargoyle who lived in the district. He had arrived sometime in the last ten years after Grady’s parents’ death. After Grady had become responsible for his nine younger siblings.
A pigeon flew, passing before the gargoyle, fluttering down into the alley.
Grady paused his strides. “Archimedes?”
Archimedes, his brother Briar’s familiar, landed on the cobblestones. Grady spotted the canister, which meant a note from Briar.
He held in a sigh.
What did Briar want now?
Grady leaned down and removed the canister from Archimedes’s leg. He took the note and unfurled it.
“Can’t work tonight. Found an injured dog in my cave. I need to care for it. I’ll stay here overnight,” Briar had scrawled.
The dull ache in Grady’s temples twisted into a sharp stabbing pain behind his eyes. The muscle beneath his eye intensified its twitching.
Pissing potions. Another fucking thing to deal with.
Instead of going into the bakery, he ran upstairs to their apartment. He opened the door and strode to the desk. He grabbed a small piece of paper and wrote, “Bring the dog back to the house. I don’t want you sleeping in your cave in winter.”
Archimedes had followed him and perched on the back of a chair. Grady rolled up the paper, placed it in the canister, and attached it to Archimedes’s leg. He picked up Archimedes and took him outside.
“All right, back you go to Briar.” Grady threw Archimedes into the air. The grey pigeon circled twice in the air before flying in the direction of the cave, passing the gargoyle, who remained exactly where he’d been several minutes ago. He hadn’t moved an inch.
Sometimes, when Grady had a moment to breathe, he’d stare up and see if he could catch the gargoyle moving. He never had.
But sometimes the gargoyle would be on one rooftop. At other times, another. So he must move. Still, the gargoyle often remained here above the alley out back of their bakery and apartment.
Grady shook his head. He didn’t have time to stare at the gargoyle. He placed his hand on the sigil on the apartment door. “Protect our hearth. Protect our home. Protect my kin wherever they roam.” Heat flared as the energy passed from him into the spell.
He sprinted down the stairs and entered the bakery. He gave a quick glance around at his siblings at work. Customers lined up at the counter in the front. Cas, Lacy, and Jack all served whilst Trent worked in the back.
Trent glanced up from kneading dough. “Hey.” He smiled. “How is it going at the Christmas markets?”
“We don’t have enough flour to get through the day,” Grady said. “And I know you’ve got tonight off. But can you work the Christmas markets? Briar is looking after a feral dog in his cave.”
Trent’s eyes widened. “What is Briar doing?”
Grady shrugged. “I don’t know. The dog is injured or something. Can you do it?”
“Sure. But I’m meant to be getting Ordelia some stuff from the grocer’s after work.” Trent wiped his hands on his apron, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. Ordelia was their sister and had a baby.
Grady took the note. “I can do that after I drop the flour off at the markets.”
“Then no problem. I can cover for Briar.”
“Thanks.” Grady grabbed a crate and began to place bags of flour into it. He might need to make a few trips back and forth. Especially if he didn’t want to break his back by carrying too much. He was only thirty, and already it felt like his body was crumbling apart.
Grady paused and counted the number of bags of flour they had remaining in the bakery. How long until he’d need to order more from the supplier? Grady held in a sigh. The bloody cost of flour had once again increased recently.
Something to do with production costs. Just another fucking thing for Grady to worry about. At least they made more money during the Christmas season. The stall at the markets brought in good coin. And the bakery itself was busier. Many wanted baked goods to celebrate the holiday season.
But it meant long hours and lots of work. Much of which fell on Grady’s too-tense shoulders.
Maybe he needed to try to find a new supplier. Someone cheaper and more affordable so it wouldn’t eat up so much of their profits. But he didn’t have time to find a new supplier. Maybe after Christmas.
“Archimedes is here,” Trent said.
Archimedes sat on the windowsill outside, peering in, the canister attached to his leg. Grady gritted his teeth, really hoping Briar was agreeing with Grady and telling him he’d be back home with the dog tonight. He did not want to be worrying about Briar out in the forest in bloody winter.
Grady strode to the door and went out. He took the note. It read, “Dog is unconscious and is too big to bring back.”
Grady took a slow breath, in and out. In and out. The muscle trembled violently beneath his eye. He shouldn’t be angry. Briar was just being a caring and loving witch. He was being a good witch. It was what their parents would have wanted. It was what Grady should have wanted for his younger brother.
But sometimes, Grady really fucking wished that just one day would go smoothly with no complications or things he needed to deal with. He rolled his shoulders.
He hated Briar staying in the forest overnight. He didn’t mind so much in summer or spring. But in winter, a sudden snowstorm could be the death of his younger brother. His throat spasmed.
Thankfully, Briar, like all Grady’s siblings, wore a protection charm. And Grady had put a shit ton of protection charms and spells on Briar’s cave.
Although, when was the last time Grady had been out there to recharge them? He paused. Grady really should go out there to check them. He closed his eyes, head dropping back as he added one more thing to the never-ending to-do list.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes. He stared straight at the gargoyle above. The gargoyle stared back at him.
Had the gargoyle moved? Or had Grady just positioned himself directly in the gargoyle’s line of sight?
“Everything all right?” Trent asked from the doorway.
Grady dropped his gaze to the note in his hand. “Fucking brilliant,” Grady muttered, too low for Trent to hear. “Everything is fine,” he said louder. Then Grady sprinted up the stairs to write a return note to Briar.