LITMIR.BIZ

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him for it. “You’re not worried?”

      Lexi looked up and blinked, her eyes taking on a blank glaze. “What? No. Everything is fine,” she said in a flat voice.

      Melissa’s eyes narrowed. Ri-ight. Lexi definitely needed to get away from the compelling effects of her current boyfriend.

      “What about this one?” She tapped at a delicate ring. Its band was intertwined silver strands, and the stone was speckled with green and black. “Green snakeskin jasper. It’s a protective stone, perfectly suited to what you need, and it matches your...” She flicked her gaze up to Lexi’s eyes. Oh. They were a deep blue. Melissa’s eyebrows dipped briefly. She’d never noticed that. Lexi’s brother had worked as a stock boy—okay, stock man—for her a few years ago, and his eyes were the darkest green, almost black. She’d never noticed the siblings didn’t share the same eye color. Her gaze drifted downward. “Scarf. They match your scarf.”

      Lexi wore a bottle green-and-black scarf to go with the rest of her outfit. She frowned. “But that’s just today.”

      “And you look fantastic, so it obviously agrees with you. With your coloring, this ring will either complement or present a tasteful contrast with any of your other outfits,” Melissa lied quickly.

      Lexi looked at it doubtfully. “Really?”

      Melissa nodded as she plucked the ring from the tray. “Yep. Trust me. Let me go enhance it for you.” She stepped into the back room behind the shop’s counter—it was basically the size of a broom closet. She placed the ring on the midnight blue swath of velvet that lay on a low shelf. She closed the door and pulled on the cord. Warm light bathed the tiny space, and she stood there for a moment. Shelves lined the space, and a sporadic collection of small bottles, vials and bowls were placed in order of need around the working space. These were only her more commonly used ingredients. Her lips pursed. Not as many as there should be, thanks to the pyro jerk who had torched her hidden apothecary below her bookstore.

      She was slowly renovating the space, though. It was no secret she was a witch—a witch who sold spells, incantations and laced trinkets. Those customers who wanted more than books usually stepped below stairs...but she’d learned a hard lesson five months ago. Never trust a soul—no matter how innocent and tempting he looked. She’d lost so much...it was taking a lot longer to rebuild her valuable stock, damn it.

      As tiny and as bare as this space was, it was fast becoming a haven for her. There were no requests from customers, no pleading and no demands for attention in here, just her and her magic. She eyed the ring briefly. Green snakeskin jasper guarded against negativity and could act as a shield against psychic attack, protecting the wearer against harmful or destructive temptations. Lexi had a vampire boyfriend, and Melissa could sense the compulsions at work on the young woman. The fact Lexi was still wearing a scarf inside her store didn’t escape her, either. It was cold outside, and dirty snow lined the gutters and sidewalks of Irondell as winter descended on the city, but inside the Better Read Than Dead Bookstore it was warm and cozy. Consciously or unconsciously, Lexi was hiding the bite marks and she needed a little help to withstand the mesmerizing coercions this man was exerting over her. If she didn’t resist soon, she’d end up a vamp slave... Melissa shuddered. It was one thing she couldn’t quite comprehend, those people who willingly surrendered their blood and actively sought to be bitten by the vamps, chasing one bite after another, after another. The life span of a vamp slave wasn’t long, for obvious reasons. Why Lexi was with a bloodsucker in the first place, Melissa couldn’t understand. But she could help.

      She held both her hands over the ring, closed her eyes and drew on her magic. She could feel it rising to her fingertips like a warm bath of light, and she focused, chanting a protection spell to further imbue the natural qualities of the stone. She added in a little layer of confidence, as well. Lexi had to stop hanging out with the Mr. Wrongs, and start believing she was worthy of a Mr. Right—not that Melissa would ever have that kind of conversation with the woman. She soooo didn’t do warm and fuzzies.

      Melissa opened her eyes, and the stone in the ring glowed briefly as the spell anchored, and then the magical light slowly banked. Melissa lifted the ring, feeling the warmth and weight of its new power. She smiled with satisfaction. The ring was constructed of silver—she’d like to see Mr. Wrong try to take this off his little blood bag.

      She left the broom closet—no, Power Room. She frowned. She had to come up with a better name for it. Maybe the Dark Well of Influence? She wrinkled her nose. She’d keep working on it.

      She smiled brightly at Lexi and handed her the ring. “Here you go.”

      Lexi reached for it timidly, eyeing it before sliding it onto the middle finger of her right hand. She tilted her head, then her gaze flicked to Melissa across the counter.

      “I don’t feel anything. Are you sure it’s working?”

      Melissa rolled her eyes. “These things don’t come with a built-in electric shock, Lexi. Give it time. It will grow on you.”

      Lexi sighed, then nodded. “Okay. I hope this works.” She dug her wallet out of her handbag. “How much?”

      Melissa named her price, and Lexi’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh, cool, I thought it would be more.”

      Normally it would, but Lexi was Lance’s sister. This was the least she could do for a friend. She didn’t have many friends.

      Melissa met her gaze squarely. “Stay safe, Lexi.”

      Lexi nodded, then fidgeted with her scarf. “You do like to crank the heat up in here, don’t you, Melissa?” She loosened the scarf, and Melissa could see the edge of a dark bruise, and the open, angry bite mark.

      She reached beneath the counter. “Hey, try this.” She handed over a small tub of lotion. Lexi tilted her head as she read the label.

      “What is it?”

      “An all-over body moisturizer with a new scent I’ve been working on. This is a sample bottle. Let me know what you think.”

      Lexi flipped the cap and sniffed the contents, then smiled. “Okay, thanks.” The young woman eyed her for a moment, and her brow dipped. “You look tired.”

      Melissa winced. “Thanks.”

      “No, seriously. You look tired, and you never look tired. What gives? Is your mom giving you grief?”

      Melissa’s smile was brittle. It was no secret her mother always gave her grief. “I’m not sleeping well,” she admitted. She wasn’t in the habit of confiding with Lexi—with anyone, really, but maybe it was an indication of just how tired she was that she relaxed her usual guard with the petite blonde.

      Lexi raised her eyebrows. “Is something troubling you? Bad dreams?”

      That was an understatement. It was as though all her awful life moments were on auto-replay whenever she closed her eyes. Especially the day her mother told her she’d never let her daughter step in as Elder Prime... And the night her father walked out... She blinked. Yeah. Those weren’t dreams. They were nightmares. And she most definitely didn’t want to “share” those. Not with Lexi, not with anyone.

      “I’m fine. I’ll just drink some chamomile tea tonight.”

      Lexi shrugged, then placed her items in her tote bag. “Whatever. I have to hustle. I have a hot date tonight.”

      Melissa smiled, mentally batting away a tiny green flame of envy that flared within her. One, she wasn’t interested in any dates, hot or otherwise, and two, Lexi was dating a shadow breed, for Pete’s sake. There was nothing worthy of envy there.

      “Well, that moisturizer is guaranteed to make the night interesting,” she murmured, and Lexi laughed as she left the store. Melissa watched her briefly in the street. The young woman eyed up and down the street, then loosened the scarf some more so it fell open. A smile twitched at Melissa’s lips as Lexi strode down the street, a confident sway to her hips catching the eye of males passing by. The ring was working. Good.

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