Kurt grinned. “Challenge accepted.”
Chapter 5
“I must be out of my mind,” Claudia said.
“Trust me. If you’ll let me do this one itty-bitty spell, it will protect you from Ruxandra. I promise.”
Claudia poured more tea into Kurt’s cup. “You really believe in magic?”
“Yup.”
Tory hadn’t said a word. She wondered what the down-to-earth ex-football player thought of this. On the other hand, Kurt, an ex-marine, believing in magic was a big enough surprise.
As if he’d heard her, Tory spoke up. “I’ve seen it work. I don’t pretend to understand it, but Kurt does. He really has a gift.”
“Can Anthony be here while you’re doing…your thing?”
“Why? Don’t you trust me?”
“Not as much as I trust Anthony.”
“Didn’t he call you last night and ask you to accept my help today?”
“He left a voice mail, but I thought he meant moving furniture or something.”
“He meant magical help. Ruxandra’s got it in for you, and believe me, you do not want to go up against her. I also have ways to protect the shop itself. And after last time…I know it wasn’t Ruxandra who burned the bar to the ground, but it was a jealous woman.”
“That’s right. Drake had one date with her, and she turned into a psycho stalker when he dumped her for my friend, Bliss. Oh, boy.” Claudia sighed. “I guess it can’t hurt.”
“Exactly.” Kurt rubbed his hands together. “So, you’ll let me give you a little magical protection?”
She rolled her eyes. “Why not?”
“That isn’t a yes.”
“You want me to say, ‘Yes’?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then. Yes. I guess.”
“Good enough. I have a few supplies with me.” He plunked the gym bag he’d brought with him on a chair.
“What the heck? Are you going to hang stinky socks around the place to ward off evil spirits or something?”
Kurt laughed. “Not exactly.” As he pulled nine candles out of the bag, she noticed a hollowed-out portion at the bottom of each. Then he withdrew some kind of botanical mixture and began stuffing it inside the holes.
“Anthony said you had some glass candleholders—enough for nine tables.”
“We have more than that, in case one breaks.”
Kurt grinned. “After I’m through protecting the place, nothing will break.”
“Seriously?”
“Trust me. Now, where are the candleholders?”
“On the shelves under the cash register.”
“I’ll get ’em,” Tory said. He jumped up and rounded a display case with special teas in tins or bagged and ready for sale. Returning with as many candleholders as he could carry, he had to go back for the rest.
Claudia watched, fascinated, as Kurt held the stuffed candles upside down and placed the hurricane glass over each, then flipped them over one by one. None of the ingredients spilled out. If she hadn’t watched him fill the hollow, she’d never have been the wiser.
Kurt held his left hand over each candle in turn and murmured some words in another language.
It was all Claudia could do not to laugh. Does he really think these candles are some kind of magical talisman or something?
Kurt opened his eyes and began setting one in the center of each table. “You’ll never need to replace these.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, they’ll appear to burn down an inch or so, but won’t go any further. You can light them first thing in the morning if you want and let them burn until closing every night. Don’t give them another thought.”
The next thing Kurt extracted from his mystery bag was a set of bells.
“You’re not going to hang those over the door, are you?”
He stopped in mid-stride. “Yeah, I am. Why?”
“If they tinkle every time someone opens the door, they’ll drive me crazy.”
“They’ll keep evil from entering.”
“Okaaay.” Claudia tried not to smirk.
Kurt took a deep breath and let it out in a frustrated whoosh. “You’ve heard of exorcisms, right?”
“Yeah…” What’s he getting at? Is Linda Blair a big tea drinker?
“There are always bells. And churches…always bells. Just go with it, okay?”
If I was coming in hungover, they’d drive me nuts, but I’m sober now. “Okay. I’ll try to get used to them.”
“Good.” He hung the bells and murmured some more strange words. “Now that I’ve finished out here, can we use the office for a protection spell specifically for you?”
“Sure.”
Out of his bag, Kurt withdrew a long, wooden branch studded with brightly colored stones. A pointed crystal was attached to one end.
“You aren’t going to make me lie down while you walk around me with a magic wand, are you?”
Kurt tipped his head. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Holy crap. “Seriously?”
“I wasn’t going to have you lie down. You can sit or stand, but I am going to cast a circle of protection around you.”
Claudia shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m letting you talk me into this.”
“Because Anthony wants you to be safe.”
She rose. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Kurt grabbed his gym bag off the chair beside him and followed her.
After he’d rolled up the carpet, he scrubbed the hardwood floor with some clear mixture he’d brought in a mason jar. After that, he poured a circle of salt around both of them. Then he placed various rocks and plants just inside the circle and poured another circle of salt, trapping the various items between the two lines of salt.
“Seems like overkill,” she muttered.
“It’s an extra-powerful barrier between you and anyone who wants to harm you.”
“So I have to stand in here anytime the boogey-woman comes after me?”
Kurt laughed. “No. Once the spell is cast, you’ll be protected wherever you go. Well…you’ll see.”
Claudia was through protesting and questioning. She’d do this for Anthony’s peace of mind and no other reason. Wait a minute…she had one more question.
“I just thought of something. What if Ruxandra has one of her fits and knocks the candles over? The place could go up in flames—again.”
“Won’t happen. Trust me.”
She took a deep breath and tried to believe he knew what he was doing.
Kurt grabbed his wand and pointed it at the place where the wall met the ceiling. Then he walked around her, speaking more gibberish. She felt ridiculous until she saw a blue light glowing inside the crystal at the tip of the wand.
Hmm…must be some kind of trick of the light. Like a prism or something.
On his last pass, a stream of blue light shot out of the tip, tracing the entire circle, and she gasped.
Anthony lifted his fist to knock and wondered why he was so nervous. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t visited Claudia at her apartment before. But this time she was in his apartment building and it was the night before their grand opening. Perhaps because their lives had become so completely intertwined—at his insistence—he now felt a greater sense of responsibility for her.
No. Responsibility came naturally to him. That wasn’t it.
Without analyzing himself further, he knocked twice.
A few moments later, Claudia opened the door and beamed when she saw him. She wore a dress he hadn’t seen before. It was purple and set off her blond hair beautifully. He realized he was grinning too.