The Hidden Grimoire by Karla Brandenburg (pride and prejudice read TXT) 📕

“Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cassandra stood across the counter from me. “Nora?”

I nodded.

“If anyone can help you, Nora can.”

I stroked Ash’s fur, taking comfort from the cat. After all the years of no one caring about me, I struggled with knowing when to ask for help, or when to accept it. Ash didn’t expect anything from me, other than food and water. I knew Nora didn’t have an ulterior motive, and yet I felt indebted every time she did something nice for me. I also knew I needed her now.

“Seems things would be easier if you could wiggle your nose and make the bad stuff disappear,” Cassandra said.

I laughed. She often made subtle comments about the magic, but I knew she wasn’t looking for proof or validation. More likely, she was making a joke, the way the townspeople whispered rumors about me and Nora being witches.

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I said. “I think I’ll count my blessings where I find them, instead.” I pulled myself together. “I’m guessing your date with Lucas went well last night?”

Her smile beamed. “He says he isn’t above playing the ‘who was there for her grandmother’ card if anyone dares badmouth me, that he’ll remind them I have family in this town I have been helping out, in case they’ve forgotten.” She lowered her voice. “And he loves my sense of fashion.”

“It suits you,” I said. “Another thing you might use to your advantage if someone criticizes your wardrobe again. Mrs. Hazelton seems to have gotten the message.”

Cassandra laughed. “I believe she has. There is photographic evidence she wasn’t always such a prude.”

Ash nuzzled against my waist before she hopped to the rear counter and to her rug in the corner. She must have decided I was more myself.

Customers stopped in over the course of the day to buy the special orders I’d mixed, and after the schools let out, several young women shopped Cassandra’s line, some of them wearing clothes they’d purchased previously. I had reason to be optimistic about the new business plan.

Kyle came in an hour before closing, greeted Cassandra, and escorted me to the back room.

“What’s up?” I asked.

He handed me a printout. “I got information on LeAnne. Not much to go on, I’m afraid. No criminal record. No social media presence. She went to a community college in Ohio for an associate’s degree in marketing. Her work history puts her at Wisconsin Global Insurance with both Jason and Sharon until Georgia was born. Nothing stands out.”

“Which leaves us right back where we started.” She’d been so friendly. I had a hard time believing I’d completely misjudged her.

Chapter 33

Another night passed without a visit from Georgia. That had to be a good thing, right? She was happy?

In the morning, after Kyle went across the street to work on his remodeling project, I tended the herbs in the window boxes and made a batch of soap. By the time Nora arrived, it was after ten.

“Have you checked the book of spells?” she asked before she’d even taken off her coat.

“I was waiting for you.”

“No matter. I asked Hannah to join us. I hope you don’t mind, but I want to make sure I’m not missing anything.” She laid a palm against my cheek. “I’m worried about you and those flashbacks.”

I was worried, too.

“Is Kyle here?” Nora asked, glancing around as she walked into the house.

“No, he’s working on his house.”

“Good.” She went straight to the workroom, settled on a stool and folded her arms. “Shall we take a look in the book?”

I followed and took the seat beside her. “Can I just say that book still makes me nervous?”

Her eyes glittered—I hadn’t lost my ability to identify a witch—and she smiled. “Cautious might be a better word, and that’s a good thing,” she said.

The book appeared on the worktable a moment later. “The last several times I’ve called on it, it’s shown me the same page,” I told Nora. “I don’t know if the book wants to prepare me for an attack or if it’s asking me to cast a spell—one that would reflect back on me.”

“I’m sure you’ll find out in time.” She closed her eyes and held her hands over the book, I assumed to ask for the spell she wanted. When the pages had finished flipping, she leaned over and read.

“Do you have lavender?” Nora asked me.

I hopped off my stool and went to the cupboard. “Oil, or crushed leaves?” I asked.

“The leaves, I think. And crystals. Do you have quartz? Or an amethyst?”

“I don’t have any crystals,” I told her.

“Then it’s a good thing I brought some,” Hannah said, walking into the room. “I hope you don’t mind, I let myself in.”

“I’m so glad you could come,” Nora said.

“You’ve found exactly what I would use,” Hannah said. “Not bad for an earth witch.”

A what? I looked to Nora for clarification.

“Yes, an earth witch,” Hannah repeated. “And so are you. It’s the element that controls our gifts. You and Nora work with herbs and plants, and I believe you’ve spoken with the dead?”

Way to lay it all out there.

“My element is water,” Hannah said. “My connection is with people. I do readings, and I’m a counsellor at the local shelter when I’m not hosting conferences at the castle.” She turned to Nora. “Brynn doesn’t know any of this?”

“She came to accept her gifts late,” Nora replied.

“That’s right. She did mention that.” Hannah waved the discussion off. “No time to go into all that now. We’re always learning, aren’t we? Now. Nora tells me she thinks your PTSD seems to be getting worse. True?”

I nodded.

“Which is why she called me. I deal with this sort of thing all the time, but after what we’ve already learned about you, we need to take an extra look for outside influences. Have you been calling on the light, the way we talked about?”

I explained to her about my encounter with Georgia, and how darkness had swirled with the