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

worried. All of this...” I waved an arm toward the workroom, “you can’t arrest someone and lock them up, or shoot at a bad guy. Narcy was insidious, and there’s no saying there isn’t someone else like her who can circumvent your defenses.”

“But you can, and we’re a team. I have faith in you, Brynn. Have faith in me, too.” He shot a glance at the sun filtering in through the bay window beside the dining table. “And now, I need to get ready for work, and I suspect you do, too.” He leaned his forehead to mine. “You’ll call me if you identify this woman?”

“Okay.”

“We’re in this together.”

For all the times we’d skirted talking openly about my gifts, my heart swelled knowing he had seen me using my talents and not been frightened away. His words meant more to me than I could say.

Kyle left to get dressed, and I returned to the workroom, where I had several special orders waiting to be mixed. By the time I’d finished, packed them, and gathered Ash, I was ten minutes late.

The sun shone bright in a crisp blue sky, icy clouds drew an occasional swirl against the backdrop. Everything in line of sight came into sharper focus, with the exception of the people walking the sidewalks. Each of them was surrounded by colored light. I stopped, taken by surprise at this new development until I realized it was their auras, shimmering around them. Part of the unmasking spell?

No one was waiting when I arrived at the shop. I opened Ash’s basket and put out food for her in the backroom before I readied the store for the day. When Cassandra walked in, the light surrounding her stuttered and changed, like a soap bubble floating in the air.

“Sorry I’m late.” She set her coffee cup beside the sewing machine, tugged off her coat and sat down. Only then did her aura settle into a soft shade of green, reflecting her creativity and practicality.

“I was late, too,” I told her.

Her cheeks were flush with color. She hadn’t yet met my eye. Surely Cassandra wasn’t the woman I needed to be wary of, but it wouldn’t hurt to check.

I hovered beside the sewing machine, watching her work, until she stopped, turned and looked up at me.

“Yes?” she asked.

I smiled, met her gaze. Dark brown eyes exaggerated by black liner and mascara against creamy skin. No tell-tale glow aside from the just left my man radiance. She and Lucas were clearly moving forward. “Noticing the shine around you,” I said.

Her cheeks reddened further. “It’s the cold.”

“Uh-huh.” No secrets to unmask there. I returned to the counter, unpacked my special orders and lined them up.

Cassandra twisted in her seat, watching me. “You’re awfully happy this morning. Dare I ask why?”

I stopped to consider. Kyle’s open acceptance had helped me turn a corner in my doubts. I took a moment to appreciate having him in my life, to find the quiet in the storm.

“I know that look,” Cassandra said. “And no, I don’t need to hear about Sir Galahad this morning.”

I laughed. Cassandra might not share the gifts I’d been born to, but she did have a keen sense of intuition. “Now who’s the witch?” I teased.

She raised her eyebrows and turned to her work.

The day went on uneventfully. The auras surrounding everyone who walked into the shop shimmered without my looking for them. After checking the chart on my phone the first few times, I identified the traits without looking the color up. I didn’t, however, notice a glow in anyone’s eyes.

Hannah called mid-afternoon to ask how my day was going. I told her about the auras and how the world was brighter, as if someone had washed the windows.

“Yes, that’s to be expected. Anyone standing out for you?”

“Not so far. The two people I need to see are the two people I’m least likely to run across,” I told her. “Unless LeAnne decides to come shopping again, and Jason isn’t going to encourage her to do so. Sharon moved to Madison as far as I know, and I may never see her again.”

“There’s one more thing we could try, if you don’t mind driving to the castle this weekend. I have a couple of groups coming in for retreats, so I can’t get away. I’m concerned about the little girl.”

So was I. “How about Friday night?”

“I’ll look for you then. If you run across anything noteworthy in the meantime, let me know.”

“I’ll keep you in the loop.” I’d started out the day hoping for a quick answer to my problem, expecting the reckless woman to make herself known to me. Did I want to track down Sharon and LeAnne, if for no other reason than to rule them out?

“Brynn, I wouldn’t have suggested the spell if I didn’t think it was important,” Hannah said, as if she’d detected my hesitation. “Considering what you’ve already been through, you need to keep your eyes open.”

Flashback time, except all I felt was a twinge of anxiety. I raised a hand to my nose, inhaling the lavender-scented soap I’d used. That, along with the amethyst ring Hannah had given me, seemed to do the trick.

For now.

Chapter 35

Over the next couple of days, I was able to read my customers’ moods as they walked into the store, see auras around everyone, to the point where I almost stopped noticing them. No one stood out as the “reckless woman” Hannah had warned me about.

On Wednesday, LeAnne strolled into the shop. She wore her glasses today.

“Shouldn’t you be home resting?” I asked, meeting her at the door.

“Follow-up with the doctor,” she said. “I stopped in to see what you’re doing this weekend. Jason has a work thing and I’d love the company. Will you come over?”

I stepped back to assess her—an orange aura, indicating she had a zest for life. A go-getter. A thrill-seeker. I hadn’t seen that side of her. I checked her eyes, tawny brown behind the glare