Spells Trouble (Sisters of Salem #1) - P. C. Cast Page 0,73
we were little girls, before we thought about anything much except toys and tea parties and whatever.”
Hunter snorted. “I never thought about tea parties. That was you. I always thought about books, but now you’re totally the research queen.”
Mercy smiled at her sister. “Sorry. That was a weird question. We shouldn’t be thinking about the past right now. We should be concentrating on our spell. Speaking of—did you get all the items for my Awake and Alive Oil?”
“Yep!” Hunter opened the basket and pulled out the bottle of insecticide she’d purchased from the nursery and five vials of homemade oils, as well as the herbs she’d just harvested. Inside the basket there was also a handful of milky stones that glowed softly against the square of black velvet Hunter had lined the basket with and the sapphire-colored pouch that held her tarot.
“Awesome! Let’s mix them together and then add the insecticide.” Mercy frowned as she stared at the insecticide. “Hang on. This is organic, right?”
“Of course. Mag, I’m not a Green Witch, but I’m also not stupid.”
“Yeah, yeah, sorry. I’m just being super careful because I want everything to be perfect. Speaking of, I have the perfect glass bottle for our oil.”
Hunter followed Mercy through the glass door of the greenhouse. Abigail had built her this incredibly awesome gift several weeks ago for Mercy to fill with young plants to transplant to their vast gardens. It was already alive with hanging ferns, a tray of thriving herbs, baby tomato sprouts, and an entire shelf of happily blooming orchids.
“It smells really good in here.” Hunter gently touched a wide frond of one of the hanging plants.
“Thanks, it’s mostly the honeysuckle over there. I coaxed them to bloom early. Here it is!” Mercy held up a glass bottle that was the color of the ocean, like a luminous ball sealed with a tan atomizer bulb just waiting to be squeezed.
“That’s pretty,” Hunter said.
“Yeah, I found it in the back of Abigail’s pantry. It makes me think of old-timey perfume bottles.” Mercy took the top off the bottle before she placed it on the worktable. “Okay, let’s do this together to make it stronger.”
“Sounds good to me,” agreed Hunter. “If you tell me what you need I’ll hand the oils and herbs to you.”
“And then you can add your insecticide at the end to fill up the bottle. Let’s set our intention.”
Somberly, the girls grounded themselves with three deep breaths—in and out.
“My intention is to heal the palm trees,” said Mercy. “Please hand me rosemary oil.”
Hunter passed her the vial of greenish-amber oil. “My intention is to protect the palm trees.”
The girls worked efficiently, sharing that special bond with which they’d been born. They mixed rosemary, mint, orange, lemon, and thyme oils—and added fresh herbs to the bottle. Then Mercy passed the bottle to her sister, who poured the organic insecticide into it until it was completely full. She handed the bottle back to Mercy, who securely screwed the top on before tucking it safely within their basket. Mercy gathered the stang and the circle of mistletoe.
“Okay, I think we’re ready,” said Mercy.
“Me, too, but I feel like we’re forgetting something,” said Hunter.
Which was when Xena, still wearing the fluffy bathrobe, hair cascading in chaos around her shoulders, hurried out the back door of the house.
“Kittens! Oh, good, I caught you before you left. You need to do one more thing—ouch!” Xena lifted one of her bare feet and frowned at it as she brushed a rock from between her toes. “If I have to wear shoes I will die. Simply die!” She sat on the back porch steps and raised her foot to her mouth.
“Freya’s cloak!” Mercy gasped. “Is she going to lick her foot?”
“Not while we’re watching she’s not. Xena! What was the one more thing?”
The cat person froze, blinked several times, and then dropped her foot. “Sorry, kittens. Being a human is very distracting. You need to make it rain.”
“What?” The twins spoke together.
Xena sighed. “The Egyptian palms are in the middle of the park, correct?”
“Yeah,” said Hunter.
“People will be there—even after dark. They have those horrid lights that do not allow cats to hunt at night at all. It’s really very upsetting.” She shook herself. “But that is not important tonight. What’s important tonight is that you cast your spell without prying eyes. So—make it rain.”
“Huh. She’s right,” Mercy said.
“Well, of course I am. Do you need me to remind you of a rain spell or—”