Witchy Sour(2)

Ranger X followed my nod toward the empty safe. He strode around the room, his brown eyes soaking up every detail of the place. When he finally returned to my side, he set those eyes on me.

He said something, a mixture of words that probably made sense, but since I was too busy soaking up his presence, I missed all of them. Those eyes of his were so dark they walked a fine line between good and evil.

“What do you think?” he asked, startling me so thoroughly that I sloshed half my wine out of the glass.

“Um, yes?” I quickly grabbed a rag and wiped up the spill.

“You weren’t listening.” It was a statement, one that curved the corner of his lips upward. “I was asking if you had any theories about who might have had access to the spellbook before it was stolen.”

“Oh, well,” I paused in thought. “Gus, of course. The previous Mixologists. I’m sure there are others who have seen it. Gus doesn’t hide the manuscript. During the day, it’s almost always out on the table in plain sight. He’ll yell at people if they touch it, but I know for a fact that Mimsey and Poppy and Zin have flipped through it when he’s not looking.”

“So, anyone who’s visited the bungalow could’ve seen it.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I suppose. We rarely locked it away. The night it was stolen was the first night we’d put it in the safe since my arrival on the island. Usually Gus is here so late, and back so early, he’ll either take it with him, or leave it out for a few hours.”

“So whoever stole it had to know it wouldn’t be guarded—at least, not by you or Gus—on that very night.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” I said. “That would mean it’s someone close enough to know our schedule.”

Ranger X merely raised an eyebrow.

“It couldn’t have been,” I said. “With the exception of Harpin, I like everyone I’ve met on this island. Why would they steal from me?”

“Does Harpin have a motive to steal the book?”

I bit the edge of my lip. “Maybe. He’s been angling for my job for a long time. If he had the potions book, maybe he’d try to take over. Use it in his tea shop to cook up something deadly, I don’t know.”

Ranger X seemed distracted, and it took me a moment to realize he was staring at my lips instead of listening to what I was saying.

“Hey, you,” I said, reaching out and snapping a finger in his direction. “I’m talking to you.”

He recovered as gracefully as possible, blinking and dragging his gaze up to my eyes. “I was…reading your lips.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, there’s a spell system guarding this book. It’s extremely thorough, according to Gus.”

“I know the system, I’ve studied it.” Ranger X shook his head as my mouth opened. “Don’t worry, I have no use for your light reading. If I wanted your Mixology book, I’d already have it. Lily, believe me when I say—it’s not the book that I want.”

The way his eyes played over my face, I sensed there was something else he wanted entirely. However, now was not the time to deal with our personal history. “You’ve studied the spell system?”

He nodded. “I use it as an example when training new Rangers. It’s one of the most complicated security systems out there.”

“Can you walk me through it?” I asked. “I’ve seen Gus’s rough sketch, but I don’t understand it. He’s not the most patient teacher in the world.”

X’s eyes gleamed. “You don’t say. Where is he, by the way?”

“Went home for the night. Even Gus needs sleep, you know.”

“I’ll help, but then you must promise to get some rest, too. You were practically snoring when I rubbed your back.”

“I don’t snore.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“All?” I raised an eyebrow. “Who does all include?”

“Figure of speech!” Ranger X grimaced, a slight red adding to the tanned color of his face. “Lily, I don’t—I’d never—”

“I know, I know, I’m kidding.” I reached over and squeezed his arm. I might as well have squeezed a brick. “Now, how does this system work?”



Hours later, well past midnight, Ranger X and I stepped back.

“I think that’s everything,” he said slowly.

“Isn’t that enough?” I surveyed our creation—a series of ribbons, threads of yarn, pieces of rope, all crisscrossing in organized chaos—and my eyebrows raised. “All these spells, and somebody still stole the book?” I asked, my voice colored with shades of disbelief and awe. “How?”