Poppy winked at me. “I know, and I can’t help teasing you about it.”
“I’m going home,” Zin said. “I have to feed the twins dinner.”
Hettie followed her with a brief wave. “I’d love to go, but I can’t either. VanderVamp Rules is on the projector tonight. Can’t miss my show.”
I raised my eyebrows at Poppy. “What do you say to a quick bite?”
“I’m really sorry, but my mom will kill me if I don’t feed Chunk,” Poppy said. “You can come with me if you want, though.”
“You hate that guinea pig.”
Poppy blushed. “Yeah, but you know Mimsey. She loves that thing.”
“You’re lying.”
“Fine!” Poppy threw her hands up in the air. “I worked a double shift. I helped out Mimsey and Trinket at the supply store this morning, and then went straight to fill in for another six hours at Ranger HQ. I kind of want to watch VanderVamp Rules with Hettie and have her cook me some pasta. I’m tired, that’s all. My feet hurt, I’m all talked out, and Hettie makes me age ten years every time she sets foot in HQ. I have to watch her like a hawk and it’s exhausting.”
“That’s all you had to say,” I said with a grin. “Look, I get it. I have errands to run tonight anyway, so it’s probably best if I just get on with it. I was mostly procrastinating.”
“Are you sure? You can absolutely come by and hang tonight if you want. I’ll even share my bottle of wine. I just don’t want to put clothes on and head over to Sea Salt.”
“Really, don’t worry. I’ll see you later, okay? If I’m done in time, I’ll stop over on the way back.”
“Okay, great. Be safe! You don’t need anything, do you? What about your Hex on the Beach potion to keep the guys away?”
I dug into my pocket and pulled out a small vial of the potion, waggling it in front of Poppy’s face. “Got it. Plus, I have a good old tube of Pepper Spray around my keychain. Have a good night, Poppy.”
She pulled me in and kissed both cheeks European style. We parted ways, Poppy hurrying to catch up with Hettie while I strolled in the opposite direction. The coins jangled in my pocket as I set my sights on the path that would take me across town to the B&B where I’d hopefully find my target.
The Isle was relatively small. It was similar in size to that of a condensed city, not unlike the square space of downtown Minneapolis. It was entirely walkable, though a jaunt from one side to the other could take up to thirty minutes.
My feet carried me across a white sandy path in lazy twists. The path started at the beach in front of my bungalow, wound its way past the dock and the supply store, curled over the open ground, and finally across the Lower Bridge. A canal cut The Isle in two, leaving us with a West and an East side.
Hettie, Mimsey, Trinket, and their children—along with myself—were the only witches who dared inhabit the West side of The Isle. Most people chose to stay on the opposite side of the bridges for safety reasons. Hundreds of creatures lived in The Forest, and those creatures were much more likely to wander down to the bungalow than across the bridge and into the highly populated East side.
I crossed the Lower Bridge, since the Upper Bridge was reserved mostly for Rangers. The latter led deep into The Forest, and most of the islanders would suffer a ten-minute detour just to use the safer route.
Giant goldfish swam in the canal beneath the bridge, and I paused as one particularly orange fish swam circles around his silvery friend, their movements smooth as a dance. It was so mesmerizing I lost track of time standing there, until a crack startled me from my flip-flops.
The crack came from the bushes to my left, jolting me out of my trance. I pressed deeper into the East Isle territory, the air full of spells, protective hexes, and many other safety precautions.
The sizzle of magic surrounded the entrance from the West to the East side, but it didn’t do much to calm my nerves. With one last glance toward the bushes, I picked up my pace and didn’t slow down until I’d reached Main Street.
Main Street was a small section of the East side neighborhood. The narrow, cobblestone paved street wound its way between a few local shops and food stands. Decorative white lights dangled from the palm trees lining the sidewalks, and despite the late hour, many folks milled about the street. Families waltzed between the stores, some of the children carrying candies and balloons that roared and squeaked, just like the animals after which they’d been molded. The younger adults held lemonades or iced slushies in their hands, while the older witches and wizards carried much larger beverages in the vein of Pina Coladas and Strawberry Daiquiris.