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Kel sat down beside me He seemed to take up more than his half of the sofa, due to presence more than physical size Which was impressive But unlike most men, he didn’t sprawl; he contained himself in as little space as possible, as if he were accustoood hostess, Tia offered us refreshet down to business The social stuff would have to keep for another ti I survived

I hefted the white box "I have an item for you to examine," I said in Spanish

"¿Qué?"

"It’s a saltshaker, but it’s got a killing hex"

She crossed herself and regarded the case dubiously "What do you think I can do with it?"

"I was hoping you could tell ic used"

Tia considered for long moments, brow furrowed, and then nodded "I have one charht prove useful Do you know if it’s meant only for you, or will it work on anyone who touches it?"

I glanced at Kel, who answered, "It’s keyed to Corine"

Wonderful From my mother--who had been a witch--I knew such specificity required sophistication and finesse in the casting In most cases, it also required a personal effect or sos

Daet my hair done at the salon until this is over

"I would rather not test that," Tia said with a grin creasing her weathered cheeks

She stood up and headed for the kitchen A fewa crystal bowl, salt, a cup of rant wood She was also wearing a pair of long black satin gloves, perhaps a remnant from an old Día de los Muertos costu by José Guadalupe Posada in 1913 It had since seeped into Mexican celebrations, a feminine skeleton in silk and tulle--death all dressed up

I gathered she was taking no chances with poor Eros Given my track record in romantic relationships, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a warning in the form of the would-be instru at such hubris, I watched as Tia perched on the edge of the sofa and arranged the items

First, she rimmed the boith salt and then sprinkled the remainder into the water Next, she scattered the herbs, and finally, she stirred thewhat sounded like broken fraght snippets, like "en espiritu sancti" and "el buen Señor," but mostly, it was too soft for --the water was a cloudy pool by this point--she picked up the white box, opened it, and--with one thu Pysche in place--she tipped Eros into the bowl

With a hiss, the herb-and-salt-infused water turned black as ink and it roiled as if a thousand tiny snakes swa the liquid, which solidified into a substance that resembled black Jell-O

Gross

Beneath the per the lines into so in the bowl began to look hu a viscous bust of the spell caster

Holy crap, all Booke can do is tell us what the person’s astral sigil looks like

It wasn’t a perfect ie, of course, but I would most likely remember this face, if I saw him--and it wasTia, went looking for a pad of paper Shortly, he sat down and started sketching in quick, bold lines--good on hi this spell would last

As he was putting the finishing touches on the drawing, the creation wavered Tia swayed, and then Eros ca in a wet, sli saltshaker and a bowl of dirty water My friend looked worse for the wear, so I h to know to e

When I returned, she seera, uessed that by the reaction to the water she’d blessed "Magia sangrienta"

Blood ick

That actually helped Certain voodoo traditions used blood, and so did the darkest hermetic traditions Practitioners like my mother never used blood; neither did Tia I also knew of a few shaick, not baneful

Most would laugh at the idea of roups: practitioners, those anted to believe in the paranormal, and those who scoffed at it Skeptics comprised the vast majority; practitioners were rare, and the ones anted to believe or had seen soet lumped in with those who claiovernment had put hardware in their heads to ht Aave us a place to start

Area 51, a ifted community, offered untold resources People there could likely tell me some names of practitioners who could--and would--craft such a special blood-based spell After all, not all sorcerers, witches, and warlocks illing to hire out as ifts

While Tia sipped the hot tea, I cleaned up the mess I was careful not to touch Eros; I merely carried the whole tray to the kitchen and left hi in his low bass ruant Castilian accent, so different from the one I’d picked up here It sounded like he was reassuring her With Tia, he showed gentleness I had never seen from him before, and I made a note to question him about it later