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“Yeah, we do,” she adrew up together so it’s no big deal”

I try not tonaked around people is not formy creepy born-with-it fused-to-my-flesh navelstone to anyone Not even a foster sister

I look at India with interest She is fostered I had been adopted and ended up living with people who hated me I wonder if India and Rachel’s experience was similar to mine They’re lucky to have each other

“Does your landlord live in your house too?” India says “Ours lives on the top floor Skeezy git He’s got a pad up there to himself but he still likes to share the shoith the tenants”

I grimace “At least I don’t have to deal with that”

I put book away, and walk out from behind the counter “You can come this way”

I h the non-existent wall She takes a few h, her hands stretched out before her as if to es on the other side, inside the hidden roo astonished

“You look like I felt my first time,” I tell her

“Wow I’ve heard about , but when you actually see it, it’s crazy,” she says “Gosh Do I sound like a country bumpkin to you?”

“You sound how I feel I hope you don’t , but aren’t you a olf? Aren’t you used to this kind of thing?”

The smile fades from her face and now she looks a little wary “How did you know?”

“Sorry I just took a guess I think you smelled my cat before you saw her”

“You’re perceptive I suppose you have to be, working in a ic shop and all?”

She is gazing around at the merchandise as if she doesn’t knohere to start This part of the store is larger than the front We have jewelry and a ton of books here too, but they are better cared for and are definitely not the ordinary kind

In addition we have artifacts in showcases, a large selection of crystals, soanic spell ingredients, and s besides Our toys for faly popular, and witches and wizards love to browse the bottles and jars of potions and concoctions that they tell e spell book Lately the defensive an have been flying off the shelves