I squeaked in surprise.
She turned and put her hand on her chest. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Can I help you?”
My mouth worked for a while before I finally spoke. “How are you doing that?” I lamely made folding gestures.
“Oh, just a little hocus-pocus. Nothing special.” She waved her wand like a conductor, and a couple of mints levitated off the cart and landed gently on the pillows. “Is there anything I can get you? How about a mint?”
She flicked her wand, and it skipped into the air, hovering.
I gingerly plucked it from the air and munched it.
Minty.
Holy crap. Magic was real.
The rational part of my mind—which had been screaming in denial against everything I’d seen over the last twelve hours—finally packed up its bags and went on holiday, leaving the clearly insane part of my mind in the driver’s seat.
I needed something to drink. Probably not alcohol. Espresso.
“Where can I get some decent coffee?” I asked the cleaning lady.
“Try Moon Bean, two blocks south.”
I nodded as if cleaning ladies with telekinetic powers were perfectly normal. “Kay, thanks.”
With that, I locked my room, strolled down the concrete stairs in a bewildered daze, and headed south to Moon Bean.
All around me, the city bustled with signs of magic. A shop selling potions. People with horns. Empty dresses sashaying in store windows. It all meant one thing: what Jaxson had told me was true. Magic. My family. Werewolves.
The hair on my neck stood on end, and I glanced around nervously. They literally could be anywhere. Anyone could be a werewolf. The backwoods couple had looked normal until their eyes turned blood-red and their hands grew claws.
I jogged the last couple of steps to Moon Bean.
As soon as I pushed through the door, the scent of freshly ground coffee and toasted pastries wafted over me. A short, gangly creature with wings pulled a shot of espresso from the machine and then started frothing milk.
I immediately turned away, trying not to hyperventilate. Too much, too soon. Instead, I studied the overhead menu and discretely avoided the creature that was actually making the coffee.
A nerdy kid in a dark yellow apron smiled from behind the counter. “Hi, welcome to Moon Bean. What can I get you today?”
I kept my eyes locked on the menu. “Uh…a latte?”
“Anything else?”
What I needed was information, more than I’d needed anything in my whole life. I could risk making an ass out myself. “So, um, this city is full of magic. And werewolves?”
He blinked. “Yeah. That’s why it’s called Magic Side.”
Right. I met his eyes. “Have you heard of a family called the LaSalles?”
Everyone in the coffeeshop went quiet.
Damn it.
The kid leaned forward and gave me a conspiratorial whisper. “Look, lady, you seem new here, but I wouldn’t go poking into their business unless you want to get cursed. They say one look from Laurel LaSalle can turn a man to stone, and I believe it.”
Okay, dark magic. Check. Jaxson had been telling the truth.
“What about a man named Jaxson Laurent?”