“Sorry about the smell,” Tilly said, looking a little embarrassed. “My boss – the owner – he likes his green. I mean, it’s kind of handy because it means he doesn’t notice I’m running my own gig out of his shop.”
“Doesn’t bother me,” Jesse grinned.
“I bet it doesn’t,” Chloe said tartly, but she elbowed her brother, and they shared a knowing smile.
“It’s just a plant!” Jesse said, his hands raised in surrender. “And it can be beneficial for trance work—”
“Don’t do that, Jesse,” Tilly said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Can’t you tell she’s freaking out enough here?”
“I’m not freaking out!” Chloe said quickly. “Just want to get this sorted, so I can get on with work.”
“It’s okay if you’re freaking out,” Jesse said. “You’re allowed to. It’s pretty gnarly, getting hit with a random curse.”
Once again, Maxwell wondered if Chloe would correct her brother.
“I’m not freaking out,” she said again, frowning. “Let’s just get this done, okay?”
And while Chloe might not be all that much fun – at least compared to Maxwell’s usual friends – he couldn’t help admiring her fortitude.
“If you want to sit—” Tilly indicated the tatty sofa.
Maxwell sat down, thinking how much less comfortable and pleasant this sofa was than the squashy armchairs in Chloe’s office. Looking awkward, Chloe sat beside him, leaving a gap as though eager to ensure she didn’t sit any closer than was necessary. He probably deserved that.
“So what do we need to—”
“Just sit quietly,” Tilly said, and she pulled a long, thin silver wand from her pocket. “I need to concentrate.” Maxwell watched as she lit a stick of something that smelled better than her boss’s favourite herb, and thick yellow smoke began to fill the room.
Chloe coughed beside him but covered her mouth and sat up straight, her hands in her lap, as though determined to be an ideal patient.
Tilly raised her arm, arcing the wand through the air over their heads. Immediately, a whirling mass of coloured lines appeared around them like a rainbow net; green, purple, orange, and black. Chloe let out a gasp of surprise but covered her mouth again.
Tilly poked at the lines with the wand, frowning and chewing on her lip. “It’s not the Curse of Charred Flesh,” she said, and Maxwell was relieved to hear that. He hadn’t considered the possibility of charred flesh, and from Chloe’s anxious twitch beside him, she hadn’t either.
“Not the Hex of Everlasting Insomnia,” she went on, curling one of the rope-like light strings around her wand. Damn, he couldn’t blame his sleeplessness on the curse. “Or that one that gives you carnivorous tentacles.”
Chloe twitched beside him, and Maxwell was surprised to see her suppressing a laugh. He supposed carnivorous tentacles were kind of funny.
Tilly stood above them, muttering and twisting the strands for what felt like a long time. Finally, she stood back, waving the wand once more, and the rope-like strands disappeared.
“It’s the Hedgehog Hex!” Tilly declared triumphantly. “I’ve never seen it before, but I’ve read about it.”
“The Hedgehog Hex?” Maxwell chuckled. “Are we meant to be worried? It sounds kind of adorable.”
“It’s considerably less adorable than it sounds. If we can’t break the curse before the next New Moon, you grow spines. Poisonous spines all over your body. Especially your face.”
“Oh. That’s not cute at all,” Maxwell looked at Chloe, who was wide-eyed.
“No, not really,” Tilly frowned. “Sorry.”
“I haven’t heard of that one,” Jesse interrupted from where he was leaning against the wall. “How does it work? How the hell did Chloe end up getting it?”
“Well…” Tilly looked like she was choosing her words carefully. “It’s activated when the person who’s been cursed has a heart full of lustful desire and they touch the object of their attraction.”
“What?!” Jesse looked explosive. “Chloe, what the hell? Since when are you shagging random vampires?”
“I didn’t shag him!” Chloe jumped up from the sofa, distancing herself from Maxwell to prove her point. “Nothing happened! We shook hands, and the curse went off!”
“That would fit the definition of touch,” Tilly said. “A handshake would be enough.”
“So it was you, then!” Jesse rounded on Maxwell. “Looking at my sister with a heart full of lustful desire?”
“I didn’t mean to—” Maxwell began, looking at Chloe, who had turned an interesting shade of pink. “Just because I’m undead, it doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate an attractive woman.”
“It’s kind of a compliment, really,” Tilly interjected. “Maxwell must have really been attracted to Chloe to set the curse off.”
That was not helpful. Not even slightly.