Spells on Shelves

Chapter 21 || Charisma Elixir

It was still early morning and yet Taji and Kai were already hatching something up. They were tasked to—once again—clean up the latest mess in the storage, which they did while discussing something of seemingly utmost importance in hushed voices. Whenever I rounded a corner, the whispers stopped and Kai dropped random remarks about the weather.

This time, I pulled the shop's ward around me, masking my footsteps as I approached. I found them crouched low before the arcane section staring at three pink potions.

"Pink would suit him much better," Taji remarked, lifting one of them. "Wanna bet how many it'll take?"

"Are you nuts?" Kai hissed. "Jade's gonna be pissed."

"You're no fun." Taji clicked his tongue. "She'd never—"

"I'd never what?" I cut in, stepping up behind them, unable to suppress a grin as they both jumped straight into the air.

Startling a shapeshifter never got old—until Kai tumbled into the shelf which threatened to topple over. He quickly reached out to steady it.

"Jade!" Taji exclaimed. "How are you...here?" He shifted, blocking the potions they'd picked out from view.

"You mean at the shop I run?" I replied dryly. "You're not up to anything illegal, are you?"

Kai quickly shook his head. "We're not spiking anyone's drink, I promise."

"So you're planning to make someone drink that?"

"N-no," Kai stammered, avoiding my gaze. I didn't need a Veritas Potion to know he was lying.

A Veritas Potion.

That was it. If I slipped Livvy a few drops—no. I discarded the idea right away. They were for interrogating criminals. We didn't have any, and using one felt like an invasion of privacy. People under its influence usually revealed far more than necessary.

Taji straightened. "It's not illegal if the prick is gonna drink it willingly."

Prick, huh? So this was about Nathanial.

"I'm sorry," I said, "but I can't support your feud with Sebastian's brother."

Kai clenched his jaw. "It's not about that. He should know how to keep his mouth shut sometimes."

If even Kai was angry...

"Did he disrespect Rina?" Both boys wouldn't meet my eyes. Ah. "Me?"

Kai's answer was to glower at a box of gems, mumbling something incoherent.

Taji flashed an evil grin. "It's nothing really. Dear Nate clearly lacks basic understanding of magic, so we thought a little demonstration was necessary—purely for...um...educational purposes."

By turning him pink, huh?

I weaved around Taji and inspected the potions. Serenity Brew, Charisma Elixir, and Glimmerbrew—they'd either tranquilize Nate, boost his popularity, or give him an instant glow-up.

A rush of energy flooded my body as a thought struck me. Most people wanted to help others, right?

Drinking Charisma Elixir would make me more likable, so it might be just the push I needed to ask some questions without raising any red flags. Totally legal since it didn't force anyone to spill secrets.

What was the harm of a little popularity boost? It was worth a shot.

But first I had to help the kids with their own shenanigans. If Marietta could sneak Dream Elixirs into people's drinks, then I could certainly turn a bratty shapeshifter pink. That would teach them not to mess with me for a while.