Page 14 of Love Summoned

“You’re going to go back to that inn?” Sloane frowns.

“Why not? It was nice, and the food was good.”

“Count me in.” Celeste smiles. “Apparently the bartender is quite good-looking, too.”

I raise an eyebrow at my sister. “Really?”

“Fine, book me a room,” Sloane calls as she spins on her heel and stomps back down the hallway, avoiding my question.

Not that I mind. If she’s distracted with the bartender, maybe she won’t notice my increasing curiosity about the demon.

7

“I found these for you.” Freddie blows out a breath as he drops three more books on the table.

“Thank you so much.” I smile, then pick up the last of the apple cider doughnut I grabbed from Cupid’s Crumb this morning. Who knew Hemlock was hiding such culinary delights within its cute and cozy streets?

I’ve kept my promise. I haven’t gone near Hemlock Vinyl… I did however accept Freddie’s invitation to get coffee from The Daily Spin during his break earlier. They had apple pie lattes, what was a girl to do—say no? But I was careful. I wore a beanie and chunky scarf, plus my big coat, and I hid behind Freddie as much as I could. I didn’t see Nix at all. Not once in the twenty times I looked over at the record store. I didn’t see any of the demons, but I did ask Freddie about them.

He said they only came to town a few weeks ago. He didn’t know who the previous owners were, in fact he didn’t even remember there being a record store before the hot guys moved in. So in my defense, going over there was a good idea because it confirmed their appearance perfectly lined up with when my visions started.

Ergo, I shouldn’t ignore Nix.

“Is there something specific you’re looking for?” Freddie surveys all the open books in front of me. I’m used to doing research like this. Witch lore is handwritten and passed down to each generation or between covens. If it’s too easily accessible, humans could get to it too. Some things, however, can be found hidden within the lines of history.

I push my magic forward. The same pleasing balm of Freddie’s presence from the first time we met lingers, along with a hint of curiosity. “Freddie, are you someone who believes in the supernatural world?”

“Like ghosts and vampires?”

I cross my arms over the table and lean in closer to him. “Like witches.”

“Oh, of course. My grandmother always said she had the gift of sight, but my dad said they were hallucinations from mixing her antidepressants with her pain meds.”

Interesting. “Okay… well, I’m looking for anything in the town history that suggests witches may have once lived here.”

“You should ask Edith.” Freddie drums his fingers over the table. “She reads tea leaves at Tea Alchemy. She probably knows a bunch about that sort of stuff in Hemlock.”

The tea lady. Of course.

“Freddie, you’re brilliant.” I flip all the books closed as I stand from my seat, then lean over and smack a kiss to his cheek.

“Ohh, say that again,” he croons.

I chuckle as I stack all the books on his cart. “You’re brilliant. Thank you!”

“Happy to help, girl.” He watches as I sling my bag over my shoulder. “You can always make me a love potion as a thank you.”

“I never said I was a witch.” I smirk as I walk backwards toward the front doors.

Freddie props a fist on his hip, making me grin. It’s hard to bring humans into our inner circle, but I think if I were to have a human friend, Freddie would be someone I’d trust.

“I’ll see what I can do.” I wink as I rush out the door and hurry back to Akonyte Kitchen before the sun goes down. I can at least keep one promise to my sister.

That optimism lasted all of twenty minutes.

First, my car died, yet again. Once I made it back to the inn, Tea Alchemy was closed for the day.

It’s a Friday night, so the bar was bursting with people, and both Rowan and Nikita were busy serving. It didn’t feel right interrupting them to ask where I might find Edith.