Eileen Lepetit

CHAPTER 9 Nick’s eyes practically pop out of his head when he sees me come into the shop with Lucas. It takes the two of us some time to get there, of course, what with washing the blood off our skin, concealing weapons, and whipping up a spell from the grimoire to cancel out the carpet stain. By the time we finally enter the shop, he and Antonio are seated at the counter, heads together, poring over the encyclopedia-sized coffee menu. While Nick shouts out an enthusiastic greeting, he is looking past me at the stranger by my side. To be fair, Lucas is looking pretty good for a guy who was dead not twenty minutes ago. I would probably stare too if we weren’t bound by blood. Also, there is the fact that Nick has never seen me hanging out with a guy other than himself. It’s a lot of surprises for one evening. “Hey, Nick. Antonio. This is Lucas. He’s working here at the shop.” Nick’s body language relaxes as he realizes I haven’t been holding out on him. “I was just showing him around.”...

CHAPTER 8 Lucas not only forces a promise out of me, but he gets me to agree to go downstairs for food - and air and light. My room was becoming a tomb. Before pulling on my boots and following him out, I take a glance down at the still open grimoire. The pages have shifted again, this time landing on a helpful healing spell, something for closing wounds. I take a quick glance, close the cover, and shove it under my pillow. Downstairs, the shop is in its sleepy Saturday afternoon rhythm. Customers are settled into their usual spots on the mismatched, haunted house-vibe furniture. A group of students sit on either side of a low table, textbooks and laptops spread out between them, mugs and glasses filling the few free spaces. Other people sit alone or in pairs in the different corners, talking, reading. One couple is all over each other on the red Victorian sofa in the corner. I start to wrinkle my nose at the excessive contact and consider how to disinfect the area when I notice someth...

CHAPTER 7 Being the Powerful One comes with perks, not the least of which is I don’t have to work the shop this morning. Nana figures I’ve been through enough and gives me the space to absorb the events of the past few hours. I hide in my room, rubbing my thumb across the palm of my hand. Like most magical things, the results of what we’ve done are not predictable and whereas I would have thought a gash like that would require some serious bandages, there’s only a faint pink mark where the blade was dragged across my skin. Being bound to Lucas is a lot like an arranged marriage: I barely know the guy, I’m not sure I would have anything to to do with him if I did, but here we are, inextricably attached to one another. This isn’t his first trip to the altar, of course, and he seems to know exactly how I feel because he makes himself scarce with just a reminder that if I need him, he’ll know and be there right away. Without sufficient sleep, I drown myself in caffeinated beverages. The ...

As I have often mentioned on social media, I was poor for the majority of my life. It wasn't fun (sometimes it was a bit terrifying) but I did learn a lot of lessons. One of the things I learned was that you can get by while owning very little. This is especially true in the kitchen. There are SO MANY gadgets available - and you don't need 3/4 of them in order to be a great cook. Sure, some of them will make your life easier, but they are not essential. Today, I am posting a recipe for my daughter's birthday favorite, apple pie. It requires very few ingredients, no special kitchen tools, and it is still delicious! You don't even really have to know anything about baking. The first thing to do is take a shortcut and buy yourself a prepared crust. Don't I know how to make one? Of course. I used to mix up the ingredients with my fingers and now, have been graced with a food processor that does it for me. Even so, I still generally just buy the Pillsbury crusts th...