it.”
“I will do no such thing.”
“Come on. The Black Plague would totally slay the Slayer.”
“You realize you’re now speaking about yourself in the third person.”
“And?” she said. “I never said I wasn’t weird.”
His low chuckle blended with the hum of the engine as he turned into the lot and parked. Alex jumped out of the car, practically drooling from the olfactory overload of cakes, cookies, chocolates, and other tasty sweets. He’d brought them to Madam Meringue’s House of Chocolate.
Madam Meringue was a mage with an almost divine ability to mix potions—or in this case, chocolate. She was the undisputed champion of Magical Sciences. Every magic company wanted to hire her. Every magic university had tried to recruit her. Even the Magic Council had made her a prestigious offer. She’d turned them all down.
When the supernaturals had started flocking to Zurich, Madam Meringue had found herself a nice lakeside chocolate factory to buy. They hadn’t wanted to sell, but she’d made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. She was convinced that, with a little touch of magic, she could make the world’s best chocolate. It hadn’t taken long for the world to agree.
Now, Madam Meringue’s House of Chocolate was the name for top-of-the-line chocolate. She had magic-kissed chocolate for the human masses, but it was her specialty line that attracted the supernaturals in droves.
“This is so amazing,” Alex said, pulling out her phone. “Epic even.” She snapped a photo of the huge dragon-shaped balloon bobbing beside the entrance.
Logan watched her with perplexed amusement. “I had no idea you were such a fan.”
“I’m always a fan of chocolate. Especially good chocolate.” She spotted a life-sized unicorn balloon with ‘Madam Meringue’s House of Chocolate’ printed on the side. “And most especially chocolate for breakfast. Or lunch.” Click. “But these photos aren’t for me. They’re for my brother. He’s the Madam Meringue fan.” She took a shot of the enormous chocolate ball balloon. “He’s studying Magical Sciences at SFUMAS.”
“Snafu?”
“Funny.”
She snapped a shot of him standing under the goofy chocolate ball. If he annoyed her too much, she might decide to post it on the internet later. Maybe even as a comment to his profile on the Assassins List website. ‘Death by chocolate. Deadly assassin Slayer will kill you with a taste.’ Yeah, that should send the right kind of traffic his way.
“SFUMAS,” Alex repeated. “San Francisco University of Magical Arts and Sciences. Riley is a whizz at the Magical Sciences, and Madam Meringue is his hero. He will be positively stoked when I show him these photos. Wait, a second.” She handed Logan her phone. “Here, get a photo of me next to the dragon. Otherwise, he’ll never believe I was actually here.”
Logan shook his head in disbelief but snapped the shot anyway. “This proves nothing. You could have just photoshopped yourself in.”
“That requires a subtlety Riley knows I do not possess. Why do you think I carry around a sword? I’m blunt, and I like fast results.”
“You said it, not I.”
Alex took the phone back and tucked it into her leather jacket. She was really starting to question if the all-leather ensemble was such a great idea after all. Sure, she looked badass, but she was starting to sweat. The sun was nearly overhead, so it would only get worse from here on out. Of course, she usually didn’t wear such things during the day. When she’d put it on and gone out last night, she hadn’t done so with the intention of getting drugged and abducted.
“Has anyone ever looked into why a Magical Sciences ‘whizz’ has two sisters who claim to be magic duds?” Logan asked.
“What’s your point?”
“It doesn’t add up is my point. Magic runs in families.”
“But not everyone in a magic family is equally powerful. And sometimes there’s a member or two without any magic
“I will do no such thing.”
“Come on. The Black Plague would totally slay the Slayer.”
“You realize you’re now speaking about yourself in the third person.”
“And?” she said. “I never said I wasn’t weird.”
His low chuckle blended with the hum of the engine as he turned into the lot and parked. Alex jumped out of the car, practically drooling from the olfactory overload of cakes, cookies, chocolates, and other tasty sweets. He’d brought them to Madam Meringue’s House of Chocolate.
Madam Meringue was a mage with an almost divine ability to mix potions—or in this case, chocolate. She was the undisputed champion of Magical Sciences. Every magic company wanted to hire her. Every magic university had tried to recruit her. Even the Magic Council had made her a prestigious offer. She’d turned them all down.
When the supernaturals had started flocking to Zurich, Madam Meringue had found herself a nice lakeside chocolate factory to buy. They hadn’t wanted to sell, but she’d made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. She was convinced that, with a little touch of magic, she could make the world’s best chocolate. It hadn’t taken long for the world to agree.
Now, Madam Meringue’s House of Chocolate was the name for top-of-the-line chocolate. She had magic-kissed chocolate for the human masses, but it was her specialty line that attracted the supernaturals in droves.
“This is so amazing,” Alex said, pulling out her phone. “Epic even.” She snapped a photo of the huge dragon-shaped balloon bobbing beside the entrance.
Logan watched her with perplexed amusement. “I had no idea you were such a fan.”
“I’m always a fan of chocolate. Especially good chocolate.” She spotted a life-sized unicorn balloon with ‘Madam Meringue’s House of Chocolate’ printed on the side. “And most especially chocolate for breakfast. Or lunch.” Click. “But these photos aren’t for me. They’re for my brother. He’s the Madam Meringue fan.” She took a shot of the enormous chocolate ball balloon. “He’s studying Magical Sciences at SFUMAS.”
“Snafu?”
“Funny.”
She snapped a shot of him standing under the goofy chocolate ball. If he annoyed her too much, she might decide to post it on the internet later. Maybe even as a comment to his profile on the Assassins List website. ‘Death by chocolate. Deadly assassin Slayer will kill you with a taste.’ Yeah, that should send the right kind of traffic his way.
“SFUMAS,” Alex repeated. “San Francisco University of Magical Arts and Sciences. Riley is a whizz at the Magical Sciences, and Madam Meringue is his hero. He will be positively stoked when I show him these photos. Wait, a second.” She handed Logan her phone. “Here, get a photo of me next to the dragon. Otherwise, he’ll never believe I was actually here.”
Logan shook his head in disbelief but snapped the shot anyway. “This proves nothing. You could have just photoshopped yourself in.”
“That requires a subtlety Riley knows I do not possess. Why do you think I carry around a sword? I’m blunt, and I like fast results.”
“You said it, not I.”
Alex took the phone back and tucked it into her leather jacket. She was really starting to question if the all-leather ensemble was such a great idea after all. Sure, she looked badass, but she was starting to sweat. The sun was nearly overhead, so it would only get worse from here on out. Of course, she usually didn’t wear such things during the day. When she’d put it on and gone out last night, she hadn’t done so with the intention of getting drugged and abducted.
“Has anyone ever looked into why a Magical Sciences ‘whizz’ has two sisters who claim to be magic duds?” Logan asked.
“What’s your point?”
“It doesn’t add up is my point. Magic runs in families.”
“But not everyone in a magic family is equally powerful. And sometimes there’s a member or two without any magic
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