Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(85)

“We may have gotten a break about that other thing.” Edarra glanced at their client, frowning as he tried to catch every word of their conversation.

“Do you need help?”

“One moment.” Edarra hit Mute on her phone. “I know you’ve already paid, but since your cat is healthy again, please show your gratitude by not moving from this spot.”

Eric cradled Kerry—who was affectionately nibbling his shirt—to his chest. “I won’t move an inch.”

“Thanks.” Edarra rushed back in the house. “Jeremy!” she called out.

“Kitchen,” the witch answered.

Edarra followed his voice to a cramped space with every counter covered in dirty dishes.

“They’ve probably been too tired to clean.” Jeremy pointed to a healthy blooming poinsettia sitting on a small window ledge beside brown cacti.

“Is it cursed?”

“Not in the traditional sense. This isn’t aimed at the family. The plant’s job is to sap energy from unlucky buyers and adjust according to strange powers in its presence, like witches or anything not human.” Jeremy shook his head. “It’s sophisticated enough that only a witch looking for this would find it. Most might not realize what was happening to them until it was too late.”

Edarra looked back the way she had come. “Unless they have a poor pet that becomes affected first.”

“Correct.”

Edarra raised the phone to her ear again. “Did you hear all that?”

Clive sighed from the other end. “Yes. What’s the object?”

“A houseplant.”

“Can it be transported safely here?” Clive asked.

Edarra hit Speaker, so Jeremy could hear the knight too. “Clive wants to know if we can move it safely.”

Jeremy frowned. “Yes, but only if we destroy evidence. If we kill the goblin and put this thing in the globe, we can drive it around without problems. But my magic will seep into the spell, affecting it. If whoever this witch is goes to trial, she could say we framed her.”

“Damn,” Clive said with the sound of drawers closing in the background.

“What’s the unsafe way?” Edarra asked.

“One of us holds it in the backseat, so it’s at least some distance from the driver,” Jeremy explained.

“I’ll do it.” Edarra picked up the Christmas plant and began walking to the car without looking back at Jeremy. When she stepped outside, Eric still stood where he had been told to stay, and his cat rested on his shoulder. “Do you know where this plant was purchased?”

Eric scratched his head. “My mom got it from some truck parked at a gas station that’s connected to McDonald’s about half a mile that way,” he said while pointing down the road.

“Tell your parents not to buy any more, and give us a ring if you see the person who sold it,” Jeremy said as he unlocked his car doors. “One of us will call again today to ask for more details.” He hurried and got in the car.

Edarra climbed in the backseat. She clicked the Off button on her phone, but nothing happened. Edarra looked at the screen, and it was already black. Hm, I don’t even feel anything. If she hadn’t had the phone fully charged, she would have thought it was her imagination. She held the plant on her lap, and Jeremy drove away from the curb quickly. He must be driving fast for my sake. “You don’t have to kill us to get to the office. I can take whatever this energy-sucking plant can throw at me.” That’s what I’ve always been able to do no matter how I’ve failed; I can be strong.

At first, Edarra held the plant high on her knees, but halfway to the office, she noticed that her grip kept lowering. To do this to an Amazon was extraordinary. “You could probably kill an auditorium filled with people, and not one would notice their life was in danger until it was too late. If there are other poinsettias like this, it’s a big problem.” Edarra’s head drooped, and she shook her head.

“It’s working faster on you because it senses you’re not human,” Jeremy said, checking on her in the rearview mirror. His gaze flicked to her and back to the road several times.

“Don’t stop the car.” Edarra’s words slurred, but she didn’t loosen her grip.

“I would never defy an Amazon,” Jeremy said and pushed his foot harder on the accelerator.

Her eyes almost closed again, but a sharp keening jerked her alert. “What’s that sound?”

“I don’t hear anything.”

“It sounds like….” Edarra tilted her head to the side so she could make it out. The sound was closer the lower she moved her head. She frowned at the goblin locked in the globe. “Ah. The goblin isn’t a happy camper.”

“Its energy is probably being drained too,” Jeremy said. “I have a protection spell on the engine, but I only have it on the front of the car.”

Obedient without question and thoughtful. We should be in more dangerous situations. The scenery outside her window became a blur, so Edarra focused on the gray seat covering in front of her to stay conscious. Edarra had no idea the car had stopped moving until Jeremy opened her door with a worried Clive standing next to him.

Clive stretched his arms out with a large pot of soil in them. “Place the plant in here.”