Spell For Sophia by Ariella Moon

and adrenaline-fueled heat flushed my skin. "Wait."
    Yemaya paused and glanced back, her expression a mask of regret and determination. My legs trembled as I stood. "I have a proposition."
     

Chapter Nine
     
    Yemaya sighed and pushed back her sleeve, revealing a copper spiral wrist cuff. "What's your proposition?"
    "We don't know for sure whether voodoo is involved, right?"
    She angled her head at me. "I guess."
    "So help us determine what kind of magic we're dealing with. And in exchange, I will take you to the mall and buy you any pair of boots you want. Your feet can be dry and toasty before the next rain storm."
    "How do you propose I make the determination?"
    "Open the grimoire."
    "Because there is no risk in looking." Sarcasm tinged Yemaya's words. "Didn't the spell book just try to burn down the library?"
    As if on cue, a battalion of firefighters in the main room hustled past the conference room window.
    "Please," Evie pleaded. "We have no one else to turn to."
    Yemaya's shoulders sagged and her eyes rolled upward. "If I open the book and give it a quick glance, you'll buy me any pair of boots I want? No matter the cost?"
    "Yes." I held my breath.
    Yemaya extended her hand. "Okay. Deal."
    I gritted my teeth. My obsessive-compulsive disorder screamed inside my head. Run to the bathroom and wash your hands! Dragon energy crackled down my arm. "Deal." I clasped Yemaya's hand and we both sprung back from the magical jolt.
    "You two okay?" Worry edged Evie's voice.
    "Fine," Yemaya and I said in unison.
    Yemaya lowered her voice. "I can't open the grimoire here. It's too dangerous. Any of you live nearby?"
    "My apartment is within walking distance," Aidan volunteered. "My aunt is attending a lecture in the city, so we're cool."
    My Stone Age flip phone — my punishment for accidentally killing my top-of-the-line smartphone with disinfectant — beeped. I fished it out of my handbag and checked the screen. "Sorry," I told the group. "It's my mother. I need to let her know I'll be a little late."
    I opened the text. May go to a three-twenty movie. Can you finish by two?
    I checked the time. I had about an hour. Sure. Remind me, ok?
    Mom replied: Will do.
    I closed the phone and stashed it in my handbag. When I glanced up, everyone was watching me. "Sorry." I fought back the urge to duck into the restroom and wash my hands. I didn't want to insult Yemaya or give her a chance to change her mind. So I clenched my teeth, retrieved my gloves, and squeezed my germy magic-singed hands into them.
    Everyone stood. I shrugged into my jacket and slung my handbag strap over my head. Salem snatched the tote and cast a squint-eyed, I'm-watching-you glance at Yemaya. Aidan led us out the main entrance. Instead of using the ramp, he clasped Salem's hand and headed for the concrete steps leading to Mount Diablo Boulevard. Right. Left. Sidewalk. We veered left and hiked toward the wood-shingled apartments on Moraga Road.
    When I had attended Carter Middle School, kids from the apartments trended on the social ladder far below the trust-funders from Happy Valley. Sophia had lived in them for a short while and never told anyone but me her address. But when Aidan opened the door to his two-bedroom walk-up, his bearing and broad smile telegraphed tremendous pride.
    "Nice!" Yemaya said as she crossed the threshold and beheld the muted walls and jewel-toned furnishings.
    Guilt tumbled through me. The living room, dining nook, and galley kitchen — all visible once you stepped inside — would have fit inside my bedroom suite. The common rooms had an artistic Morocco-meets-gypsy-caravan vibe. I spotted nearly a dozen colorful accent pillows just in the living room. Above the blue replica Victorian sofa hung a stunning blue-and-purple goddess altar. I made a mental note to discover the artist and pass his or her name on to Aunt Terra.
    "Where should we do this?" Aidan asked.
    "I need to stand. You guys can sit and watch. How about the nook?"