Spell For Sophia by Ariella Moon Page A

Yemaya asked.
    "Sure," Aidan replied.
    We gathered around the small table with its faded jewel-toned patchwork scarf edged in imitation crystal beads. Aidan removed a potted poinsettia and Salem placed the black tote in the center of the table. I draped my jacket and handbag over the chair next to Yemaya. Evie perched on the mismatched seat beside me and slid her laptop and purse under the chair. Aidan rotated the seat on Yemaya's left and swung his leg over it cowboy style. Salem frowned as she claimed the chair between Aidan and Evie.
    "Now what?" Evie asked.
    "I assume the spell book zapped the electrical outlet in the library?" Yemaya said.
    "As soon as we pulled the book from the tote," Evie said. The five of us swiveled in our chairs, locating the nearest electrical outlets.
    "Don't do anything that will get us evicted," Aidan warned.
    Yemaya rubbed her palms together. "Of course not."
    Aidan fingered his frayed cloth bracelet.
    Yemaya extracted from her hippie bag a fan made of black feathers and several bags of chamomile tea. "You can scoot back if you want," she told Evie.
    Evie blushed two shades deeper than her strawberry-blond hair, but held her ground. I felt the dragon shift so it stood behind both of us. I was tempted to glance sideways at it, but a voice sounded a warning inside my head. Do, and it will disappear. I focused instead on Yemaya.
    Yemaya swept the feather whisk across the black canvas, then flipped over the tote and swept it again. Next she tore open the tea bags.
    "Do you want some salt?" Aidan asked.
    "We tried salt, remember?" Evie said. "It didn't work."
    "Kosher, no iodine?" Yemaya asked without looking up.
    "I'll check."
    Yemaya crushed the dried flower heads between her forefinger and thumb then strewed them in a wide circle around the tote. The sweet scent of apples rose from the circle.
    While Aidan disappeared into the galley kitchen, I pulled off my leather gloves. He returned in a moment and handed Yemaya a blue container. "It's not kosher, but it's iodine-free."
    "Close enough." Yemaya created an outer ring of salt.
    "Why two circles?" Salem asked.
    "You'll see." Yemaya touched the necklaces she wore over her layered tops — a Victorian-looking cameo with a slate blue background and garnets; a light blue stone reminiscent of the sea; and a shiny black stone, either onyx or jet — on a long cord. Glancing around the table, she exhaled a long breath.
    "What are you going to do?" Evie asked.
    Yemaya rubbed salt between her palms. "Exactly what I promised. Extract the spell book and see what it contains." She sketched symbols in the air above the tote while she sang in a surprisingly pure, sweet voice. I strained to make out the words — a beguiling mixture of French and maybe Swahili. The dragon energy swayed behind me.
    I held my breath as Yemaya reached across the ring of salt. Her singing broke for a few seconds and I thought she might have been zapped. Determination glinted in her eyes. She resumed singing. The French and African chant grew louder, the cadence more urgent. Her hand snaked across the circle of chamomile. If magic zapped her, she didn't react. She snagged the tote's zipper and slowly retracted it.
    Evie inched back her chair. Aidan and Salem stiffened like wary wolves. Yemaya's song swelled. Barehanded, she eased the grimoire onto the table. I tightened my grip on my gloves.
    The odor of fried shrimp and backwater oozed from the grimoire in a cloying mist. I pushed back my chair, tensed, ready to duck. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Evie point a warning finger at the spell book. The grimoire remained closed, but the pages fluttered.
    Yemaya raised one hand heavenward and aimed the other at the spell book. She invoked an unfamiliar name. Then, striking like a cobra, she flipped open the grimoire. The room erupted with exotic bird twitters and shrills. With three flutters of the black feather whisk, she banished the mist. I shifted to the edge of my seat and peered