Binding Magic (An Obscure Magic Book 7) by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page A

magical supply shop and that would take up most of her next two weeks.
    She loved playing with the ingredients. It was a chance to work on a few new personal spells that needed tweaking.
    Minerva knew that she needed to write a thank you letter to Norman, but she would have to work out what she wanted to say. That was going to take some thought.
    She grabbed her purse and her keys, heading to her small car. It would be a short drive to the shop.
     
    Two weeks later, she was working in Sawberry’s Magical Supplies when a familiar face came through the door.
    Minerva grinned.
    Sophy looked surprised. “Minerva? What are you doing here?”
    Minerva smirked. “Oh, Tabeel drank some of her own tea and had to check into the medical centre. She will be fine as soon as she stops burping up fortune-telling bubbles.”
    Sophy looked at her and grinned. “When is she going to learn that she can’t try her own concoctions?”
    Minerva shrugged and turned to lift a wide box up and over her head.
    The man with Sophy moved swiftly and helped her set it in place. Minerva looked up at him. “Well, hello. Friend of Sophia’s, I presume?”
    “You could say that. She is responsible for me.” He smiled down at her with predatory interest. “However, if I had known that there was an enchantress such as yourself behind that wall, I would have beaten it down for the honour of your greeting.”
    Sophia rolled her eyes on the other side of the counter, and Minerva grinned. “You are not from around here, are you?”
    “No. I am not. I am a very recent arrival, sworn to the service of the Cursed One.”
    Sophy snorted. “Nothing like the word Cursed to make a girl feel special.”
    He moved from behind the counter and returned to her side. “That is not what I meant.”
    “You are bound to me. I get it. Now, Minerva, can you help me out?”
    Minerva held out her hand. “Give me the list, and I will tell you what is and isn’t in stock.”
    “They should all be fairly standard.”
    Sophy retrieved the list from her ample cleavage and handed it over.
    Minerva looked at the list and was amused by the male’s attempt at chitchat.
    “How long have you known each other?”
    Sophy snorted. “She is too young for you, Magnus.”
    “No. It just seems that you have a camaraderie that is surprising, considering what you are and what she is.”
    “What? That I am over a decade older than she is? Or is it that I tear magic apart and she creates it?”
    As Minerva gathered items, he asked, “You don’t know what her parentage is?”
    She paused. She hadn’t told anyone about it. It was just her and her mom. She hadn’t even told Lenora yet.
    Minerva focused on her job in the shop as she retrieved and weighed the list, piece by piece. Each item was placed carefully on a separate piece of tissue that would keep them from interacting before it was time. It wouldn’t do to muddle the spell before it started.
    Minerva tapped the list over and over as she returned to them. “You just need one thing.”
    Sophy looked at the list and blushed. “Right. I have that at home.”
    “Thought you might but wasn’t sure if it was still good.” Minerva folded the list with a smile. “Well, everything else is here.”
    She packed the items up, one by one, until she had a large bag and a smile. “Nineteen, please.”
    Sophy reached into her purse and pulled out a small coin canister. She opened one end and poured out the nineteen gold coins. “There you are. Tabeel should be happy. I think I just paid her rent for a month.”
    “Or, it will pay for her medical treatment. Either way, she will be happy. Have a great day, and we need to go for coffee at the Patchwork Dragon. It’s illuminating.”
    Sophy grinned, and her eyes brightened with excitement. “Now that he isn’t occupying it, my phone is at your disposal. Call me anytime. I will be only too happy to meet up. This is my first week off in years.”
    It was about the only thing that could