Blonde With a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

“Test it on something else.”
    “Good idea.” Lily pointed her wand toward the kitchen. “I use this one all the time at work. Tequila smooth and lime so tender, dance a tango in the blender .”
    From the grinding noise that followed, Anica concluded that Lily’s wand worked just fine. Her spell must be wrong. “Can you try another spell?” She was almost afraid to ask, for fear the next chant would be even more embarrassing, but they had to keep trying.
    “Let me see what I can find.” She grabbed the book and flipped through it. “Maybe this one. Mangy cat so discontent, sorry you are impotent. Change thy form and be a gent.”
    Anica groaned. “Do they all have to insult his sexuality?”
    “Actually yes. They recommend getting the transformed being angry, which acts as a kind of catalyst to help reverse the spell. That’s assuming the spell is similar to those in this book. It must not be, since we haven’t changed a whisker on that cat so far.”
    “Can I see the book?”
    “Be my guest.” Lily handed it over.
    Anica read quickly and with increasing despair. “These spells are much more elaborate, involving pieces of hair and stuff. I didn’t do any of that.”
    “Where did you get the spell in the first place?”
    “Remember that old History of Magic text I found in the used bookstore right next to campus?”
    “Not particularly. You were the one who went gaga over that musty old thing, not me.”
    “I’ll go get it.” Anica walked back to the bathroom and returned with the book, which she opened to the page with the incantation on it. “I memorized this for fun back in my freshman year. I thought it sounded cool. I didn’t even know if it would work.”
    Lily came to read over her shoulder. “Anica, there’s no counterspell listed under it.”
    Worry made Anica impatient. “Don’t you think I know that? If there had been one, I’d have used it.”
    “So why did you use a spell with no counterspell?”
    “I forgot it didn’t have one! And the spell was a reflex, something I did without thinking it through, a knee-jerk reaction.”
    “Amazing. That’s so unlike you. He must have been a gold-plated asshole to make you lose it like that.”
    “Well, he was, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be a cat for the rest of his life.”
    “Or that you should lose your magic for the rest of yours.”
    “What?” Anica glanced up at her sister.
    Lily squeezed her shoulder. “I read it in my spell book just now, but I didn’t want to tell you. It said clearly that if a witch or wizard transforms a person into an animal, no matter the reason, they must reverse the spell within ten minutes.”
    “Ten minutes?”
    “That’s all the time they have before they lose their magic abilities. And those abilities won’t be restored until the person is restored to his or her original form.”
    Anica slammed the cover on the History of Magic and laid it on a chair. “Show me where it says that.”
    Lily retrieved her spell book and thumbed through until she found the passage. “Here.”
    Anica’s hands trembled as she took the book and read the passage Lily pointed to. Sure enough, that’s what it said. “No wonder my wands don’t work! My stupid History of Magic might have said something about this little side effect!”
    “I hate to point this out, but it’s a history book, not a spell book. I doubt they expected you to work magic from it.”
    Anica wailed. “I didn’t mean to! It just happened! What are we going to do?”
    “What do you mean we ?”
    Anica had no choice but to humble herself. “I can’t do it by myself. My magic is gone. I need you to help me figure this out, Lily. Please.”
    “How sweet it is. But I don’t seem to have any immediate answers. Maybe we should call in some experts.”
    Anica shook her head so hard she felt like she popped a vertebra in her neck. “I have other references we can consult.” Returning Lily’s book to her, Anica walked over to