Long Hot Summoning by Tanya Huff Read Free Book Online Page A

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    There!” Her eyes snapped open and she pointed across the concourse to Heaven Sent Cards and Gifts. “Whatever I’m picking up, is in there.”
    “Overpriced ceramic angels?” Claire stared at the storefront in dismay. “Lots and lots of overpriced ceramic angels?”
    “They’re not angels,” Sam sniffed, whiskers bristling. “They’re cherubs.
    Useless little twerps in the heavenly scheme of things.”
    “Well, it’s not them.” Diana crossed to the store, her soles squeaking faintly against the tile. The moment she stepped onto the dark gray carpet, the feeling strengthened, and she turned to face the cash desk. “It’s over there.” A quick glance showed Claire and the cats had followed her across the concourse and were standing just off the edge of the carpet. “I’ll deal with this while you guys search the rest of the store, just in case. And Sam, do not spray those angels.”
    “Cherubs,” he muttered, trying to look as though he hadn’t been about to lift his tail.
    Claire reached out and poked him lightly with her foot. “Come on. We’ll start at the back and work our way forward.”
    When Diana turned to face the cash desk again, the heavily- mascaraed teenager standing behind it was watching her in some confusion.
    “Who was she talking to?” she asked, gesturing in the general direction Claire had taken. “If somebody sprays those angels they’re, like, going to have to pay for them, you know.”
    Closing the distance between them, Diana smiled at her. “Please, don’t worry about it.”
    “Okay.” She nodded slowly, looking slightly stoned and remarkably happy.
    Looking, as it happened, very much like she was never going to worry about anything ever again.
    “Oops.” Apparently, her power problems hadn’t been solved by moving off reserve status. Reaching out carefully, Diana tweaked things, just a little, and was relieved to see a frown line reappear.
    “If you’re looking for something, I can’t, like, leave the cash desk, so you’ll have to find it yourself.”
    “Not a problem.” There were a dozen tubs, boxes, and spinners of impulse kitsch nearly covering the glass counter. If customers actually wanted to buy an item larger than a foot square, they were out of luck. Problem was, in a dozen containers of assorted bits and pieces, the thing she sensed could be ...
    In the tub of magic wands.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    The clerk blinked and focused. Lips almost as pale as the surrounding skin twitched. “Kids love these.”
    “I’m sure.” Especially if they get one that actually works.
    The wands were about eight inches long; a hollow tube of clear Lucite partially filled with a metallic or neon sparkling gel and topped with a plastic star the same color. The fourth one Diana pulled from the tub jerked in her hand, rearranging a display of ‘flower of the month’ tea cups into a significantly larger porcelain cherub. She was beginning to understand why Sam disliked the things. A quick flick of the wand changed it back.
    “What was that?” the clerk demanded, whirling around toward the sound of metal ringing against china.

    “Falling halo,” Diana told her, continuing to pull wands out of the tub.
    “What?”
    “Forget about it. Specifically, about it,” she added hurriedly, heading off inadvertent amnesia.
    “Forget about what?”
    Nothing like a cliché to measure effectiveness. “Exactly.” The remainder of the wands were no more than they appeared.
    “I’ll take this one.”
    “Whatever. That’ll be twelve ninety-five. Plus tax.”
    “Fourteen ninety-four/‘ Diana complained, showing Claire the wand. ”For a piece of plastic crap.“
    Claire stepped aside so that the neon pink star no longer pointed directly at her-she’d seen what had happened to the cups and had no wish to suddenly acquire a useless pair of wings and a winsomely blank expression. “Not a bad price for a working wand, though.”
    “And the plastic crap was