Pet Psychic Mysteries Boxset Books 5-8 (Magic Market Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Johnson (reading diary .TXT) 📗

I smirked, but she kept her nose in the air and ignored his comment. “Like I told you guys, I’ve been invited to join in an exciting new business opportunity.” She grinned and bounced on her toes. “Once you guys see, I’m sure you’re going to want in, too!”

I looked over Heidi’s head and arched a brow at Will. “She’s sure.”

He scoffed. “That makes one of us.”

“Guys, come on!” Heidi let out an annoyed sigh. “This summit is a big deal. They only do it once a year, and people come from all over the kingdoms to attend.”

“And what is this summit exactly?”

Heidi dragged us through the winding path up to the hotel. She hadn’t been able to shut up about the event all week, and I’d assumed a lot of her hype had been exaggerated. When she said a friend of hers couldn’t attend because she’d gotten sick and gave her two extra tickets, Will and I had begrudgingly agreed to go.

But I suddenly felt a bit out of place in my normal torn jeans and faded vintage band tee. This hotel was on a top tier of Bijou Mer, and any place with an entryway this lush and mysterious had to be pretty posh. Could this business opportunity be legit? Should I have—oh, the horror—actually put in some effort?

Heidi’s white heels clicked along the cobblestones, and I had to admit she looked professional in her fitted white dress and white blazer. “The summit is a chance to mingle with fellow entrepreneurs, be inspired by motivational speeches, and get in on the ground floor of one of the fastest growing businesses in the kingdoms.”

Will and I exchanged flat looks.

I nudged Heidi. “How long did it take you to memorize that?”

Will huffed. “Yeah. And why can you remember that, but forget to order more of that enchanted cat food for the clinic, hm?”

Heidi pressed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them and sucked in a sharp breath through her nose. “It’s fine. They told us friends and family probably wouldn’t understand my newfound drive and success.” She shot us sympathetic looks. “It’s understandable that you’re envious.”

Will looked like he was about to spontaneously shift and maul her. I cleared my throat to get his attention, then flashed my eyes at him. Heidi was young and sweet but fairly impressionable. She hadn’t been chewed up and spit out by the world yet like Will and I had.

We emerged from the path with its lush, overhanging trees and bushes and caught our first view of the hotel. A wide courtyard stretched in front of us, a marble fountain spewing water lit gold and silver in the center.

Above it, stone steps led up to the towering building, which looked stately and elegant, all covered in vines. Huge glass doors spilled golden light into the night, glittering chandeliers visible inside. Yeah. My stomach sank. I was definitely underdressed.

But just as I was starting to regret my fashion choices, my eyes landed on the enormous banner hung above the hotel’s entrance.

Welcome to the Potent Potions Third Annual Summit!

I stopped dead, and Heidi and Will came to a jerking halt beside me, our arms still linked.

Muted voices drifted our way, and I spotted a group of women just outside the hotel entrance, pumping signs in their hands, chanting something I couldn’t quite make out. Didn’t need to, though.

I shook my head. “Nuh-uh.”

Heidi cocked her head. “What?”

“Nope.” I pulled my arm free and raised my brows at Will. “Read the banner.”

My friend followed my gaze, squinting to read it. His nostrils flared, and his expression went flat as he turned to Heidi. “This is a Potent Potions event?”

She squared her shoulders. “So?”

I threw an arm toward the hotel and the agitated group of women outside it. “See the group of angry protestors? That should clue you in to what you’ve gotten yourself involved in.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh, goddess. Tell me you haven’t bought into it already.”

Twin pink spots burned on Heidi’s cheeks.

I sighed. “Have fun—I’m going home.” I spun on my heel and marched back the way we’d just come.

2

Pyramid

I was more annoyed with myself than with Heidi for allowing myself to be duped. I stomped away from the fancy hotel and the summit for the less-than-legit company Heidi had invited me to.

It’d been just over a month since I’d confessed the whole of my screwed-up situation to Officer Peter Flint. I’d already told him that I’d been cursed by a jealous former coworker and as a result had lost my magical powers, my career as a lawyer, as well as all my friends and possessions. And Peter had taken it in stride—even got indignant for me.

But I’d finally worked up the courage to tell him the last bit—that I was a shifter and that the curse had reacted to my powers and given me the ability to speak to animals. He’d enjoyed the speaking to animals part, as it allowed me to translate for him and his lie-sniffing canine partner, Daisy. But the shifter thing hadn’t gone down so well.

Magical folk on our island were prejudiced against shifters, and while I’d hoped Peter would be different, it hadn’t turned out that way. As a cop, he’d had enough bad experiences with shifters to make assumptions that we were all the same.

The thing was, while it wasn’t technically illegal to be a shifter, people were allowed to deny shifters housing and jobs for being who we were, and the justice system kept us in a blind spot. Which meant we had to look after our own, and mob boss Ludolf Caterwaul had stepped in to fill the role of king, judge, police, and loan shark for shifters as a whole.

I’d done my best in life to avoid being under his thumb, but working with Peter, a cop, had broken a lot of shifter rules, and