Any Witch Wolf: The Smokethorn Paranormals Series Book 2 by C.P. Rider

Author:C.P. Rider [Rider, C.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: VC Group, LLC
Published: 2025-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

A shower, a change of clothes, and some brow pencil scribbles later, I sat at my breakfast table and bit into a flaky, buttery biscuit. Since I’d already had coffee, I’d poured myself a glass of water. Ida drew condensation circles on her glass of iced mint tea.

“It was an accident. I was walking past, and the little one called out to me. I couldn’t resist touching her power with mine.” Ida gave me a sad look. “I should’ve told you right away, and I’m sorry about that. I’d hoped that my going to the beach for a couple of days would help, but obviously it didn’t.”

“No, she just went into hiding under Mom’s house.” I rolled my shoulders. The tingling feeling under my skin hadn’t gone completely away, but it was fading.

She sighed. “How much do you suppose a Mictlan mandrake costs?”

I’d replanted the mandrake in a six-inch clay pot along with a rosemary cutting I’d been planning to move to one of my larger containers. The screaming plant had seemed fond of the herb—though not as fond as she was of Ida. The little weirdo kept making soft eyes at my bestie from her terracotta perch at the end of the table.

“A lot. But we’ll figure it out. My demonic belladonna plant is doing very well. Sexton’s expressed an interest in purchasing some, so we could probably work out a deal.”

“Homesickness tea,” she said.

“Yes,” I said, surprised. When I’d mentioned it last month, Sexton had made me think it was unusual for anyone to know that demons used belladonna to combat homesickness. “How did you know that?”

“Remember, Sexton and I were once friends—as much as his kind and mine can be,” she said without looking up from her glass.

Sexton hadn’t allowed Ida to escort her lover Anita to the other side, claiming that by the time Ida arrived, Anita was already too far gone. That to pull her back would be cruel. Gravedigger demons protected the souls of the dead and most wouldn’t allow a necromancer within a mile of their land. That Sexton had allowed Ida limited access for a time had been a revelation to me.

She was still angry, and Sexton was still unhappy with her, but they’d called an uneasy truce because of me. I hated to also be the reason that truce might be broken.

“I’ll talk to him. The last time he was here he had to use his Persephone’s Ear to save my life. The way things are going lately, he should probably start a tab for me.”

Ida smiled.

I smiled.

“It’ll be okay,” I said. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks, Betty.” She tapped fluorescent green-and-pink fingernails on the table. The mandrake watched her hand, seeming transfixed by the bright polish.

“You don’t mind taking care of her, do you?”

Gods, I hoped not. When Ida had attempted to leave her behind, the mandrake had let out a squall that threatened to break all the windows in the garden room. Hence the travel pot.

“No. She’ll be nice company. What does she eat?”

“Bugs, worms, and different types of organic matter, I believe.

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