Enchantress Under Pressure: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Arcane Artisans Book 2) by A. C. Spahn

Author:A. C. Spahn [Spahn, A. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sealook Press
Published: 2019-06-05T16:00:00+00:00

The next day, Desmond picked me up for work with a fistful of fake flowers. I raised them to my nose and took an exaggerated sniff. “Mmm. Plastic.”

“I thought you might like something you can use in one of your projects rather than some dead plants.”

“Thoughtful.”

At Crafter’s Haven, we opened up shop, raising the blinds and turning the hand-painted door sign. Desmond turned on the playlist of songs by local artists and went through the aisles straightening shelves while I checked my project list in my workspace to see how far behind I’d fallen on my orders. Desmond hummed softly as he worked. He had a lovely singing voice, though he’d die of embarrassment if I ever told anyone. Warm sunlight seeped through the windows, brightening the colors of the murals on the walls and soothing the aches lingering in my body. Sandalwood, fresh paper, paint, yarn, and sawdust scents mingled in the ever-present aroma that heralded art. I watched Desmond out of the corner of my eye as he finished tidying an endcap display of foam board and little figurines for the annual school projects of building California mission models. He didn’t act like a man who’d volunteered to drop his life to run away with me. But then, he expected us to win. To beat back the cult and continue our comfortable routine for the rest of our lives.

“Let’s make that happen,” I murmured to myself. Picking up my phone, I resumed calling paint companies, investigating the vision the dead boy had left me as his final act.

While placing calls, I set about catching up on my projects for customers. One was a joint project with Desmond for a customer who wanted a wooden sign for his yard: “Abandon all hope, ye who solicit here.” Desmond had done the carving, and I was going to burn the letters to make them stand out before I would stain and varnish the whole thing. Besides that, a college sorority wanted matching t-shirts with custom spray-paint designs, and a couple wanted a clay replica of their own house for the little village model they set out every Christmas. The familiar movements of crafting chased back my fears from the previous days. At one point I actually found myself humming along to some rock song that used a xylophone as I worked. I couldn’t know when the panic would return, when that drowning feeling would seize me and try to pull me under. But for today, I was all right.

Kendall had classes all day, and I didn’t expect to see Sam until after her summer school lessons. Desmond minded the register when customers came in to buy supplies for their own projects, and went out to the loading bay to mess around with his woodworking during lulls. I finished the no soliciting sign and started in on the t-shirts, and also packed up items for delivery to customers who had bought from my online shop. Customers who saw me expressed relief that I was feeling better and asked after my health.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.