Page 95 of The Hocus Pocus Handbook

“Looking back, it’s often easy to see where you went wrong. But when you’re in the thick of things, sometimes it’s not obvious at all.”

Perhaps he doesn’t intend to comfort me, but I take heart in his words. Mudge doesn’t speak again as he navigates to a narrow wooden building on the far side of the market, mustard-yellow paint peeling to reveal a layer of faded turquoise beneath. This ramshackle structure lists to one side, nearly touching the building beside it. The wood is weathered and warped, and moss clings to the exposed right half. Round windows peep from the top story, matching the round door, wide enough for a gruagach to pass through. A small hand-painted sign reads, THE ICKY PUDDING.

Mudge glances at me with a grin. “We won’t get the pudding, hey?”

Before I can reply, he enters without hesitation. Just like Thea. Inside, the tavern is full of wild fae, and the place is furnished in a rustic style, fallen wood and found stone. A wooden beam crosses the entire bar, hung with dried herbs, garlic, and onions, and for reasons known only to the proprietor, a massive white tooth. Mudge claims the last free table, leaving me to fetch the drinks.

“Two honey ales,” I say to the one-eyed hobgoblin behind the bar.

“Coming right up.” He fills two mugs with a foamy-topped golden liquid.

I trade some coin for the drinks, not my usual choice, but I want Thea’s father to like me. I suspect he might chuckle if I brought back a glass of white-blossom wine. As I turn, I wonder if he would disapprove of what’s passed between me and his daughter. Mugs in hand, I dodge drunken brownies and hobgoblins as I cross the floor to settle on a rough-cut stool across from Mudge.

I slide his drink across the table and say, “Bottoms up.”

“Ah, that’s the stuff.” He smacks his lips after taking a long pull from his tankard. “Now, then. I do believe we have something important to discuss.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Your intentions toward Thea, of course.”

I nearly choke on my honey ale and gape at him before managing to say, “My…intentions?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? People talk.” Though Mudge is smiling, his eyes are intent. He tends to be a kind, playful person, but not when it concerns Thea’s happiness.

This might anger him, but… “I shouldn’t speak of my feelings to anyone else before I share them with her. But I’ll say this much: To me, she’s the most important person in this realm or any other. I’m not in a position to make promises, but—”

“You would if you could,” he finishes with a broad smile.

“Yes.” There’s no reason to hide how completely I belong to her, how she’s marched into my heart and brightened even the darkest corners.

“Then that’s all I needed to know.” He raises his mug and clacks it against mine. “To futures that might be, the present that is, and the past that can’t harm us anymore.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

43

A Spell for Masking and Misdirection

While honesty is the best policy, occasionally there’s a call for craft. If you’re cornered and you need to create some breathing room, you require a working that causes people to focus elsewhere. It’s best to choose a diversion that’s naturally dramatic so it doesn’t strike your audience as strange that they’re invested in the outcome. Meanwhile, that intrigue allows you the space to complete whatever you’re trying to achieve. Mind, this isn’t a permanent solution. The charm doesn’t mean they’ll look away forever or never think about you again.

They say you don’t regret the risks you take in life; rather you regret the ones you didn’t. As for me, I’d always rather know what would’ve happened if I had taken a chance. While I do want you to be safe, my gem, I also want you to be happy.

And you’ve a bold, bright spirit, and I am awed by the person you’ve become, even as I wait to see what more you’ll accomplish. Our life together has been so much more than I ever imagined for myself, back when I was a young hobgoblin. Oh, I’m still green, just no longer young, but I fancy I’ve some wisdom yet to impart. Bless you for coming to me, my darling daughter. I wouldn’t be me without you.

Smoky quartz and tourmaline

Valerian and foxglove

A smidge of magic

This working is deceptively simple, and that’s the power of it. The components serve as a focal point for your magic. Place the gems in one pocket and the herbs in another. Now close your eyes, and imagine your magic cloaking you from notice, not invisibility, not even like the skulking spell I taught you early on. No, you’re perfectly visible. You’re just not worthy of attention. Their eyes will slide right over you and fixate on something—or someone—else. The amount of power you pour into this spell might impact its duration. I once cast it too strongly, and people thought I’d gone missing. Used that to my advantage, I did, and kipped off from work for a week.

We had a splendid holiday in the wildlands, didn’t we, my gem? You swam with Nerys in icy brooks and Shereth painted you blue because that’s the color you wanted to be that week. I made pigweed flatbread and mushroom stew until we were weary of it.

That’s the next point I need to make. This spell will never work on people who truly love you. Don’t even *try* to trick us. We’re coming to the end of this guide, only one spell more in my repertoire. And I saved the best for last.

Thea