Free Hexed (The Gwen Sparks Series Book 4) by Stephanie Nelson Page A

Micah.”
    “No, Ms. Ozland said memory spells are tricky and that it was dangerous to just have her drink any ol’ potion. She suggested we coax her memories back by helping Gwen remember daily routines and recounting her life back to her.” There was a long silence as Fiona listened to Micah speak. Dorian and I stood beside each other, our bodies tense and my emotions totally wrecked.
    “Ethan is with the NAWC right now,” Fiona replied, and I heard Dorian snort beside me. “They know about the problem and probably haven’t called you back because they wish to not include a werewolf in our business, no offence.”
    “Yes, I know you’re a Detective, Micah,” Fiona shook her head. “What do you expect me to do? If the NAWC doesn’t wish to speak to you, nothing I can do will change that.”
    “Oh, for the love of the Goddess,” Fiona said in exasperation. “I will call Ethan and see if he can talk some sense into them. Seeing as how I’m here in Flora, and not with the NAWC, it’s the best I can do. Bye.” She hung up the phone and spun around to face us with her arms crossed. The corners of her mouth were turned down in either worry or annoyance, I wasn’t sure.
    “What was that all about?”
    “Micah is freaking out because the NAWC hasn’t called him back and supposedly things are getting worse and weirder, whatever that means.”
    “It is a little odd that the NAWC hasn’t responded yet,” Dorian said. “Maybe we should head into town to see what’s going on.”
    “I’m sure they’ve looked into it already,” Fiona responded, “but I think checking it out is a good idea.”
    “I’m game,” I told them, and then stabbed a finger in Dorian’s direction. “This conversation is not done.”
    “Got it,” Dorian remarked.

WE DROVE THROUGH Flora in a red Jeep that Dorian informed me was mine. He drove while I sat in the passenger seat and Fiona sat in the back. We had just turned down Main Street and had yet to see anything out of the ordinary. I don’t know what we were expecting to see, but from how Micah reacted on the phone, I assumed the town would be in utter hysteria.
    “What the hell?” Dorian pulled over to the side of the road and parked the car. Leaning toward the steering wheel, he stared out the windshield.
    “What?” Fiona and I said in unison.
    “The bakery is gone.” Dorian got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Fiona and I looked at each other, shrugged, and exited the car too.
    “The bakery where I lost my memories?” I asked.
    “Yeah,” Dorian replied, walking closer to the building where it had been. It was now just an empty storefront with a ‘for sale’ sign in the window. Fiona and I peered through the window to find it bare inside.
    “That is weird,” Fiona admitted and I agreed. Even if by some chance Ms. Willow closed the shop, there was no way she could have had it cleaned out that fast, or maybe she could.
    “Could she have used magic to move out?” I asked, feeling a little silly for the suggestion.
    “Not from a jail cell,” Fiona answered. “And why would she when the store just opened?”
    “I hope that was rhetorical,” I said, “because I have no clue how people operate in Flora.” I wanted to remember this quirky little town, remember all of my experiences while living in it. What I didn’t want was to go down the rabbit hole further, and it seemed that’s where we were headed. The worried expressions on Fiona and Dorian’s faces warned me that they were troubled by this news. And, while I thought it was odd that a new shop would close up so fast, I couldn’t connect with the severity of the situation. What did it mean? Why would Ms. Willow have a grand opening one night and then close a few days later? I stopped processing my thoughts and gasped.
    “I remember.” I said this to no one in particular, but I knew Dorian and Fiona would hear me. “I remember her mentioning it was her grand opening.”
    “That’s