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strawberry blond hair its usual perfect smooth wave down her back.
    A plate of candied salmon, cream cheese, and onion-and-garlic brown rice crackers sat on the gray granite kitchen island, and I fell on this treat without a word. I had to compete with Kandy, though, and the salmon was already half gone. Scarlett laughed and touched my shoulder lightly. Her magic tingled through the thin silk of my blouse. She touched me every time she saw me these days, as if reassuring herself I was actually beside her. Gran as well. I’d scared them very badly in Tofino. Or rather, Sienna almost killing me in Tofino had scared my mother and grandmother terribly.
    “Merlot, Jade?” Scarlett asked.
    “No thanks, Mom. I think we’re almost late as it is.”
    “The cab is waiting for us,” Kandy said. She swallowed the remainder of her wine in a single gulp. Her wicked metabolism probably burned off all the alcohol before it even hit her stomach. I had found — since recovering from almost dying, and draining my magic so severely in order to take Sienna’s — that I had to drink so much to get buzzed now that my stomach usually rebelled before my head did. Yeah, I’d tested it more than once. A girl had to try to have some fun, and Kandy was always up for a round of good pub food.
    “It’s like a four-block walk,” I said.
    “More like seven, and in those shoes?” Kandy said, a wolfish grin on her face. I took the grin to mean that my outfit was acceptable.
    I laughed, and then cried out, “Let the revelry begin!”
    Scarlett laughed. Kandy and I headed for the front door. As I passed the couch, I realized I’d forgotten to transfer my wallet and keys to a smaller, prettier bag, so I jogged back to my bedroom and grabbed my satchel instead. Thankfully, Matt & Nat satchels went with every outfit. At least every outfit I owned.
    ∞
    Chocolate Arts was on West Third Avenue between Pine and Fir Streets, just one block north and six blocks east of the bakery. The evening was clear and balmy. The sun still wouldn’t set for a couple of hours. Though it would be the first day of fall next Tuesday, the glorious summer weather had held and the trees hadn’t started changing color yet. The cherry tree and magnolia blossoms were months gone, but the air was still sweetly fragrant. Kandy could probably pick me up, throw me across False Creek, and I’d hit downtown Vancouver, but you’d never know that a big city was that near tonight.
    We hopped into the completely unnecessary cab, which drove the half-dozen blocks and pulled up to double-park out front of the chocolatier. I passed the cabby a ten, happy that I’d thought to grab cash from the ATM yesterday when I dropped the deposit for the bakery. Kandy was on the sidewalk before the taxi had fully pulled to a stop. There was parking out back that led customers through the kitchen to the storefront, but the one time I’d entered through the back, I felt like I was totally invading the chocolatier’s creative space.
    Chocolate Arts specialized in decadent truffles using Valrhona and Cacao Barry chocolate, as well as their own line of chocolate and ice cream bars. Their salted caramels were the first I’d ever tasted, and the eighth-inch rectangles of chocolate-covered goodness were a go-to purchase for me. As in, every time I dropped by. Tonight, we’d be learning how to make some of their signature truffles, which meant Kandy and I would be guzzling melted chocolate while we rolled balls of variously flavored ganache into lumps of tastiness. I planned to be cocoa-buzzed and covered in chocolate up to my elbows within the hour. Too bad I didn’t have anyone to lick it off me later … or I’d bring home a container cup.
    Kandy, inches from opening the front door, turned back to grin at me as the cab pulled away. The green of her shapeshifter magic rolled across her eyes as she accessed some of her power — probably her sense of smell. Then she ducked inside the store