Chapter 3: There's a way

*Jessica*

It was a traditional practice for a witch’s coven to convene on a regular basis, typically once a month on the night of a new moon.

It might seem business-like, but in reality, these are social events. A chance for members to meet up, bounce ideas off each other, and the like.

The meetings weren’t even exclusively for witches and wizards. Werewolves, vampires, the range of supernatural creatures, and even humans who knew about the supernatural community were welcome. And these meetings were pretty much the only places where half-and-half situations like Linc could really fit in.

What all this meant was that coven meetings were the perfect place for me to find help with my project. I’d gotten the impression that Linc wasn’t too thrilled with my idea.

The coven’s meeting place didn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside was an impossibly perfectly balanced combination of a bar, library, laboratory, and conference center– a place equally suited for leisure and work.

Linc and I weren’t the first members to arrive, but we weren’t the last either, so we headed to the bar to get drinks while we waited for the meeting to start, taking a booth to ourselves.

I was honestly considering skipping the meeting so I could go to our library to begin the research I would need to make Robin mine. I was about to voice the suggestion when Linc spoke up.

“You do realize that a person like you shouldn’t need to rely on a spell to get someone to love you, Jess.”

I gave Linc a confused look. “And yet, Robin doesn’t know I exist,” I reminded her.

“I wasn’t talking about Robin,” Linc replied. “Take a look around this room,” she suggested, making a sweeping motion to take in the bar. “There are people here who know you better than Robin does. People who know you’re smart, talented, driven, and a damn good witch. Wouldn’t you prefer to have a person to want you because they appreciate those qualities instead of you having to make them want you?”

I gave a small smile. “It’s a nice thought,” I agreed. “But I think I would have noticed by now if anyone here wanted me in that way.”

Linc cocked her head, looking at something behind me. “Not even him?”

I looked over my shoulder and saw Felix Main, one of the wizards in our coven, walk through the bar’s door.

Not that anyone could tell he was a wizard just by looking at him.

Felix was tall and lanky, but that lank was covered by wiry muscle. His jeans, leather jacket, mop of brown hair, and scruff of a five o’clock shadow were a far cry from the flowing robes stereotypically attached to wizards.

Felix had also been my best friend since the two of us were five years old, but as nice as he was to look at–the other women in the bar certainly agreed–I couldn’t see who Linc was talking about past him.

“I don’t see who you mean, Linc,” I told her as I turned back.

“Him,” Linc stressed, pointing at whatever she could see behind me.

I turned around again, and again I didn’t see anything. “I still don’t see them.”

“You don’t see Felix standing there?” Linc deadpanned.

I did a double take at that, looking between Linc and Felix, and then I had to laugh. “Felix?” I asked. “You think Felix would be interested in me?”

Linc shrugged. “Why not?” she asked. “And better question, why aren’t you interested in him? He has all those qualities you like in Robin. And even better,” Linc leaned closer across the table, “Felix is already crazy about you, Jess.”

I laughed again at that. “Yeah, but not like that,” I brushed off.

“And you know that, how?” Linc asked.

“Well, let me think,” I said thoughtfully as I pretended to think about it. “We’ve known each other for the past nineteen years so he’s practically a brother at this point. And as far as I know he’s never had a girlfriend, so I don’t even know if he’s into girls.”

Linc gave me an unimpressed look. “That’s your reasoning?”

“What else do you want me to say?” I asked, honestly not knowing. “At the very least, if Felix did have those kinds of feelings for me, I’m pretty sure he would have told me by now.”

“You’re sure he hasn’t?” Linc asked skeptically.

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

Abruptly, Linc leaned out of our booth. “Felix, over here,” she called, waving him over.

Felix had been in the middle of ordering a drink at the bar, but he turned to the sound of his name, and his face broke into a smile when he saw Linc and me. Felix’s smile was different from Robin’s, but in its own way, it was just nice.

“Linc,” Felix greeted as he crossed the room to our booth. His smile grew as he turned to me. “Jessica.”

“Felix,” I greeted in turn, happily returning his smile.

“Can I join you two?” Felix asked.

“Of course,” I replied, scooting further into the booth to let him take a seat.

I kept smiling at my friend, but not just because I was happy to see him. Now I was smiling because something important had clicked into place.

Felix’s face was nice enough to look at, but behind that face was a brain, one with a better understanding of magic than mine. I’d come here hoping to find someone to help me devise the perfect love spell, but now that person had found me.

“Felix, how busy are you after tonight's meeting?” I asked him. “Will you have time to stick around after?”

Felix gave me an intrigued look. “For you, Jessica, I can make time. What’s up?”

“I’m about to start a new project,” I explained. “And I’d really like to pick your brain.”

“Sure,” Felix replied happily. “What’s…?”

He trailed off, and I followed his gaze across the table to where Linc was staring at us with a look of absolute horror on her face. I took a quick look around, but I couldn’t see anything that might have freaked her out.

“Linc, are you okay?” Felix asked her.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” I replied, pulling Felix’s attention back to me. “As for what I’m working on, I’ll tell you after the meeting.”