“Welcome to my lair, esteemed customer,” Fey announced. She opened her eyes glowing bright green and exhaled a puff of green smoke that snaked around her body and pooled at her ankles. “I trust my apprentice greeted you warmly.”

  Fey's twisted cane of ashen wood clacked against the parquet floor with each deliberate step. The long robe billowed at the seams, giving the illusion that she was floating—though in reality, Maya was guiding her through the room. Everything was a theatrical play to impress the customer. Just like the Draugr waved the curtains for more wind while the guest was hooked by Fey’s entrance.

  What took you so long? Maya hissed. That dwarf’s a handful!

  Don't you think I know that? Fey snapped under her breath, struggling to maintain a composed, ethereal facade as she ‘floated’. Why do you think I hired you? Keep him entertained.”

  But I hate him.

  We need his money, Maya!

  Maya sobbed as she led Fey to the other end of the room.

  With a flick of Fey's wrist, the curtains reshaped themselves into a cushion worthy of a witch. In reality, Halfdan had just slid over a cheap Ikea stool for her.

  “Home sweet home,” Fey declared, crossing her healthy leg over the other and reclining with practiced elegance. “Don't you think so too, good Almasi? Shall we get right to business?”

  Almasi raised his hand. “Ah… Nah, I'm good now, thanks.”

  “Great! Then I shall bring a sample and—” Fey’s confident tone cracked. THe magic in the room flickered like a broken light bulb. “What did you say?”

  “I said I'm good,” the dwarf repeated calmly, holding his knee in his hands. “I've lost interest in the potion. I found what I needed.”

  Fey blinked. “I… I see.”

  Maya leaned over to Fey, whispering, “What did just happen?”

  “I. Don't. Know!” Fey’s scream was barely contained behind a clenched jaw. She whispered back to Maya calmly, “What did you do?!”

  “Me!?” Maya gawked at Fey incredulously. “All I did was provide customer service and offer him some coffee!”

  Fey’s eyes twitched, trying to hold her gaze with Almasi. “Obviously you did something since we are losing our customer!”

  “Oh sure, blame the employee. Rule 101 in the employer handbook!”

  Fey hushed Maya with a quick motion of her hand. “We have to fix that. Whatever it takes.”

  “If possible, I'd like to acquire the recipe of Goldklump's impressive beverage,” Almasi proposed, smitten to his core. “Her presence was most engaging and brightening.”

  Fey caught Maya barely suppressing a gag—except for Almasi, who remained blissfully unaware.

  He's so down bad for her, Fey thought. Then, a wicked grin spread across her face as she craned her head to Maya.

  Maya narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Fey beamed innocently. “Would you be so kind as to fetch the potions for our esteemed customer, Goldklump?”

  Maya shuddered at Fey's dubious expression. She muttered something under her breath but begrudgingly left for the workshop. Fey noticed that while Maya left and adjusted the hem of her dress, Almasi was keeping his eyes at her with a flushed face.

  Though as soon as she was gone, he snapped his attention back to Fey. “I thought I told you I’m interested in the potions anymore,” Almasi grumbled. “Do you take me for some easily exploitable fool?”

  Wow, can he read my mind? Fey mused. Flicking her wrist, she wove her magic, condensing the mist that surrounded them into a swirling, shimmering green cloud. “I'd hate for the love potions to go to waste.”

  Almasi hissed as he tightly pressed a stubby finger against his lips. “I told you not to mention it where anyone could hear! And I have no interest in them. My Goldklump will understand that.”

  Fat chance, pal. She's taken already. Fey casually picked at her nails and blew at them. “You know, potions are like magic. Ambiguous.”

  Almasi scowled. “That’s why I don't get magic. We dwarves work with our hands to create tangible things.”

  Fey spread her arms wide. “Magic is an art. And like any art, its meaning shifts depending on the view. A love potion, for instance, can take on more than one form. That is, if you know how to use it.”

  Sweat beaded along Almasi’s brow and trickled down onto the fine fabric of his chainmail suit. He wiped his brow. “Explain, witch.”

  “What's a gemstone?” Fey asked, weaving the mist into curling tendrils.

  Almasi blinked, thrown entirely off by the odd question one would ask a dwarf. “Gemstones are like toys we put into the cradle of our children. They are powerful and valuable minerals.”

  “Ah, but what is value?”

  For the first time since his days in the cradle, Almasi hesitated as he actually had to contemplate on the question. “Value lies in their use—their applications; Their inherent beauty.”

  “So you dwarves acknowledge both intrinsic and extrinsic value?” Fey grinned, shaping the cloud into a misty green gem.

  The dwarf scowled. “Get to the point, witch.”

  Fey clapped her hands together. Lightning flashed, temporarily plunging the room into eternal darkness as waves snuffed out the candles before they flicked back to life.

  Right before the two, a cauldron materialised, bubbling with a strange, viscous liquid.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Almasi peered inside. A heart-shaped organ bubbled from the scalding waters.

  With deliberate grace, Fey dipped her hands into the hissing cauldron. Akmasi almost stopped Fey before he recalled she was a witch.

  Yanking the organ free, Fey held in her hands a pure and pink valentine heart.

  “You seek love, don't you, Almasi?” Fey turned to the dwarf and ran a finger over the pulsing heart.

  Fey’s sharp green-lit gaze bore into him. The dark makeup around her eyes only accentuated the eerie glow.

  Almasi gulped at her countenance. His reflection twisted across the heart’s slick surface as his desire was laid bare.

  “Unfortunately,” Fey continued, tightening her grip, “neither I nor magic can give that to you. You will remain unloved.”

  And squashed the heart in her palm, turning it into a clumpy paste that fell back into the cauldron.

  Almasi shot to his feet and jabbed his finger at her. “You witch! You never planned to help me anyway, did you. I knew trusting your Seidr wielding kind was a mistake.”

  Calmly, almost unbothered by Almasis’s threats, she exhaled a gust of mist into Almasi’s face. His body froze, and his horror deepened.

  He ultimately forgot who he was dealing with.

  “You misunderstood, Almasi. I cannot give you love,” she murmured, her voice drifted like an icy wind over his shoulder, “but I can bring you to it.”

  She took hold of the mist again and shaped it into another heart—but now, gleaming like a perfectly cut gem.

  “Extrinsic and intrinsic value apply even to magic.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Dwarves can forge the most exquisite tool for cooking, or it could be the most horrendous bane to kill,” Fey explained. “Gemstones have value in smithing, their rigour, and the beauty we apply.”

  She held the gem-like heart before his nose, turning it lazily between her fingers.

  “What I offer you is a potion not to force another’s love, but to amplify your own intrinsic values. Confidence, allure, whatever you desire, you will it, and the person will see it true.”

  Almasi’s breathing slowed as he stared at the heart. It beat steadily—then, there was a flicker. For a brief moment, he saw Goldklump smiling at him from inside, winking before the heart burst like a soap bubble.

  So close. And then—gone.

  “Fine witch, I'll buy your entire stock.” His voice wavered with more than simple desperation; it was greed. “Make me loved!”

  Fey’s lips curled.

  Oh, you're such an easy mark.

  “I'm back…” Maya lumbered inside the room. In her trembling arms, she carried a wooden crate filled to the brim with pink potions. “Could I get some help, please?”

  Fey waved her forward dismissively, uncaring for Maya’s exercise blight, which only ticked her off. “Bring them here. The deal is sealed.”

  Maya restrained a groan as she adjusted her hold on the crate and shuffled awkwardly forward. Her eyes glanced at Almasi, finding him staring at her.

  His eyes were wide and rounded like a toad’s; his nostrils flared.

  Maya shuddered. Stop looking at me like that— Huh?

  Distracted, Maya suddenly lost her footing and tripped over something. Her body went into a free fall as she crashed against the cauldron.

  “Maya, what did you do!” Fey stood up abruptly.

  Maya had trouble gathering herself. She wasn’t hurt, but drenched all over as the magic water splashed all over her body. Her head was spinning, but that’s when she noticed the broken bottles and fluids all over the floor.

  “The potions, they are all RUINED!” Fey clawed at her hair, shaking her head furiously.

  “No, oh no no nononono— I didn't mean to!?”

  “What are we gonna do— The customer… He was hit too!”

  “Huh?” Almasi blinked, looking himself over. “No, I'm fine. Nothing even hit me—”

  “Quick,” Fey pushed the bucket and towels that were next to her chair to Maya, “wipe the magical water off of him before it eats him alive!”

  “What?!”

  Maya scrambled on the ground, grabbing the towel and frantically dabbing at Almasi’s trousers.

  Almasi stiffened. Not because of the water, but because Maya was soaked, kneeling and far too close. Her damp dress clung to her curves, and between the dress’ neckline and the tights, the dwarf got an eyeful of thigh.

  “I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.” Maya hastily patted him dry, completely unaware of the situation.

  Fey kept shouting in her corner. “Everything is ruined… the entire batch. Do you know how expensive they were?” she shouted.

  Maya suppressed to cry at the unfortunate situation. Almasi snapped to attention.

  “Stop— Witch!” Almasi ordered, pointing a flustered finger at Fey. “I'll pay for the damages, double even! Just call off your apprentice!”

  Fey stopped her screeching and put a composed finger on her lip. Double he says?

  Ever the opportunist, she slid a hand into her sleeve.

  “Catch.”

  Almasi stumbled to catch the potion with his height but safely secured what was thrown at him; another strawberry-coloured potion.

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” Fey purred. “I hope you return for future endeavours.”

  “Of course. I'm a dwarf of my word.” Almasi straightened his suit and retrieved a gemstone, flinging it to Fey. As he adjusted the tuft of his hair, he turned to Maya, offering her a hand. “Are you alright, min goldklump. Don’t wail about my absence. When I return, I expect another taste of your beverages. And don’t work on your knees like that again!”

  “Ehm… sure? I guess?” Maya hesitantly accepted the help.

  With a sharp snap of his fingers, like a boxing bell, Almasi barked, “We will see each other again. Fare thee well, witches!”

  “Pray to Freyja.” Fey danced goodbye with her fingers, just before Carl unceremoniously slammed the door shut.

  The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

  “Gods, this was awful,” Maya groaned, and shook the water out of her afro. “I'm drenched, again, exhausted, and feel used—again.”

  “I think you did well,” Fey mused, inspecting the brown zircon gemstone between her fingers. “Couldn't have done it without you.”

  “Gee, thanks… warms my heart.”

  Maya let out another long sigh and ran her hands over her soaked dress, then froze.

  Her eyes traced how suspiciously well the wet fabric clung to her skin, outlining every curve, every detail. Droplets ran down her clavicle, sleeping between her chest, and making the tight dress all the more scandalous.

  Then her gaze flicked to the bucket and the towel. And then there was the scent of the ‘magic potions’ Fey’s Draugr were wiping away.

  Strawberry.

  It smelled like the cheap strawberry milk sold in supermarkets.

  How did I trip in the first place…? As she looked at Fey’s magic cane, realisation dawned on her. “B*tch, you tripped me!?”

  Fey innocently batted her lashes at Maya. “Who? Me? I’d never.”

  “You totally did!”

  Fey smirked, admiring her gemstone. “You right, I did.”

  “Why!” Maya grabbed Fey by the shoulders, shaking her and yelling in her ear. “Do you see how I look right now? Why!?”

  Fey grinned at Maya like her pet ferret did that just claimed Maya’s underwear for herself.

  “Sex sells.”

  Maya nearly combusted. “And thanks to you, we made a fortune.” Fey booped Maya’s nose, her eyes twinkling. Maya’s nerves flared.

  “Oh, don’t worry— I’ll give you a bonus too—”

  Maya grabbed the bucket full of pink liquid from Halfdan’s hands and dumped it over Fey’s head.

  “Ptoo…” Fey sputtered, dripping from head to toe. “Spiteful, aren’t we?”

  Maya stuck out her tongue and pulled her eyelid down mockingly. “Guess who taught me that?”

  Fey huffed, amused. “Hmph You’ve still got a lot to learn.”

  With a snap of her fingers, Fey evaporated Maya’s dress into a puff of smoke. Leaving her in her birthday suit. “HAHAHAHA—”

  “AHHHHHH!”

  Maya shrieked and tackled Fey to the ground to continue their squabble physically.

  The Draugr looked confused at one another, groaned in confusion, and collectively decided to leave them be until they ran out of steam.

  And fetch them both some dry clothes while he was at it.