October 14, Monday

THE SHRILL ring of my phone jolted me awake, my hand fumbling blindly on the nightstand. I squinted at the screen. Frida's grinning face stared back at me in the dim light of pre-dawn.

"This better be good," I grumbled into the phone.

"Oh, it's better than good," Frida practically squealed. "It's karma-licious!"

I sat up, suddenly wide awake. "What happened?"

"It's Curtis," she said, her voice dripping with glee. "He had another accident."

My heart skipped a beat. "What kind of accident?"

"Picture this," Frida began, clearly savoring the moment. "He was jay-walking and a scooter mowed him down—broke both his legs!"

"Are you sure?"

"It's all on video—I just texted you a link."

I clicked over and watched the video of Curtis going airborne and landing with a bounce. I winced. "Yikes. That's… intense."

"Intense? It's freaking hilarious!" Frida exclaimed. "I mean, what are the odds? First his arms and now his legs? Did you put another spell on him?"

"Um…"

"You did, didn't you? Oh. My. Dog."

A thrill ran down my spine. Had it actually worked?

"Maybe this will finally get him off your back, you know? Hard to harass you when he's in a wheelchair."

"Hopefully."

"Remind me never to cross you," Frida said. "Gotta run."

I laughed and ended the call, trying to shake off an uneasy feeling. Curtis was quieted, at least for now, and maybe this setback would put him in a compromising frame of mind. I should be celebrating, not worrying about magical consequences. But as thrilling as it was to think that magical spells could work, it also frightened me to the core.

After all, what if someone decided to place a curse on me ?