Tris & Izzie Read Online Free Page B

timer rang, and I started. The love potion did not look good. It smelled even worse. Had I done something wrong?
    I could see the powdered cayenne and the little bits of ginger root floating in it like snow in a ghoulish snow globe. No wonder you were supposed to strain it.
    I looked around the kitchen. I didn’t think the colander would work, but I finally found some cheesecloth, which I don’t think Mom has ever used for making cheese. I got out a glass jar and put the cheesecloth over the top of it, securing the cloth with a rubber band. Then I poured in just a tablespoon of liquid to see what would happen.
    The cheesecloth worked great. The liquid in the glass jar looked clear and red, like good wine. Maybe this would work!
    I poured in the rest of the potion, then took off the cheesecloth and swished it around.
    Then I unwrapped the one hair from Branna’s comb and stirred it in.
    And—nothing. No sizzle. No flash of lightning to show power.
    Suddenly, I was discouraged. What had I been thinking? A love potion off the Internet? By someone who promised she’d put magic in it if I paid her? There was no way this would work. This wasn’t a magic wine bottle that would work for anyone. This had to work for two particular people.
    I dumped the potion into the sink and sat, morosely thinking. Then I had an idea. My love potion had been a bust, but that didn’t mean a real love philtre wouldn’t work.
    As far as I knew, Mom still had the love philtre she had almost sent to the bride and groom. I still had a few hours before Mom got home. All I had to do was find the key to the dark maple cabinet in her office, where she kept her potions.
    I searched her whole room, looking through her makeup drawer, which was a mess, and her drawer of old lotions. She still had a few of Dad’s things tucked away: his hair-brush, which still smelled like him, and his toothbrush and cinnamon toothpaste.
    I finally found the key in her underwear drawer. That seemed like a dumb place to hide it, but then again, it was the last place I had thought to look, so it must not be too bad.
    I checked my watch and realized I had spent hours looking for the key. Now Mom was supposed to be home in fifteen minutes. But if I worked fast, it might still be okay.
    I hurried downstairs and opened the potion cabinet. When I looked inside, I saw that Mom didn’t label her bottles. She didn’t have to, since she had made them all herself and knew which was which.
    I closed my eyes and tried to remember the color of the bottle Mom had poured the love philtre into. It was yellowish, wasn’t it? About the size of a pinky finger?
    There was a tiny yellow bottle in the back. I opened the cork and sniffed. It smelled sweet, somehow, but I could still detect the ginger in it. Maybe the recipe for a love potion on the Internet actually had been for a real love philtre—if you had the magic to make it work.
    I took the tiny yellow bottle into the kitchen, then poured about a third of it into a green-tinged Sprite bottle to disguise it. I put the cap on, then stared at the bottle, trying to see if anyone could tell a difference in color.
    Did I have to put in a hair from Branna and something from the guy for a love philtre, too? I didn’t know. The sound of Mom’s car in the driveway stopped my thinking. I ran and put the bottle of remaining love philtre back in Mom’s cabinet, but the kitchen was still a mess when she walked in the front door.
    She sniffed the air, then pointed an accusing finger at me. “Have you been trying to make a potion, Izzie?” she asked.
    â€œWhat if I have?” I said.
    Her eyes flickered over the red wine vinegar on the counter. She looked in the garbage can and pulled out the paper I had printed with the recipe from the Internet. “Love potion?” she asked. Her eyebrows rose. “You know this won’t work without magic, right, Izzie?”
    I shrugged. “I