by KB Anne
“Why did you bring her here?” he asked, halting the four of them from passing over into the boundary of his cottage.
“She wanted to see Lizzie one last time before we exiled her to Caer’s kingdom. We thought we’d honor her last request,” Scott said, beginning to sound as if he was questioning his own decision making. But they’d all agreed to bring her here, had they not? Caer couldn’t really remember. Everything was a bit hazy.
Amorin’s jaw set. “No. I cannot allow you to pass.”
“Granda, why not?” Scott asked.
“You’ve all been tricked into bringing her here.”
Scott griped Naisha’s arm. “What do you mean tricked? We made sure she couldn’t spell us the way she had before.”
“Are you so sure?”
Clouds blew in front of the sun, blocking it from view. Birdsong grew quiet. The wind picked up leaves and debris and spun them around in tighter and tighter circles.
“What’s happening?” Caer asked. She heard fear in her voice that she didn’t realize she was harboring.
Naisha cackled.
“What’s happening?” Maddie asked, backing away from Amorin’s perimeter, his hands still gripping Naisha.
It’s a trap! It’s a trap! Gigi screamed in Caer’s head—or at least she thought it was in her head. It sounded like Gigi’s voice carried on the wind echoing all around them. It’s a trap! Gigi said a third time.
“Veet!” Naisha shouted, fighting to break free from Maddie. “Veet!” She pushed away from him, her wings bursting from her back. He tried to maintain his grip, but her flapping wings were too powerful. “Veet!” she shouted a third time, lifting into the air.
Two wolves sprinted over. Amorin turned in alarm at the pounding claws.
“No,” Scott screamed, leaping forward and flinging his sword toward the larger wolf. He miscalculated the aim, either intentionally or by accident, and the wolf missed a stride as the blade sliced through his shoulder causing him to overshoot Amorin by several feet.
The smaller wolf barreled straight toward Amorin. Her red eyes targeted the wizard’s back. She bared her canine teeth and lunged. Caer knew that the wolf was the best friend of Gigi, who was currently doing everything in her power to reverse the evil haunting her friend, so instead of killing the wolf, Caer lunged at her and the two collided in the air and fell to the ground, snarling and clawing at each other.
The small wolf was a worthy opponent. Caer couldn’t dispatch her immediately. When she finally subdued her, Caer cast her eyes around for further threats.
“Maddie!” she yelled as she spotted him struggling to hold on to Naisha’s legs in midair.
Caer was unsure what to do. She could easily catch Naisha and return her back to the ground, but the wolf was under her submission right now. Unless she knocked her unconscious, she would go after Amorin.
“Go, Caer! Go!” Amorin said, eyeing the wolf. “Return that evil faerie from whence she came.”
With that command, she released the wolf and shot into the sky, determined to bring the fallen faerie to justice.
14
A Catastrophe
I crabwalk back toward the hole. It normally wouldn’t be scary to find a necklace at the bottom of a hole. In fact, under different circumstances I might even be excited to find a piece of jewelry at the bottom of a hole, or in the middle of the street for that matter—if it wasn’t watching me. And when the eye blinked, it was definitely watching me. Carman now embodies Maria, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t retained control of her magic. She still harnesses the same dark Maleficium power that she’s always had access to.
An energy ball should do the trick. I summon one between my hands, then glance over at Alaric.
He nods. Go ahead.
I gather it into one hand, then slam it into the hole and crouch away. Light shoots out of the hole, hovering above as if mocking me, before dissipating in an unenthusiastic poof.
I grit my teeth. Fine. Two can play that game.
Be careful, Alaric says.
I pool the energy around me, careful not to utilize too much of my own stores. Gallean taught me that while my energy is powerful, if I use too much of it, I will be depleted in the event that another enemy attacks immediately after, and then I’m a goddess out of luck. When I’ve gathered a potent fireball, I utter a spell as I slam it into the hole.
Fire explodes out of the hole toward the high oak branches hanging overhead. I watch as my powerful spell rebounds off the evil object, scourging the steadfast oak leaves and the underside of the branches. I murmur a quieting spell as heat from the fire burns my stomach. I suddenly realize in horror that the edge of my shirt’s on fire. Swatting at it will cause me to burn my tender belly skin. In a panic I rack my brain for a water spell. The fire keeps growing stronger. Alaric leaps over, fists my shirt into a ball so the fire won’t touch me, and cradles me to his chest. We roll several times before he stops to check that the flames are out. Bits of singed clothing fall away from me as the stench of burnt fabric works its way into my nose. I gag on the smell.
“Are you okay?” Alaric whispers, examining the skin beneath the gaping hole in my shirt. He gently prods the area to ensure there aren’t any burns.
“I am now. Thanks for saving me. I don’t know what happened.”
He purses his lips. “I do. That eyeball necklace was created in the fiery cauldrons of Maleficium magic.”
“How do we destroy it?”
“I need to get into Nan’s cottage. One of her spell books might have an antidote or at least a counter curse.”
“No way. It’s too dangerous.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re talking to me about dangerous actions?”
I start crawling back to the hole as smoke spirals out of it. “Let me see if we did any damage.”
His hand wraps around my ankle and he pulls me back. “No. You don’t know what that smoke is capable of.”
I frown at him. “Did you practice with Nan and Calliope?”
“No, they kept it hidden from me, but I am very observant. I used to sneak out and watch, so when I tell you that smoke can be malevolent, you better believe me.”
A vision of a young Alaric with shiny green eyes sneaking out in the middle of the night to watch his nan and Calliope perform evil magic makes me both sad and proud that he was as curious as I was and managed for the most part to stay out of trouble.
“I told you that they protected me and kept me safe.”
“You did. It’s just hard to imagine them as caring, loving mother figures given how determined they were to rid the world of me.”
“I am very adorable,” he says, pushing his head into my chest playfully.
I rub the top of his head. “Yes, you are.”
He lifts his head and pulls me onto his lap as we watch the last remnants of smoke disappear. “Now, how do we carry it without letting it invade our minds?”
“Let me just check it. Maybe I managed to destroy it.”
I try to break away from him, but he keeps a firm grip on me. “No, let me.”
“Alaric, I don’t want her to see you.”
“What difference does it make? If my dad, sister, and mom couldn’t turn me against you, Carman certainly can’t. Besides, what if I can bring her to our side? She’d make an impressive ally, especially against that Fomorian witch.”
He makes a valid point. Trouble is, Carman’s had a vendetta against me for fifteen hundred years and is the cause of every single problem we’re experiencing now. Case in point, she almost burned me to a crisp with a freaking eyeball necklace.
“You never know,” he says.
“No, I guess you don’t, but let me peek over the edge. I am a reincarnated goddess—I’ve got to have a bit more magic than the sexy son of the Original Werewolf and an evil faerie.”
“I’m staying close.”
“Fine.”
We both crawl on our bellies to the edge of the hole. If anyone happened upon u
s, they’d scratch their heads and think we’d lost our minds. And maybe we have, or at least I have.
I slowly peek over the edge, and there, blinking back at me, is that freaking eyeball necklace.
“Dún,” I whisper, and the eyelid slides over the eyeball and remains closed.
“Ardaíonn.” The necklace lifts into the air.
“Cásáil.” Fresh green oak leaves shoot from every direction and encase the eyeball necklace. When it’s completely covered with layers of leaves, I reach out and grab it.
“Be careful,” Alaric murmurs.
“I always am,” I reply.
“Remember, I watched you for weeks without your knowledge. You are anything but careful.”
“Well, I do like some excitement, but the necklace is completely encased with green magic. Think of it like magical armor. No eyeball-peeking witches are going to spy on us.”
I slip the bundle into my pocket and turn to him. “Now, we’ve got one more thing to get.”
“Can you say?”
“I’d rather not.”
I do like listening to your voice inside my head.
I like yours inside of mine too.
* * *
All those months ago when I showed Lizzie the spell book in my room, I unknowingly must have triggered her part-werewolf, part-Fae nature, or at least awakened it. I don’t care what Lizzie or Naisha says, or anyone else for that matter. All the years of friendship Lizzie and I shared were not a lie. I was the one who lied, cheated, and stole. Not Lizzie. My jaw tightens. Not Lizzie.
The spell book disappeared the day Lizzie was up in the school attic when I caught her trying to . . . exorcise, possess, curse—I’m not really sure what—Kensey. The candles blew out and then Kensey was gone along with the spell book. Kensey was obviously taken by Breas, so I had assumed he took the spell book too, but Naisha said she knew where it was, so it stands to reason that Lizzie had still been in possession of it.
“Where are we headed?” Alaric asks.
Next door.
As we approach the boundary of Gram’s property, tears prick my eyes. I’d love more than anything to watch her finish a new creation, carefully remove it from the wheel, cradle it with the utmost care as she carried it over to the drying rack. She’d wipe her hands with a wet clay-stained rag and toss it over the back of the chair, where it would land perfectly in half. Then she’d turn to me and say, “Would you like a spot of tea?” and we’d sit in her bright yellow kitchen at the oak table, the one I knew every knot and age line of, and we’d drink tea and talk about the day. She’d listen to me complain about Kensey and whatever method of torture she’d exacted on me that day, and when I finished my tale and my cup, she’d pour me more tea, and she’d right every wrong in my world.
I stop and stare at the place I called home for sixteen years.
“Do you want to go inside?”
Yes. More than anything.
“We don’t have time. I’ll be too distracted.”
“I’ll keep you focused,” he murmurs low and needy.
“I’ll bet.”
We wander along the boundary. I’m careful to maintain a distance from Gram’s property. If Boo Bear or any of the other pets get wind of me, they’ll come running, and then I definitely won’t want to leave. I pause. Unless Darius brought them over to his place. It would make sense. Granda and Dad probably made it clear to him that we were leaving for good. Maybe even along the lines of, “The Goddess is returning home.”
But as I stare at the red back door and the brightly colored railings and even the gardens that seem to bend in my direction, I realize I am home.
“Well, hello there,” Alaric says.
I whirl around, wondering who snuck up on us without my knowing or without Alaric warning me. There in his arms is a big, fat calico.
“Sphinx!” I cry out and reach for my cat. My blind cat, who’s studying me as if he’s assessing my appearance.
He pushes his head into Alaric’s hand and blinks at me, seeming to say, “I’m mad at you.”
Or maybe he did say it because the words ring out in my head.
Finally.
“You can talk? And see?”
He turns his head to Alaric. Can you believe this girl?
“Apparently, yes,” Alaric says.
“Why couldn’t I hear you before?”
Sphinx’s eyes blink at me. You were spelled to hide your magic.
“Right.”
A lot of good it did. Look at the mess you’re in.
“How much do you know?”
Enough.
“Are you my familiar?”
We prefer the term “partner in catastrophe.”
“Of course, you do.”
Glad you finally met Alaric. Took you long enough.
“You know him?”
Alaric hands Sphinx to me. Sphinx licks his cheek, then leaps into my arms. Someone’s been hitting the treat box.
Don’t judge. I was stress eating.
“Your cat and I met the night I brought you home from Radley Pond, after that godly prick almost killed you on his bike and then left you for dead when you pulled your pepper spray on him.”
Anger sweeps through me at the memory. “I wish I’d sprayed him.”
“I wish I’d killed him, but I’ll soon get the chance.” He exposes his canines as he snarls.
“You’re scary when you’re angry. Is that your inner wolf appearing or the faerie?”
The canines disappear as he returns to himself. “Does it matter?”
“Well, one did kill me.”
“You do have a point. I don’t know.”
We both turn our attention back to my partner in catastrophe. “Sphinx?”
He yawns, stating loud and clear, I’m bored with this conversation.
“But I don’t understand. How did you meet?”
“Did you ever wonder how you wound up in your own bed in a house protected against werewolves and other evildoers?”
“I do now.”
He scratches Sphinx’s head. “Our friend invited me in.”
“So, werewolves are like vampires? Once they’re invited in, they can come and go?”
Alaric and Sphinx exchange glances then laugh. I never realized Sphinx had such a sense of humor.
I dropped the shield to allow him to deposit you in your bed.
“You can do that?”
He puffs his chest. I am very powerful.
“Apparently. Is Boo Bear also a partner in catastrophe?”
Don’t be dull. He is a flea-bitten blind dog always searching for the next meal.
“That’s harsh,” I scold him.
Harsh but true.
“Where is he?” I monitor the yard for my favorite dog.
At Darius’s house.
“Why didn’t you go?”
I do not need human interaction.
“Oh yeah?” I challenge him as Alaric scratches his back while I rub his arms. A loud purr fills the air.
Well, perhaps the two of you would be acceptable.
“Do you know where we’re headed?”
He growls. You reek of intention.
“Are you going to lead the way, or shall I carry you in the manner fit for one of your status?”
Your sarcasm is noted, but since you asked, I’ll allow you to continue holding me.
“How kind of you.”
And with that, Alaric and I, along with Sphinx, continue walking to the judgy next-door neighbor’s house to see if the spell book is there.
15
A Case of Misdirection
We now had a partner in catastrophe. The difficult, selfish cat who’d always acted like he couldn’t see or hear me, is all of a sudden the not-so-awkward, in fact, way-too-comfortable third wheel in our relationship.
“Sphinx, before we enter the house, do I need to perform a searching spell to make sure no one’s inside and check for booby traps?”
Sphinx yawns again and bli
nks up at me like, “Why are you bothering me with this question? I’m just getting comfortable.”
“Fine. Alaric, would you mind holding Sphinx while I ensure we don’t get maimed or injured when we go in?”
He reaches out and cradles Sphinx to his chest. “Sure.”
Sphinx purrs into Alaric’s chest. I am not the least bit jealous. Honestly, I’m not.
“I thought dogs didn’t like cats and vice versa.”
“You are a piece of work.”
“Thank you. Now, give me a few seconds.”
I conjure a searching spell and cast it toward the house. The spell erupts in flames the second it hits an invisible boundary. That didn’t work.
This time I gather energy from the surrounding area before pushing it out. The boundary shield grows hazy when my energy encompasses it. Then suddenly—poof! The shield shatters to the ground.
“That was easy.”
I send out another searching spell, and this time it passes through the boundary, enters the house, and after a minute or two, returns to me.
“All clear.”
Alaric watches the house, deeply inhaling as if he’s doing his own intensive search through smell. Maleficium is a much different type of magic. It stands to reason it smells different. “Is what you’re looking for inside?”
“We will soon find out.”
Sphinx leaps down from Alaric’s arms and curls up in a ball on the ground. I’ll wait here.
“Don’t overexert yourself.”
I won’t, he purrs and immediately falls asleep.
“Guess we’re on our own.”
Alaric rests his hand on my lower back. His fingers find a bare patch of skin. “I’m fine with that.”
I still can’t get over that Alaric is actually here with me. Half the time I want to throw myself at him and smother him with kisses. Half the time I want to gawk at him and his powerful body and treasure the fact that he’s mine—and then jump his bones. Then there’s that tiny sliver of reality that keeps reminding me there’s a task at hand that must be completed.
