“Antonio? Do I have your permission to share the plan with everyone?”
“Why don’t I share it?” he said. “You just go and get the people we need.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Kristine disappeared.
“We belong to a paranormal club in the city, which is where I found certain people to help. And that was my daughter-in-law, Kristine. We can all visit later, but I don’t think we should delay in case anyone on the other side of the river gets suspicious and leaves the compound.”
He didn’t have a chance to say more before two people appeared with Kristine, all holding hands.
“Thanks for the lift,” a guy with a short military haircut said.
Kristine let go and stepped away, joining Jayce.
Antonio introduced them briefly. “This is Kurt and his wife, Ruxandra. We need their help to end this thing. It’s going to take some doing. My boys will be in the trees watching in case anything goes wrong. Kristine will transport these two over the river, following Jayce.
“The rest of the plan is fairly simple. Kurt is a wizard and can freeze time briefly. Ruxandra has the ability to erase minds and replace memories with new ones.”
Ruxandra, a gorgeous blonde in a red dress, said, “I’m a vampire and can mesmerize these idiots and convince them they are, and always have been, simple farmers.”
“Wait,” Aaron said. “They have a book we need. Before they lose their memories of it, you need to find that book.”
“Boy, you don’t ask for much, do you?” Kurt said. “How many people do I have to hold frozen in time at once?”
“I’d estimate at least thirty-five or forty,” Jayce said.
“Can you do that?” Luca asked. “Freeze people then thaw them out one at a time for your wife to mesmerize?”
Kurt grinned. “With any luck. And it’s not so much thawing them out as it is allowing time to advance in one place and not another. It’s very complicated, and I hope I can do it without my head exploding.”
Kristine’s jaw dropped. “You mean you’re not sure you can do this without harming yourself? I can help turn time back a bit, but I have no idea how to manipulate it in one spot and not another—at least not by myself. I’d need several of my muse sisters for that.”
“Don’t worry. I should be okay. And if not, I understand there’s a doctor here?”
Aaron stepped forward. “Yes. I’m a doctor. And you’re…human?”
“One hundred percent. I’ve studied magic all my life, but I have no supernatural powers.”
Aaron set his hands on his hips. “Manipulating time? That sounds pretty darn supernatural to me.”
Kurt shrugged. “What can I say? It’s possible I have some kind of paranormal power, but as far as I know, I’m just damn talented.”
“Well, whatever it is, we’re just grateful you’re here,” Antonio said. “My bunch of phoenixes wouldn’t be able to do more than set fires and put them out. And that really rubs us the wrong way.”
“And if I harmed anyone, I’d be violating not only my Hippocratic oath, but the Witches’ Rede too,” Aaron said.
Jayce stepped forward and shook Kurt’s hand. “Thanks, man. This is above and beyond.”
“Well, I’m a nice guy and all that.”
Ruxandra looked shocked. “I thought you said they were paying us.”
Kurt put an arm around her. “They are, hon. Don’t worry. You’ll get that honeymoon we never took.”
“Oh, good.”
Antonio withdrew his wallet and took out a check. “I have it right here. You already received the other half up front, correct?”
