Both Devon and Freya sat up straighter. Neither interrupted.
“She wants me to join them. Said they live in some big mansion on Long Island. She told me I’d be a huge help. And they’d pay me more than Bill Gates makes in a month.”
Freya narrowed her eyes. “You’re not seriously considering this, are you?”
Brianna jumped to her feet and started pacing. “I don’t know what to think! The only thing I do know is—don’t tell Grandma.”
“Why not?” Freya asked.
“She’d worry. Then I’d worry about her worrying. It’s a spiral.”
“True,” Freya admitted. “But she wouldn’t hold you back. And if you want this, you shouldn’t hold yourself back, either. We’ve got her, if she needs anything.”
Devon chimed in. “You’ll want to research this coven first. Assuming you want to know more, when you’re not freaking out.”
“I—”
“Deep breaths,” Devon said. “Before you faint, and we have to explain that to Esther.”
Brianna deflated like a pierced bouncy castle. “What would you do if someone showed up with this kind of news? I mean, we always wondered how the portal opened. Grandma and I were literally talking about the Salem Witch Trials, wishing we were able to help stop it, and then ‘poof’, we were there!”
“Yeah, that was a bit of a red flag moment in hindsight,” Freya muttered.
Devon leaned forward. “Did you tell anyone about it? How would this woman know?”
“No one. We agreed not to. And who’d believe us anyway?”
“Did she at least give you a name?” Freya asked.
“Something like... Bass? Bast?”
Freya’s frown deepened. “I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I,” Brianna said. “But if it’s not a hoax, I guess I’ll find out more when she comes back. She said she’d return after I’ve had time to think about it.”
“Text us when she does,” Devon said. “We’ll be there in nanoseconds.”
“I will. And sorry for the interruption.” She grinned. “I thought I might be walking in on some rated-R holiday cheer.”
“You were,” Devon said flatly.
Brianna snorted. “Well, I’d better get back to Grandma before she wakes up and asks questions.”
“Text us when you get home,” Freya called as Brianna stepped out into the cold.
Freya closed the door, turned back to Devon, and sighed. “Well, that was a twist.”
“She really might have opened that portal, huh?”
“It would explain a lot.”
He paused. “You don’t think... Bast? As in...”
They locked eyes, then simultaneously sprinted toward the office.
Seconds later, the glow of Freya’s laptop screen lit up the darkened room. She was already typing. “Egyptian gods and goddesses. Go!”
Devon scratched his head. “Let’s see who—or what—just knocked on her door.”
