I didn’t want her to know that she had succeeded in affecting my familiar. But still, she got my goat.
I could feel Aidan’s hand on my arm, though I couldn’t tell whom he was trying to restrain—me, or himself.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Renee,” I said. “Selena is a child, and she’s under my protection. And I’ll die before I’ll let you get to her.”
“That’s just fine, dear,” Renee said, holding out a cupcake frosted with black icing. “Here, I made this one just for you.”
I swatted it away, and the cupcake landed with a splat on the tile floor, icing side down.
Renee made another angry-toddler face. But her eyes seemed as ancient as the world itself as her gaze held mine. She gave me a slow smile.
“You’d best take your witch out of here, Aidan, before you both get more than you’re asking for.”
“Renee, we’re a united front, and we aren’t alone,” Aidan said, his voice steady and calm. “We have many behind us. You don’t stand a chance. Unless you want to leave town altogether, you’ll drop this challenge. We can all learn to live together.”
“That’s a lovely speech, Aidan,” said Renee. “Just as pretty and false as that glamour you insist upon hiding behind. Are you sure you don’t want a dozen cupcakes for the road? My treat.”
“No, thank you,” I said. “We don’t want anything from you.”
We left Renee’s bakery without another word. Each lost in our own thoughts, Aidan and I rounded the corner without speaking, heading toward the car.
I heard a rustling, and a man jumped out of the bushes.
Chapter 20
Aidan and I both blasted him with a wall of power. He was thrown back and landed on his butt in a large planter full of geraniums.
“Jeez, you two!” Jamie exclaimed, hands held up in surrender. “Lay off, already.”
“Oh, Jamie, I’m sorry!” I said.
Aidan held out a hand and helped him to his feet.
“I gotta say,” Jamie said, brushing leaves and dirt from his backside. “A guy tries to do the right thing, reach out, and he gets nothin’ but rejection. This is how people become recluses, you know—they can’t deal with people no more.”
“We apologize,” I said, elbowing Aidan, who remained silent but nodded ever so slightly. “You caught us off guard.”
“All evidence to the contrary.”
“We just left Renee, so we’re a bit jumpy.”
“She tell you anything?”
“Not much,” I said. “She made some vague threats, as usual. Hey, did you come by my shop?”
He gave me a side-eyed look. “Is this a trick question? ’Course I did. I brought a dozen cupcakes over this morning—you forget already?”
“Actually, I meant yesterday morning. Did you happen to overhear me speaking to a man in front of Aunt Cora’s Closet...?”
Jamie shook his head.
“You weren’t on Haight Street yesterday?”
“I like that Amoeba Records they got there on Haight Street. I like vintage LPs. Sound’s much better than the modern CDs, in my opinion. I gotta get your permission to go record shopping, now?”
“No, of course not. I was just wondering. Do you know a woman named Amy? Or Wind Spirit?”
“No.” He shook his head and looked around as though worried about being watched. “And I gotta tell you: I stopped you for my own reasons, not to get interrogated.”
