“Go to bed. I’ve got a house full of people I need to debrief with. I love you.” Mia walked back to the living room, where everyone seemed to be talking at once.
“I love you too. I’m not sure I’m worthy of a level five, though.”
Before she could answer, he hung up.
“How’s Trent?” Abigail asked. “Did Buddy get home?”
“Yes, Buddy’s home, and I don’t think she had time to blow up Parker’s car on the way. She wanted to tellTrent everything.” Mia rolled her head back and forth. “Now, the female thing makes more sense with Buddy. She’s a protector and I’m one of her charges.”
“She does love you,” Grans added. “Dorian, I’ll see you in the morning. We need to talk about this threat. If Suzanne Parker tells the National Office that you broke your contract, you’ll be out of that body and on to the next world before you know it. You know they hate reincarnation of any type.”
“I’ll deal with that,” Damien said, his voice cold. “You and Muffy should head to bed. Do you want me to take him out one last time?”
“That would be sweet. Mia, would you make sure Muffy gets into the apartment tonight?” Grans headed to the elevator. “I swear, life doesn’t have to be this hard.”
Abigail watched as elevator doors closed. “And yet it is. We need a meeting with all of us, well, besides Trent and Sarah. Maybe we can put them on speakerphone. We need a plan to deal with Suzanne Parker. You don’t want to take the next test for setting a level. It’s barbaric.”
“I’m not even going to think about what another test might be like. I’m worn out from this one. As soon as Muffy is back inside, we’re heading to bed. Christina, are you staying here?”
The girl blushed so hard the roots of her blond hair glowed red. “No, I’m going back to the condo with Levi. Abigail, do you want us to drop you off?”
“I can drive, dear, no matter what my husbandthinks. I’ll see everyone in the morning. Finn’s heading off to the Lodge to work because Mia’s Morsels is closed tomorrow. We’ll do a brunch meeting in Mia’s apartment.” Abigail put on a coat and grabbed her keys out of her purse. “But I wouldn’t mind you walking me out.”
Mia walked to the door with the others. Mr. Darcy sat on the stairs, waiting for her.
As they said their goodbyes, Damien came up and handed her Muffy. “All taken care of. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then he kissed her on the cheek. “Congrats on level five. You deserve it. I knew the first time I met you that you were going to be something special.”
“You’re too kind.” Mia leaned against the door-frame. “Dorian, can I ask you a question?”
“It must be serious if you’re using my real name. Yes, of course.” He adjusted his driving gloves.
“Is there really going to be a war?” Grans and the others had been talking about the signs for months now. Like how Trent and Em were granted hellhounds by the Goddess. And how the family power was being shared between the upcoming generation, at least here in Magic Springs. If Nationals found out, Trent and the others would be banned, or worse. Mia didn’t want to think about it.
Dorian started. Apparently that wasn’t the question he’d expected from her. Finally he answered. “It feels the same as before. The first war, we were fighting a common enemy. Now, I’m afraid the fight will be an inside job. We could be hurting one another without even knowing it.”
Mia’s phone rang at six the next morning. Swearing, she reached out from under the covers and found the phone. “What?”
“Turn on the news,” Trent said.
As Mia did, she thought about Trent’s tone. Something was wrong, and even in her sleepy state, she could feel his pain. “What’s going on?”
“Just listen.”
Mia sat up and turned up the volume.
“Just to recap, a local tourist has been found dead on the mountain. Sources say that the woman, one Suzanne Parker, apparently died of exposure. Her body was found on a cross-country trail, not far from the trailhead parking lot. Her rental car was located in the parking lot. Magic Springs Police have closed that section of the ski resort as they complete their search of the area. Police Chief Mark Baldwin wouldn’t comment except to say that it was an open investigation. We’ll let you know when the area reopens for skiers.”
Mia turned off the television as the female anchor went on to talk about what to wear on this chilly morning. She turned back to the phone. “Tell me there’s another Suzanne Parker visiting Magic Springs this week.”
“You missed the description. Dark hair, pale skin, and working for the National Creative Arts department out of Boston,” Trent said. “It’s your tester. I took a picture of her photo on my phone, which the newspeople got from when she checked into the Lodge on Monday.” He paused. “I just sent it to you. I wish I wasn’tstuck in the house while this is going on. Why would someone kill a coven testing specialist? It’s like attacking the people who transcribe reports in the CIA. They don’t know anything.”
Mia checked the picture. “That’s her. I didn’t know she liked to ski, but then again, I didn’t know much about her except she was mean to the bone and seemed to hate me. She loved making me squirm on an answer. I could see it in her eyes when I paused to think. Then, when I answered the question, she’d frown. Finally I just stopped pausing. I would either pass or fail, but she wasn’t going to intimidate me.”
“That’s one of the reasons you went up to level five. Confidence in the answer sometimes counts more than if it was right or wrong. Mom’s heading your way for a meeting of the minds. I wish I could be there.”
His words made her feel better. She knew no matter what, things were going to be okay. And if the coven refused to put back on her protection while the testing was sorted out and she had to quarantine herself, she’d just go over to Trent’s. As long as she didn’t go in and out, Sonja couldn’t say anything. Well, she could, but Mia wasn’t going to listen. She was a level five, after all. Her newly found level should be good for something, right? “I’d be surprised if they weren’t already in the kitchen, plotting the next step. Our families can be a little intense.”
“That is the understatement of the year. Sarah has breakfast ready and she’ll want to hear the news. Call me when you can. I miss you.”
