Page 37 of Hex You

“Oh, shit!” Emily leaned forward and whispered across Khenti. “Mag, could there be another witch out there with power like you two? She could be jealous of you and H, or whatever, and she’s hexed Goodeville?”

Mercy snorted. “There aren’t any other witches out there who are powerful like Hunter and me.”

Emily’s dark brows arched up. “Egotistical much? I thought we had that talk already?”

Mercy wanted to tell Em she was being ridiculous—that she wasn’t being egotistical. She was just being accurate, but her best friend’s words came back to her:…you only thought aboutyou. And the problem is you’ve been doing a lot of that lately.Mercy blew out a long breath. “You’re right, Em. I don’t know for sure if H and I are the only powerful witches in this world. I shouldn’t assume. That’s more of a question for Xena.”

“Do all witches know what you told me about hexes?” Khenti asked after he drained the last of his float. “That they come back on the witch threefold?”

Mercy nodded. “Yeah, I would assume so. It’s common knowledge to anyone who chooses The Path.”

“Then there must be other witches in this world,” said Khenti.

“Well, yeah, there are, but I don’t know of any who can tap into the ley line power,” said Mercy. “But you know what would be worse than a rogue witch? If whatever killed Mrs. Stoll is also affecting the town.”

“Even worse than that,” Emily added. “What if the sick trees are literally making the town sick, too?”

“Oh, no! You could be right. Before I went to Khenti’s world I saw two grown men fighting at the park. I thought it was strange, but then what with everything that happened I forgot about it.” She pushed her float away, not wanting to add fizz to her already gurgling stomach. “What if the trees being sick have made the town super susceptible to whatever came through the gate?”

“That would be like a double hex, right?” said Emily.

“Yeah, it would.”

“And that would be really bad,” Khenti said.

“Incredibly bad,” agreed Mercy.

“Okay, here you go, Hunter! Hot pies for you and four salads.” Mr. Mitchell handed the pizza boxes to Khenti. “Your young man can carry this for you. Now, you three be careful out there. Seems patience is running thin. Probably just a big spring thunderstorm brewing, but still.”

“Thanks, Mr. Mitchell. And you’re right. There is definitely a storm coming,” said Mercy.

“Khenti kitten, are you quite certain you would not like a slice of my pizza? Tuna is delicious.” The cat person offered a piece of the tuna-and-cheese pie to Khenti as she smiled magnanimously. “You may have this slice. I have only licked the tiniest part of it.”

“Oh. Well. That is generous of you…” Khenti’s voice trailed off as he gave the glistening cat-spit slice of pie a dubious glance.

Mercy had to stifle a laugh as she saved him. “Xena, Khenti just ate more than half of a large veggie pie by himself and an entire salad. You wouldn’t want him to eat too much and feel sick, would you?”

“Oh, no! Eating to excess is terribly uncomfortable. Khenti kitten, I shall share my next pizza with you.” From her perch on the back of the couch, Xena reached forward and gave Khenti’s shoulder a motherly pat.

“Thank you. That is, uh, considerate of you,” said Khenti as he shared an amused look with Mercy, who sat beside him (on the regular couch cushions, where people usually sat).

Xena turned her attention to Emily, who sat on the other side of the couch nibbling her own pizza slice. “Emily kitten? Would you like to partake?”

Emily’s dark eyes went wide. “Oh, no, thank you, Xena. I’m super full, too. Maybe next time.”

“I shall ask sooner next time so that you will not be overly full,” Xena said.

“Oh, uh, goodie,” said Em, who had not been done with her slice, but as Xena noisily licked the cheesy tuna from her pizza she placed her own half-eaten slice carefully back on her plate and shoved it onto the coffee table.

“We need to talk about the trees,” said Hunter as she put her empty plate on the coffee table by Emily’s. She was sitting on thefloor using the recliner Jax always sat in as a backrest. Behind her, Jax was still eating—and was unusually quiet.

“Yeah, now that I’m not starving I agree,” said Mercy, adding her empty plate to the coffee table pile.

“Yes, kittens, what did you discover?” asked Xena as she began to thoroughly lick her fingers.

“The tree’s sick.” Hunter and Mercy spoke at the same time.

“Bloody hell!” said Mercy. “The Japanese tree isn’t healed?”