Page 64 of Hextreme Measures

“You’re a witch, and we’re going to have a bunch of shifters and vampires searching for him. We’re talking beings with superior scenting abilities. That will not be a problem.”

“Oh.” Ofelia slapped her forehead. “I’m really slow on this one.”

“You’ve been overwhelmed,” he replied evenly. “The puzzle pieces are about to slip into place for you. First, how do you think Shirley took Sully when you were so close?”

“The mirror,” Ofelia replied, not missing a beat. “It’s a portal. She built it as an escape route.”

“Is it a one-way portal?”

“No. She made it so only her kind could go through it, though. There was nothing magical when I tried to access it.”

He nodded, taking it all in. “That makes sense. She has not left the city.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because this city is all she knows. She has another place to hide, somewhere that is not too far away. We will find it.” He leaned forward. “Now let’s talk about Biff. You’re missing something very big about him. I need you to figure it out.”

Ofelia’s face screwed up in concentration as she attempted to work out what she’d missed. “Can’t you just tell me?” she complained after a few seconds.

“No.” His answer was succinct, and final.

“Ugh.” Ofelia tugged on her hair. “It’s frustrating when you do things like this. My mind isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.”

“That’s why I’m doing it,” he replied. “You need to get over this final barrier.”

Ofelia made chuffing noises as she tried to dislodge the information. The harder she tried, however, the thicker the barrier became. “I’m just making things worse,” she lamented, rubbing her forehead. “How could I possibly be making things worse at this point?”

“Because you’re putting too much pressure on yourself,” he replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. “Take a breath.”

She did as she was told.

“Take another.”

He kept repeating it until she was breathing in and out at regular intervals.

“Now tell me what happened when you first met Biff,” he ordered.

Ofelia allowed the memory to coalesce in her head. “He was obnoxious right from the start,” she said finally.

“Because he knew what you were?”

Here, she hesitated. “He pretended he didn’t,” she said finally. “I knew, though. That was all a cover. He did know what I was, and what I was capable of.”

Pascal bobbed his head to encourage her along. “What did Jack know at that point?”

“Some,” Ofelia hedged. “Not as much as he knows now, obviously. He knew I was a witch but had no idea how powerful I was.”

“Very good.” Pascal smiled his patented fatherly smile. Oscar would always be Ofelia’s father — he would never try to usurp the man’s position — but he loved Ofelia as if she were his child as well. She was as close as he would ever get, and that was why he cherished her. “What do you remember about Biff from those first few days?”

Ofelia recognized he was leading her where he needed her to go, and she focused hard. “All I remember about him from that first meeting is that he was a misogynist,” she said finally.

“Very interesting for a man who has magic in his line, but only for the women, wouldn’t you say?”

Ofelia’s eyebrows hiked. “I never really thought about it that way,” she admitted after a beat. “You’re right, though.”

“I’m always right,” he agreed.

She gave him a quelling look but managed a smile. “He’s a misogynist. His mother is special. He can never be special because he’s a man in a family that’s dominated by women.” She kept at it. The answer was there, right at the tip of her brain. Then she lifted her chin in realization.