Page 91 of Bewitching the Wolf

Finally, I can make sense of it all. The events that led inexorably from one to the next, the links in the magical chain of fate.

There was a gods damn reason for everything that happened. I just couldn’t see it.

“It still took us three years,” I groan. “If only me and Tippy had gotten our act together sooner, maybe the Labyrinth would be free already…”

Mom just shakes her head. “Sometimes, honey, even the most potent magic can’t hurry love.” Her eyes twinkle as she looks over at me and Tippy. “Sometimes folks just need to wake up and smell the coffee.”

And after this crazy, amazing day we’ve all just come through, those words are like a pressure valve releasing.

And we all start laughing.

A couple of hours later, an emergency meeting has been convened at the sheriff’s offices.

Mom isn’t joining us. She was deeply fatigued and wanted to spend time with Clem, especially once Clem broke the news of her pregnancy. And of course, when Tippy and Felicia found out, there was much exuberant celebrating about the second hybrid pregnancy in just a few months. And much handing out of advice on elixirs for morning sickness.

It’s therefore been left to me, Traggar, and Otis to tell Mom’s story to the team.

When we finish, everyone in the room looks stunned. The only monster who doesn’t seem overly surprised is Silas. As curator of the Vault, he’d read up on whatever he could find about the magic systems that once operated here. Even so, his intelligent face lit up often during our discussions as pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

There were many questions about the Dawnwrought Coven, which we answered as best we could.

No sooner have the questions slowed than Otis jumps up and goes over to the whiteboard.

“Okay guys, it’s time for a plan of action,” he says, grabbing a pen. “Marsha saw Aurora being magicked away in the cape, so she will likely guess she’s in the Labyrinth. Luckily, we released a host more behemoths and nagas from level ten into the portal spaces just yesterday, so they will act as a deterrent for any more human spies. That should buy us a day, perhaps longer.”

“Once we reunite the three books, the white magic will become turbo-charged,” Traggar adds, “so that has to be our number one priority.”

“Absolutely,” Otis agrees, pacing in front of the whiteboard. “First thing tomorrow a group of us will head to One Moonbeam Lake. My father will meet us there, and the official handover of the Golden Book will take place. As High Priestess, Aurora will need to bless the book before it can then join its brethren.”

He draws a line back to the center of the board and scribbles a square, which he marks with the words The Vault. “The Golden Book will then be reunited with the Red and Silver books. And the magic will immediately triple its output. Which means it will be time for us to storm Sparkle City and crush Marsha’s dark reign.”

“You reckon she’ll go down without a fight?” Tony the raccoon shifter asks.

“Of course she bloody won’t.” Otis rakes a hand through his spiky green hair. “She still has means at her disposal to call up demonic powers. She’ll know the writing is on the wall now that Aurora has escaped, and she’ll be doing everything she can to fortify her magic. But her options will be limited once all three books are communicating.”

“How come?” Brody asks, scratching an ear.

It’s Traggar’s turn to speak again. “The three books working together will block most of her powers. She will only be able to summon a handful of demons, not the legions she had during the Rebellion. And the Trojan warriors are prepared to fight them.”

“We need your best soldiers,” Otis says.

“You’ll have them.”

“What about the humans?” Tony the raccoon is frowning. “Won’t there be mayhem when they see a bunch of monsters enter Sparkle? Most of them have no idea we exist.”

“Good question, Tony. I think Silas can answer that better than me.” Otis defers to the raven shifter.

Silas stands and adjusts his glasses on his aquiline nose. “A dissociative fugue will fall on the humans once we enter the city.”

“What the fuck is that?” Brody asks.

“The humans will go into a dream state and will remember little or nothing afterward,” Silas explains.

“And when this is all over, and we’ve defeated Marsha, what happens to all the humans in the domes?” Kazmo asks.

“The portal elevators will take up food and emergency supplies, and we will drop fliers to introduce rehabilitation programs.”

“Rehabilitation programs?” Kazmo’s leonine ears prick up. “I’d be keen to help with those.”