Page 101 of Christmas Magic

Galahad yowled.

As she glanced at the back room, silvery light blasted through the doorway.

Lucian stepped through.

Oh, no.

Galahad snatched up Tim in his mouth and raced toward her. The female cats followed.

Her pulse hammering, Molly summoned power into her palms.

“I don’t think so.” Raising his right hand, Lucian shot a blast of silver light at her.

She darted sideways; knocked the wall. The etchings and plates hanging on it jostled. With a loud thud, the blast of energy slammed into the shelving underneath the counter. Silvery links, resembling chain mail armor, glowed in the air and then vanished. She recognized the spell of Lucian’s. He wasn’t trying to cause damage, but to entrap her.

Julius. She had to warn him.

Lunging sideways, she grabbed her phone. The cell slid from her grasp and clattered on the floor.

“No,” she gasped.

Paws scrabbling, the cats converged behind the counter.

“What do we do now?” Petunia wailed.

“I’m scared,” Tim, still in Galahad’s jaws, mewed.

Molly reached into the pile of cats and retrieved her phone.

“Go hide in that corner.” Molly pointed. The felines could take shelter underneath a large wardrobe.

Lucian’s clipped footfalls approached.

“We won’t abandon you,” Rose meowed.

“We girls will stay together,” Marigold said.

“You help Molly. I’ll help Galahad,” Daisy howled. “We’ll keep Tim safe.”

While Daisy, Galahad, and Tim ran to the wardrobe, Molly glanced at her phone then back at Lucian. She couldn’t type a text to Julius and cast a spell—not safely—at the same time.

“Molly!” Rose yelled.

Silver light shot toward her.

She lunged sideways. The light zipped along the edge of the counter, hit a chest of drawers, and dissipated.

“Put the phone down,” Lucian commanded. She shivered, because his tone belonged to a battle-hardened knight who expected her to yield.

With a flick of his hand, he magically locked the store’s front door, flipped the sign to ‘Closed,’ and cast a veiling glamor on the windows.

Not good.

“We’ll keep him busy,” Rose said. Their backs arched, growling, Rose, Petunia, and Marigold advanced toward Lucian.

Molly opened text messaging.

“I won’t let you send a message.”