Page 81 of Christmas Magic

Chapter Fourteen

Molly set her cell phone on the countertop. “Apparently, Lucian’s back at Coquina Castle with Cora.”

“What?” Petunia meowed. “Why?”

Molly shook her head. “I have no idea. I’m worried about him. I know Julius is on his way to help us, but—”

“No choice. You have to knock Lucian out,” Galahad said.

Shock raced through Molly. She frowned at the fluffy feline sitting on his haunches in front of her. All five adult cats, facing her, were lined up in a row on the counter. Taking advantage of a lull in customers in the store, they’d been discussing Lucian right before Molly had received the call from her friend.

“Knocking him out sounds a bit harsh,” Molly said. Before taking such drastic action, they’d also need to figure out exactly how to knock him out so he wouldn’t get hurt.

“Yeah, it’s harsh,” the squire meowed, “but then you’d know where he is—and that he’s not getting his enchanted ass into trouble.”

“True.” Molly gnawed her bottom lip. “He might not be unconscious for long. What would we do if he started waking up?”

“You’d knock him out again,” Galahad said.

Marigold nodded. “And again, even.”

“No! I couldn’t do that to him.”

“It’s the best—maybe the only—way to protect him.” Galahad flicked his tail. “He ignored me earlier when I tried to stop him from leaving with Cora. Didn’t matter that I’d been his squire for more than eight hundred years. He just locked the door and walked away. Last night, he wouldn’t listen to you when you tried to tell him about the spell, and today, he’s left you all on your own to manage the store. He needs an intervention.”

“It’s not a bad plan,” said Petunia, seated next to Galahad.

“It’s the best suggestion so far,” Marigold said.

Daisy nodded. “It gets my vote.”

“Mine too,” Rose said. “Haven’t we all wanted to knock Lucian out at one time or another?”

Molly gasped. “Rose!”

The feline licked her front paw. “Just being honest. When he’s let our dry kibble run low in our bowl? That’s when I’ve been tempted.”

Tim was sound asleep again on Molly’s sweater. Otherwise, he’d doubtless have offered an opinion, too.

Molly studied the felines. She’d prefer to consider other options, but they needed to act sooner rather than later. “Okay. Just so I have the plan straight—”

“I’ll make a fuss and demand wet food.” Galahad smiled, showing his fangs. “Lucian won’t be suspicious of that at all.”

Rose huffed. “Wow, that’s a super complicated plan.”

“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of my marvelous plan first. Anyhow, I’ll lure him into the back room. If you girls want to help out by meowing and acting hungry too, that would be good. Once he’s in the room, you take over, Molly. Using your magic, you’ll render him unconscious—”

“W-whoa. I’ve only had one lesson on that.” Lucian had volunteered to be her test subject and had talked her through the process. While she’d easily made him drowsy, it had taken a few tries before his eyes had slipped closed and he’d slumped on the sofa. It had taken even longer for her to wake him again, which had been rather frightening.

“Still, you successfully knocked him out,” Galahad said. “You know what to do.”

If I remember the right amount of magic to use. Lucian won’t be guiding me this time, so it will all be up to me.

“Once he’s knocked out,” Galahad continued, “you’ll cast a barrier spell on the doorway, so when he wakes up, he can’t leave the room. He’ll be there until the enchantment on him wears off or we figure out how to break it.”

“Which, we’ve all agreed, could be a while,” Rose noted. “Even once Julius arrives in town, Lucian will have to stay locked up—until the enchantment’s been broken.”

“That’s if Lucian doesn’t manage to unravel Molly’s spell.” Marigold shook her head. “I’ll cross my paws that doesn’t happen.”