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“Which one is Jake?” my grandmother asked in a poor attempt at a whisper.
“You don’t want to know.”
“Oh. Well, then. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that.” She swept her arm toward the staircase Thorne had already ascended. “The vampire didn’t waste any time. The rest of you, follow me. We only have a few hours remaining until the coven arrives.”
By the timethe five of us joined my grandmother and the rest of the coven outside in the ritual clearing, the bonfire was burning brightly and women I’d spent my whole life casting alongside gathered together. But instead of happy chatter acting as the soundtrack to this meeting, a tense, heavy dread buzzed in the air. They knew we were up Shit Creek without a paddle.
“Join us, Moira and Ash. Gentlemen, take a seat. You can’t participate in this,” Grandmother said.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Kingston muttered.
“Afraid of a little magic?” I teased. “You’re just as bad as Alek.”
“Alek’s scared of ghosts. I’m wary of anyone who can shrivel my dick with a spell. Which one of us has the healthier phobia?”
“You,” Thorne said. “Definitely you.”
Power crackled in Alek’s eyes, and for a second, I thought the wolf and vamp were going to make a couple of cute toads, but he swallowed it back and accepted their teasing. He must be used to it, being a twin and all.
I stared at the men for a second longer, my heart warming at how far they’d come since Sunday brought them all together. Sure, I still thought they were neanderthals who loved to swing their dicks around simply because they had them. But things had changed. Their love for her had forged a new family for all of them, one where they were all welcome and equally valued. I wondered if they had any idea how special that was. How unique. Looking at the tense sets of their shoulders, the earnest hope in their eyes, I thought they did.
They truly loved my bestie.
Dammit. This was all my fault. It was past time to clean up my mess.
“Don’t leave this space. The magic is strong, and you’ll feel it if you step into the ritual clearing,” I warned. “I mean it.”
After they acknowledged me, I took Ash’s hand, and the two of us joined the already formed circle of powerful witches.
This should be easy. This much power should knock my silly spell back with no problems. We’ll find her.
There was something about needing an entire coven of witches to undo my casting that had me standing tall with pride. I wouldn’t admit it. Not out loud. But I was more than a little impressed with myself. Too bad I inadvertently broke a cardinal rule.Don’t cast a spell you can’t undo.Then again, how was I supposed to know I wouldn’t be able to? It had never been an issue before.
“Focus, wifey.”
I grinned at Ash, loving hearing that nickname more than I expected to. We hadn’t told anyone, but last night we decided to get married once this was over.
Releasing a breath as my grandmother began the invocation, I steeled myself. Locator spells were as basic as they came. This was going to be a cakewalk.
As one, the women around the fire took up my grandmother’s low chant, our heads tipped back toward the sky, focusing on the swirls of smoke drifting off the fire and lending her our considerable strength.
But instead of easily lifting the veil of magic I’d draped over Sunday, we came up against a wall of nothing. So we pressed on harder, adding more power to the mix. My limbs shook as the chant continued, the pressure of heavy spell casting hurting my ears. It reminded me of the time I thought it would be fun to lie down at the bottom of a pool. My gaze found the woman across from me, a trickle of blood leaking from her nose.
Panic shot through me at the sight. Something was wrong. This wasn’t my spell. This was something else.
Before I had a chance to give any sort of warning, the fire erupted upward, one massive pillar shooting into the sky. Cries rang out as we were thrown backward. I landed with a grunt, my head smacking against the ground with enough force to make my ears ring.
As fast as it had happened, the fire went out, leaving us in darkness. In its place, a harsh buzz filled the air, swirling above our clearing like one angry swarming mass and growing louder with each thud of my heart.
“What is that?” Ash asked, her voice sluggish as she pushed herself to a sitting position.
“Is this supposed to happen?” Alek asked, his voice wary.
“No,” I said, my head still ringing like a gong. “Definitely not.”
“Why is it spells never go to plan around you?” Thorne asked.
“It’s not me. Something bad is attached to Sunday.”
