“Then we need to do this.” I gave Scout a significant look. “You know what to do?”
“He killed his workers because he has insurance policies on them—thanks for putting that information front and center in your brain, Gumdrop—and he tried to make it look like a paranormal creature because he’s an idiot.”
That was a bit simplistic for what I had planned, but I nodded. “That’s it in a nutshell.”
“What about Steve?” Evan asked. “He knows about the naiad. He knows there’s a warlock, too.”
“He’ll have to deal,” I replied. “The only way this partnership is going to work is if he understands, occasionally, that justice doesn’t necessarily mean telling the truth.”
“I can’t wait for you to explain that to him,” Evan said on a grin.
Weirdly, I was looking forward to it. “Let’s do it,” I said to Scout. “We’re out of time.”
“We’re coming for you, little piggy.” She poked Greg’s stomach, which was visible from beneath his shirt. He’d tried to escape when we were binding his powers and he looked as if he’d been through a tornado. “I hope you like jail. If you’re a good little boy, I’ll visit you from time to time.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Greg spat.
“Yeah, won’t that be a fun little trick?”
FIVE MINUTES LATER I WAS DRAINED.The memory spell had taken a lot out of me, but it was contained and precise.
I heard the incoming vehicles before I saw them, and I felt Landon before he barked my name. I was on the ground, my back against a fallen tree, and I was smiling when he landed in front of me.
“You scared the crap out of me.” He yanked me into his arms, burying his face in my hair. “Bay, geez.” He was crying, the relief that I really was okay not attainable until he could physically touch me. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
I ran my hands over his back. “I’m sorry. She caught me off guard.”
“Where is she?” Aunt Tillie stalked to the center of the clearing. Briefly, her gaze landed on Greg. He wasn’t a threat, so she went back to searching for Millie. “Where is the fiend?”
Fiend?Did she always have to make things so dramatic?
“Gone.” I patted Landon’s shoulder to get him to back up. He was swallowing all of my oxygen. “She won’t be a problem any longer.”
Aunt Tillie worked her jaw back and forth, debating whether or not she approved of that decision. Ultimately, she gave a stiff nod. “I guess that’s for the best.”
“What’s for the best?” Steve demanded as he strode into the group. “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on here?”
Nobody answered.
“That wasn’t a rhetorical question,” he growled.
I straightened, even though the only thing I wanted at this point was to lie down and sleep. “I guess it’s up to me to explain.” I touched my tongue to my top lip, then pushed forward. “This is Greg. I guess his real name is Gregor, which makes me feel better for some reason because a warlock named Greg is just weird.”
Steve looked at Greg with fresh eyes. “He’s a warlock?” He took a step back.
“Not any longer.” I waved my hand in Greg’s face. He was still dazed. “I bound his powers.”
“I’m not following,” Steve said. “I need to know everything that happened here. I also need to know what the plan is to deal with the naiad.”
“She’s already been dealt with.” Now wasn’t the time to pussyfoot around. “She killed those men. She wanted to kill Greg. I made a deal with her.”
“A deal?” There wasn’t a hint of acceptance on Steve’s face. This was going to be a hard sell.
“Greg used his magic to rile the construction workers into a mob. He was here looking for a plane door.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“For all intents and purposes, it’s a door between worlds. Some paranormals exist on other planes—places humans can’t visit—and they only visit this plane when they need something or are curious. Others lived here at one time and chose to leave.”
