“Laina Flynn?” The woman waved.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Silas sent me. I’m Grateful Knight, the witch who’s helping your pack.”
Laina stepped forward and opened the gate. “Come inside. If we hurry, we can walk through the house before Kyle wakes up.”
The witch took a step forward, then balked as if she’d bounced off a sheet of glass. “Interesting.” She narrowed her eyes at the empty space between them.
“What just happened?”
“I can’t come inside. This entire place is surrounded by a protective ward.” Grateful looked up as if following the line of a glass dome that rose above Laina’s head. She raised her hand, passing it over an invisible barrier. “Rick, come look at this.”
Rick approached, his eyes a creepy shade of black. After a cursory inspection, he said, “Impeccable magic,mi cielo. I cannot discern the source, although the signature is not elemental.”
“Right. Not another witch. Something else.” Grateful frowned. “Whoever put this here knew what they were doing. It’s as strong a spell as I’ve ever encountered.”
Laina led Jason through the gate and stared in the direction Grateful did. “I don’t see anything.”
Grateful smiled and tilted her head, her honey-colored waves falling over one shoulder. “Let me help you with that.” She removed a sword from a holster on her back and tapped the invisible boundary with the tip. Purple light rippled from the point of contact. The magic was beautiful and alive, like the aurora borealis shaped into a dome over Kyle’s yard and home.
“What is that?”
“It’s a selective protection spell,” Rick said. “No supernatural or enchanted creature can pass through it without an invitation.”
“I made something similar for a friend once. It’s the same sort of thing I’m setting up around Rivergate Manor,” Grateful said. “Although, I admit, this one is far more sophisticated than any spell I’ve cast. It looks like it’s been here for some time.”
“Excuse me,” Laina said, “butwhattype of spell this is isn’t nearly as important aswhoput it here.”
“Or why,” Jason added. “Are you sure it’s for protection?”
Grateful nodded. “As Rick mentioned, this type of spell keeps out supernatural beings, yet you and your sister can pass through. That means you were invited intentionally. Whoever built this enchantment knows what you are and allowed you in.”
“So what do we do?”
“Stay where you are. I think the spell is keeping you safe. If it was Jonah who shot at you, Laina, he did it because he can’t get to you physically. Someone is protecting you here, although my gut tells me this spell was here before you. Is there anyone you’ve met who could be responsible for this enchantment? Maybe the ogre?”
“Monty? No way,” Jason said. “Magically capable but fundamentally unwilling.”
Grateful stroked her chin. “Hmm. I’m sorry I can’t be more help.”
“What will you tell Silas?”
“Your brother is a dear friend of ours. I’ll tell him you should stay right where you are until the shift,” the witch said. “He loves you. I’m sure he’ll agree once he knows the facts.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll have the protective enchantment in place around Rivergate in a few days. One more week and you two can come home.” She gave them a cheerful smile.
While she nodded politely, Laina couldn’t bring herself to thank Grateful as Jason did. At that moment, she realized she did not think of Rivergate or Carlton City as her home. When she thought of the word home, she thought of Kyle, and although she wasn’t ready to admit it to either of her brothers, she was already devoting a large percentage of her brain to the problem of remaining in his presence.
“It was a pleasure to meet both of you,” Grateful said, “but we have to go. Our son—let’s just say, odd things seem to happen when we’re away.” She waved a hand. “It’s a long story.”
Tall, dark, and brooding behind her folded in half, and in the most painfully twisted shift Laina had ever witnessed, transformed into some kind of dragon beast. Grateful ran and vaulted onto its back.
“Good luck,” she called. Witch and dragon vanished into the light.
“Well, that was a bust,” Jason said.
