He sat up. “Where are we going? All of my supplies are at my office, which is in the opposite direction.”
“We’re not going to your office.”
He lowered his eyebrows. “Then where are we going?”
I gave him a toothy smile. “We’re going to see a witch about a spell.”
“No. Why? I told you I could cast the spell.”
“So can she, and I trust her a hell of a lot more than I trust you.”
He sputtered, the look on his face making it clear I was right to have my suspicions.
“This is ridiculous. You’re making a mistake.”
Yeah, yeah. It was my mistake to make. Hopefully, my last visit hadn’t totally pissed her off and she’d be willing to help me.
*
Elements’ sign was turned to ‘closed’. I stood outside and wondered what I should do. I didn’t have Miriam’s home address or her phone number. It hadn’t occurred to me that she might not be in her shop. I just assumed since she was part of the otherworld that she kept the same hours as me, which was ludicrous. She had no reason to cling to the dark like I did. Her feet were planted much more firmly in the day world than mine.
“What now, oh smart one?” Peter asked sarcastically. “Looks like your plan is a complete dud.”
I didn’t answer. Time was against me. I only had a few hours left before sunrise, and I didn’t think Brax would wait much longer before making his move.
I pounded on the door and stepped back, looking at the windows above the shop. Nothing. No lights turned on, and I could see no movement behind the curtains. I pounded again, my hand smarting from the force. Looked like she didn’t live above the shop as I’d hoped.
What kind of witch was this? Shouldn’t she be able to sense when people need her?
“She’s not here,” Peter complained. “Guess you’ll have to release me from this cuff.”
“Not yet.”
I hadn’t exhausted all options. There had to be some way to contact Miriam.
“You’re the one who didn’t want the wolves dying or going ape shit on everyone,” he griped.
Wait. I’d made a delivery here. Jerry would have her information on file. There was the slight question of whether he would share that information with me, especially since I’d been actively avoiding him over the past few days. Probably not and definitely not without the most extreme ass chewing of my life.
I grabbed my phone and opened the app for the courier service. Maybe I’d get lucky and her information would still be in my queue. It sometimes took a few days for it to drop off my history. Her cell number should have been included in the contact portion in case I missed the deadline.
Ah ha. It was there. I would be spared from having to go through Jerry after all.
I dialed the number and waited as it rang. And rang. And rang. Then went to voicemail. I hung up and stared at the phone. Was she asleep? During the witching hour?
Peter made a frustrated sound next to me. “Enough of this.”
He raised one hand and touched the door. It was like a gong had sounded. I covered my ears, but it wasn’t enough to block out the sound. I could feel whatever he’d done in my chest, rattling through my bones. Then it was gone.
“What the hell?” I yelled. “I thought you couldn’t do magic.”
“That wasn’t me,” he said with a serious expression, watching his surroundings. “I touched the ward. Think of it like a really annoying doorbell.”
A doorbell? I didn’t think so. More like a claxon calling up the troops to defend against an attack.
“I touched the door too.” I gave the door in question a suspicious glare. “Why didn’t it do that when I knocked?”
“I doubt you have enough power to register to the ward. Quite frankly, I’m surprised you were even able to feel the alarm.”
