Witches were a paranoid lot. Granted, they had plenty of reason to be paranoid. Others could have the ability to do remote spells on them if they were careless enough to lose track of a strand of hair, a birth certificate, or a vast number of things I didn’t want to think about—lest I become paranoid myself.
“She allowed us to come all the way up here,” I informed everyone. “I sensed her magic once we entered the forest. She’s expecting me. She opened up the way for us, directing the truck.”
Cass slapped his butt back down on his booster seat, to give me his full attention. “You’ve never sensed anything like that before.”
Damn, he was right! My lips pulled into a frown. “Shit’s getting out of control fast.” My bestie understood what I actually meant by that, though I’m not sure Molly did.
“It’s okay,” he reassured. “Just because you’ve never sensed another witch’s magic before, doesn’t mean anything bad. It’s actually good, right? Your powers are growing. Now that your kitsune side is coming out, it makes sense.”
“I suppose... only how’s it going to work with my witch side?” After all these years, all this time, thinking I was a dud, to finally have my witch powers emerge was amazing. But without Gran here to train me… it didn’t seem all that great.
“I can’t wait to find out,” Molly announced. “There’s nothing on this in any of the supernatural books.”
No, there wouldn’t be. I was some kind of unique freak.
Yay.
“Lucky for us,” Cass added, “there’s a witch in this cabin that has answers.” He opened his door.
Right.
Hopping down, he flapped his small wings a couple of times to steady himself along the drop. “Come on, Ev. Let’s do this.”
Numb already, I pushed the door and got out, just as Willemena walked out onto her front porch.
‘Damn,’Cass mumbled in my mind.‘That’s one mean-looking witch.’
‘Definitely,’I agreed.
Willemena Worst looked like she ate ground glass for three square meals a day just to keep her tough. Slender, with long silky strands of silver hair that reminded me of the moon, she wore one of those dresses you’d see at a Renaissance fair or something—crushed purple velvet, with an empire waistline.
“Well? What are you waiting for? I’m not getting any younger,” she hollered from the porch. The woman didn’t look a day over eighty, but in witch years she could be over a century old.
Cass, Molly, and I hopped to it; obviously this was a woman used to giving orders.
When we got within forty feet of her, she squinted, and held up a hand that crackled with unspent magic. “Halt right there.”
We ground to a stop.
“No humans, and certainly no demon imps.”
Cass squared his shoulders and tilted his chin upward. “I protect Evie. She’s not going in there without me.”
“Son, she doesn’t need you to protect her. Not anymore,” the witch assured.
Cass opened his mouth to protest, but the crone looked Cass up and down intently, silencing him.
“I am tempted to let you in. It’s not every day that I get company, and it’s certainly not often that I get visitors willing to dress to impress. I like your sense of style.”
“Hmph,” was all Cass said, but apparently her appreciation of his fashion sense mollified him enough.
“She’s in no danger from me,” the witch confirmed, looking between the three of us. “It’s the rest of the supernatural community you should be worried about. You two take a seat on the porch, if you like. Evie, let’s get to it. Time’s a wastin’.”
I nodded obediently and made my way inside, not even considering whether I should object. I was possibly under the influence of her magic, but if Gran trusted her with something this important, there was no reason to doubt her.
‘I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know if anything weird goes down,’I reassured Cass.
‘Fine,’he grumbled with obvious reluctance.
