Detective Swanson heaved out of his chair, groaning and huffing all the way. The second he was in the hall, he hollered for the deputy manning the door, and Bertie turned on Willemena.
“Who made you grand witch of this temporary coven? I don’t know who you think you are, but we’re not gonna be taking orders from you. My son’s in charge here. He’s the leader of the Black Clan. He’s gonna make the plan.”
“Actually”—I stepped between them—“there’s no time for a pissing contest. We have the ten witches we need for the ten-point pentagram spell. The sooner we deal with this fog demon, the sooner everyone will be safe, including the officer Gary and his family. Molly, Cass, and I will keep you safe from zombie townies, while you put down this fog.”
“I’m going with you,” Brock said, ever the protective alpha and baby daddy.
“Of course,” I replied, because we’d wasted enough time as it was. We needed to contain this before things could get any worse, or before Gary asked for Taco Bell or something.
I turned to face the witches who’d be responsible for doing the spell. “Willemena, Auntie Bertie, Johnny, Cho, Tianna, and the rest of you.” I nodded toward my cousins, all five of whom wore similar expressions of distaste. “Where does this spell need to be done?”
All of them tried to answer at once, seeking to command the floor, and shouting voices rang out so loudly that I couldn’t make sense of anything through the clamor. All except Cho. I moved toward her, singling her out. “Where do we need to go, Cho?” I asked. She was calm and had a look on her face that said she had an idea.
“At the point of concentration of the fog, the place it’s doing the most damage.”
“Like the officer’s house?” Cass suggested as he fluttered over my shoulder.
Cho smiled. “Like the officer’s house.”
“Good,” I agreed, turning to take in everyone in the room, a room that was feeling more crowded with each passing second. “I’d prefer to keep us all in one place anyway. Cass, Brock, Molly, and I will watch your backs while Cho coordinates the witchy troops.” I half expected Cho to shy away from the role, but she only nodded firmly, garnering a snarl from Auntie Bertie, upturned noses from my female cousins, and a pout from Johnny. Willemena and Tianna were the only ones who didn’t seem to care who took charge as long as shit got done.
“Molly, I take it you have extra ammo?” I asked my purple-haired apprentice.
“Does demon fog make people go ape-shit crazy? ‘Course I have extra ammo.” Her mouth was set in a grim line of determination.
“Only shoot if there’s no other choice. Aim to disable, not hurt.” I knew she’d need to be reined in a bit.
“Obvi,” she said, and I resisted a smile.
“I’ll be at your side,” Cass said, patting his black leather Gucci fanny pack and his gun in turn.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I told my bestie.
Brock sidled up behind me, wrapping a possessive arm around my waist. He wasn’t leaving my side either, and his body language was broadcasting it to all the crazy witches and the warlock in the room.
Detective Swanson swept into the space then, out of breath and harried, but armed to the teeth. He had two pistols in holsters on his hips, with extra magazines of rubber bullets, and a shotgun leaning against either shoulder. His deputy was armed in the same way, a deep sadness tinting his gaze.
“Come on, everyone,” the detective said. “I hope you have a fine plan in place. It’s a war zone out there, and the town is taking new casualties with every passing minute. Follow me.”
Brock, Cass, and I walked behind him, ignoring the way Bertie tried to jostle Willemena in the hallway. I rolled my eyes, but refused to discipline women who were both probably over a hundred years old. Since witches usually lived well over a century, it was hard to determine their age once they went gray.
The detective and deputy pressed their noses against the back, utilitarian double doors, peering through the glass windows. “All clear,” said the detective, and the deputy repeated the call. Then they yanked down their gas masks, kicked open the doors, and bolted for two large vans with the Eugene Sheriff Department logo scrolled across it. Detective Swanson fiddled with a key fob, unlocking the back for us, as I sensed Tianna’s air bubble settling around us.
The moment we were all encased in the bubble, we hauled ass, jumping into the back of the vans and pulling the doors shut behind us faster than I thought this motley crew of supes capable of. We were packed in like sardines, and two seconds later Detective Swanson launched the van forward in a squeal of tires. The deputy was right behind us with the other van.
It was time to kill a fog demon.
8Horrors of the underworld
I peeredaround the back of the van, taking in the many sets of determined expressions. Even Bertie had put aside her displeasure in order to execute our strategy. It was a decent plan, despite the fact that so many things could go wrong. It was also our only plan.
“You’re sure you can keep the air bubble around us while you do this?” I asked Tianna.
“Of course my girl can,” Cass said right away, sitting on Tianna’s lap in the back of our van.
Tianna smiled behind a wave of shiny, copper hair. “It won’t be a problem unless the fog claims me, and it can’t get to me in the bubble, so we’re good.”
“Now don’t go boasting, girl,” Aunt Bertie said. “Maintaining a spell of that level while also participating in a ten-point pentacle is no joking matter. Only a very powerful witch could do that and—”
