Page 145 of The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium

“I always suspected the Blue Moon was a little more than it seemed.” Luis shrugged. “Muriel suspects, too, by the way.”

“That librarian is a busybody,” Mrs. Bochart grumbled.

“Bad news, sweetie.” Anna squeezed Talula’s hand. “Turns out we did need the fire alarm.”

“What happened? Did anyone get hurt?” Talula tried to sit up but couldn’t quite manage it until Dahlia gently hoisted her up.

“Everyone’s fine. But you broke all the protections on an ancient well of raw magical power. There were consequences.” Simon looked down. “The Blue Moon didn’t make it.”

“How bad is it?” Talula croaked. Dahlia pulled out her phone and showed an image to Talula.

Only a pile of rubble and bricks remained where the Blue Moon had once stood in all its strange, wonderful, loving glory. Talula felt a sob catch in her throat.

“We found you half-buried in the detritus,” Kiki said quietly. “Dahlia told us what happened in the Volta. You should have died.”

“You almost did!” Simon raged. “Next time when you try not to die, try harder.”

Elegba flicked Simon’s ear impatiently, then said to Talula, “I don’t understand how you weren’t consumed like a feather in a firestorm.”

Talula took an unsteady breath. “I was.”

“Then how did you survive?” Dahlia asked.

Talula looked within herself. Her magical core still had all the colors she’d seen before, but they flickered with a familiar cerulean. Talula summoned her magic. Her limbs scintillated with sparkling blue power. She raised her fingers, watching as the light danced around her knuckles.

“You…merged with the Volta.” Simon looked awestruck.

“Ah, that explains it.” Emilio nodded. Talula raised an eyebrow. He elaborated, “For a while, you were doing this cool blue fiery glowing thing.”

“The Volta tore me apart,” Talula whispered. “But I talked to something, someone, and then…”

They all watched the dancing flickers of magic playing along Talula’s skin.

“What about the people who used the Volta on Samhain?” Talula asked, letting the magic subside.

“They’re safe and sound,” Simon said.

“What did you do with the hunters?”

“They’re being dealt with by the Council. Thanks to some very terrified blabbermouth hunters, we’ve dismantled the entire organization. Orion Hunts is no more,” Elegba said. “I found Damien in a void between worlds. But whatever you did to him, I can’t undo.”

The orisha looked positively giddy.

“Good,” Kiki and Dahlia said at the same time.

“I don’t think unhexing him is a priority right now,” Simon said lightly. “In fact, it might not be a priority for, oh, say, the next millennium?”

“At least,” Kiki agreed, their eyes flame-bright.

“What about my mom?” Talula asked.

“Still off the grid, but another bird said she’ll be home soon,” Dahlia said, stroking Talula’s hair.

“Great. I’ll have time to fake my death and start a new life,” Mrs. Bochart grumbled. Laughter filled the room.

Talula looked around at the people in her home. They’d all saved her, saved one another. Tears of gratitude trickled down her face.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “Thank you all.”