on us, it'll be four against a hundred instead.
My phone rings. Mira.
"Hey," I say. "How's Ripper?"
"About as happy as a cat thrown in a kiddie pool, but he'll live another day." Mira sounds about that happy herself. "We need to figure something out, fast. Devon said his wards went off on a tracking spell. He's lucky he's got a witch friend, because otherwise he'd be tagged."
"Tell him to stay safe."
"You think I'm going to tell him to get dead?" Mira usually doesn't turn her irritation on me, so she must be really stressed.
"How's Nana doing?"
Mira lets out a burst of a laugh that's almost a guffaw. "I love that fucking little fluffer. Had one of the other Mediators over a couple days ago, Hardy, that ass who always used to act like Trainer Sal didn't know what she was talking about?"
"Until Sal licked him in front of every Mitten at the compound, yeah. What the fuck was that pit-loving slime doing at your house?"
"He's an ass, but he's connected. The ultimate chaotic neutral. He has no desire but to stay alive, and he likes me for whatever reason. Must be my winning personality. Nana bit him, though."
"Nana bit somebody?" I picture my little red fluffy bunny twitching her little velvety nose and sinking her incisors into Hardy's flesh and want to give her a standing ovation.
"He tried to pick her up. He won't try again." Mira sounds as pleased as I am. "Bled like a stuck and squealing hog, but I gotta hand it to Hardy — he took it like a champ. He's like a wild dog, that one. Stand up to him and he'll respect you. I heard he has tea with Sal twice a week now."
"Will wonders never cease," I mutter. I want my bunny back.
"Hardy doesn't care for Alamea much, but he hates bullies even though he kind of is one. He's got it out for Ben, and he's the type to spoke somebody's wheel with them none the wiser."
"I'm liking him more and more already."
"He said he'd let me know if he found out Ben was going to make another move on Ripper, or if that grimy-faced Gryfflet tries to pull anything." Mira snorts into the phone, but under it is the tightness of frustration that I can almost feel through the phone line. "Gryfflet seems to have all the Summit witches lapping at his belly button. That guy's got a hard on for power, and he's finding it."
"Any good news besides my bunny's asshole detection powers?"
"Nope."
"Cool." I tell her about the shade in Hopkinsville, and she goes quiet.
"Yeah, I heard about that. You were right, the Mediators around here are whispering about it being your fault. And that you've become a shade. You seem to be all they talk about lately. You'd think we were in a high school rom com for all the gossiping they're doing. It's like they've completely forgotten about the hellslime about to bubble up over our boots."
She's not wrong, and I hang up the phone a minute later feeling helpless, as usual.
Carrick has reopened the book during my conversation, and my dinner is now congealing in the pan. I slop it onto a plate and sit down at the table.
"Anything interesting?"
"Plenty, but nothing helpful, I think. Just something about locational gardening, imbuing your food with the energy of your geography. Bloody nonsense."
"It's magic."
"Doesn't stop it from being nonsense. It sounds like something the hipster witches of East Nashville would say about their organic back garden tomatoes." Maybe Carrick was paying more attention in Nashville than I gave him credit for. I picture a bunch of tomatoes ripening on the vine, complete with ironic mustaches.
A gong rings through the cabin.
My mouth is full of stroganoff, and I drop my fork to my plate. "Wards?"
Carrick nods, already on his feet.
"Jax and Evis are out there." They couldn't trigger the wards themselves, and panic tightens my chest. If anything happens to Evis…
Carrick doesn't tell me they'll be okay.
I grab my swords without bothering to strap on my scabbard, and we're out the door.
"It was just the
My phone rings. Mira.
"Hey," I say. "How's Ripper?"
"About as happy as a cat thrown in a kiddie pool, but he'll live another day." Mira sounds about that happy herself. "We need to figure something out, fast. Devon said his wards went off on a tracking spell. He's lucky he's got a witch friend, because otherwise he'd be tagged."
"Tell him to stay safe."
"You think I'm going to tell him to get dead?" Mira usually doesn't turn her irritation on me, so she must be really stressed.
"How's Nana doing?"
Mira lets out a burst of a laugh that's almost a guffaw. "I love that fucking little fluffer. Had one of the other Mediators over a couple days ago, Hardy, that ass who always used to act like Trainer Sal didn't know what she was talking about?"
"Until Sal licked him in front of every Mitten at the compound, yeah. What the fuck was that pit-loving slime doing at your house?"
"He's an ass, but he's connected. The ultimate chaotic neutral. He has no desire but to stay alive, and he likes me for whatever reason. Must be my winning personality. Nana bit him, though."
"Nana bit somebody?" I picture my little red fluffy bunny twitching her little velvety nose and sinking her incisors into Hardy's flesh and want to give her a standing ovation.
"He tried to pick her up. He won't try again." Mira sounds as pleased as I am. "Bled like a stuck and squealing hog, but I gotta hand it to Hardy — he took it like a champ. He's like a wild dog, that one. Stand up to him and he'll respect you. I heard he has tea with Sal twice a week now."
"Will wonders never cease," I mutter. I want my bunny back.
"Hardy doesn't care for Alamea much, but he hates bullies even though he kind of is one. He's got it out for Ben, and he's the type to spoke somebody's wheel with them none the wiser."
"I'm liking him more and more already."
"He said he'd let me know if he found out Ben was going to make another move on Ripper, or if that grimy-faced Gryfflet tries to pull anything." Mira snorts into the phone, but under it is the tightness of frustration that I can almost feel through the phone line. "Gryfflet seems to have all the Summit witches lapping at his belly button. That guy's got a hard on for power, and he's finding it."
"Any good news besides my bunny's asshole detection powers?"
"Nope."
"Cool." I tell her about the shade in Hopkinsville, and she goes quiet.
"Yeah, I heard about that. You were right, the Mediators around here are whispering about it being your fault. And that you've become a shade. You seem to be all they talk about lately. You'd think we were in a high school rom com for all the gossiping they're doing. It's like they've completely forgotten about the hellslime about to bubble up over our boots."
She's not wrong, and I hang up the phone a minute later feeling helpless, as usual.
Carrick has reopened the book during my conversation, and my dinner is now congealing in the pan. I slop it onto a plate and sit down at the table.
"Anything interesting?"
"Plenty, but nothing helpful, I think. Just something about locational gardening, imbuing your food with the energy of your geography. Bloody nonsense."
"It's magic."
"Doesn't stop it from being nonsense. It sounds like something the hipster witches of East Nashville would say about their organic back garden tomatoes." Maybe Carrick was paying more attention in Nashville than I gave him credit for. I picture a bunch of tomatoes ripening on the vine, complete with ironic mustaches.
A gong rings through the cabin.
My mouth is full of stroganoff, and I drop my fork to my plate. "Wards?"
Carrick nods, already on his feet.
"Jax and Evis are out there." They couldn't trigger the wards themselves, and panic tightens my chest. If anything happens to Evis…
Carrick doesn't tell me they'll be okay.
I grab my swords without bothering to strap on my scabbard, and we're out the door.
"It was just the
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