Page 38

“He’ll come,” Travis said. “Jax never turned down a fight.”

I watched his silhouette, but I didn’t get the chance to study him for long. He turned to me. “I heard you tell people they could come by your shop, right?”

I stood after him. The rest of our coven stood too. Walter watched the rest of us stand and told us he’d wait back here with his coven to contact some other Orders for backup if we needed it.

We stepped outside, and Gabe chuckled to himself. “I sure hope we get our flat back when all this is over. My idea of a good time is not having five more roommates.”

“You forgot way older roommates,” I said. “They’re kind of duds, aren’t they?”

Liam snickered. “It’s just like you guys to be thinking about that. I’m sure Walter and his coven have no intention of staying on with us. I doubt they like staying with us either.”

“I don’t know,” Gabe joked. “I think I’ve seen Walter checking out Norah’s ass.”

Randy held back a smile, and even Travis’s lips turned up. I knew he had to be feeling this more than the rest of us, but I also hoped he’d come out the other side okay.

We all jumped into the Jeep and drove downtown. For an evening, there weren’t a lot of people walking around. That was odd for one of the main shopping areas in town, especially right where the shop was. It was hardly ever deserted.

I unlocked the shop and then pulled the sign out of the window that said, ‘Temporary Hiatus’. I hadn’t known what else to call it when I knew I had to lie low from the shop a little while. I couldn’t very well say, ‘Doing the Enforcer thing. Peace out.’ Temporary hiatus seemed to sum it up nicely.

I went through and turned on all the lights. Like usual, I took a deep breath while standing in the middle of the floor, taking it all in. Liam squeezed my shoulder on the way through. This was our baby. We’d lived and breathed it while getting it off the ground. The others helped here and there, taking over watching the counter if I needed or just coming into visit during breaks from school, or in Randy’s case, work.

Travis came up behind me. His normal cinnamon scent wafting over me in a soft caress. Even now, I could tell that he was lighter than he had been since the park. He slid his arms over my hips and gripped me there. “I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“I’m trying not to retreat again,” he whispered.

I twisted in his arms to face him. I grabbed his shirt at his sides and pulled him close. “When you’re falling away, just keep your eyes here,” I said.

He locked gazes with me, his green eyes rolling in turmoil but at least he was seeing me now. “I will.”

I nodded. I knew he would. I knew he would try at least. We’d come a long way since I first got here, and he was as committed to this coven as any of the rest of us were now.

Liam and Randy came out of the back with boxes in their hands. Gabe had stopped behind the counter to clear a space off. I squeezed Travis’s hand and moved forward, digging through the boxes until I brought out the beads we needed, and the right stones. Then, I walked over and got some incense off the shelf that worked well with protection spells. Then I grabbed the herbs and spices, bringing everything over until I smiled at them. “Okay, this is how you make the best all-seeing-eye bracelet you can make. It wards off evil as we know. It doesn’t let anything past.”

Liam nodded, and I could already see him making mental notes in his head.

I took them through the process. We infused our magic into the tangible objects, making five strong as fuck bracelets. When Liam finished making his, he handed it to me. It was made with a mixture of dark purple and light purple beads. “This one’s for you,” he said.

I smiled at him before slipping it on my wrist. Leaning over the counter, I gave him a kiss. This time, I dug deeper, reaching into all the warmth I had for every single one of them and infused it in that kiss. It couldn’t hurt to give any of them a little something extra for the battle to come. “Thank you.”

17

Murphy and Anna were the first to arrive.

Anna looked like a brand new person. She had color back in her face, and a smile that could light up the whole room. Seeing her now and remembering what she looked like then when she was getting her powers drained from her, I realized what a ride she had been through, and how terrible she must have felt. They wanted to be put to work right away, and so Gabe showed them how to make the bracelets.

Ren was next.

I didn’t care, but it would still take me by surprise no matter how many times he showed up to do something good. Randy reluctantly became his teacher. All of us had varying degrees of power, but at this point, a little would help anyone.

Dean and Owen came next. Mr. Reid had stayed home with his daughter, but Mr. Reid had sent a sizable check with his son. He handed it to me, telling me it was for my supplies. I sneered at him and handed it back, but Liam took it right out of my hand. When he looked at the amount of the check, his eyes widened. His gaze tracked up Liam and he said, “I’ll pay for half of whatever this cost. I’ll cut you a check when we know the difference.”

“Suit yourself,” Dean said.

Randy looked on at the two of them interacting. Sure, Dean was pompous and the type of witch that got anything he wanted, but he wasn’t a bad guy. If Liam wanted to pursue another friendship with him, one that he would remember, I was behind it. There was more than enough Liam to go around and Randy didn’t need to worry. Randy and Liam needed one another just like I needed both of them.

As we worked, Travis went around and told them what the plan was. Walter had called and told us that the signal would be fireworks in the sky. Something inconspicuous, but also out of the ordinary enough that witches would notice, but regular folk and tourists would just chalk it up to locals having fun. Or some sort of witch event. I could see fear in their eyes when we spoke about it, but everyone seemed as determined as we were. We knew we were fighting for something bigger than ourselves. It wasn’t just our own individual lives at stake. It was our families, our friends, our children, and our next-door neighbor.