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I turned toward Gabe. “Well, first of all, I saw the familiar move on Liam. It was while he slept, and I swear, the thing looked at me. Plus, you know Liam’s been acting off. More moody, dark…mean.”

Gabe took my hand and held it in his. “He doesn’t mean it.”

“I know. That’s kind of the problem. I don’t think Liam is just too preoccupied with getting the familiar off him like I originally thought. I think the familiar is affecting him.”

“Like tonight,” Randy said.

I nodded. “It was Liam, at first. He was acting more himself than he had in a long time, so we were…” I peeked at Travis. “…we were getting ready to have sex, but then he just switched.” I snapped my fingers. “Like that, he was someone else. His eyes darkened, his mood changed. He wanted to hurt me.”

“When I came in,” Randy said, “I saw the tail end of what was going on and Norah was truly frightened, and Liam was…not himself.”

“Okay,” Travis said. “Now we’re up to date on that. Where have you two been off to on your own? I know it has something to do with Liam.”

A muscle ticked in Randy’s jaw. “Ren’s place.”

Travis’s head reared back. “Ren? The guy who exchanges magic for sex?”

Gabe’s eyebrows lifted. “Why there?”

“He knows some bad witches. I thought he might be able to tell us something about familiars and turns out he kind of can. He told us about a book, an evil magic book. He couldn’t get it for us, but he knows who has it.”

“That’s good, right?” Gabe asked. “Maybe there will be something in this book that we can use to help Liam. We have to do something now if he’s acting that way toward Norah.”

“It’s not him,” I said, if only to keep reminding myself that the person who did that to me was not the Liam I knew.

He squeezed my hand. “I know. I just told you that.”

“I know,” I said, sighing. “I just needed to say it again to keep myself convinced.”

“We’re all positive it’s not Liam, Love. I’m sure as soon as we can get the familiar off him, he’ll go back to being himself. He’s fought it for a long time.” He turned toward Randy. “So, where’s this book?”

“The Reid’s have it.”

Gabe let out a harsh laugh. “The Reid’s? As in one of the most powerful witch families in the area?”

“That’s the one,” Randy said.

“Ren said they have guards. What kind of shit are they mixed up in?”

Travis sat on the edge of the bed. “Well, they’re definitely not using bad magic. We would’ve been called there before. Like with most people, though, they have a fascination with power. They think being rich makes them important, makes them above others. They also think that their magic makes them powerful. And sometimes that can lead good people down the wrong path.”

“So, what are the chances that we show up at their doorstep as the Order and they give us the book?”

“Slim to none,” Randy said. “First, they’re going to deny they even have it. Why would they tell us they have a bad magic book? We’re the last people they’re going to tell.”

I looked up at the ceiling, wishing that something would go right for us. “Any other ideas?”

“We could take it,” Gabe said. We all just looked at him, and he shrugged. “We can head in there, on witch business maybe, and then try to find the book while we’re there.”

“Witch business?” Travis asked.

“Or, no one knows me,” I said, an idea forming in my head. “I could go in, tell them I’m new to the area, and heard they were witches and introduce myself.”

“That could work, except then how are you going to get the book? Ask them to see their super-secret bad magic collection?” Travis asked, disdain dripping from his voice.

“I don’t know. But you guys are recognizable, and so far, I’m not. No one knows about me. Sending you guys in there will automatically tip them off.”

“Or, we could just go in there and steal it,” Randy said. “Watch the house, and when they leave, use our magic to go in. If it’s a bad book, we might be able to follow our instincts to its exact location. A book like that would give off some sort of stench.”