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“Who’s trying to get in?” Alice asked.

“These four men. They’re outside trying to break down the door and smash the windows,” Carol said with a hint of panic in her voice.

“They followed us home from the store,” Oliver yelled into the phone.

“What do we do?” Carol asked.

“I’m going to shoot them,” Oliver said.

“Don’t shoot them,” Hugo said.

“Whatever you do, don’t open your door,” Alice yelled. “As long as it’s closed, you’ll be safe.”

“What if they get through the windows?” Carol asked.

“They can’t get through,” Alice reassured her.

Hugo put the phone on mute. “The windows will hold, right?”

Doubt coursed through Alice’s mind as she recast the spell in her mind. She took a sharp breath and held it.

Did I forget a step or mispronounce a word? Were the defenses weakening? No . . . No, I pronounced each word correctly. It will hold. It should hold.

She exhaled. “They should hold . . . I think.”

“We have to help them.”

Alice checked the clock. “I can go.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“The sun’s still up for another fifteen minutes.”

“Damn it,” Hugo said with an expression of anger. “You go. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“Stay here.”

“But I want to help.”

“I think they cracked the window!” Carol shouted.

Max barked at the would-be intruders.

Hugo unmuted the phone. “Carol, listen to me. Take Max and Oliver and go to the basement. Wait there. Alice is on the way.”

“Please hurry,” Carol said.

The call ended.

“I didn’t hang up,” Hugo said. He tried calling her back, but it went to voicemail.

Alice and Hugo exchanged glances of anxiety and fear, their eyebrows arched and mouths gaped open.

Alice snapped her fingers, and her coat and hat flew into the living room. She slipped her arms through the sleeves of the coat as if someone was helping her put it on. The hat came to a rest on her head. She buttoned up and pulled her hat snug.

“I’ve got them,” Alice said.

“Do you want me to follow you?”