Page 25 of Devoted in the Midlife

We had a more immediate problem to deal with. What to do with the self-styled savior turned genocidal maniac?

Adalinda gazed down at Vaelog's prone form, her expression unreadable. "We could end it here," she murmured, the dagger still clutched in her hand. "After everything he's done..."

"No." Jax was firm, resolute. "Death is too easy an escape. He needs to face the consequences of his actions. To understand the depth of his crimes."

I nodded slowly, an idea taking shape. "The vampire rehab program. Dominic and Amaya have experience dealing with dangerous, unhinged individuals. They could hold him, evaluate him..."

Jax was already reaching for his phone, quickly filling in our fellow councilmates on the situation. In a matter of minutes, it was settled. Kendra opened a portal to Milan, and Ransom and Paige hauled a snarling, struggling Vaelog through to face his new reality.

As the portal winked out of existence, I let out a big breath. It was over. The immediate threat was contained, and we could begin the long process of picking up the pieces.

14

HAILEY

One problem down,one big one to go. With the fake Janice unmasked, we still had to track down the real one. Fast.

"We need to do a locator spell," Kendra announced. "Let's go get some of Janice's hair from her hairbrush at Wade's."

We trooped out of the backyard, toward the gate that would let us walk down the sidewalk and to the street behind us where Wade's was.

As we crossed the yard, a shrill voice pierced the air. "What the world?!" Mildred, our elderly neighbor from the end of the cul-de-sac, the one who always thought we were up to no good, stood at the edge of our property, bifocals glinting in the sun as she gaped at our ragtag supernatural parade. Her bony finger jabbed at us, her thin mouth working soundlessly in shock.

My belly went cold. The ward. Kendra met my eyes, face green. She muttered a very creative curse. "I had to make it big to make sure the dagger wouldn't kill it. It must go out to the sidewalk."

For a moment Mildred just stared, eyes darting between the lot of us, hands white-knuckling a floral housecoat around her thinframe. Then she turned on her sensible heel and scurried back to her door as fast as her aging legs could manage.

I blew out a heavy breath, fingers pressing my temples where a headache was building steam. "Okay. Who can erase her memory the fastest before she speed-dials the police and we end up on the six o'clock news?"

Izora flashed an unsettlingly toothy grin. "I'll handle it." She set off down the sidewalk at a determined clip, heels clacking against the pavement.

"Don't kill her!" Luke yelled, panic edging his tone.

Izora just waved an elegant hand dismissively over her shoulder without bothering to turn around or slow her militant stride.

I sent up a quick prayer to the powers that be—maybe Luci could pull some strings—that Mildred would escape this encounter with mind and body intact. Then I jerked my chin at the others. "Come on, let's find Janice. Izora will catch up."

We barreled over to Wade's and thundered up the stairs to Janice's room, single-minded in our urgency. Kendra made a beeline for Janice's dressing table and snatched up her hairbrush.

She plucked a few dark strands from the bristles and held them aloft, chanting. The hair glowed, twisted in her fingers like it was caught in a phantom breeze. I stopped breathing, watching, willing it to work.

After several tense beats, Kendra opened her eyes. "Got her. She's about a mile from here."

Relief hit me like a truck, leaving me lightheaded. "Let's go."

We took off back to our house, all of us, except for Ransom and Paige, who were still in Milan, and Izora, who was hopefullynotkilling Mildred right now. And of course, no Janice, as we still needed to rescue her.

"We don't all need to go," I said. "Why don't you guys stay here and keep an eye on that portal? Jax, Kendra, and I can get Janice."

Luke looked up at the portal and curled his lip. "Um, okay, yeah. We'll stay here and if the portal changes, we'll just alert the navy? What do you expect us to do?"

I flipped him the bird and climbed into Jax's black SUV. "Sing it a lullaby. And keep an eye on Flint." He flew off of my shoulder and onto Luke's. "Back soon."

Kendra directed Jax to an empty house pretty close by. She'd been right about it being about a mile. The house was a generic suburban two-story, "For Sale" sign already bleaching in the weed-choked yard. Painted a nauseatingly inoffensive beige with bland taupe trim, it melded into the street of nearly identical properties.

I didn't bother with the doorbell. Too much adrenaline singing in my veins, too much fear-fueled fury. I slammed the heel of my boot just beside the lock, and the door cracked inward like it was made of balsa wood.

"Janice?" My voice sounded harsh with desperation even to my ears.