Page 108 of How to Flirt with a Witch

Natalie rounds on her. “We arenotusing Katie as bait.”

My heart skips a beat as I become the subject of the conversation.

“Why not?” Hayley asks, unintimidated. “We won’t let anything happen to her.”

Sky’s eyes dart from Natalie to Hayley, a hint of nervousness as tension simmers between them.

Neil, a muscular Asian guy with a shaved head, shrugs. “It’s not a bad idea.”

The cold has already seeped through my layers, and I shuffle my feet to keep warm, my boots crunching on the salted pavement. Given all the witches here, I don’t think I’d be in danger, and it’d be nice to be useful. Even if it’s in the sort of way a live worm is useful to a fisher. “I don’t mind—”

“No.” Natalie glares at the others in a way that could melt steel. “I’m sure you can all manage to apprehend Freddie and Oaklyn without endangering an innocent life.”

Something about her word choice feels like being called helpless. And something about her phrasing must have pissed off the others too, because suddenly we’re all scowling at each other. The air between us seems to have congealed.

Sky’s phone buzzes. She answers with a curt, “Yeah.”

Natalie turns to everyone else. “Look, I need Katie’s help finding the curse. You’ll have to catch them the usual way, all right?”

They shift uncomfortably. A couple of them nod.

Sky hangs up. “Jaques is taking the kids home. The Madsens are near the cenotaph at the front.”

“The what?” Hayley asks.

“It’s a monument. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Hayley hesitates, then nods. “Okay. Let’s hit it.”

The Shadows split up to check the area on all sides, which leaves Natalie and me to do our part finding the curse.

I roll my shoulders and let out a slow breath, focusing. The sooner I find it, the quicker we can get out of here—and hopefully avoid a run-in with the Madsens.

My pulse picks up as we pass through a gap in the hedge and enter the cemetery. Gravel paths break up the cut grass, crossing through the middle and running down the left side. Ahead, mature cedars and chestnut trees are scattered across the field, blocking our view of the monument.

I lead Natalie to the right, planning to weave through the tombstones and trees until something hits my senses.

Though the village is bustling with pedestrians a block away, it’s eerily still among the graves, the frosty grass groaning beneath our boots as we walk. I concentrate on my heartbeat and any strange sensations. Another shiver rolls over me as I try not to think about what’s under our feet. God, I’m glad it’s daytime.

Natalie’s fingers brush my arm. “Stay close.”

I ignore the heat blooming beneath her touch. “I am.”

“You keep darting ahead.”

“Well, I can’t focus on finding the curse when you’re literally breathing on my neck.” I cross my arms and hunch against the cold, ready to get away from these heavy gray clouds and back to the coziness of CSAMM’s enchanted courtyard.

“I’ll breathe in the other direction, then,” Natalie says doggedly.

I face her. “Natalie, I’m not going to get abducted.”

Past her, Hayley strides down the sidewalk on the other side of the cemetery’s iron fence, and her eyebrows shoot up as we argue. We’re drawing attention to ourselves.

“You’re being overprotective,” I whisper to Natalie. “Never mind trying to find a curse, you’re making your feelings obvious. You don’t see any of them panicking over my safety.”

She says nothing. My heart swells knowing this is true.

We keep walking through the graves, Natalie putting exactly one foot of space between us. My nose and chin are numb, and I cup my face to try and warm up. We pass headstones of all shapes and sizes, from evenly-spaced plaques to large crosses with benches. Many are weathered and mossy, their inscriptions barely visible in the weak daylight. Others have personal adornments, like artificial or real flowers, wreaths, trinkets, and flags with poems.