Page 54 of How to Flirt with a Witch

“Somewhere safe.” Natalie puts an arm across my shoulders, scanning our surroundings as she guides me along the red brick sidewalk. “Know what part of town this is?”

My insides flip over at her hand on my shoulder and her warm, solid body at my side. I take in the brick buildings, Victorian street lamps, glass storefronts, and cobblestones. It’s all familiar, but my brain isn’t working well enough to place us. “No.”

“Gastown. The famous steam clock is just up here.” Her tone is calm and reassuring, even as she looks around vigilantly.

“Oh, right. I—I came here with my family over Christmas.” Everything spins, disorienting. Is this a panic attack?

I inhale deeply, steadying myself.

“The clock is the main entrance.” Natalie’s voice distorts, hollow, as if coming from underwater.

“Okay.” I’m too busy forcing my legs to work to ask how a clock can be an entrance. I press closer to Natalie, needing her strength. She tightens her arm around me.

The clock is visible over the smattering of people, as tall as a one-story house, its glass body revealing the engine, chains, and pendulum inside. Above the roman numeral face, steam billows out the top.

The world blurs. Lights expand and distort, and the buildings tilt.

I lean into her. “Natalie, I—I think I’m—”

The sensation of being smothered overcomes me, and I gasp. My skin prickles.

Ethel meows, the tiny sound coming from far away.

Brightness stings my eyes. An earthy scent engulfs me.

Our surroundings have changed. I’m still on my feet, leaning into Natalie, but a Victorian street lamp now stands beside me, black with a cluster of white globes casting a warm glow. Red brick walls bound us on three sides, and overhead is an arched brick ceiling. Light and dark cobblestones under my shoes form a path down a hallway.

The dizziness fades, and my ears ring in the abrupt quiet. I lower the kennel, keeping a tight grip on the handle.

“Wh-where are we?” My voice is too loud, a slight echo coming off the surrounding bricks.

“The Coven of Shadows and Alchemists for Managing Magic. It’s where I live and work. Are you okay?” Natalie stoops to meet my eye. She puts a finger under my chin, inclining my face.

Her dark eyes search me, a frown pulling at her lips. As our gazes lock, a totally different kind of dizziness overcomes me. Heat spreads from where her fingers brush my face, trickling through my body.

“I’m fine,” I say, barely a whisper. It’s this sort of touch, the glint of concern in her eyes, that has me wondering whether she’s protecting me out of duty or something else.

“Good.” Her breath fans across my cheeks. She moves her hand to my neck and holds it there, her fingers warm and tantalizing beneath my ear. “There wasn’t time to explain. We had to get down here as fast as possible.”

Down here?

Above, through a square of hazy glass in the ceiling, a gold pendulum swings back and forth.

It’s the underside of the steam clock.

Natalie has taken me underneath downtown Vancouver.

Chapter 14

À la CSAMM

Natalie steps back, leavingspace between us.

I blink, her words drifting at the edges of my brain. “Sorry, the Coven of…?”

“Just call it CSAMM.” She pronounces the acronym likekazam.

“Really? Like…” I wave my hand as if I’m holding a wand. “Alakazam?”