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A few seconds later, Orik and Dante rushed in. Penn was sitting up, frowning as she looked around. And Seton…well…he was observing me with a cautious look in his eye.

“What happened?” Dante asked.

“We removed the curse-imp from Penelope’s psyche,” Hecate said. She tucked the crystal in her bag. “I’ll deal with the creature later, but for now it’s safely tucked away.” She turned to Penelope and once again, took her seat.

Penn stared at her, eyes wide. “My Lady?” Her voice trembled.

“Yes, I am. You were in dangerous territory, but you will heal,” Hecate said. “However, I see there’s much work to do with your magic. Most of my priestesses are far older and more experienced than you. I’ll connect you with one of them who lives in the area and you will take lessons from her.”

Penn nodded, looking too flustered to speak.

“Who was that man?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Hecate said. “But I can surmise that he’s ultimately the one responsible for destroying your files, and for kidnapping Penn. He’s aiming for your agency, Kyann, and every one of you. I’d do my best to figure out who he is, because enemies that ruthless don’t drop their obsessions.”

I nodded. “Do you think he’s part of Brim Fire?”

“As I said before, I think he’s using Brim Fire for his own ends.

They’re too arrogant to realize they’re being played.

And that makes them even more dangerous.

” Hecate handed Penn a garnet pendant. It was a beautiful crescent moon, with woven strands of silver around it.

“When you need to talk to me, hold this tight and call my name. I’ll hear you and get back to you. Don’t abuse the privilege.”

Penn nodded, stuttering out a thank-you.

To the rest of us, Hecate said, “Remember, I expect you to watch over Brim Fire’s activities.

I have the feeling they’re about to get so active that nobody will be able to ignore them.

But also…this shadow figure…keep alert, and if you think you see him, let me know.

We must find out who we’re dealing with, and what he wants. ”

She stood. “Penelope, your energy is clear once more. You are to steer clear of the Crystal Court. They’re not all they appear to be. You can’t afford for your allegiances to be split, and I come first.”

“Yes, Lady,” Penn said.

“Second, the young man who worked on the portal with you—he can be useful. It might be a good thing to take him on,” she said to me, adding, “He’s not pledged to any one god, but he serves the spirit of magic.”

“I see…” I didn’t, but I was so overwhelmed that I figured I could ask later.

Turning back to Penn, Hecate said, “Ward your entire house and lawn tomorrow. I’ll cast a protective spell for tonight, and I’ll visit you in your dreams to give you instructions on the best way to protect the house.”

And with that, she gave everyone a nod, and vanished, taking the crystal with her.

* * *

As we gathered in the breakroom, I was at a loss for words. The entire experience had left me shaken.

Seton joined us. He sat beside me. “What happened? You triggered one of your latent powers and we need to figure out what it is, so we can train you on it as soon as possible.”

I told him about the storm, and taking control of it. “It was going to kill Penn,” I said.

“I’ll research it and figure out what we’re looking at. And, Kyann, I can feel demonic energy around the shadow figure you saw. Be cautious.”

I hesitated, then said, “Seton, I can’t be sure, but it felt familiar to me. Like déjà vu from a fever dream. Whoever that is, I’ve met him before. I didn’t tell Hecate yet, because I could be wrong.”

He sighed. “We’ll get it all sorted out”

“By the way,” I said. “What did she mean, calling you Old One ?”

He gave me a sliver of a smile. “Never mind that. At least for now. I’m going. I have a lot to research,” he said, standing. As he turned, he put a hand on my shoulder. “Just be cautious, and call me any time of the day or night. I mean it.”

As he left, I turned back to the others.

Sophia was making sandwiches, and Penn was eating a bag of chips. Dante and Orik were talking to Carson, who was staring hopelessly at his laptop.

“So, fallout,” I said. “How bad is the system?”

Carson shook his head. “We’re going to require at least a month to be up and running. I kept a back up on a separate server, but Penn got to that as well. And we’re going to have to buy all new equipment because the corruption was so bad.”

“Oh gods,” I said. “New equipment? Ouch.”

“Not only that, we need to install all new software. Then we’ll have to scan in hard copies of whatever we have from past cases.

I’m glad you insist on hardcopies, or we wouldn’t have anything left.

I back up our servers once a week, so I suppose I’d better change that to once a day, and I need to locate those where they can’t be sabotaged. ”

“More bad news,” Dante said.

“There’s one other thing. My laptop? Penn—” he gave her an apologetic look.

“Whoever cursed Penn gave her orders to also hijack my laptop. All my access points to the dark web are gone, and all info I backed up on my laptop about Brim Fire’s gone.

Lazenti can help me rebuild it because he still has access, but it’s going to take time. ”

“So, we’re back to square one,” I said. “We’re going to have to walk carefully through the next few months until we can find out what we’re dealing with. Everybody, make sure you have security codes at your homes, and go with a different company than—oh crap, what do we do about Terrance?”

Sophia fielded that one. “Pythia told me, while you were in trance, to give Hecate his coordinates. I did. She’ll take care of him.

I’ll keep Coco. The dog is better off away from his owner, that much I’ll vouch for.

I don’t know what’s in store for Terrance, but I’m sure Hecate will tell Penn if she asks. ” She gave Penn a nod.

“I have the feeling that we just stepped into Wonderland, and unfortunately, the perils are far more deadly than the Red Queen.” I sat back, thinking. This had been a targeted attack, and they had struck hard. I wasn’t sure what to do next, but we could only walk one step at a time.

* * *

Mr. Crumbles was thrilled when Penn walked in the door. He let out a shriek and began a wobbly dance on his perch.

Penn greeted him, then turned to me. “I didn’t mean to cause all this damage?—”

“Stop. You didn’t cause any of it. You were a pawn in someone’s sick game, and I’m determined to find out who’s behind it.

Just…be careful. We’ll replace the security system tomorrow, and I’m going to teach you how to use a few weapons.

I won’t let this happen again,” I said, shaking my head.

“Meanwhile, tomorrow I’d like you to contact Duran and ask him to come into the office. ”

“I expect to hear that I’ve been expelled from the Crystal Court as well,” Penn said, shaking her head. “I’ve been part of the court ever since I was a little girl, but now everything’s going to change.”

“Change can be good,” I said, but we both knew that the changes we were experiencing lately were more tests of the spirit, than changes we wanted.

As we settled in for the evening, we were both pensive. There was so much to unpack from everything that had happened, but we were all safe—at least for now—and we knew a bit more about Brim Fire.

Taking a deep breath, I curled up with Jangles and Murdoch on my lap, and leaned back in the recliner, wondering what our next move would be.

My mind was in a turmoil, but as the cats purred, a wave of tension left my body and I suddenly felt calm. But it was like the calm in the eye of a hurricane. There were stormy skies ahead, and dangerous currents.

But for the moment, I decided to relax and breathe, and to find something to smile about.

I turned on the TV and Penn wordlessly went into the kitchen and brought back chips and soda.

As we settled in to watch our favorite shows, the outside worries faded into the background, and we clung to the present, to a moment of peace and friendship.

* * *

If you enjoyed Shadow Dreaming , then you can preorder the fourth and fifth books in the Shadow Blade Series : Shadow Running and Shadow Stealing . Begin this series with Shadow Seeking . There will be more to come of Kyann’s adventures after that.

And if you love this series, you’ll love my Wild Hunt Series . For the first chapter of The Silver Stag , read on.