Page 27 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Moonlight (Midlife Menace #2)

His grin was the embodiment of the devil himself. “I’ll handle her.”

I arched a brow. “You sure?”

“Yep.” He licked his lips like a hungry tiger. “I’m looking forward to this.”

I surreptitiously glanced over my shoulder, making sure our enemies were still out of earshot. “If you get her, I get the Enchantress.”

His smile widened. “Be my guest.”

Hot damn, this man was amazing. “And the others?” I nodded toward Ethyl and Frederica, who I noticed were standing in front of the goal net. I didn’t want either of them getting hurt, especially since they’d be in the direct line of Ric’s fire.

“They’ll stay out of our way,” he answered.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ric and Frederica share a sly look. This was going to be interesting. There was just one more problem.

“Who will watch Des?” I asked.

“I don’t need anyone to watch me,” my son answered, his voice rising and cracking, reminding me that puberty was just one chin hair away. Ironic, considering I was also one chin hair away from perimenopause.

“They don’t see him as a threat,” Ric said. “They won’t go for him.”

“He’s the goalie,” I grumbled. “You might as well paint a big bullseye on him.”

“You can’t coddle him forever, Luci,” Ric scolded. “Considering his magical abilities, he has to learn how to look after himself sooner rather than later.”

I was momentarily stunned by his comment before liquid ire surged through my veins. “I don’t coddle him!”

“I should use my magic,” Des interrupted.

I turned on him, my voice coming out more forcefully than intended. “No!”

“What were you thinking of doing?” Ric asked him, completely ignoring me.

Of all the nerve!

“Make their balls blow up,” Des said matter-of-factly, as if he was choosing his ice cream toppings.

Ric let out a low, deep purr. “Excellent idea.”

Crossing my arms, I angrily tapped my foot. “I don’t like this.”

“Let him decide for himself, Luci,” Ric grumbled.

“Please, Mama.” Des gave me a pleading look. “They won’t know it was me.”

A fog settled in my skull again, compelling me to go along with their crazy plan, and I wondered if Des was bewitching me. He wouldn’t do that to his own mother, would he? “Fine,” I relented, “but I still think it’s a bad idea.”

The expression of gratitude that Des gave to Ric was enough to break my heart, as if my son had to thank my boyfriend for saving him from me. I didn’t think I was a bad mom just for wanting to protect my son. Was I?

AN HOUR LATER, AND the mid-morning sun was beating down on our heads, causing rivulets of sweat to pool between my breasts and run down my back, tempting me to jump into Ric’s refreshing pool, or at the very least, take a ten-minute iced-tea break.

Unfortunately, my fellow players were too engrossed with kicking each other’s butts to agree to a time-out, especially Nimue and Ric, who were determined to bash each other’s skulls.

They already had their fair share of gashes and bruises.

Ric had a particularly nasty cut beneath his eye, though he was too pumped up on adrenaline to care.

The game was ten to zero in our favor. My boyfriend was the most amazing ruggel player I’d ever seen, gliding past Nimue and her slithering tail as fast as lightning.

Poor Frederica didn’t stand a chance as goalie.

The gopher gnomes didn’t prove a threat, thanks to my stunning magic.

One had managed to escape its hole, heading straight for Ric’s ankles, but I’d stunned him so hard, he fell over like a petrified rat.

The Enchantress had forced us to stop the game, carrying him off the field while giving me murderous looks.

I shrugged, feigning bewilderment while also squeezing my hidden wand.

The few balls that got past Ric exploded like fireworks before they reached Des. My son pointed at the exploding balls with a slackened jaw, pretending to be amazed as colorful sparks streamed through the air.

The Enchantress shot eye daggers in my direction again, and I knew she blamed me. Oh, well. Better I take the heat than my son.

Bea got all of it on live video while hovering over us, her wings buzzing like a drone. I could only imagine what the rest of strigadom thought of this display, especially the fireworks.

This kid’s magic amazed me more and more each day.

Ric jerked me back when what looked like a mini volcano erupted from the center of the field.

Several gnomes poured out of the top, their little war cries ringing through the air while they aimed garden tools and pilfered silverware in our direction.

I took great pleasure in stunning each of them as they charged us.

They fell over like birds striking glass.

I paused, thinking the Enchantress would want to carry them off the field. Instead, she took me by surprise and kicked the ball into the goal, but Des had been equally distracted by the gnome volcano, and he didn’t dodge the ball in time.

The crunch of his nose filled my eardrums like a gong, and I raced toward him as blood gushed from his face. “Des!” I’d known it was a mistake to let him play goalie.

Ric beat me to him, helping him sit and pressing his T-shirt to my son’s face. I knelt beside him, holding the bloody shirt while Des blinked at me, his eyes dazed.

“Are you okay, darling?” I asked.

He slowly nodded, even though his eyes had welled with tears.

I knew this was a bad idea. Why had I agreed to it?

“Is he okay?” I heard the Enchantress whisper behind me.

The mama dragon came out in me, as I jumped to my feet and spun on her with a snarl. “You did this on purpose!”

She backed up a step, holding up her hands while Nimue hissed at me. “I didn’t! I swear!”

She had, and I had every intention of getting her back.

“I’m okay, Mama,” Des called in a small voice.

I clenched my wand in my fist, my gaze locked with the influencer’s.

I was sorely tempted to break the Enchantress’s nose and a few other bones, but I had to attend to my son.

I nodded toward Frederica and Ethyl, who stood behind Nimue.

They knew to alert me should our enemies try anything again.

Then I knelt beside my son and checked his nose. It was already swelling.

I cursed under my breath while holding Ric’s shirt to Des’s nose, trying not to show shock when a light pulsed from my hand, for it wasn’t my magic healing Des, but his own.

Gritting my teeth, I narrowed my eyes while pretending I was healing my son with no wand, no spell, just my fingertips. I had no idea what spell he was using to heal his nose, but by the time the light faded, I pulled Ric’s shirt away and my son’s nose was back to normal size.

Cupping his cheek, I kissed his forehead, then stood, grimacing when I saw Bea buzzing above us, recording everything on her phone.

“You saw it here, Enchanters,” the Enchantress said loudly while smiling up at the camera. “The Phoenix healed her son with just the touch of her hand. Imagine what this kind of magic could do for strigadom should she come out of hiding.”

“Let’s get this game over with.” I squeezed my wand while giving her a dark look. “It’s ten to one. Five more points, and we win.” But I wouldn’t wait until the end of the game to get her back. I was a mama dragon on a warpath. She would learn what happened to striga who harmed my child.

Ric cleared his throat, and I handed him his shirt, which was surprisingly devoid of blood, though it had been soaked moments earlier. As he slipped it back over his tattooed and muscular torso, I spied the Enchantress giving him an appreciative once-over.

Oh, yeah, the witch was going down. There wouldn’t be enough tampons in all of strigadom to mop up her blood when I was finished with her.

She bit her lip while twisting her fingers. “Maybe we should call the game.” She flashed Des a sympathetic smile. “It’s getting rather violent.”

“Nope!” I said while flexing my fingers. “We’re finishing.”

I caught the worried glances between the Enchantress and Nimue, and I knew her bodyguard would try to get in my way, though she was no match for a pissed-off mama.

Ric easily scored two more points against them, and I got the feeling they were letting him win so we could finish the game.

Three more points, and I’d lose my chance.

Right before Ethyl dropped the ball onto the field, Ric and I shared a look of understanding, and he snatched the ball, kicking it between his feet while taunting Nimue, who easily took the bait, charging after him with a roar.

With her bodyguard out of the way, I “accidentally” jarred the Enchantress’s shoulder while whispering a simple flood spell. It had the desired effect, because she shrieked while a wet bullseye formed on her behind.

She spun on me with a snarl, pointing a wand at my chest. “You made me piss my pants!”

I shrugged, feigning innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I nodded toward her wand while carefully slipping my invisible wand into my pocket. “You’re the one with a wand on the field.”

She snarled at me, then shook a fist at Bea, who hovered above her. “Turn off the camera!”

Bea tilted her head, giving the Enchantress a confused look, like Puffy searching for the origin of his fart. Then she flew around the influencer, her phone camera still trained on her.

Nimue let out a snarl, whacking Bea so hard, she flew toward the pool with a squeal. Bea hit the diving board before shooting into the air like a geyser, shrieking so loud, I was forced to cover my ears as margarita glasses on the nearby table shattered.

What the hex? Was she part banshee?

The sprite started twitching like a robot with a short circuit. “How dare you!” She shook a fist at Nimue. “You know I can’t get wet!”

I shared a look of concern with Ric. I’d never heard of sprites not being able to get wet. In fact, there were entire tribes of water sprites.

I was about to say something when the ball flew past my head like cannon fire.

I spun around when a blurry figure raced toward me, but I didn’t move out of the way in time.

After being struck by what felt like a wall of concrete, I barely registered the pain while flying through the air.

I landed on my side, the sound of crunching bone filling my skull.

Rolling onto my back, I blinked up at the Enchantress while she snarled at me like a trapped animal. “Never use your magic on me again,” she seethed.

I was in too much shock to answer as I cradled my side, fiery whips of pain lancing through me as that throbbing in my skull intensified.

I thought I heard Shu screaming, “What’s your major malfunction?!”

The last thing I remembered before succumbing to the darkness was thinking, holy troll turds, the annoying influencer sure packed a punch . I guess her mindful magic only applied to other striga.