Page 37 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Moonlight (Midlife Menace #2)

I hated disappointing him. “Ric said he’ll take you to all the games when this is over.

” I winced after making my son such a promise.

Why had I said that? Colin had made similar promises to Des, but he’d never kept them.

Maybe that was why I was having so many doubts about my relationship with Ric—because Colin had let down Des and me too many times to count.

I reminded myself Ric wasn’t Colin. Not all men were selfish pricks with farty breath, small penises, and huge egos.

I whistled to Ethyl, and she whispered to Frederica and shook Shu’s shoulder.

Des stood with a pout, his arms hanging limp, his spine going boneless.

I felt like the world’s worst mother for not letting him finish the game.

But then Des smiled when air displaced his messy mop of hair, and I knew Puffy had landed on his shoulder to comfort him.

One more reason to appreciate that pygmy dragon.

Even though he could be a menace at times, at least he made my son happy.

I looked over at the Enchantress, who was trying to break away from a drunk Fae who kept putting his hand on her knee.

Nimue’s nostrils flared as she clomped over to the Enchantress, nearly stomping on the Fae’s feet.

The Enchantress stood, making her apologies as she let Nimue lead her away.

Was this it? Were we really leaving with our supplies and no incidents?

It all seemed too easy.

We piled into the hallway, swallowed by the crush of people hurrying back to their seats.

Frederica led the way while Nimue brought up the rear.

My heart pounded a thunderstorm in my ears.

I thought about having Des teleport us home now, but what if he accidentally brought extra striga with us, considering how we were piled into such a tight space like a can of sardines?

I stiffened when two more winged sprites who looked like Bea, with dark hair and pale skin, flew past us.

Why did they seem like robots, with their symmetrical flight patterns?

They moved as one, their wings simultaneously beating, their legs bent at identical angles, their stony gazes sweeping in the same direction, as if they were scanning the crowd for something.

I nearly stumbled over my own hooves when I remembered how Bea twitched and repeated herself like a robot with a short circuit.

We moved quickly down the stairs, landing on the bottom floor. I was ready to sprint the hex out of there, not caring if I left a trail of poop balls in my wake, when I saw the neon exit signs. So close to freedom!

But then Des abruptly stopped, clutching his backpack to his chest. “Mama, Dad is calling.”

“Don’t answer it,” I bleated. Of all the rotten timing. Ugh. Des must’ve unblocked his number. Colin was like a recurring yeast infection, showing up at the most inconvenient times, his only purpose to irritate the hex out of me.

Des stopped in the middle of the crowd and pulled his tablet from his backpack.

“Put the tablet away and ignore it,” I groaned, my gaze sweeping the crowd. Ethyl, Shu, and Frederica were way ahead of us, almost to the exit turnstiles. The last thing we needed was to draw attention to ourselves by impeding traffic.

But it was too late. Des had already swiped the blaring red hang-up icon, then repocketed his tablet.

“Des?”

My gaze shot to the rich douchebag in the Hexing Hydras jersey gaping at us while clutching his cell phone to his chest.

Colin.

And beside him, her skinny arm linked through his, was none other than his new wife Felicity, aka, Homewrecker (Succubus) Barbie.

Merlin’s crusty nutsack!

“Let’s go!” Ric grabbed our arms, dragging us toward the exit. A yellow mane had sprouted around his neck. He was turning into a sphinx! Shu’s satyr spell must’ve been wearing off.

“Des!” Colin screamed, chasing after us.

We were almost to the exit turnstiles when a screech that sounded like a dying dragon rang through the air.

I looked over my shoulder to see Felicity pointing her wand at my back.

“Stop them!” Felicity yelled. “It’s the Phoe—”

That was all she said before she fell over backward, a bolt from my lipstick wand hitting her between the eyes.

Colin didn’t even catch her as he gaped at me with a slackened jaw.

“She’s deeemon-possessed, Colin.” The vibrato in my warning made me sound even goatier than usual. “You neeeed to get far awaaay from her.”

He didn’t respond as he continued to gape at me.

“Look out!” the Enchantress warned, pointing at something behind me.

I spun around in time to see several Insurgi running toward us.

I didn’t know how I was able to manifest my earth-splitting magic, but I stomped, and the earth buckled around us, moving like a wave and toppling screaming Insurgi.

I swore under my breath when a swarm of angry sprites flew toward us, their stony gazes reminding me of soulless ghouls descending on their prey.

Des clung to me, and Ric let out a deafening lion’s roar that nearly split my eardrums. Nimue and the Enchantress pressed close to us as Ethyl, Frederica, and Shu stumbled into our circle. I threw up a protective chamber a split second before an explosion reverberated around us.

A heartbeat later, I was blinking up at the remnants of the foyer chandelier in Ric’s island mansion, visible through the clear chamber still surrounding us.

I was back in my witch form, hairy goat legs replaced by smooth human legs, and thankfully, the floor was free of goat turds.

I popped the bubble, then counted heads, relieved to see everyone was still with us and all back in their original forms, while Bea was still passed out.

Another flash of light, and the shattered glass surrounding us was gone, the chandelier and windows back in place without scratches or smudges. I was reminded of the time Des had cleaned up my shop after creepy Lenny had splattered blood on the floor.

The Enchantress flashed me a dazzling smile. “Impressive magic.”

I swallowed back a knot of apprehension, trying not to look at my son. “Thanks?”

“If you’d excuse us,” Ric said as he latched on to mine and Des’s arms, dragging us toward the library.

Ethyl, Frederica, and Shu quickly followed us down the darkened stairs.

We piled into the library, misty sunlight streaming in through the narrow, horizontal windows at the top of the basement wall. Shu heaved a shaky breath while shutting the double doors behind him.

“Did you kill her?” Ethyl asked me.

I wish. I didn’t dare voice my thought aloud and upset Des. I shook my head. “I only knocked her out.”

I took my son in my arms, kissing his cheek. “Thank you for getting us out of there, darling.”

He hugged me back, then quickly squirmed out of my embrace. “Will Dad be mad?”

“It’s okay.” I cupped his cheek. “He can be mad. We can’t trust him. Felicity is possessed.”

He solemnly nodded. “I know. I saw it in her eyes.”

I rubbed his shoulders. “You okay?”

He swallowed, then looked away. “Will she kill Dad?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so, darling. He’s worth more to them alive.” At least, I hoped so for Des’s sake, even if Colin was more irritating than a festering inner-nostril pimple.

Des stoically nodded, then hugged me tight before letting go. What a sweet boy to be so worried about his father, even though Colin never showed him the same concern. Colin didn’t deserve to have such an amazing son, something that I hoped my ex would one day realize.

“Those things looked like Bea!” Ethyl blurted.

I cringed, knowing she was speaking of those strange sprites patrolling the Colosseum. “And they appear to be working for the Insurgi.”

Ric swore under his breath. “Then there’s a good chance Bea does too.”

“Does that mean the Enchantress and Nimue work for them?” Ethyl asked.

“The Enchantress warned me about the Insurgi sneaking up behind us,” I said. “Why would she do that if she’s working for them?”

“I don’t know.” The lion flared in Ric’s eyes. “Bea has to be connected to those other sprites and the Insurgi.”

“It’s clear the Enchantress and Nimue fear Bea.” I remembered how eager and relieved the Enchantress had been to leave Bea behind. “It’s almost as if Bea is in charge, and they’re the servants.”

Ric frowned, rubbing his bearded chin. “It makes no sense. If they serve her, then why didn’t they give us away at the game? They had plenty of opportunities to expose us, especially in front of the Magitron.”

A shiver coursed through me when I recalled being forced to kiss Ric’s goat lips and wiggly tongue.

“Unless, of course, they aren’t willingly working for the Insurgi,” Shu said, his gaze drifting to a dusty stack of books piled on the table.

Ric leaned toward Shu, eyes narrowing. “What are you implying?”

Shu cocked a hand on his hip, bobbling his head with a flourish. “I’m saying that I think the Insurgi are forcing the Enchantress to work for them, either by blackmail, threats, or both.”

It made sense.

Shu strode over to the books and plopped into his chair.

He snapped his fingers, and a pair of neon reading glasses appeared on his face.

“I think the answer is somewhere in these books about supernatural creatures. It’s clear Bea and the Enchantress aren’t what they seem.

” He pushed the stack toward the middle of the table and arched a brow. “Anyone want to help search for clues?”

Des shrugged and sat beside Shu. “I will.”

Ric loudly cleared his throat. “I appreciate you both doing this, but Luci and I have to keep an eye on our guests.”

“We’ll help, too,” Ethyl said, sitting in a chair while Frederica sat on the floor beside her.

“Great!” I tossed my hands in the air. “I guess I’ll go confront the Enchantress and her strange staff.”

“Hang on,” Ric said, nodding toward our family at the table. “I don’t want to risk them lashing out if they feel cornered.”

I shook my head. “Our guests could be plotting our demise.”

“If they wanted to harm us,” Ric said, “they would’ve tried already.”

I heaved a frustrated breath. “Who says they haven’t? If not the Enchantress and Nimue, then Bea for sure means us harm if she’s working for the Insurgi.”

Ric folded his arms across his chest. “The safest option is to get rid of them.”

Shu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’m afraid they won’t go willingly.”

Ric grimaced. “We won’t give them a choice.”

A violent scream rent the air, and I sucked in a sharp breath, sharing a look of panic with Ric.

“Someone needs to take a chill pill,” Shu blurted.

Ric grimaced. “Bea’s awake.”