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CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

“Now I haven’t got much time,” Ame began as our friends crowded around her. Emmett had pitched his coffee and filled the mug with milk. He wiped the spills from the rim with his ever-present handkerchief and set it down in front of her paws. I stayed by the bear, examining Faebane. “That wasn’t my finest illusion,” she continued, “and the Stag Man only saw what he wanted to see. He’ll realize his mistake soon enough.”

Yet she still paused, albeit briefly, to arch her spine under Shari’s fingers. The porcupine knew exactly where to scratch and stroke, and the caliby’s yellow eyes shuttered with a purr of contentment. They both needed this. Before she fully succumbed, Ame wiggled away. She inspected Sawyer next, tsking at the silver-and-moonstone collar. Unlike Lewellyn, she didn’t try to remove it.

“That collar is a nasty piece of work,” she muttered, her gaze flicking to Faebane and the grizzly bear. “That sword too.” She smacked her lips in distaste and focused her attention on me. “Seems my rescue mission went a little awry. I didn’t know about the sword, Meadow. I’m sorry. Where’s Lewellyn? ”

“Alive, in the dungeon,” I answered quickly, my attention split between her and the rapier. “They’re healing him so Wystan can steal his magic for the Brotherhood.”

“They’ll do no such thing,” Daphne said, stomping her hoof.

“Of course they won’t. I left him a knife, just in case, and gave him the rest of Rose’s glitter. He’ll make sure to get the prisoners out.”

Thistle thorns, this sword. Even without an Illuminate match, I’d been able to determine that Ossian had anchored a spell to each of the crystals I had powered. The spells wove together in some kind of net that also sustained the copper smoke ring. But tampering with just one spell could set the whole thing off, and it wasn’t clear if annulling one would actually compromise the whole. I needed more time!

“Thanks for taking one for the team, Stripes,” Flora told Sawyer, giving him a firm pat. “Couldn’t have smuggled that vial into Meadow’s bra without your help.”

The tabby tomcat accepted her praise grimly. In sacrificing himself to save her, he’d been cut off from his magic, his voice, and from me. From his surly expression, he still wasn’t convinced it was all worth giving up just so he wouldn’t be locked away in a cage, especially since the collar he wore could kill Arthur at any time.

“You can congratulate yourselves later,” Ame interrupted firmly, wiping the milk from her whiskers with a paw. “Meadow, about your family.”

That wrenched my attention away from the bear. “Alec said they’re not in the farmhouse. Oh my Green Mother, are—”

“They’re still there, actually, and against my instructions too.” Ame gave her tail an irritable flick. “Hiding in what I’m told is Grandpappy’s secret whiskey cellar and living off hob grog and pickled beets and eggs, much to your foodie of an aunt’s chagrin. When you woke up the farmhouse ember and recharged the Hawthorne ember, they were going to use that power to break the wards around the house and get clear. Regroup back at the manor. But you had Sawyer dissolve the wards around the house, so there was no need. It only looks like they left. But they’re ready to support you however you need.”

Supporting me meant coming out of hiding to keep that summoning mirror safe when I went to Elfame. I told the caliby cat as much, but amended it with, “If they leave that cellar too soon, all those faelight animals will spot them in seconds.”

Flora cast a glance outside, marking the position of the sun. It was still morning, but it only seemed to be getting darker as the first winter storm of the year continued to manifest overhead. “There’s no telling how long you’ll be in Elfame, either. That gives all his spies time to spread out; time still for him to enchant more. Why, they’ll be as thick as fleas on a stray dog’s back.”

“Yes,” the cat growled. “There’s nothing for it. The Coalition did not make it out before he fortified the shield, either, so they all have to keep moving or find the perfect place to hide. But where do you hide bears the size of SUVs and wolves as big as ponies? Even when in human form, they’re still too big for a hobs’ cellar.”

“They can hole up in my workshop,” Cody said. “Chest freezer’s full of beef too.”

“And my flea market,” Emmett said. “Lots of places to hide in there. Monkfoot’s evaded capture all this time—he can keep watch and let them know if anyone comes snooping around.”

Ame nodded. “I’ll tell them. Meadow, what else?”

For the first time since I’d known her, the caliby wasn’t barking out orders. She was asking for them.

“Hold on.” I’d turned my attention back to the bear and that frustrating sword. Flora’s analogy had sparked a thought.

Thick. Thickening .

If I couldn’t remove the sword, could I thicken the flesh surrounding it? Turn it into a callus? In effect, it would be the same difference between stepping on a thorn versus grabbing it with your hand. The hard soles of your feet turned the point away whereas the soft flesh between your fingers easily parted for the barb.

The oak tree released a dazzling opalescent glow as I pressed my hands against the bear’s fur on either side of the rapier. There was no spell for this, just intent, and I thought back to the day I’d changed the elm tree.

I’d been overcome with the (perceived) loss of my nephew Stoat, my own inability to help, and so much shame. Back then, I hadn’t known the words to describe my purpose—to protect and treasure life—but my magic had known. That primal magic that had been dormant in me, suppressed and curbed, knew .

My father said I had rejuvenating magic. But that wasn’t the whole of it. Primal magic, the way of Nature itself, was restorative . A turning back of the clock, if your will was strong enough.

The magic glow that came to my hands wasn’t green this time. It was that glittering opalescent light of the oak tree, pearly white with flecks of every color in between. Gold sparks, too, a remnant of my heritage.

Hugging the bear, I poured my love and protection into him. The rapier quivered slightly as the flesh firmed around its tip, but it did not dig in any deeper. The bear grunted and slumped lower onto his paws, much of the tension in his body draining away. With a low rumble of thanks, the bear’s eyelids drooped as he finally found the peace to sleep.

The glow flickered out from my hands as I pulled them back. Then I thought better of it and checked on the snail. Apparently being in contact with the bear when I’d imbued him with my magic had affected the snail too. The garden snail’s shell, formerly the size of my thumbnail, was now the size of walnut. Auggie munched and slobbered all over the heretic’s fork with its caustic saliva, and I hoped it would be enough.

Turning, I found every eye trained on me.

“You’re not the green witch who came into my shop all those months ago,” Emmett said, awed.

“Nor the hearth witch that got me hooked on those apple butter cinnamon rolls,” Cody agreed.

I gave the old raccoon and beaver a warm smile. “I couldn’t have made it this far without you. Any of you. But there is further to go. Is that magic hunter still unconscious?”

Flora whacked Alec on the back of the head with the skillet. “Yep.”

“Magic hunter?” Emmett stumbled back a step as another memory broke through the fog of the Caer powder. The term seemed to spark something in Cody as well, and the two old animals clung to each other. “Why do I know that term?”

“All is not as it seems,” Shari told them.

“You don’t say,” Emmett snipped, clearly frazzled.

“But you get used to it.”

“Jehosaphat! What is going on here?” Cody demanded.

Leaving the bear, I joined my friends and crouched down to their level. Then, in a whisper: “I go to Elfame alone tonight.”

Sawyer immediately attacked my ankle with his claws, giving me a vicious two-pinch no.

“Gah! Of course you’re coming.” With a flick of my foot, I dislodged the cat. “Now listen. Ossian does not get to abuse this realm and terrorize our home and just leave without paying a price. He will attack Redbud in retaliation—it is his nature. Protect the bear. Protect the summoning mirror. I have a plan to trap him, but in case that fails, you all must help Redbud defend itself while I’m gone. I will return with the Samildánach and free Marten, and then I will deal with him personally.”

“I’m not sure I follow all that,” Cody said, “but that last part . . .. Well, it’s about time!”

Emmett nodded, spectacles flashing. “Agreed.”

My smile was fleeting but full of gratitude—I was glad to have them on my side even if they were still under the effects of the Caer powder. For now, it would be safer for them to keep their memories foggy so they could have plausible deniability.

“Sawyer.” My brave cat was the first to receive his assignment. “Go back to our old rooms. I’ve hidden a few things in our secret place. Bring them to me.”

The cat made to leave, then lifted a paw. Will I be needing thumbs?

Good point. It would be tough to carry all those crystals and vials back in his mouth.

Shari spun a slow circle at my request, and I examined all the crafting supplies impaled upon her quills. Swatches of fabric nestled between a ball of yarn and some spools of thread. I teased one loose and gave it to the tabby tomcat to use as a kind of knot-up tote.

Sawyer gave Ame a brief nuzzle and loped away.

“Flora,” I said, “tonight you’ll take the servant passageways to the access port Sawyer made above the dungeon. There’s an entrance to the passageways in the hallway just left of the side door in the wall—the stone is smoother to the touch. Just press it and it’ll open. Help Lewellyn free everyone and get yourself clear. And don’t forget my grandmother—she’s confined in the cell right of the silversmithy. The door isn’t locked, but it will lock behind you, trapping you both inside.”

“So don’t get trapped inside. And chew on some magic hunters’ legs on my way out. Got it.” Flora grinned with each and every one of her sharp teeth .

“Daphne, you will take Shari, Cody, Emmett, the hobs, and Mrs. Bilberry to the farmhouse.”

“What about Charlie?” Shari interrupted. “He’ll be bringing beer to the castle for the wedding feast.”

“Charlie too, and Cohen if he’s helping.”

“Dear, I’m only one horse,” Daphne said. “And I’m no filly. I can’t make that many trips.”

“Already have an answer for that,” I said, grinning. “They’ve brought in a big wagon to cart in all the supplies for the wedding, so everyone has to pile in there. Emmett, can you use those clever raccoon fingers of yours to help Daphne get the harness on? I don’t trust that mule not to succumb to faelight.”

“Of course, miss,” the raccoon said with a little bow. “It would be my honor.”

“ Miss ?” Cody gave his best friend an affronted look. “Since when do you call milady miss ?”

Emmett adjusted his spectacles. “Since now. Seems natural, doesn’t it?”

“Miss,” Cody muttered, rolling the word around on his tongue. “Huh.”

“In the meantime, do you remember where the atrium is?” I asked. “And do you have any quartz in your satchel, Emmett? Preferably round ones or even marbles?”

The raccoon fished such a crystal out of his satchel and handed it to me. Within seconds, it was filled to the brim with my magic.

“And the atrium’s out the side door, take a right, then a left.” The raccoon gave a stout nod. “What do you need, miss?”

“I need Ame to cast an illusion on this crystal to make it resemble the cloch na wight. If you can.”

“Think I can rig something up,” the caliby cat said. “But you could too, Meadow. You have power over air and water now. Illusion magic is just a bending of light through those mediums. ”

“Do I have time to learn?”

The cat actually blushed. “Well, no, so”—she placed her paw on the crystal—" imaginari cloch na wight. ”

Though the quartz marble didn’t increase in mass, it increased in size. The cloudy white crystal now resembled the finest glass, complete with a smoky wight swirling about.

“I tied the spell to the magic in the crystal, as I assumed you wanted. So long as no one tries to contact the wight inside, it should fool them.”

I handed the basketball-sized crystal back to the raccoon, which he had to hold in both paws against his belly to keep from dropping it.

“One switcheroo coming right up,” the raccoon assured me. The illusioned cloch jiggled precariously in his hands with every word.

“Suck in your gut, old man,” Cody chastised. “For the love of— Here.” The beaver supported the other side, and together they scurried out the side door.

“Ame,” I said, and the cat’s ears pricked. “Have my family restore the power of the hearth to protect the farm. Let it be a haven for all who need it. Then they’ll have to protect the summoning mirror. The Coalition will have to run interference, keep Ossian busy.”

“Right. But what of him ?” Her yellow eyes flicked to the grizzly bear, softly snoring away.

“We all saw the Fastuous Fathead this morning,” Flora said. “Killing Snack will be the first thing he does.”

My tongue darted out to lick dry lips. The whole of me was a husk at that thought. “Auggie is working on that. There’s a heretic’s fork embedded in Snack’s collar—that has to be destroyed before the wedding ceremony is complete, so we need to draw it out as long as possible.”

“That’s a lot riding on a snail. ”

“There’s a lot riding on all of us,” Shari corrected.

“And your escape?” Ame wanted to know. “Have you thought about that?”

“I have.” I nodded, more encouragement for me than reassurance for them. “And it begins with me feeding Bruno.”