10

CALLIE

"What is he doing?" I look at James and Hank, who stare after Will with their jaws unhinged. "Why is he walking away from us? Who are those witches?"

"I don't know yet," Hank says. "Hey, Will, hang on." He jogs across the sand to catch up to his friend.

James grabs my hands. "Take the book." He presses the truck keys in my hand. "And the truck and go to Will's mum. Hide there. We can't risk you or the book being caught."

He runs after Hank and Will. I look back and forth between the truck and the guys. The thought of leaving them kills me, but if I stay, how could I be any help? The only thing I can do is shift into a damn cat—usually when I don't want to.

If I can get ahold of Will's mom, maybe she can help. It's only a short walk away, but if I leave, what might happen in the meantime?

A sob chokes my throat. I'm utterly powerless right now, and it galls me. I hate this feeling. My spine tingles, and I know if I don't calm down, she'll take over. Then the book will be left in the sand for anybody to find. The likelihood I'd be able to convince the cat to pick it up with her teeth and hide it is slim.

Will reaches the witches on the beach as I stand and freak out over what I should do. Seconds later, Hank catches up and puts himself in front of Will. Their affection for one another touches me, increasing the big emotions inside me.

Breathe, Callie! Calm down, or you'll shift.

I suck in the salty air, counting to try to calm my racing heart. James reaches the group.

"Oh," I moan out loud. "Damn it, Callie, think of something."

I look at the book. Maybe there's something in it, but I'd never find it.

I'm supposed to be a witch. I have no powers, but still. I'm a witch.

Holding the book close to my heart, I close my eyes and speak to it.

"Grandmother, if part of you is out there, please help me. Show me what to do."

I set the book on the picnic table we'd gathered around and stare at it. Nothing happens, and as I stare at it in dismay, I hear Will shout.

Whirling around, I see my guys have backed up and are standing defensively several feet from the other witches. Things are escalating out there, but there aresix of those witches and only three of them.

To open the book, I had to use my blood, but I don't have a knife. Turning in circles, I ignore the shouts coming from down the beach. If I look, I'll be too distracted to try to help.

Hellfire, I don't even know if this will help, but I have to try something.

Finally, I spot a jagged piece of shell. Yes! Snatching it up, I cut my palm. If I hadn't been in the heat of the moment and terrified for my guys, I don't think I could've cut myself like that.

Shuddering, I hold my palm over the book and put the other hand on it. Grandmother, please, show me what to do.

Turning my palm over so the blood drips onto the grimoire, I repeat the mantra in my head over and over and send the thoughts toward the book as hard as I can.

To my extreme surprise and amazement, it glows, bright green this time. The book flips open, the sea breeze rifling the pages until they land flat, and the wind disappears.

I read the words on the page.

To Summon Loyalty

Take a pinch of sand,

Hold it within your hand.

An eyelash from yourself you give,

Or loyalty shall not live.

Place the lash with the grain,

To protect from the pain.

Close your eyes and count to three,

With your breath you pay the fee.

True loyalty you shall find,

Now conjured in your mind.

My stomach is full of butterflies as I read the words. I'm not sure what I expected, but that seems to almost be too easy.

No, Callie, don't think like that , I scold myself. If it's easy, then I can do it, and that's the main thing.

I scoop down and pick up a pinch of sand, only realizing after my fingers are coated in it that I somehow have to get one of my eyelashes free. I may end up irritating one of my eyes to get this done. Small price to pay for what the guys can gain.

I center the sand in the palm of my hand before wiping off my left hand and plucking out one of my eyelashes. I place it with the sand and close my eyes, focusing on what I want to achieve as I puff out three short bursts of air. The sand and eyelash fly off my hand to rejoin the rest of the beach.

Did it work? Damn, I hope it worked.

My eyes snap open, and I whirl around to see Will's hand erupt in flames. Oh no. It’s escalating. Please don’t fight. He doesn't throw the flames, but the six witches opposite throw up their hands. Balls of energy form in a couple of their hands, and one starts spinning his arms around. Fuck! No. I have no clue what he's doing, but it can't be good. This is going south, fast.

Seconds later, shouts from behind me have me whirling around again. Will's mom and four others, three men and a woman, sprint toward Will, James, and Hank.

I sink onto the picnic table bench, so relieved that my legs won't hold me up anymore. The spell worked. I can hardly believe it.

Will's mom's hands erupt into flames like his, but the other four witches make circular movements like the other guy did. What a mess of crap I don’t understand.

The sand around them flies everywhere, and the ground shakes even as far away as I am. The six attacking witches fly backward, but I’m damned if I know what my team did to cause it. My team. Heh. The attacking witches get up and dust themselves off but don't look injured, except maybe for their pride.

The one that seems the most in charge, standing slightly in front of the others, still has his ball of energy in his hand. He screams, enraged, the sound reaching me but not well enough to hear the specifics of what he says. He throws his ball toward Will with a twisted look of rage on his face, and I jump up, panicked. But as fast as I get up, I then slump down in relief. The ball bounces off of an invisible wall of some sort. It must've been what made the sand go everywhere, like a protection wall.

Thank goodness.

I have no idea what to do now. Everything in me is saying go help, but I’d be no good. I have no magic.

The King's witches back away, the six of them never looking away from the seven defenders. My team.

I have a team.

Will, Hank, and James wait until the attackers are well down the beach, then sprint to me.

Will reaches me first, enveloping me in his arms. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I hold my hand at my chest to try not to smear blood over both of us, and it gets caught between our chests.

When he pulls back, I throw my arms around Hank's neck and kiss his cheek, then do the same for James. After giving them all a hug and kiss of appreciation, I turn to see what's happening as Hank grabs my hand. It's dripping blood into the sand. Watching the ending scene in front of me, I don't even realize he's healed my hand until it's done.

"Thanks," I whisper as I rub it with my other thumb.

The attackers turn their backs once they're so far down the beach they can duck behind a dune. Once they turn away, our amazing heroes head toward me as well.

Will's mom pulls me into a hug. "How did you know to summon us?"

I shake my head, not really knowing how to explain it and try to hide my surprise at her appearance. It’s almost unbelievable this woman is Will’s mom. She’s stunning and looks nearly the same age as Will himself. It must be her magic that keeps her young. Will I look young forever, too, or is it a fire mage thing?

“Well, thanks for calling us, no matter how you did it.”

Nodding, I feel a wave of gratitude for this woman. Without knowing me, not really, she came without hesitation and brought back up. It’s good to have people like her in a time of need.

"Well, we're well and truly fucked now." The woman who came with her holds out her hand. "Hello, love. I'm Theresa Curry. Been looking forward to meeting you."

I take her hand without really processing her words, because I’m too busy staring at her. She looks the way I’d expect a modern-day witch to look. Her hair is long and dark, with a white streak through it, and there’s a dark curling tattoo along one side of her hairline. If I had to guess her age, I wouldn’t have a clue because her skin is smooth and even, but there’s something that screams that she’s older, even though she wears a form-fitting black outfit.

Lola smiles between Theresa and me. "Theresa and I were best friends with your mom all through our childhood. We were her ladies in waiting, in a way, though that is an antiquated tradition that's not followed anymore."

I stare at them in shock. I'm looking at the two women who probably knew my mom better than anyone else. Except for my dad and grandma, as far as I've learned so far, these will be the women to tell me about my mom.

Theresa takes my recently healed hand. "I'm so happy to meet you. I knew you had to be alive. I just knew it."

"You knew about me, too?" I stare at them in amazement.

"Yes, but once your parents died, we couldn't find you. We tried." Theresa squeezes my hand in hers. "We wanted to get to you, but then everything went so bad."

Lola takes my other hand. "But we're here now. And we're all on the king's hit list." Theresa turns to the men standing patiently behind her. "Callie, this is Ian, Vincent, and Peter, my mates."

I try to stop them, but my eyebrows fly up. But then, so do James's and Hank's. Will looks unsurprised.

"Your mates?" I ask. "Plural?"

Lola chuckles. "Yeah, most people have that reaction. It works for us, though, so we go with it."

That's an interesting dynamic. I'll have to try to find out more. How does it work? Are the guys together with each other, or just Theresa?

And can it work for other people? I eye the three firemen I’ve been spending my time with.

"What's the plan?" Theresa's blond mate asks. "How are we proceeding?"

Lola, Theresa, and Theresa's mates all look at me expectantly.

I blink and look at Will, who shrugs and turns to James.

"We don't really have one," he says, a little hesitant.

Hank steps forward and puts his arm around me in a comforting way. "Did you come here today expecting this to be the beginning of the war?"

War? "What war?" I cry. "This isn't going to be like that . In case you've forgotten, I have no powers."

It's Theresa's turn to raise her eyebrows. "What do you mean you ‘have no powers?’"

I blanch. "I'm not sure how, but I was cursed, and I have no power. I can shift into a cat, though," I add in a forced, perky voice.

"Except she can't control when she shifts," Will amends. "That's a bummer."

"I'm just thankful I didn't shift during all that excitement." I try to explain how it works to my new friends. "It tends to happen when my emotions run high."

The collection of people don’t seem swayed by our relaxed tones. Instead, they look worried as they glance between us and the beach that stretches around us. Are they regretting answering my call?

"We have to get out of here, whatever happens next," Lola says. "It can't be here."

"Come on, we've got our truck, but not everyone will fit." James looks toward the parking lot at the edge of the sand. "How did you get here?"

"Portal," Theresa says. "Ian is a genius at them."

Will gives his mom an uncomfortable nod, then another nod to Theresa. “Thanks for saving our asses.”

Lola gives a half-smile. "Of course, we came. You were in danger." Then, more quietly. “I’ll always come when you need me.”

Will returns her half-smile with one of his own. “Same.”

Then, he draws himself up taller, his demeanor changing as he looks at Theresa's mates. "Do you have somewhere you can hide out? We have to figure out how to get Callie's powers unlocked before we do anything else."

One of them, the redhead, nods. "Yes, we have a safe house. And we'll take Lola with us."

I hug them all again. "Thank you so much."

They walk down the beach, saying something about making the portal in a more discreet area, and I follow the guys back to the truck. "Where are we going?"

"Back to your place. It's still the safest option, as they haven't found it yet. Hidden in plain sight."

I grab the strap of my bag tighter, feeling the weight of the book. I hope Will is right because it seems like a lot of people stuck their neck out for me tonight. And if I don’t figure out how to be this badass leader that everyone thinks I can be, I have a feeling they’ll get hurt because of me.

And I can’t let that happen.