Page 13 of Autumn L.A.W

She strode out, the mansion lights brightening in her wake like an army rallying behind its commander.

Cal hovered awkwardly near the doorway. “Uh, should I stay? Or…?”

Lioness, eyes half-open, pointed weakly at him. “You should come back tomorrow.”

Cal blinked. “Right. I’ll check on you if I can find the place again. If not, I’ll call. Rest and feel better.”

Then he slipped out, the door closing softly behind him.

Sahara whispered, “Lioness?”

“Yeah?”

“You totally adopted a firefighter.”

Lioness smiled faintly. “I know.”

Then both witches passed out as the mansion hummed a protective lullaby around them.

CHAPTER 4

Rayna had faced hostile spirits, interdimensional pests, and one extremely entitled fairy prince who tried to unionize his followers, but nothing made her want to fight quite like Manhattan traffic at noon. She barreled down the Lower East Side sidewalk with a purpose that suggested violence.

“This better not be another crystal-healing influencer who thinks sage equals surgery,” Rayna growled.

Joell hustled behind her, clutching her bag like it contained state secrets. “He came recommended!”

“By whom, Joell?”

“I did a locator spell.”

“What did you ask to locate? An energy worker?”

“The best energy worker in New York. I even heard his name whispered.”

Rayna stopped dead, staring her down. “You heard a whisper.”

“It was a confident whisper,” Joell insisted.

“Witch, that’s not much better.”

“Look, you wanted to check him out before we invited him to the mansion, and I think that’s smart. Magda is watching over them and will call us if they get worse.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

They stopped in front of a building whose entire personality could be described as “eclectic apothecary meets spiritual fire hazard.” Herbs overflowed from window boxes. Crystals glittered in sunbeams. An inordinate number of wind chimes clinked ominously as if gossiping.

A sign taped to the door read:

ENERGY ALIGNMENTS

NO EXORCISMS AFTER 5 PM.

NO BLEEDING ON THE STOOP.

It was signed Ezra.

Rayna blinked. “Okay, that last rule concerns me.”