Page 57 of Last Call at the Doghouse

Armi glanced behind her, above, behind again. Nothing.

Silas looked disgusted as he studied the skies.

“Can you explain any of this?” she asked sharply.

“Yeah, I’m afraid I can. But first, I have a message for you.” He looked her in the eye. If he saw fire there, it didn’t alarm him. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

The first Springers to emerge from their hiding places were all women. They walked one at a time to the middle of Main Street. In spite of the recent invasion, they were not afraid. They looked calm and determined. Each and every one of them had a streak in their hair. Silver, red, black, purple. Eve and Jordan, Travis and Luke’s wives. The young girls, Felicity and Bria, who wore wide smiles that told her they’d succeeded in lifting Sonny’s spell. Powerful as they were, they were too young to have a part in this!

Molly was in the middle of it all, seemingly accepted as one of them no matter what she’d done in the past. Maybe Nelson was right and she’d just trusted the wrong man. Whatever the reason, she was now one of them. There were others; women Armi didn’t know or recognize. At quick count there were a dozen. Each and every one wore a look of determination.

You don’t have to do this alone.

Her army.

Before she could say a word, The Egg bus drove past and pulled to a stop on the other side of the street. Doors creaked open and a moment or two later, Helen and her friends stepped into the street one after another, each one carrying a colorful cane that matched the new streaks in their hair.

* * *

Mary squirmed in the passenger seat of Sonny’s car. Her declarations of love and promises to do unspeakable things for that love were suddenly becoming too real. Were those doubts? Was the love potion he’d given her finally wearing off?

No, the love remained. It was deep and powerful. She just had cold feet. Maybe that was to be expected.

“I would love you with or without magic,” she said softly.

Sonny laughed at her. “You say that now, but…”

“My love is not so fickle,” she said. “We can go back to the house, wait and see what happens when the time comes, and after it goes.”

“It’s a little late to change your mind,” he snapped. “I could’ve left you at home and just done this myself, somehow.”

She didn’t want to be away from him, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to knock around that big old house on her own, either. Besides, what if he didn’t come back? “No,” she said. “My place is with you.” A brief feeling of uncertainty hit her. “I know I said I would, but I’m not sure I can kill Armi. Maybe I can just… knock her out or something. Then when she wakes up, it will be too late for her to do anything.”

The car slowed. She half expected Sonny to pull to the shoulder and toss her out.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m with you, I’ll help if I need to. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

The car’s speed increased. The turn that would take them to Mystic Springs was less than a mile away.

She turned her head to watch the sun set. A flock of birds, specks in the distance, seemed to circle well above their destination.

* * *

Chaos. In the middle of Main Street, complete chaos. Every woman in town—every woman with a streak in her hair, at least—was talking at once.

Mitch stood away from the group, as did most of the men. Until less than a year ago, he’d had no idea that magic existed. Now he knew more than he wanted to. Many of these women, perhaps all, were witches. Not witches with pointy hats and warts and green skin; no, these weren’t Halloween witches. They were powerful women with gifts that transcended what was known in the wider world. They were able to tap into something he still didn’t entirely understand.

The men were not without their own abilities; many of them were as powerful as their women. But it seemed the strength of Mystic Springs bloomed more strongly in the female Springers. They were the keepers, the watchers… and in this case, the warriors.

Travis sidled up to Mitch. His wife Eve was in the mix, as was one sister-in-law, Jordan. “It’s rare that I don’t know what to do,” the lawman said. “There have been times I was wrong, but I always had an idea of a fix.”

The streetlights flickered and came on as the sky grew dark. It wasn’t an ominous darkness, just the day waning.

“It’s likely you know more than I do,” Mitch said. “I’m… lost.”

Travis gave him a quick history of the dome that had kept Mystic Springs’ powers confined, and of its fall last year. Most of it he knew, at least in part. It was what would happen tonight that had them both worried.

“If it isn’t rebuilt, if the magic isn’t reined back in and contained, it won’t be long before the dark magic in the world overtakes the light.”