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I hurried through the cottage, checking all my hiding spots. I started with the weapons cache. The area seemed untouched. I opened drawers and peered in my closet.

“Did she plant a listening device?” I asked Jinx, as though the cat might answer. I’d have to sweep the interior for anything unusual. I didn’t need Meemaw. That kind of magic was within my capabilities.

My head still felt woozy, so I mixed a potion first to top off Dr. Adam’s painkillers, then I crafted a sweeping spell to identify anything that didn’t belong.

I’d mixed this same potion so many times that I had the instructions committed to memory. Some of my wilier targets had tried to turn the tables on me and make me the prey instead.

It didn’t end well for them.

I used a plastic spray bottle to spritz the potion in every room. By the time I finished, the entire cottage smelled like mint.

There was no sign of anything unusual.

Hmm. Was it possible that Penny actually came here out of the goodness of her heart? If she were any creature other than a fury, I might believe it. In her shoes, the old me would’ve bugged the hell out of her place. Knowledge was power and I would’ve wanted every drop of it.

I rubbed Jinx behind the ear. “I’m okay. Just being paranoid, apparently.” Not that I blamed myself. Penny’s presence had already unsettled me. Despite my extensive efforts, my old life was bleeding into my new one. My dream of the Fates didn’t help.

I forced myself to rest so that my recovery would be quick and uncomplicated. I needed to be in top condition if I expected to take down Keith.

My nap was interrupted by a call from Camille Hadley, a petite dryad with the kind of big and brassy blonde hair that invoked images of an '80s glamour shot.

I scraped off the drool stuck to my cheek. “Hi, Camille.”

“Hey, hon. You busy?”

My stomach plummeted. “You Busy” was code for “Can You Handle This Problem?” “I’m recovering from a concussion.”

“Oh my. That was real? I thought that was somebody’s idea of a joke. Why would anyone attack you?”

“Cornhole got out of hand. What’s up?”

“Well, I don’t mean to bother you, but I’m at the pool and some of the Neighbors are acting peculiar.” She paused. “More peculiar than usual.”

Not again. Keith really needed to give his power play a rest. “Can you give me an example?”

She lowered her voice. “I don’t want anyone to hear me. It’s reminding me of that old movie. Oh, what was it called? Invasion of the Body Takers?”

“Snatchers.”

“Right. That’s what they remind me of. I figure a thing like this probably falls in your domain.”

Unfortunately, yes. “Which pool?”

“Palmetto. Should I call the new gal? What’s her name—Phoebe?”

“Penny Beaufort. No, I’ll handle it. Is Keith Irwin there, by any chance?”

“He’s the new werewolf, right?”

That answered my question.

“Yes,” I said.

“He was, but he had to leave for a doctor’s appointment. I saw him pinch Edith’s backside and you know what she did?”

I had a feeling she didn’t kick him in the gonads. “What?”

“She giggled. Does that sound normal to you?”