Page 14 of Magic's Rise

Haut stabs his waffle. “And the Wendall witch.”

“Right.” Levi’s gaze settles on me. “There are stories?—”

“Back to Silver Hollow,” I interrupt. “How else is it different?”

“There are all manner of shifters, though we do have a heavy cat and crow population?—”

“Bullshit.” I whip around to stare at the others. “Did you know about this?”

“Never heard of Silver Hollow,” Haut grunts, while Owen shakes his head.

My focus fixes on Ambros. “You knew, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t realize other shifters were a secret,” he says, not pretending to misunderstand like the two cowards at my table. “My father could turn into hundreds of bats.”

“But he was a vampire!” I throw my hands up in exasperation before turning back to Levi. “What else?”

Head down, he cuts his breakfast into bite-sized pieces. “We also have witches and humans who live among us.”

Tris props his chin on his hand. “How’s that work?”

Levi swallows and sets down his fork, half his waffle having vanished in three bites. “There’s a barrier surrounding our town that makes humans forget it exists when they pass through it. They only remember that paranormals are real once they return home.”

“That’s convenient.” I peer up at the ceiling. “Our barrier feels kind of cheap now.”

“Second rate,” Tris agrees through a mouthful of bacon.

“Were my ancestors even trying?” I shake my head. “So disappointing.”

“Within our barrier, we werewolves don’t even need these amulets, which is good, since we don’t have enough to go around.” Levi touches the silver pendant. “But that means we’re trapped in Silver Hollow, unless we want to risk the moon madness.”

“So…you want more amulets?” I sneak my hand toward Haut’s coffee. “You’d be better off speaking to Mel about that.”

Haut nudges his mug out of reach. “You said you have witches in Silver Hollow. Can’t they recreate it?”

“No one knows the spell. If this Mel could help with it, that would be wonderful, but that’s not why I’m here.” Levi flattens his hands on the table as he fixes on me. “Our barrier is failing.”

Tris passes me his hot chocolate. “Bummer.”

“Big time bummer.” I dip a piece of bacon into it. “You should probably get that fixed.”

“We’ve been trying. Our local coven has been working on it for months.” Frustration tightens his features. “We think it’s been poisoned somehow.”

“Poisoned?” Ambros frowns. “Is there corruption inside your coven?”

“We’re not sure.” Levi grimaces, the admission paining him. “And we’re running out of time. If the barrier falls completely, the world will learn about the existence of paranormals.”

Talk about déjà vu.

“Why do you think we can help?” Own asks.

“Word spreads fast in the paranormal community.” Levi leans toward me like I’m the last hope. “You locked away a vampire elder. That’s no small feat. We figured if anyone could save us, it would be you.”

Mind racing with possibilities, I bite my lip. “That’s a lot of expectation.”

“Adventure,” Tris whispers.

Haut glowers at him. “Not happening.”

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