Page 20 of Magic's Rise

“It will settle with time.” The assurance in his voice eases some of my anxiety over turning Hartford Cove on its head.

I nibble my lip. “The humans are all okay with the paranormals?”

“Most of them are.” He grimaces. “Those who aren’t are sent outside the barrier, and then they forget we’re anything but human.”

When I try to picture the bustling streets of Silver Hollow, filled with humans and paranormals living side by side, my imagination comes up blank. “But now your barrier is failing.”

“So it is,” he agrees.

I slide off my grave to sit in front of it, drawing my knees up, and the scent of fresh flowers mixed with bruised grass rises into the air. “Tell me about your witches.”

“It’s the same coven who set up the original barrier.” He mirrors my pose, his hat dangling from one hand. “Or rather, it’s their descendants. Silver Hollow has been around for a couple hundred years now.”

Just like Hartford Cove, but more open-minded. Will we get to the point Silver Hollow is at in another hundred years?

“After they erected the barrier, they left the werewolves there to sort themselves out, only returning when the spell needed to be renewed.” He bounces his hat against his thigh. “I suppose it was a bit of an experiment to see if our kind could be tamed. Once they started having families and growing the town, the coven returned to stay and gifted the pack leader’s family with these amulets.”

He touches his chest, where the charm hides. “It was a sign of goodwill to show that Silver Hollow wasn’t a prison for my kind. Leaving was an option, with their help.”

Excited, I lean forward. “Are you telling me that the same coven who created your amulets still lives in Silver Hollow?”

That’s even better. It means the witches who made the amulets didn’t leave and take that knowledge with them.

“Yep.” A gleam enters his eyes. “The very same. They’ve been around for centuries, and they’re an integral part of our town’s history.”

Realizing I overplayed my hand, I force a note of nonchalance into my tone. “Spiffy.”

Levi watches me closely, gauging my reaction. “I can introduce you, but you have to remember that this isn’t a pleasure jaunt I’m asking you to take with me. Silver Hollow is in trouble. That’s why I’m here.”

His words dampen my enthusiasm. “Right. You said the barrier’s been poisoned?

He nods, his brow furrowing with worry. “It’s been weakening for the last several months, but we don’t know why or who’s responsible. There’s a lot of suspicion surrounding the witches right now, so you’ll need to tread carefully.”

“Poisoned how?” I didn’t realize that was possible.

The barrier around Hartford Cove gets reinforced every year by the Wendall family, though the most recent one was reinstated by Mel’s moms, and I had to reclaim it.

Would poisoning it mean another witch is casting a spell to harm the barrier? Or something else altogether?

“We’re not sure,” he admits, looking pained. “Some suspect that the tension between the paranormals and humans in town is at the root of the matter, but my Alpha isn’t convinced. We need to find out who did this and fix the barrier before more damage is done. We’ve been unable to uncover the culprit.”

“I’m good at identifying bad guys.” Though not always before they try to kill me.

In fact, my brilliance usually happens because they try to kill me. Nevertheless, I’m still standing and they’re not, so that has to count for something, right?

“I’ll be careful around the witches in Silver Hollow,” I promise.

And I mean it. As much as I’d love to burst into their coven and start asking a million questions, discretion is the better part of valor.

Note to self: look up how to be discreet.

Levi straightens. “So, you’ll do it?”

“I haven’t agreed yet.” I stick my legs out in front of me. “An introduction to your local witches isn’t really worth risking my life.”

He slumps back against the brick wall.

Curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask the question that’s been nagging at the back of my mind since Levi showed up on our porch this morning. “Why didn’t you seek help from the Paranormal Council? Aren’t they supposed to be the bigwigs when it comes to supernatural matters?”

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