Page 59 of XOXO

As I glance back, the ridiculous, six-foot-five gnome gives us a cutesy little finger wave.

Chapter Five

The Crone Coronada barely glanced at us when we returned to the shop. She tapped one end of her spoon onto the glass countertop beside the cash register.

“Leave it here,” she muttered. Once the stone was on the surface, she smacked it with the spoon and it morphed into a much smaller, smooth stone with a gentle glow.

Brynn and I didn’t question it. We exchanged a glance, snatched the stone, then disappeared out the door and never looked back.

I was expecting more fireworks, truth be told. Some additional task the Coronada conveniently “remembered” she also needed to be done. I’m sure she’ll find some way to blackmail us with our errand.

After all, we still haven’t repaired the moonstone we cracked. It remains in the box in the storage room.

The moon crests the sky while we trudge to the site of my unfortunate fall that caused all of our issues.

When we arrive at the shadowy spot, the stones before and after the break still pulse in the night.

At least the ward line survived, albeit with a gap the entire night.

Everything seems to be fine. If something untoward had invaded, there’d be signs of chaos. Destroyed trees. A destroyed cabin. Hell, footprints would’ve given it away.

But the ground is pristine, marred only by the comical swipes in two directions where my feet slid out from under me.

We stand in the spot and scan the woods. Brynn’s scrutiny is intense, her head straight and her ears clearly open and searching for anything out of place.

Not that she’d know. It isn’t her land. But I appreciate the effort.

“Get to it, Vi. I want to be done for the night,” she says.

Dropping to my knees, I smooth the area where the moonstone should be. In a perfect world, I’d measure the exact 18 feet needed between each one, but it only needs to last until tomorrow when I can come back with a tape measure.

Tape measure! Why didn’t I take that from my apartment?

I begin the chant, the humming phrasing more of a song than verse. My index finger stabs into the dirt to build the three-dimensional glyph that will both produce the links of the ward line but also create a protective barrier around the stone from external attacks.

If only it also protected from my clumsiness.

The air thickens and static lifts the hairs on my arms. I can tell Brynn senses it too. Her chin dips, her focus drifting to my movements while she keeps her lookout.

When the moonstone connects and clicks into place, the ground shudders and a wave of magic cascades away in waves. It flows over Brynn and it’s like she flickers in the moonlight. I’ve never seen anyone react that way to a ward, but also, I’ve never seen an uninitiated member of the coven pass the wards.

She’s inside the lines. It shouldn’t hurt or eject her. It wouldn’t have let her in at all if she had ill intent.

“Let’s head back to the cabin,” she suggests.

“You don’t want to finish the patrol?”

Brynn shrugs. “The ward has been open for hours. If something wanted to get in, it would have done so by now. I don’t see any signs of a problem. Do you?”

“No.”

“You know how to search for intruders on your land?”

Scanning spell. Yet another item I keep in my cache at the apartment and didn’t bring.

I absolutely suck at breaking and entering.

“We have to go back for supplies,” I admit.

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