Page 4 of Shadow Witch

“It’s not the same as a mother-child bond, dimwit,” Drucinda said with a roll of her eyes. “Look, do you want to find your mother or not?”

Paige let her gaze fall to the floor. Could she bring herself to hope again that her mother was alive? What if she found the soul compass, calibrated it, and learned she was dead?

She shook her head. No, she had to know. She’d never forgive herself if her mother was still alive, and she’d been too cowardly to search for her. She had to take the chance, even if it led to heartache. She had to be strong.

She firmed her resolve, wiping at her cheeks and lifting her chin. “Yes. I want to find her. Tell me what I need to do.”

Drucinda heaved a sigh as the corners of her lips turned up into a relieved smile. Dewey clapped his paws. “Good choice, Paige. We’re all with you on this.”

Paige nodded at him, firming her lower lip. “I have to know. She deserves this chance.”

Dewey patted her head. “Right. Just remember that as we go through this process.”

“I know,” Paige said with a slow nod. “It’ll be hard. Sometimes, I’ll lose hope. I may even feel like giving up. But I have to press on and keep fighting to find her. She deserves my best.”

Dewey wrinkled his nose, his horns wiggling before he shot Drucinda and Devon a glance. “Er, that’s not exactly what I meant…I mean, sure it’s going to be darn near impossible, and we’ll probably have a pretty rough time considering that we stink at almost everything but…”

“But what? Why is everyone acting like I’ll have to walk through Hell to get this compass?” Her eyes went wide, and she shot a glance at Dewey. “Wait, do I? Is that what I have to do?”

“Close,” Dewey said.

Her features slipped into a frightened mask as she glanced at her other two companions. Devon cracked a smile, throwing his hands out to the sides. “Pucker up, Paige. We’re getting married.”

CHAPTER 2

Paige heaved an irritated sigh as she glared at him. “Can you keep on task, please, for five minutes?”

Devon narrowed his eyes at her. “What?”

“We were talking about how to get the compass. Everyone was acting like it was going to be really hard for me to get it. And then suddenly, you propose again. We are not getting married.”

“You’re missing the point,” Devon said.

“No, I don’t think I am. This is what you do. You wait until I’m in this weakened state, and then you pounce.” She balled her fingers into fists. “You’re not going to slide one by me.”

“No, darling,” Drucinda said with a shake of her head that sent her perfect ponytail swinging, “you’re misunderstanding the entire thing.”

“No one has told me a thing about how to get the compass yet. Just as we were about to find out, Devon decided to be a joker and bring up marriage again.”

“The thing is, Paige,” Dewey began with a wrinkled nose, “he’s not being a joker this time.”

“How do you figure that?” Paige asked, crossing her arms.

“Because the first step to getting the compass is accepting Devon’s proposal,” Dewey said with an awkward grin. “Isn’t that fun?”

“What?!” Paige cried. “Are you joking? This is a joke, right?”

“Sorry, Paige, but Dominic has some serious clout and a ton of knowledge.”

“Good, excellent, let’s ask him for it,” Paige said, her eyes wide and her jaw still unhinged.

“Thing is…he’s pretty stingy about giving things outside of family,” Dewey answered.

“Which is why you’re about to become family,” Devon said with a smile.

“Uhhhh, no. Wait. You’re already his family. Ask him for it.”

“No can do, Paige. He knows what we’re using it for and he wants his payment.”

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