Page 100 of Shadow Witch

“Did nothing to me? You held my snout closed. And it hurt.”

“Sorry,” Drucinda said with a shrug. “Desperate times and all of that. You looked ready to attack.”

“Why didn’t you? Why did you suddenly calm down?” Paige asked.

“Something about you.” The wolf shook his head. “There’s something about your voice.”

Drucinda dropped her head back between her shoulders. “How stupid. She has Snow White Syndrome.”

“Oh, that explains it,” the wolf said with a nod. “That’s why then. Otherwise, I would have attacked.”

Paige’s jaw unhinged. “Are you joking? All that carrying on about how mean I was to say that and you were ready to eat us anyway.”

“Well, after last night, I was, yes. But you’re all still alive, so…”

“Maybe not Dewey.” Paige let her gaze fall to the floor. “We can’t find him.”

“Maybe he got lost looking for the Star Serum he was after.”

“Star Serum?” Drucinda questioned.

The wolf nodded. “Yes. He said he needed Star Serum to supercharge a soul compass. Where the little fellow found one of those is beyond me, but anyway, he wanted star serum. He’d been searching in dozens of locations, and finally said he’d go to the observatory.”

Drucinda and Paige exchanged a glance.

Paige’s heart lifted as the corner of her lips curled up at the corners. “I’ll bet that’s where he is. Let’s go.”

Drucinda nodded as she took a step toward the door.

The wolf blocked her. “Just a moment.”

“Now what?” Paige asked, her pulse ramping up.

“Would you consider making a donation to the Preservation of Werewolves fund?”

Paige wrinkled her nose. “Are you kidding me? Look, I don’t have any cash–“

“We take checks and all major credits. Also Weremo.”

Drucinda rolled her eyes. “I’ve got Weremo. Just a moment.” She tugged her phone from her pocket and tapped on it. “There. And I’ll see that Dominic Durand makes a generous donation, as well.”

“Really?” the wolf asked.

“Yes. That’s his daughter-in-law you’re holding up,” Drucinda said as she returned the phone to her pocket.

“Well, we really appreciate all of your help in preserving historic werewolf sites. Have a great day.” The wolf slinked off into the shadows of the temple.

Paige stared after him, her features scrunched. “What the hell was that?”

“Shakedown,” Drucinda answered. “Come on, let’s get Grandmother and go to this celestial observatory. It all makes sense now.”

Drucinda stalked from the temple into the bright sunshine outside with Paige following her. “It does? Can you explain it to me?”

“Yes. Dewey was after Star Serum. In his inebriated state last night, he must have gotten the idea in his head to track it down. That explains all the hops to these odd locations. He was in search of it, and finally decided to go straight for the source.”

“Why do we need this again? How does it supercharge the soul compass?”

“Soul compasses can be difficult to follow. It can take a tremendous amount of effort to track down an individual with one. However, Star Serum can make it much, much easier. The connection needed to activate the soul compass can be at a lower threshold. It’s not a terrible idea, but this search for Star Serum has really been quite tedious,” Drucinda answered as they reached her grandmother.

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