Page 3 of Mayhem and Ember

“What?” Miles asked.

I rolled my neck, stretching out the tension. “Another rift opened last night inside the monster museum. Chief called them oversized mosquitoes, so I assume it’s a swarm of fae.”

“We can take care of it,” Miles said. “Go get your sword, and we’ll rendezvous here in an hour.”

A sinking sensation formed in my gut, but I pursed my lips and ignored it. I hated splitting up the team—strength in numbers and all—but we were running out of time. “Do we have any bottled shadow spells left?”

Ash grabbed her bag from a hook on the wall and peered inside. “Three.”

“Give them to Miles.” I turned to him. “Can you and Patrice handle it? I don’t know how long this will take, so I need Shade with me to keep us cloaked.”

He cut his gaze to his friend before nodding. “We’ve got this, right, Patrice?”

“Freeze them, shove them through, and seal the rift. Easy-peasy.” She took the bottled mending spell Ash offered.

“Good.” I slung the rope over my shoulder. “Let’s head out.”

Shade rode shotgun while Ash and Chaos took the back seat in the van, and we made our way to the scene of the crime. Thankfully, the drive was an uneventful one. No dark witch minions tried to stop us this time, though I wouldn’t have minded a little scuffle. Fighting I was good at. Hecate knew I sucked at being High Priestess.

“We need to be on alert for Boston witches.” I rolled to a stop two blocks from the church and killed the engine.

“You don’t think they ran off to lick their wounds?” Shade adjusted the straps of his knife harness. “Without their leader, they’re probably trying to act like nothing happened so they don’t get banished.”

“Or they could be organizing again.” Ash looped her satchel over her head to wear it cross-body. “Who knows how dark witches think?”

“Either way, be on high alert. Cloak us, Shade.” I waited for our shadow witch to do his thing. Once the fog rolled around us, turning the outside world grayscale, I hopped out of the van and opened the side door before lifting the hatch out of habit.

My shoulders slumped at the empty space where my sword should have lain. The daggers strapped to my thighs and ankles would have to do if we ran into trouble. And honestly…I hoped we would. Fighting was in my blood. Being locked in battle was the one time I could clear my head, shut off my thoughts, and let my instincts take over. Whatever daunting task that lay six steps ahead didn’t matter in that moment. All I had to do was kick butt, no name-taking required.

“We’ll get it back.” Ash rested a hand on my back, and I straightened, grabbing an extra knife to hide my emotional display.

The coven thinking I was a weak crybaby was the last thing I needed. I shut the door and turned to Chaos, who carried the rope. “That’s not fireproof, so put it down if you’re going to light yourself ablaze.”

He raised his brows. “Are you expecting a battle?”

“I’m always ready for a fight.” I jerked my head toward the church, and, invisible to the rest of the world, we strode two blocks toward the entrance.

Caution tape looped through a makeshift chain-link fence surrounded the property, and a stout man in a hardhat held an iPad toward a woman in a tailored suit. I raised my hand, telling my team to stop and listen to their conversation.

“I don’t know how an earthquake could have only affected this small area,” the man said. “Are you sure it wasn’t an act of God? Is the congregation worshipping false idols or something?” He guffawed at his own bad joke.

The woman flashed an indignant look and crossed her arms. “Can the foundation be repaired?”

“It’ll cost a pretty penny, but we can do it.” He swiped his finger on the iPad, and I motioned for the others to follow.

Ash hurried to walk beside me. “At least they can fix it. I wonder how they’ll get the money though.”

“I’m sure the congregation will pay for it.” I stopped beside a piece of fence that wasn’t fastened to the next section and moved it forward, creating enough space for us to pass through.

My mood darkened as we approached the entrance, and when I grabbed the door handle, Ash let out a muffled sound of disapproval. I hadn’t let her check for magic before I touched it.

I motioned to the door. “Humans are in control here. Nobody put up a ward on a church that could collapse at any minute. It is locked, though.”

“We still have to use caution. Confess, expose, my magic sleuth. I call on you to reveal your truth.” She cast her magic-revealing spell, finding nothing, as I expected, before tugging a lock-picking kit from her satchel and going to work. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Sometimes, too careful can get you killed,” I said.

“There’s no such thing as too careful these days.” She smiled triumphantly and opened the door.

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