Page 7 of Mending Mayhem

“Help her,” Chaos demanded, not hiding the menace in his voice.

“I am.” I twisted off the lid and smeared the semi-gelatinous liquid over her swollen legs. Sparkles gathered on her skin, the purple fading to her normal pale complexion, the swelling receding instantly.

Her eyes flew open, and she sucked in a massive breath before bolting upright. “Where’d the bastard go?”

“Through the rift. He got away.” I found a towel in her bag o’ magic and wiped my hands.

“It’s sealed.” Miles handed me the empty bottle.

I returned it and the jar to the satchel. “Since when do you play with nerve hexes?”

“Shade’s was so effective on us, I thought it might work on the fae.” She put on her boots. “I didn’t plan on dropping it.”

“You should use capsules like the witches in New Orleans.” Chaos helped her to her feet.

“As soon as I have a moment to breathe, I’ll figure out how to make them.” She rotated her ankles and shook out her legs. “All better.”

“Be more careful with those.” I sheathed my sword and tucked my hair behind my ears. “If the smoke had spread to all of us, we’d be dead.”

She laughed. “But you said being too careful would get us killed. Make up your mind.”

“You know what I mean.” I jerked my head toward the exit. “Let’s get out of here so Higgins can concoct his story and deal with the mess.”

The Chief arched a brow as we filed past him, expecting a detailed report but not using his words like a big boy. When I didn’t give him what he wanted, he grabbed my arm. “Well?”

I looked at his hand before glaring into his eyes. “I suggest you let me go before I?—”

“Ember…” Ash’s voice dripped with warning, and yeah, okay… Threatening to decapitate a police officer wasn’t in my best interest, but I was so goddess-damned tired of his disrespect.

“Will you please let me go?” I forced a smile, trying my best not to sneer.

He dropped my arm, and I stepped back out of his reach. “Did you kill the ghost?”

Hecate, please give me the strength to answer him without sounding like a snarky bitch. “Even if it were a ghost in the library, you can’t kill something that’s already dead.” I crossed my arms. “The creature inside was a fae scout looking for information, and no, we did not kill him. He went back to his own realm, and we sealed the rift. Call it whatever floats your boat. The library is empty now.”

That sounded okay, right?

He narrowed his eyes. “What kind of information?”

“He wanted to know how we killed his friends. Of course he didn’t find what he was looking for. We keep the books about real witchcraft in our coven library.”

“You’ll have to show me that library.”

“Not a chance.” I turned on my heel and descended the steps.

The sun peeked over the horizon as we made our way back home, but it wasn’t yet high enough to warm the bitter wind. My hair whipped into my face as we entered the alley behind our building, and I brushed it out of my eyes, stopping short on the back porch.

“Something feels off.” I closed my eyes, opening my senses to the magic surrounding the building. Only remnants remained. “Someone broke our ward.”

“Hold on.” Ash cast her magic-revealing spell, and sure enough, only a few sparkles clung to the door frame. Someone had dissolved the magic meant to keep out those with ill intent.

3

EMBER

My pulse thrumming, I slowly turned the doorknob. Someone had picked the lock. I held up my hand, telling my team to hold their positions, and stepped to the side as I inched the door open, ready for whatever awaited us inside to attack.

Eerie silence greeted me instead.

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