Page 33 of The Accidental Witch

As she relayed what happened, everything from the sudden change of the landscape to the woman with the gorgeous blonde hair and the crazy thing screaming at her while it breathed fire down her neck that she never actually saw, Greer sat quietly, never letting go of her hand.

When Robbie finished, everyone sat in silence, absorbing her words, and it left her surprised.

She stared back at them, slapping her hands on her thighs. “Oh, c’mon, you guys! Out of all the experiences you’ve had, dragons and mermaids and Hell…literalHell, for goodness sake, this one has you speechless? What’s going on here?”

Greer raked a hand through his hair. “I was right. You were in the Lost Lands…”

“Oh yeah? Well maybe you could tell them to turn the damn air on, because it’s hot there,” she joked.

But no one laughed.

Sitting up straight, she didn’t know how to digest this. Sure, it had been scary AF, and she’d been terrified, but what did this place mean to her in the overall scheme of things?

Nina was the first to speak, her tone as somber as Robbie’d ever heard it. “I’ve only heard rumors about this place in our circles, kiddo. I didn’t know its name until Greer gave it one and you described it, but it ain’t a fucking place anyone wants to end up.”

Darnell, who stood in the back of the living room doing what he did best, observe, clucked his tongue. “A-yup. It ain’t nowhere anybody wants to be, Robbie. I hear demons talk ’bout it all the time. Even they’re scared of it, and they’re in Hell. That says somethin’.”

“Okay, and…? I got out. I lived. So what’s the big deal?” She heard herself say the words, cavalier and almost dismissive, but Robbie truly didn’t get it.

She’d gotten out, right? Robbie realized that didn’t make her some kind of superhero, but she was mostly unharmed. There might be some nightmares for a little while, but she was fine.

Greer looked at her, his eyes like hard granite. “The woman you encountered was likely a witch who’s been captured and forcefully taken there. For her, there’s no way out. Anyone who lands there isnevergetting out.”

But she had. How’d that happen?

Cocking her head, Robbie asked, “And the thing that was chasing me?”

“The thing that was chasing you was a guardian of the Lost Lands. They’re heinous, foul, fire-breathing creatures, their sole purpose to keep everyone there detained, and if it had caught you, it would have…”

“It would have what?”

“Wiped you off the face of the planet. Obliterated you,” he answered quietly.

She inhaled on a shudder and asked the burning question. “Any thoughts on how I got there in the first place?”

“Someone…someone with great power…had to send you there. And that’s the rub, Robbie. That’s why it’s such a big deal. Someone snatched you up and took you to the Lost Lands without any warning at all. What if it happens again and you can’t get back?”

Oh.

Oh dear.

Chapter

Ten

After more conversation about her abduction than Robbie could keep her eyes open during, Wanda had insisted she go to bed, but not without someone watching her twenty-four-seven.

Because apparently, she could be snatched out of thin air and taken to the Lost Lands by some unknown entity, where she’d be chased by fire-breathing monsters on an endless loop.

So Tottington and Arch had corralled her cats, depositing them in her room along with a warm glass of milk, while the girls worked out a schedule to watch over her.

After Nina stood guard like a supermodel centurion during Robbie’s shower, she handed over the babysitting reins to Greer, who’d pulled down the bedcovers of the huge California king in the guest bedroom where she’d spent the last few nights.

Robbie had teased the vampire that she must have gotten the mattress from the Cloud Store, it was so comfortable. Also, it beat the hell out of the shabby blow-up one she had in her apartment.

As she climbed in and snuggled under the gorgeous linen duvet in moss green, Robbie suddenly didn’t feel nearly as tiredas she had downstairs. Greer dragged the chair from a white oak desk in the corner of the room and pulled it to sit beside her.

“You know what I wanna know?” he asked.

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