Page 56 of The Most Wanted Witch

I shrugged off my jacket as I came to terms with this new issue. I walked until I was in the back room, pouring tea and settling on the couch, trying to unfreeze my brain from a stalled position.

Hawk followed me in, with Zab, Bibbi, Musso, and Bertha trailing behind him. How exactly did I tell them that, in a nutshell, I’d become the knot in a tug of war between heaven and hell and was beginning to suspect this fight was over more than gaining control of Xest.

Hawk stepped closer. “Tippi, what happened with—”

“Don’t say the name.” I nearly choked on my tea. I’d just gotten rid of the guy. I didn’t want him back now, and even inside, I was afraid his name might trigger an appearance.

“What happened?” Hawk repeated.

Bibbi came over and topped off my tea, even though I’d only had a couple of sips. “It’s all right. Just take your time.”

“No, it’s not all right. I need to know what happened,” Hawk said, coming closer.

Bibbi gave me a smile, silently telling me to ignore Hawk. Had to give it to the girl. She was really coming into her own these days. She’d been hiding a pair the size of watermelons under her new outfits.

Zab, Bertha, and Musso stared and waited as Oscar rushed through the back door.

“You found her,” he said, stopping short.

“She came back on her own,” Hawk said.

“What happened with—”

“Don’t say the name,” Musso said, throwing up a hand.

“Okay, well, what didhewant?” Oscar asked, becoming part of the circle of people staring at me.

“He said that he’s heard about my prior meetings with the one from down below.” I wasn’t taking a chance naming any names.

“That’s not really where it—”

“No one cares, Zab. Do the geography lesson another day,” Bibbi said.

“Keep going,” Hawk said.

“So, the one from above wants to be informed of what’s happening with the one from below. That he wouldn’t consider us friends if I didn’t cooperate.” I leaned forward, putting my tea down, because if I didn’t, I was going to spill it on myself. The more reality hit, the more my hands were starting to shake, and that wouldn’t do.

“Was anything else said?” Hawk asked. “Don’t leave a single detail out.”

“He asked about me a bit. My parents, where I came from.”

Hawk moved closer. “What did you say?”

“That I didn’t know much but I was basically a girl from Salem.”

“Did he buy it?” Hawk asked.

I was so past the realm of normal, even in Xest, that no one skipped a beat at that question. All they were focused on was if I’d sold him a bill of goods about being common. Well, they were all going to be disappointed.

“I doubt it.” I sat on my hands in a show of warming them, which had the added benefit of hiding the tremble.

“This is not good. First we’ve got one involved, and now the other? What happened to Xest having autonomy?” Musso said, shaking his head. Bertha moved in closer, patting his back.

“Are you okay?” Bibbi asked, sitting beside me.

“I’m fine. I’m just going to drink some tea and unwind for a few minutes, and then I’ll be good.”

Her eyes suddenly seemed to glaze over. “Okay. Well, I’m going to get back to work.” She got up as if nothing strange had happened.

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