Page 17 of Coven

He shuffled meals to microwave and plate three times. By the time he was done heating their dinners, Mika had put the salt away and Sora was sitting at the set table, waiting impatiently for his food. Kana placed one meal in front of each seat and happily dug in. Only after Mika and Sora had finished most of their dinner—and Kana had discovered he was hungry too after a few bites—did he broach the subject.

“What do you think we should do?” he asked them.

Sora finished chewing and swallowed before answering. “You want to help them.”

“I won’t make a decision without asking you both first,” Kana insisted.

“Yes,” Mika said softly, “but we’re your familiars. We want what you want.”

Kana frowned at him. “You both are perfectly capable of voicing your dissent if you don’t like something I’m doing. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

“We are abstract magic given solid form thanks to your intent,” Sora cut in. “When it comes to emotional needs, physical needs, we are independent. When it comes to magic, you are our master. This is a matter for magic.”

“But I’m making my decision based on an emotional response,” Kana said. “You can’t tell me you felt nothing after hearing Ember’s story.”

“I could hear his pain and feel yours in response through our bond,” Mika said. “I know saving those wolves would be the right thing to do, so I suppose I have no objection to our getting involved.”

“Sora?” Kana asked.

“I know bad witches have done similar terrible things to their familiars as what is happening to those wolves. I wouldn’t want to wish that on anyone, so yes, I agree we should save them.”

“So, tomorrow we tell Ember we’ll help him however we can,” Kana finished for them and then glanced between Mika and Sora just in case they might have any sort of objection. When none came, Kana finished eating.

He was yawning by the time he dropped his dishes into the sink.

“We’ll do them in the morning,” Mika insisted. “Bedtime.”

Sora turned out the lights behind them as they headed into the bedroom, and Kana was thankful the bed was nearby because he was asleep within minutes.

Chapter Seven

THE CHOICE OF car wasn’t subtle—big and black, and parked right in front of Kana’s office. The second Kana stepped outside, a wolf hopped out the front passenger side and pulled open the back door for Kana.

Good thing Beth got held up, Kana said to Mika and Sora. She would have all sorts of comments and questions about the five-star treatment and would definitely not have let up until she had pried the story from him.

He got into the car quickly, before anyone from work saw, and they pulled into traffic a moment later. Kana expected to have a long drive all the way out to the gigantic house, but the car parked in a small lot only ten minutes later.

“Where are we?” Kana asked the wolf who had opened his door again. They weren’t in the worst part of the city, but the building was similar to a place where Kana had lived when he was still getting back on his feet.

“City safe house,” the wolf grunted.

Kana followed him inside the apartment building, up a flight of stairs, and to an innocuous door among a row of identical ones. The wolf knocked twice, then turned and walked away, leaving Kana alone in the hall with just Mika and Sora in their bag for company.

Only a few seconds passed before he heard the lock click, and the door swung open to reveal Ember.

“Sorry we had to come here,” he said as he held the door wide for Kana to walk inside. “I don’t have that long before I need to be at the vampire’s house, so I had to stay close.”

“This is fine,” Kana replied with a shrug. “I’ll get home faster tonight, at least.”

His backpack rustled and Mika stuck his head out of the opening.

Hurry up! Sora whined.

Oh hush, Mika whined back, but he clambered up onto Kana’s shoulder. Sora pushed his head through the opening next, but he stayed in the bag.

The apartment was simple and old. The carpet was worn in a path from the door to the living room and the blinds over the windows were bent and cracked. Still, it was clean.

Two wolves stood by the windows in the living room, and they turned to look at Kana when he stepped inside.

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