Page 35 of Wicching Hour

“Hi, Gran. I have Mom on the line too and Declan is here with me. You guys are on speaker.”

“What’s happened?” Gran asked, her voice urgent.

“That’s why I’m calling. We have a few problems.” I explained about the stalker and his podcast and then went into the vision. When I got to the little boy being poisoned by my cookie, Declan kissed the top of my head and held me tightly.

“Poison again,” Mom mused. “How will Cal poison your baked goods?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “If we can’t figure it out, I’ll stop selling food.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to,” Gran said. “And we’ll come and help you ward Bracken’s vehicle. We can at least get that worry dealt with.”

I squeezed Declan’s arm. “Gran, that hellhound, or whatever it was, has me worried about you leaving your house.”

“Nonsense,” she argued. “That girl is not locking me up in my own home.”

“And I totally get that,” I said, “but what if something happens to you? We’ll be back to two-thirds of the Council trying to fight a sorcerer and her demon. I know it feels like the strong thing to do is ignore the threat, but the Goddess gave me the vision for a reason. I don’t think it’s wise to ignore Her warning.”

“She has a point,” Mom said. “I think it makes more sense to bring you out when we have a plan for defeating Calliope. Not to waste it for wards that Arwyn and I can build. If her demon puts you in a coma, how are we, as the three, going to finally destroy her?”

This was unprecedented. Mom and I never argued on the same side. Normally, the two of them stood together. Maybe allegiances were beginning to shift.

Gran was quiet for a long time. “Has it been unseasonably cold?”

“No,” Mom said. “It’s been a normal July. I think it was sixty-eight today.”

“Gran,” I said, “in the vision, you were sitting by a fire and pulled a shawl around your shoulders. Have you been colder than normal?”

She was quiet again. “Fine. I’ll stay behind my wards, but, Arwyn, you have to find Calliope. She can’t be allowed to continue her sorcery.”

Declan opened his mouth, no doubt to remind her this wasn’t all on my shoulders, but I shook my head. Gran had agreed to wait, and that was huge for her. We didn’t need to push. With a sigh, he coiled one of my curls around his finger and continued to listen.

“Weallneed to work together to find her,” Mom said, and I felt my eyes suddenly fill with tears.

Declan kissed the top of my head again.

“All right,” Mom added. “I’m coming to you, darling. We’ll ward Bracken’s home and then I’ll take you to your Gran’s. We need a shared vision to help us know what to do next.”

I swallowed the sudden emotion down and said, “Sounds good. I’m here.”

After I disconnected, I pushed Declan back onto the bed. Of course, if he hadn’t been willing, I wouldn’t have been able to move him. “Now will you go back to sleep? Mom is on her way, and you know how boring ward building is to watch.”

“I’m all keyed up now. I’ll guard you while you work,” he said.

I crawled up him and gave him a kiss. “I could always relax you.”

Grinning, he wrapped his arms around me. “How long will it take your mom to get here?”

“Not long enough for that,” I said, grabbing a hair tie from my nightstand. “This is all about your relaxation.” I coiled my hair up and began kissing and caressing him until I made my way down and settled in.

Later, on a final groan, Declan said, “Thank you, and your mom just parked.”

The fear of getting caught by Mom didn’t seem to ever fade, even in adulthood. I undid my hair, swirled some mouthwash, and was running down the stairs a minute later. “Go to sleep,” I shouted as I ran out the back door.

I found Mom standing beside Bracken’s RV. “I knocked but he hasn’t answered,” she said. “Is he home?”

Wincing, I checked his windows. “He sleeps during the day and studies all night,” I told her.

His door opened and he came out, dressed in his usual slacks, button-down shirt, tweed blazer, and sneakers. “Ah, guests. How lovely.”

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