Page 36 of Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites

“Perfect,” I said as a wave of relief washed over me. “We should get these symbols on the ground before we get busy for the day. Since there's no magic involved in the drawing itself, it should be straightforward.”

We finished our breakfast quickly and headed outside. The air was cool and fresh. In a couple of hours, that wouldn’t be the case. Lia had the box of supplies and I carried our Book of Shadows. We crossed to the gazebo and I flipped to the pages where I had meticulously drawn the Voodoo symbols we needed.

We spread out around the gazebo, each taking a section to work on. The morning light cast long shadows across the grass as we carefully recreated the symbols from the book. We worked in pairs. It was easy when we didn’t have to infuse it with magic.

Lia was kneeling beside me, working on a particularly complex design, when suddenly her gaze went blank. Her body went rigid, and she started to fall backward. Dre lunged forward just in time to catch her. Thank the gods, she prevented her head from hitting the ground.

“Lia!” Dre exclaimed, easing our sister to the grass.

My heart lurched as we all gathered around her. “She’s having a vision,” Dani interjected as my mind was wondering what could have happened.

“Gods, that scared the hell out of me,” I admitted as the vise around my chest eased.

“It’s always frightening when it happens,” Phi agreed. She had visions of a different kind. Hers were closer to those had by the oracle. They were vague prognostications with far-reaching consequences where Lia’s were triggered by scents and targeted to specific events.

We all hovered around waiting for Lia to come back to herself. A few seconds later, she blinked a couple of times and looked around. She was initially disoriented but quickly regaining her composure. “I saw something,” she said, her voice shaky. “There were dark figures invading the plantation during the reunion. The new wards... we never tested them. We just assumed they'd work and didn’t check to make sure.”

Adèle's voice echoed in our minds, urgent and clear. “You need to test the wards immediately.”

We exchanged grim looks. Dani stood and pulled out her phone. “Let's test the wards now. I’m going to send a text to Kai and Hank and ask them to try to arrange for someone to sneak onto the property in ten minutes. We shouldn't take any chances.”

“They can’t come in gunning for us. They’d have to target a visitor to the property. The problem is the only person here is Fred and he’s pruning the bushes around the pool,” Lia added.

Dre inclined her head. “Relay that the target should be Fred. We should finish the symbols here and then pivot. We’re almost done.”

We finished what we had been working on and gatheredour supplies. The mood among us was excited as we gathered in the yard to test out our experimental wards. It was stupid of us not to have tested them sooner. In our defense, everything had come relatively easy to us with regard to our powers. It was the only reason we were able to combat as much evil as we had. If it had been harder to master things, we would have been killed the first week.

Tall oaks and cypress trees surrounded us. Their branches cast intricate shadows on the ground as the sun dipped lower in the sky. The scent of magnolias and damp earth mingled with the faint hint of magic that always lingered at Willowberry. The soft hum of the waterfall in the pool not far away provided a backdrop to our focused efforts.

“Alright, let’s try turning the wards on and off,” Dre instructed, her voice steady and authoritative. “We need to make sure we can control them flawlessly. Then we need to check that there are no holes in them.”

“I’ve alerted the shifters to test them all,” Lia said.

We formed a circle on the lush green lawn, each of us focusing our energy on the new wards surrounding our property. I felt the familiar surge of magic flow through me, connecting with my sisters’ energies. “Feel how they aren’t active,” Adèle told us. “Now, turn them on. Your intent should be clear to turn them on.” We did as instructed and the wards shimmered to life. An almost invisible barrier that hummed with power, casting a faint, bluish glow around the perimeter of Willowberry. That was new. Our wards didn’t usually do that.

“Now, off,” Dre said, her eyes closed in concentration.

We collectively willed the wards to deactivate, feeling the shift in the air as the barrier dissipated. Adèle, lounging nearby with her sleek, gray fur catching the light. She wasobserving our efforts with keen interest. Her voice echoed in our minds, a soothing presence. “You’re getting better at this. The on and off switch is crucial for the flexibility you need.”

We repeated the process several times, each time feeling more confident in our ability to control the wards at will. The faint hum of the barrier became a comforting background noise. I saw it as a reminder of our growing strength and unity. Just as we were catching our breath, Dani's phone rang. It was Kai, one of the shifters. “We've been testing the wards and found a weak spot near the eastern boundary,” he reported.

“Give us five and then test the area again,” she replied to him. “I’m going to stay on the phone so you can tell us if it worked.”

“Follow my instructions to fix it.” Adèle's voice echoed in our minds again.

We turned to face the eastern boundary, where Kai and Hank were waiting. We fine-tuned our magical senses as our familiar instructed. The weak spot was barely noticeable. It felt like a slight flicker in the barrier. We cast another of the new wards there.

“We can’t get through,” Kai called out through the speaker of my phone.

“Perfect. Thanks for spotting this,” I replied.

I was about to suggest we go back to the bayou and find Remy when Adèle's voice echoed in our heads. “You should call Kaitlyn. Leave the wards up. I want her to discover what you can do.”

My brow furrowed as I looked down at the cat. “You want us to flaunt what we can do to her?”

Adèle shot me a haughty look. “She needs to know what you six are capable of. Plus, her expertise could be invaluable for this investigation.”

Dre pulled out her phone and dialed, her expression tense. "Kaitlyn, it’s Dre. We need your help with Marie’s reunion and the recent murders in the bayou. Can you visit us to discuss everything?"

---