Page 65 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife

“MagaSagredo and the succubi,” he answered.

“Damn!” How was I supposed to go up against the most powerful striga witch and her demons?

Ethyl clasped her hands in a prayer pose. “Luci, we have to go to the Insurgi.”

I jerked Des into my embrace and threw up a shield when the walls rattled and debris from the cracking ceiling rained down on us. “How do we get there?” I yelled over the din of the shaking walls. Any moment, and I feared the building would collapse upon our heads.

Ethyl shoved our suitcases between us and took mine and Des’s hands. “Hold on tight.”

Still clinging to Des, I grabbed Ethyl’s hand as she grasped the pentagram charm around her neck and whispered, “Regreso.”

And then my world slipped out from under me, and we were falling through the darkness again.

I BLINKED, AND WE LANDEDon hard earth, our suitcases tumbling beside us and popping open, scattering my clothes and cosmetics everywhere. I zapped the mess with my wand, and everything flew back into the suitcase before the lid slammed shut. We stood in what appeared to be an underground cavern, much like the Tribunal headquarters, only darker and damper. Where in Hades were we?

“Whoa.” Des spun a slow circle. “This place is cool.”

“There you are.” A woman emerged from the shadows, her long cape flowing behind her like a swath of ink, her wand producing a pleasing, soft light. She made a big show of checking a pocket watch attached to her vest. “You’re five minutes later than I expected.”

I gaped at the woman, hardly believing what I was seeing. She wasn’t just my mother’s sister. She was her twin! Sure, she had a few more lines around her mouth and eyes than I remembered, and her spiky dark hair was cut much shorter than my mom’s. Other than that, they were identical.

“I’m sorry, Serena.” Ethyl heaved a groan. “The Tribunal was...long.”

“I know,” Serena said to her. “My informants have already told me.” Then she turned her eyes on me, and I thought I felt my heart fall out of my chest. “Luciella.” Her voice changed to a rasp as she pressed her wand to her heart. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you and my darling grandnephew.” She flashed Des a loving smile, one I remembered my mom giving me numerous times.

“You look just like her,” I blurted, not knowing what else to say.

“I know.” She crossed the distance to me, taking my arm. “You’re in shock. You should sit down.” She led me across a plush rug to a wide, leather sofa and made me sit.

I got a good look at my surroundings. I heard the trickle of water and felt a cool draft coming from somewhere, though I wasn’t sure where. There weren’t many candles illuminating the place, so the walls of the cavern were terrifyingly dark, like the edges of oblivion. We were in a fully furnished chamber with a four-poster bed with velvet drapes on one end, and a living room on the other, with antique dining furniture in between.

My nose wrinkled when I smelled something strong, like a troll had farted pancake syrup and onions. It took me a moment to realize that smell was coming from me.

“Excuse me,” I said, unzipping my janitor jumpsuit and sliding it down my legs before kicking it across the floor. Then I fell back onto the sofa, my legs weak from either stress or shock or both.

“I’ve prepared a small repast,” my aunt said as she watched Des strip out of his suit like it was on fire. “Tell me what you like, and I’ll fix you a plate.” She motioned toward the spread on the long buffet table behind the sofa.

Des clapped his hands while peering at the buffet. “Pizza!”

“Oh! We can’t eat gluten.” I struggled to stand while still clutching my wand. The last thing I needed was Des getting sick while we were fleeing the succubi.

“I know that already,” my aunt said with a wink. “Ethyl told me. I’ve had everything prepared exactly how he likes it.”

Ethyl beamed. “Three olives per slice.” She nodded toward Serena. “Spend some time with your aunt. I’ll take care of Des.” She walked Des to a nearby table and poured him a juice, sitting beside him while he ate.

I waved my aunt away when she tried to offer me a plate of food, but I did take a cool glass of tea. I slipped my wand into my pocket, still able to reach it should I need it. Family or not, I wasn’t entirely sure I could trust my mother’s twin. She poured herself a glass of wine and sat across from me, watching me while twirling the stem of her glass between her fingers.

“What is this place?” I asked her.

She smoothed a hand across the leather upholstery. “My private living quarters. I wanted Ethyl to bring you here first before introducing you to the others.”

Others? I swallowed at that. Did I want to meet the rest of the Insurgi?

I set the half-empty glass of tea on a nearby coffee table while leveling her with a look. “Why?”

She set her glass on the coffee table before averting her gaze. “I’ve prepared this speech in my head a thousand times, yet I still don’t know where to begin.”

I leaned toward her. She had the same large eyes and long lashes as my mother and an oval-shaped face, plus a longRoman nose, though not too pronounced. She was thinner than my mother, with concaved cheeks and a weary look in her eyes. Sure, she was twenty-seven years older than the last time I’d seen my mother, but witches lived longer than humans, so they aged much slower. Time had not treated my aunt well, though, made apparent by the many strands of gray peppering her hair.

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