Page 31 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife

“I need to know,” I asked, “am I safe?”

No.

A knot of dread tightened my chest as I pushed out the words. “Is my son safe?”

No.

Holy flaming pixie pox! Red-hot anger boiled my blood. I would kill any demon that threatened my child!

“Ethyl?”

No.

I worked hard to unclench my teeth. “What do I do?”

Free Ric.

I refrained from rolling my eyes. “How exactly do I do that?”

Witness.

Witness? As if I was just supposed to walk into his trial and tell them they had the wrong killer? “Okay, but I don’t know where the Tribunal is.” Gus had said it was in Europe, but with such a high concentration of striga, Europe had several Tribunals. I couldn’t afford to fly all over the continent looking for him.

Ask Alfred.

That took me off guard. How did the ghosts know about Alfred? I drummed my fingers on the table. These ghosts had to be certifiably crazy. “I don’t have enough money in my checking account for plane tickets overseas, let alone food and lodging.”

Follow.

The dishes rattled and then a napkin flew into the air. Swallowing back my unease, I clutched my wand like a lifeline and followed the floating napkin down the hall and then down a set of stairs into what looked like a study with rows of tall bookcases filled with old tomes and a huge mahogany desk overlooking a pretty garden.

Then one of those tall bookshelves creaked open, revealing a hidden dark hallway. Did those ghosts truly expect me to go down there?

When the napkin fluttered through the doorway, I dug in my heels. I didn’t even know these ghosts. Sure, they made killer omelets and decent coffee, but how did I know they weren’t working for the succubus? Or that they wouldn’t try to lock me away? “Sorry.” I folded my arms and widened my stance. “I’m not going in there.”

I scowled when several books flew off the shelves. “Don’t think you’re bullying me into going. Whatever it is, you can bring it out.”

A sound like the rustle of leaves echoed from inside the tunnel, and then I was hit with a blizzard of money.

“Okay! Okay!” I called to the ghosts.

The money settled on the floor, and I began picking up hundred-dollar bills, piling them in a stack. I supposed it wasn’t stealing since Ric’s ghosts gave me the money. Besides, I was using it to free him. After arranging several stacks, I shoved them into my purse, then blinked up at the ceiling. “Thank you for your help.”

The ghosts responded by smacking me in the head with a book. I was just about to tell off the ghosts when I caught sight of the title etched into the cover.History of the Succubi.

Well, I supposed the book might come in handy, though the material was outdated with a printing date of 1905. I decided to take the book anyway for some light reading on the plane. I waved my wand over the cover, adding a glamour to make it look like a trashy romance novel,Heart of Her Wolves, with a woman and two wolf-shifters. Then I added a shirtless Fae for good measure. Humans went nuts for shirtless Fae, even though they looked more like vampires of the striga race. Humans wouldn’t ask me about my book if they thought I was reading smut. Thank the Goddess for trashy romances!

I CHECKED MY PHONEafter I got back in Ric’s truck, not surprised to see about a dozen missed text messages and voicemails from Ethyl telling me Gus shut down the bakery. I texted her back with a simple, cryptic message that I knew she would understand:She found me. Pack a suitcase.

Ethyl’s response was too unladylike to repeat, but at least she got the message.

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind after I deposited Ric’s money into my bank account and drove home to pack for me and Des. First off, how would I explain to Colin that I needed to pick up Des early because the succubus who killed my parents had found me? He knew about the succubus, though I hadn’t told him everything. All he knew was that my parents had met an untimely end after suffering the misfortune of stumbling across a soul sucker. He also knew I was terrified of succubi as a result, which was why I had put off having children long enough that he’d threatened divorce. Did I regret having Des? No. But I deeply regretted bringing him into such a dangerous and cruel world.

And now I was dragging him into the heart of the devil’s den.

Des didn’t deserve this. He was entitled to a safe and loving home, and now I was going to take him to an unknown country so I could go up against a system that was clearly corrupt, maybe even in league with the succubi.

Gus was a stupid little twat, but even he should’ve recognized the obvious signs of a succubi attack, which meant that he was either working for the succubi, or else he had some other vendetta against Ric.

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