Page 39 of Monsters of Midlife

“But you’re saying these priestesses have powers?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said, her eyebrows rising as she nodded, wide-eyed. “They’ve got tons of power.”

“So maybe one of them could help me?” I tried to make it sound like I was just thinking out loud.

Sophie tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean help you? I think you’ve got all the help you can get with Ryder. He’s a demigod.”

“The only thing Ryder’s good for doing is protecting me from whatever is chasing me,” I pointed out. “And, by the way, whatever is chasing me is only after me because of him, so I don’t really see my association with him as a good thing in that regard.”

Sophie gazed at me. “I don’t like the look in your eye.”

“There’s no look in my eye.” I relaxed every muscle in my face I could find, keeping my expression bland.

“Yes, there is.” She wagged a finger at me. “There’s a look in your eye that says you’re going to ask me to do something against what I’ve been asked to do by Ryder.”

“I was only thinking that by going to this Temple Cyrene in San Francisco I might find some answers.” I shrugged innocently.

“That’s not going to be allowed. There’s no way in hell I can take you to San Francisco. I couldn’t even take you a block away without getting busted by your ex-husband.” Sophie scooted away from me on the couch. “Besides there’s satyrs crawling all over this property now.

Damn, I forgot about the satyrs. I pursed my lips in thought. “Can we get a priestess out here?”

Sophie laughed out loud. “No. That’s a hard no. Priestesses don’t leave the temple. It would be considered sacrilegious and inappropriate.”

“It’s settled then,” I said with a nod. “We have to go.”

Sophie shook her head. “What do you think the priestesses are going to do for you?”

“They can relieve me of this banshee problem.”

“That’s not true. They can’t change who you are. If you’re a banshee, you’re always going to be a banshee. There’s not going to be anything they can do about it,” Sophie insisted.

“You have to help me, Sophie.” I gazed at her intensely. “I’m not going to get in trouble. I’m going to follow what Ryder told me to do.”

“Not if you’re trying to leave the property,” Sophie shook her head.

I reached out a hand to calm her. “I’m going to stay out of trouble, but I need to go and see the priestesses in the temple.”

Sophie’s eyes widened as she thought about it. I could practically see the gears working behind her eyes. “Show me the article you read.”

I went to the computer where I had the article saved. “It says right there, if you are having challenges, struggling, or having problems then you should go to them, and they will help you. Also, right here…read this.” I moved my finger across the screen to guide her gaze. “They can relieve you of your powers. Please, please help me. I’m going to die if I have to stay a banshee.”

I could see her softening and I felt my body tense. She was going to do it. I could feel it every ounce of my body. I could see her caving in.

“Two hours,” she said. “We have two hours. I’ll take you there through a private witch port system. You’ll have thirty minutes and then we’ll need to come back. Immediately. Ryder has just left, and I know he’s going to do some research, so we should have enough time, but you can’t stay there long. If you do, well, there will be a lot worse lock ups than this one in your future.”

Chapter 25

RYDER

“Where have you been?” My brother embraced me warmly as he opened the door.

“You know,” I shrugged as I followed him into the low rise, modern home he shared with our mother in Bodega Bay. “I’ve been doing the work.”

“Right,” he nodded, leading the way to the living room.

“Still single?” I asked, always wondering why my handsome brother never settled down.

“I’ve met someone,” he shrugged. “Too early to tell how that’s going to turn out.”

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