Page 119 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

I closed my eyes to concentrate without distraction on Agatha at her farmstead outside Reese. I’d manifested us to different locations a hundred times by now, but this would be the first time I manifested someone to me. It took different energy. It took more energy to make sure I got the right person, no hangers-on. Just Agatha. And yes, I’d been too scared to try this exact thing on Sim and Madigan, but if this worked, then that would open so much up for us.Please, Universe, let this work.

Taking two long breaths in and out to clear my head, I focused on bringing my friend to me. Sweat dripped down my brow. Connor cleared his throat, momentarily breaking my concentration. I had no choice but to shake it off, hoping that I brought all of Agatha to me.

“Holy…” I heard Connor mumble and I opened my eyes to see a very intact Agatha standing in front of us.

“You did it,” she said, and yeah, you could callastonishedan understatement.

I smiled so big and stupid, letting out the longest sigh of relief, and laughing from getting to release all that pent-up tension. Then I hugged my friend.

“You’re here,” I said into her ear.

“I must admit, I was worried about getting here in one piece. I should’ve never doubted you. Your abilities are beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

“There’s so much to fill you in on, but we have to get to the witches’ archives. It’s the safest place for us right now.”

She blinked. “Excuse me? The witches’ archives? You want to bring me there?”

I nodded. “It’s so cool. It’ll totally blow your mind.”

“Simone’s powers lie more with magic and manifestation than healing arts. Bringing you here took a lot out of her,” Connor said and I realized I’d sagged against him, letting his body weight prop me up. “Can you brew her something? Lily Joy’s cupboards are full. You’ll find what you need here.”

“‘Lily Joy’?” Agatha asked.

“My cousin. I’ll explain everything. You’ll meet her soon.”

Connor slid my backpack off his arm, slipping it up my arms. Then he scooped me up to carry me downstairs to the living room, where he set me on the sofa. He walked Agatha into the kitchen to show her the pantry and Lily Joy’s stash of every herb imaginable.

Seeing as she and Connor, who acted as her assistant, stayed in the kitchen, I hefted myself up, using all the spares to walk my butt into the kitchen too, plopping down in the closest chair surrounding the table. My body felt so heavy—like the Earth’s gravitational pull quadrupled around me alone.

“Babe, you’re too weak,” Connor scolded.

“I don’t like being left out. You know this.”

“She really doesn’t,” he replied to Agatha, who laughed at me.

“Do you have strength to talk? Can you fill me in?” she asked.

“Girl… do I have the tea to spill.”

Agatha stopped abruptly in the midst of scooping a measured tablespoon of some herb, holding it hovering above the jar. “You’re a Lilium, aren’t you?”

“She’s not just any Lilium,” Connor answered for me.

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m out of time. Lilith is my grandmother—like my mother’s mother, not distant in any way.”

The tablespoon clanked against the counter, herbs scattering across the countertop. She collected herself quickly, cleaning up the mess and measuring out another spoonful. “It has to be exactmeasurements and we can’t risk something else, a particle from the countertop, getting in the brew.”

Made sense to me. From what I’d heard, changing an herb ratio even that minusculely could alter the desired result. I didn’t need to end up as a mermaid because Lily Joy had a rogue fish scale on her counter or something. And that was in no way demeaning Lily Joy’s housekeeping skills. I saw no fish scales, for the record.

“I’ve been finding my cousins—other Lilium—and witches. When Lilith left Adam, she took the magic of the garden with her. Outside the garden, small pockets of magic began to form. I don’t know if Lilith inadvertently did this being outside the garden, or if the universe gifted others because of Lilith’s caring, but I do know that Lilium are directly related to Lilith, whereas witches come from those who’d been granted less powerful magic. But it all stems from Lilith leaving the garden.”

“What does that have to do with covens being attacked?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet. I know that somehow, Adam sent his son Cain through time. I’ve had a few run-ins with him. He’sunpleasant. We think Satan might be behind it, but we’re not sure why.”

She threw her hand to her chest. “Satan? As inSatanSatan?”

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