Page 130 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

“Armageddon,” Connor replied.

Ooh—yeah, the last thing we needed wasactual,real lifeArmageddon, not the esque version that I’d been planning for.

“I’m heading to the union hall, been spreading the word that the hounds need to congregate. Let me know where and when we need to meet.”

“I’ll let you know,” Connor answered him.

As they hung up, I felt a presence approaching the stones outside. Really? A presence? I sighed until I felt with everything in me that the presence was my beloved Mr. Pooches. Finally.

“Pooches,” I cried, springing up from the sofa. I ran up the steps, throwing open the door. Mr. Pooches limped. His tail bent at an unnatural angle. My poor kitty was battered and beaten down. I bent to pick him up and he winced.

Cradling him in my arms, I moved us back inside to safety. “What happened?” I asked.

“I barely got out with my life,” Mr. Pooches said.

“We’ll get you fixed up.” I gently ran my hand down over his back. He closed his eyes, leaving me wondering if it was out of relief or pain. A tear ran down my cheek. I hadn’t realized howmuch Mr. Pooches meant to me until now. Would Connor, a death hound, be okay living with a cat familiar? Could hounds and cats get along? Well, they’d just have to because I clearly couldn’t get rid of Connor. He was my family, but then again, so was Mr. Pooches. “You’ll be okay,” I whispered. “I’ll take care of you.”

Mr. Pooches snuggled his head down into my arms. Whatever I’d done to have been given him, I once again thanked the universe. I’d spent my early life being alone. Now I had more people/demons/fallen angels to care about than I knew what to do with. Oh, and a mate that I’d die to protect. My family had grown exponentially at a really bad moment in time and I felt the weight of that realization settle in my heart for the long haul.

Shafira met me at the bottom of the stairs. She gasped. “Mr. Pooches.” Pooches lifted his head, smiling at her as best he could through his pain. “Let me.” She reached out and I bent to kiss my familiar on the head before handing him over.

Connor found me again, nuzzling my ear with his nose and his warm breath tickled. “He’ll be okay. I trust Shafira.”

“I do too.”

After a couple of minutes, Shafira called us over to where she had an IV running into Pooches’ front paw. She had his tail bandaged. He looked pitiful. Smaller than he’d ever looked. “He needs to speak to you,” she said.

“Mr. Pooches?” I asked, in reality asking him what he needed to tell me without saying the words.

“The possessions have begun,” he said low.

“‘Possessions’? As in demon possessions?” Shafira asked, throwing her hand to her mouth. Yeah, I felt that too.

“I know where the demons are amassing. They’ve been called back…” He took a sharp breath. “To receive orders. This is an organized attack. I fear they plan to attack at once.”

“Attack at once. Fuck,” Connor muttered. “So we have to go on the offensive. We have to hit them before they split up. They won’t expect us.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Mr. Pooches agreed.

An offensive attack. We had to plan for every problematic scenario that could arise because this was a dangerous undertaking. Very dangerous. How did we plan for every counterattack? We hardly had time to pee, let alone plan our mobilization. And how did I get all our witches there without the demons knowing?

Lilith help me.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

“Lily Joy, Karro,” I called to my family. “Oh—Agatha, I need you too.” As my brother and Madigan were still occupied in the other room, I’d have to fill them in later. The witches and Lilium joined me, standing next to Connor and Shafira. “Mr. Pooches knows where the demons have been mobilizing.”

Everyone turned their attention to the injured familiar. He had a hard time lifting his head, turning it to look at us. “Outside Göbekli Tepe,” Pooches said.

“‘Göbekli Tepe’?” Karro asked and the cat nodded the best he could.

“I know of it,” Shafira said.

“Me too,” I replied. “I watched a NatGeo program about it. It’s one of the oldest settlements in the world.”

“Türkiye,” Lily Joy said softly. “Demons are amassing in Türkiye. I wonder why.”

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