Page 56 of Boss Witch

Instead of voicing the inchoate dissatisfaction that had been gnawing at him for ages, he asked something else. Something equally important.

“How do you know it’s love?” he asked.

Maybe Leonard could provide a primer for someone who’d never had the time or freedom to discover for himself.

“Why the hell are you asking me that at your age? Are you yanking my chain?”

“I’m not. It’s fine if you don’t want to answer.”

“Eh, well. With my late wife, it’s embarrassing to tell this story, but…she was working in a diner when I first spotted her. I sat down at the counter, she poured me a cup of coffee, and I was a goner when she smiled at me.”

Gavin grinned, picturing it. “Love at first sight, yeah? Like in all the old romantic films. Didn’t know that really existed.”

“People would make fun of us now. We got married after dating for only a month, but we were together thirty-­five years. Fought like cats and dogs sometimes, but she always said she was sorry and made my favorite dinner when she meant it.”

He laughed. “Sometimes she didn’t mean it?”

“Oh, that woman could steam the paint off a wall if she set her mind on it. So sometimes she’d apologize like this: ‘Sorry you’re so thick, Leonard Franklin. You couldn’t buy a clue at the clue store!’ And that’s when I knew I’d really messed up and I better make it up to her, fast.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Gavin said.

Leonard smiled. “Yes, it does. The person who makes you feel like you want to be with them all the time, no matter how mean or how mad they are? The person whose face you want to see every morning, and you don’t care how it changes over time? That’s love, son.”

Oh shit. I truly didn’t want to hear that.

“What about Gladys? I guess it wasn’t love at first sight.”

“No, we fought for about five years after my wife died. Bickered about anything we could disagree on. I caught on eventually that she was provoking me on purpose, making me mad when I couldn’t feel much of anything else. Truth to tell, she saved my life. That love came on slow, an inch at a time, until she made a home in my heart too.”

“Thanks for sharing what it’s been like for you.”

“My pleasure. Irma and I weren’t blessed with children, so I’m glad to know somebody’s getting the benefit of my wisdom.” Leonard flashed a grin and finished his beer. “Now I’m off to shoot some pool. You interested?”

Gavin shook his head. “Unfortunately, I have other obligations.”

A few hours later, he was crouched in the cornfield again, keeping an eye on Dale the Prepper, just in case. He wished he could muster the courage to bail like Grandad. Gavin was waiting for another message from him, but so far, he hadn’t gotten a reply, despite checking every day. As he fretted, the biggest burst of magic he’d ever experienced swept over him like a tidal wave. The power of it raised the hair on his arms and the nape of his neck. This…it wasn’t one witch. It had be…hundreds. Way more than he could handle on his own.

Fuck.

He should immediately be on his mobile, dialing for backup. Because there was no chance in hell he could manage this situation. The order thought they were winning this war, but given what he’d just experienced, witches had secretly bolstered their numbers, growing careful and cautious, much better at hiding.

He straightened, realizing Dale had nothing to do with this. If Dale were a witch, he’d be participating in whatever the witches had just done. Strangely, the energy wave hadn’t felt malicious or baneful. Rather, it brightened his mood and energized him, filling him with an emotion he could only compare to anticipation. Which made absolutely no sense.

It was difficult to ride while tracking, but not impossible. Splitting his focus like that gave him a throbbing headache, but he rode through the night until he reached the general area where the magic felt strongest. He pushed his bike to the side of the road. Hopefully, no drunken farmers would swipe it into the drainage ditch. Gavin vaulted the ditch and crossed through the field. Rows and rows of corn surrounded him, all lightly suffused with a golden glow. At night, it was eerie, though he didn’t think it would be visible to anyone without his unique training.

He tracked the fading energies as fast as he could, taking several false paths and cutting across directly whenever possible. Eventually, he came to an open space in the fields, still humming with that incredible power. It felt like a holy site, and a lot of people had been here recently.

Scores of witches, just as he’d sensed at a distance. The timing was right for this to be the remnants of one of their pagan rites. Kneeling, he flattened both hands on the ground and opened his mind. The truth burned into him like a branding iron. Some of these traces felt familiar; he’d met these witches, mingled with them. But one presence, dear God, he recognized this impression like his own face in the mirror. His soul caught fire, the worst agony he’d known since his grandad left without looking back, since his father forsook all joy in favor of duty.

It’s true. I didn’t want it to be.

Clementine Waterhouse is a witch.

Chapter 18

Last night at the festival, it had been like living through the Cold War, condensed into one frigid evening.

Clem had avoided trouble by nudging different coven sisters to distract Allegra from fighting with Barnabas. At least Pansy and D-­Pop hadn’t been there, and she felt a little sorry for her mom and dad. For Danica too, because she could never share that with the CinnaMan. No matter how much they loved their mundane partners, witch doors would remain forever closed.

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