Page 74 of Boss Witch

Thoughtfully, Clem got out her phone, studying the perplexing two-­word message. Then she passed it around, curious what the others would make of it. One by one, her coven sisters scrutinized it, then Vanessa said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. That’s why I’m asking for input.”

Margie wasn’t one to proffer faith when it wasn’t warranted, so when she said, “I think he’s worried about you,” in a low voice, Clem took it seriously.

This woman had been majorly screwed over by her ex, and she wasn’t prone to romanticizing bad actors. Clem glanced around the room, trying to read their faces, but for a while, nobody else spoke.

Finally Ethel said, “I don’t think he called them. If he’s working with them fully, why isn’t he with them at the motel? That separation hints at an internal conflict, don’t you think?”

Danica nodded. “Gavin knows who you are, and he can deduce your family is connected to the coven. If he’d shared that with the new arrivals, wouldn’t they already be on their way here? I think he’s trying to figure out what to do as much as we are.”

“It’s not easy to turn on someone you care about,” Kerry added.

Clem made a snap decision because she’d been taking the lead up until this point. “Let’s exclude Gavin for now. We can always try the forgetting spell later. For now, they’re the larger threat. Let’s try the Herring spell. Margie, you’ll still need to take the lead.”

Priya said, “Since we don’t know exactly how this worked back then, I have a suggestion for an improvement.”

“Go for it.” Leanne sat forward, as did everyone else.

“Since we’re stronger in vivimancy, why don’t we tweak this spell to be more of a Migratory Bird than a magical Herring?”

Kerry seemed to understand at once. “You mean enchant a live creature, so we don’t need as much pure neuromancy strength. Leanne and Margie can work that angle, Ethel and Vanessa can weigh in for the enchantment, you and I will make sure our target bird just keeps flying north while Danica and Clem lend their energy to prolong the effect of the spell.”

“Damn,” said Ethel. “I think this might be the most ambitious working we’ve ever attempted.”

Clem nodded somberly. “We can’t fail.”

Vanessa reached for Ethel’s hand. “We got this. When we’re done, that will be the witchiest bird in the world.”

“Any final notes before we get started?” Danica asked softly.

“When we release the spell, focus on the older woman,” Ethel suggested. “She might be the team leader, and even if she’s not, I suspect the boss will listen to her. With age comes wisdom. Supposedly.”

“Good thinking,” Priya said.

Earlier, Clem had set up folding chairs so the whole coven could gather around the kitchen table. Whether Margie was ready or not, they had to try this spell before the team tracked them down. The situation had officially escalated, which meant St. Claire was on the radar of whoever gave orders to all the witch hunters.

No idea what to do about that.

It was a threat much larger than any they’d faced previously. If it couldn’t be resolved here, they might have to pack up and run, just as their forebearers had done in New England. Clem let out a shaky breath, aware her hand was sticky with nervous sweat. Kerry squeezed it reassuringly, and Clem closed her eyes, willing herself to be calm.

“Let’s begin,” Margie said in a firm tone.

But before the spell began, someone banged on the front door. Clem got up with a mumbled curse, anxiety rising in case it was Gavin come to prove her wrong or even worse, the other crew. To her astonishment, she found Hazel Jeffords on her front porch with a surprisingly beautiful pineapple upside-­down cake.

The older woman shuffled her feet. “I thought…well, I saw you have a lot of cars parked out front, and you invited me to your last get-­together. Ethel did anyway. I’m sure you meant to let me know. It’s easy to forget to call people, and I’m right down the street…”

Since the woman wasn’t yelling about her cat for once, Clem didn’t have the heart to turn her away. “Come on in. That cake looks awesome. Why don’t I cut some for everybody and make a pot of coffee?”

The whole coven played along when Clem turned this into a book club meeting, and they talked about the last novel they’d read, which Hazel hadn’t. “I’m definitely going to see if the library has it,” she said, as the discussion waned. “I probably shouldn’t mention this to my Sunday school class because it sounds like it’s racy.”

“The library does have it,” Leanne said. “But you’ll be lucky to find this one on the shelves.”

Hazel seemed to take that as a personal challenge; she got up immediately. “I know the head librarian from church. I’ll get that book next, see if I don’t. You can bring back the cake plate tomorrow,” she called, speed walking toward the door.

“Does this mean Hazel is part of our book club from now on?” Vanessa wondered.

“Just look what you did,” Danica scolded Ethel. “This is why we don’t encourage Goliath or Hazel. They’d stay forever if we let them.”

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