“So, what were you planning on doing for the project?”

  Astrid smiled at me. “Something a little more straightforward.”

  “Like what?”

  “I was going to do a blind taste test between the burgers and chicken nuggets they serve at the cafeteria compared with McDonald’s. The kids never stop complaining about how terrible the cafeteria food is, but I don’t think it tastes that much different from drive-thru. I’m going to see if anyone can really tell the difference if they don’t know where the burgers and nuggets came from.”

  “Yep, that sounds like a very mundane, null, and human project. Good for you.”

  She beamed even broader. “So I can do it?”

  “Knock your socks off.”

  “I might need some help buying the stuff.”

  “Sure. Just tell me what you need.”

  “Great!” She clapped her hands together with delight. “I can’t wait to see the look on Finn’s face when he finds out how completely and totally boring my project is. He didn’t think I’d be able to avoid using my magic either.”

  I had to laugh. If only life could be about hamburgers and nuggets for the school science fair and Finn potentially causing a heart attack for the Council with his project. Instead, it had to involve backstabbing mothers, imprisoned witches, ruined reputations, and raccoons with German accents.

  We got into the Escalade and I drove Astrid to school. Then I started for Poppy’s house. Pulling into her driveway, I killed the engine and carried Astrid’s overnight bag to the porch.

  I raised my hand to knock, but before I had a chance, Poppy pulled up in her Jeep, no doubt after having dropped Finn off at school.

  “Hi Wanda, what’s up?” she asked.

  “Actually, everything is pretty much going straight down,” I grumbled.

  She looked at me in question and I shook my head, waving away my own silly comment. “So… Lorcan and I are going to try to bust a witch out of her imprisonment and guess what?”

  “What?”

  “I need your magic.”

  Her expression said she wasn’t that surprised. It was a clear indication that she’d spent too much time with me. “Um, I hate to inform you, but I don’t have any magic.”

  “What are you talking about? Every potion you make is magical. So… can you grab a few and let’s roll?”

  “Where are we rolling to?” she asked, frowning. “And which potions are you talking about?”

  “Whatever potions will help deflect the Crescent Circle coven and would also double as extra umph on an arsenal of weapons, courtesy of Lorcan.”

  Her mouth about dropped to the ground below. “The Crescent Circle coven! Have you completely lost your mind?” She shook her head. “Let me rephrase that… Wanda, you’ve completely lost your mind! Do I need to remind you I’m a gypsy?”

  I frowned. We didn’t have time for this. “I’m well aware you’re a gypsy, Poppy.”

  “Then you’d also be well aware that my age-old enemies are witches.”

  “You and I are about as far from age-old enemies as it’s possible to be. In fact, I’d say we were quite… chummy, even bordering on BFFs, as Astrid says.”

  “Well, while I appreciate the fact that you think I’m your BFF, you’re not the Crescent Circle Coven.”

  “Thank the goddess,” I muttered.

  “So?”

  “So… I’m not actually going after the coven itself. Lorcan and I have a plan to break into a cabin not far from Haven Hollow and said cabin is protected by magical wards.”

  “And I suppose this cabin is where the imprisoned witch in question is being held?” Poppy continued, propping her hands on her hips. “Would that witch happen to be Olga Fischer?”

  I had to give it to her—she was much better at paying attention than I was. “Right.”

  “So… if the coven is holding Olga captive and you’re attempting to free her, won’t the coven try to stop you?”

  “Not me, us.”

  “Won’t the coven try to stop you and potentially us?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. Then again, maybe they won’t. Maybe they’re relying on their wards and booby traps to stop anyone from getting near the place.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Wards and booby traps? Wanda, you sound like Indiana Jones.”

  “Just call me Wanda Jones, I suppose,” I said with a little smirk. I did enjoy being witty on occasion. “And this mission, should you choose to accept it, is very important.”

  Her eyebrows knitted in the middle of her face. “That line isn’t from Indiana Jones. It’s from Mission Impossible.”

  I waved her away with an unconcerned, manicured hand. “Ugh, the last thing I want to deal with at the moment is the movie quoting police!”

  “Sorry.”

  “Anyway,” I cleared my throat and shot her a look. “Like I said, before I was rudely interrupted, this is an important quest.”

  “I understand that rescuing Olga is important,” she started but I shook my head.

  “It’s not just Olga that makes it important. I’m also talking about trying to save my own very shapely rump.”

  She frowned, clearly not following. “By releasing Olga?”

  “Yes. I have a feeling Olga’s magical prowess, when combined with mine and potentially Astrid’s, might be enough to tip the scales where Betanya’s formula is concerned.”

  “Okay, putting that subject aside for the moment… if the Crescent Circle coven put the wards and booby traps in place, then I imagine they’d be serious deterrents to freeing Olga, right?”

  “I’d imagine so.”

  “Um, don’t you think you’d better call in backup?”

  “Yes, that was on my list as well, right after convincing you to help.”

  Poppy smiled and then breathed out a long sigh. “You knew you could count on me,” she said as I grinned in response. “But, I think it would be a good idea for us to get Roy and Stanley on board too. And possibly Marty and the guys.”

  “It might be too dangerous for Marty and the guys since they are humans.”

  “Hmm, okay.”

  “But Roy and Stanley would be good to have at our backs, as well as Louisa Rutledge.” Louisa was a werewolf and not only was she fast, she was strong. “It would also be good to see if you can get Fifi and her brother.”

  “Angelo?” Poppy repeated, frowning. “Last I checked, he wasn’t exactly someone who had any of our backs. In fact, I’m pretty sure he only has his own back.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe he’s changed.”

  “While that is very much debatable, I’ll recruit as many people as I can,” she said and then exhaled another deep and worried breath. “Is there anything else?”

  “For now, I need you to prepare whatever potions you think we’ll need.”

  “Okay.”

  “Anyway, we can’t go to the cabin until Lorcan wakes up.”

  “Well… how long do you suppose we’ll be gone on this… errand?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe a day or so? Hopefully less. The mountain cabin isn’t far—it’s about an hour from here in the Blue Shadow Hills.”

  “What about Astrid and Finn?”

  “I was thinking Astrid could babysit Finn at your place, if you’re okay with that.” Maybe I should have led with that part. Oh, well.

  Poppy was silent for a few seconds before she nodded. “I trust Astrid.”

  “Good. Then that’s taken care of.”

  ***

  Lorcan raised his eyebrows as he wedged himself into the front seat of the Vega. “Is there some reason why we’re taking this rattletrap instead of the Escalade or, failing that, my Porsche?”

  “Because the Vega is warded against magic and I haven’t had a chance to ward the Escalade yet.”

  Lorcan didn’t appear amused. “Regardless, this vehicle is quite odious and I do wonder whether it will even survive the trip!” Then he glanced over his shoulder at Poppy, who huddled in the back seat.

  “Don’t look at me,” she countered, shrugging. “We could have taken the Jeep and been perfectly comfortable. It’s also protected by potion magic.”

  “If I didn’t know better,” Lorcan murmured as he turned back to face me, “I would say you were taking whatever opportunity granted you to see me in the least estimable of vehicles… sacrificing not only my comfort, but also my style.”

  “In case you weren’t aware, Lorcan, my world doesn’t revolve around you. Furthermore, I’m sure you’ll survive an hour’s drive in this car.”

  He frowned at me. “I am not sure I would even categorize this… thing as a ‘car’ and in response to your other statement, please don’t forget there is also the drive back, thus I am spending two hours in this hideous death-trap.”

  Poppy giggled from the back seat. As to me, I couldn’t find any humor in the situation. I crushed the steering wheel in a vice-like grip and peeled out of Poppy’s driveway. According to Poppy, the rest of our backup (Roy, Fifi, Stanley, and Louisa) were all headed to the cabin separately. The plan was that they’d meet at the sasquatch compound in the woods and from there, they’d travel to the cabin on foot, so as to avoid notice by whatever coven officials were potentially staking out the place.

  I drove out of Haven Hollow and started up the highway that would lead to the Blue Shadow Hills and Mother’s cabin. The Vega grumbled, bubbled, and popped all the way and I had to wonder whether we’d actually make it to our destination. I could only hope so because if not, I’d never hear the end of it from Lorcan.

  For the remainder of the drive, the three of us didn’t talk much, each of us no doubt lost to our own thoughts. It had been a long time since I’d visited the cabin, but I had no problem remembering the way. After leaving the highway, we traveled along a dirt road for a stretch as I cursed myself for not having warded the Escalade—this stretch of road was unpaved and there were so many divets and rocks, it felt like my teeth were going to drop right out of my head. Lorcan, apparently feeling the same, turned to look at me with a pronounced frown as his entire body shook with the ill condition of the road. Seeing him bobbing up and down with such a pronounced frown, I couldn’t help but laugh.

  At last the dirt road ended and we faced a wooded trail ahead.

  “We’ll park here and walk the rest of the way,” I said.

  I drove the Vega as far as I could into the bushes and shut down the engine. The branches weaved into place behind us. No one could see the car even if they were standing a few feet away.

  Poppy took a large shoulder bag, loaded with potions, from the backseat, just as Lorcan lifted an even more enormous duffel bag from the trunk. It clunked with all the guns and ammo inside. During the day, Poppy and I had doused all the ammo with potions—a job which took up the better half of the morning. Even with our backup, I still didn’t think we needed all the guns—we were fighting a magical battle against a coven of witches, not blowing away rabid zombies, but Lorcan insisted on bringing the arsenal anyway and I wasn’t in the mood to argue.

  The path had now dwindled to nothing but overgrown ruts climbing into impenetrable mountains. The path descended the other side of the peak and we followed it, hiking for over an hour. My legs and butt were screeching all the way.

  Once we managed to reach the top of the peak, Poppy paused and surveyed the countryside. The sun was long gone and the stars were coming out. It would have been a beautiful evening if not for the cloud of worry that was hanging over all three of us.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Poppy asked because the path had completely disappeared.

  “It isn’t that far from here,” I answered as we started down the other side of the hill. What used to be a road shrank even further to become a thin trail.

  What little light there was faded entirely and left the sky an inky black, the moon crowded by the clouds. Not even the stars were visible. Maybe it was owing to Lorcan’s blood running through my veins, but I found I didn’t need to see to know where to put my feet.

  “Poppy, stay right behind me since it’s hard to see,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder to look at her. She just nodded.

  Lorcan held his forefinger to his lips and we turned onto a different pathway. This one vanished into deep, dense, and dark woods, making the dark night even darker. Preternatural silence enveloped the mountains and not even a night creature or insect rustled in the canopy.

  Lorcan scouted out the area ten or so feet ahead of us and then halted in the shadows. “The cabin is just ahead,” he whispered, which was just as well because I was completely out of my element by this point. Then he turned to face me. “This is as far as Poppy and I can go until you break the wards, dearest.”

  “I can feel them,” Poppy breathed and then looked over at me in concern. “They’re strong, Wanda.”

  I extended my hand. “They aren’t that strong. We shouldn’t have any trouble getting past them. Where’s the Gris Gris Oil?”

  She pressed the bottle into my hands and I wasted no time in uncorking it. Then I dropped about a tablespoon or so into my palm and anointed myself with it, being sure to hit all my pulse points. Gris Gris Oil was an old Voudoun recipe for all-purpose power. You were meant to use it whenever you needed added umph. And we definitely needed lots of added umph.

  Poppy had already anointed herself with the oil in the Vega, on our way up the mountain. I was just handing the bottle back to her when a high-pitched voice squeaked right next to my ear.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “You come!”

  With my heart in my throat, I jumped and spun around, looking up as I caught sight of Franz perched on a branch above my head. “Jesus, you’re going to give me an apoplexy!”

  “Apologiez,” Franz responded, looking and sounding embarrassed but a moment later, he grinned broadly, revealing all his little and sharp teeth.

  “Keep your voice down, Franz!” I hissed at him. “Is Olga inside the cabin?”

  “Ya, she inzide. She vait for you. She zay coven vill come quickly.”

  Poppy gaped at the raccoon. “What does that mean?”

  “I think what he means,” Lorcan suggested, “is that the coven’s rotation of keepers should be arriving soon.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us as much before we left town?” I demanded, turning to face Lorcan with my hands on my hips and an expression that said I wasn’t amused. “We could have come after they were long gone.”

  Lorcan just smiled that smile of his that said nothing got underneath his skin. “I didn’t know until just now, dearest love of my heart.”

  “Hmph,” I grumbled.

  Franz interrupted. “Wardz alert coven. You cross, vitches come.”

  “Wonderful,” Poppy muttered. “This is worse than we thought.”

  I peered through the trees. A glimmer of light shone in the distance. I started forward, but Lorcan stopped me.

  “Hang on a moment. There’s something out there.”

  “We know—wards and booby traps.”

  “Maybe it’s our backup?” Poppy suggested.

  “No,” Lorcan answered, shaking his head. “There’s something else.”

  “Is the coven already here?” Poppy asked, her voice faltering.

  “I don’t sense anything except Olga herself… and you two,” Lorcan answered.

  “This is something else, something concealed. If I didn’t know better, I’d say…”

  At that moment, a streak of fire rocketed out of the darkness. It came from the thickest bushes and shot straight for Franz. The fire ball smashed into the branch on which he was perched and the branch cracked in half as sparks sprayed all over the place. The branch came down with a heavy thud that seemed to shake the entire ground.

  Franz dropped with an ear-splitting shriek, just at the moment I sprang clear and accidentally crossed the first ward. I felt it snap and then all hell broke loose.

  Explosions boomed in all directions. More firebolts sliced through the night. They lit up the pathway to a tiny, decrepit cabin slumped among the trees. It must have been a few hundred yards away. The pathway leading to the cabin looked clear enough, but I knew better—when it came to the supernatural, things that looked too good to be true, usually were.

  I spun around and plunged for the cabin, keeping clear of the front pathway and going straight through the low-lying foliage of the surrounding forest. I took two steps and my foot punched through a thin crust of dirt, leaves, and sticks. Another split-second later and I felt myself falling. I didn’t even have the chance to scream, it all happened so fast. At the moment when I would have hit the floor of the underground pit, Lorcan suddenly rocketed over my head. He appeared as a blur, but I knew it was him, owing to his scent. He blipped into existence, caught my arm, and then soared upwards, pulling us both out of the pit and onto the ground.

  “Do watch where you are going, my dear,” he said with a frown.

  I managed to smile. “Thanks for the reminder.”

  Explosions filled the quiet woods as thousands of wards went off all around me. I couldn’t see Poppy or hear her. A geyser of scorching wind suddenly blasted out of the ground and hit Lorcan from underneath. He pitched head over heels and his iron fingers released my wrist. The wind threw me backwards and I fell onto the solid ground, only to see a massive log swinging out of the shadows. The log swung on what appeared to be invisible ropes and rotated straight for my head. I dove sideways and rolled to escape it splattering my brains onto the nearest tree trunk.

  I came to rest against what I thought was another tree, but when I checked it, there were spikes sticking out the base, winding all the way up the trunk. The other trees nearest it also bore the same wicked spikes. Someone had rigged the whole area with the most brutal booby traps imaginable.

  Once I could collect my wits, I noticed Poppy standing a few feet away from me. Franz cowered behind her legs while she battled a gang of hideous monsters, throwing this potion and that potion at them. They stalked her with their hairy arms outstretched, as if to grab her. Their black claws were long and a foul goo dripped from their gaping mouths, mouths full of rows of shark-like teeth. They were enormous and towered over her, looking like zombie sasquatches, only a lot dirtier.