It was another few minutes before we reached the school and Finn was waiting on the curb, looking concerned. I jumped out of the passenger seat as soon as Roy pulled up and opened the back door for Finn as he unloaded his backpack and pushed it into the other seat.

  His voice trembled when he asked me, “What’s going on, Mom?”

  “I’ll explain everything, but right now, we need to hurry.”

  Finn said hello to Roy, who responded in kind as we turned back into the street and started out of town.

  “We should be able to save a few minutes if we take Highway 19 to Highway 207. It’s the backway most people don’t know about,” Roy said.

  I nodded.

  “Where are we going?” Finn asked.

  I informed him we were headed into the mountains—to find Roy’s family who would keep us all protected from the chaos erupting in town. I didn’t go into the rest of it because I just… wasn’t ready yet. I knew the moment I told Finn I’d been keeping the truth about Haven Hollow from him all this time, he’d feel betrayed. And before I even ventured into the conversation, I wanted to make sure I had the right words.

  Roy glanced over at me, a question in his expression, but I just shook my head.

  When the time was right, it would make itself known.

  ***

  When we reached Highway 207, Roy asked me to call Marty, which I quickly did. He informed us he was nearly to the end of the highway, which meant he had maybe twenty minutes on us. Apparently, there was no sign of anyone else, as Marty reported they hadn’t seen another car on the entire drive up.

  It was then that the gray clouds decided to open up and a fairly heavy rain started to fall, making our progress even slower as Roy had to account for the road conditions.

  It was nineteen minutes later that we spotted Roy’s truck parked at the end of the paved road. Beyond it was a dirt road that disappeared behind a bend in the trees. We stopped on the shoulder and Roy turned to face me.

  “Let’s all pile into the truck because you’re almost out of gas.”

  I nodded and helped Finn out of the Jeep as we shielded ourselves against the rain and ran to the truck. I opened the back door for Finn and then we both piled into the back seat as Marty jumped down from the drivers’ seat to let Roy take over.

  “We’ll alternate driving until we get there,” Roy informed Marty as the latter nodded and started for the back seat of the truck, on Finn’s side. Fifi was still seated in front.

  Before Roy took his seat, he leaned into the truck and furrowed his brow at Fifi. “We should cover you with something nasty to smother the power of that potion Angelo covered you with. The last thing I want to deal with is a bunch of sas, er…” He glanced back at Finn. “A bunch of guys getting all love-crazy.”

  “Wouldn’t your family be immune to Fifi, just like you are?” I whispered.

  Roy shook his head. “I don’t know, but I also don’t want to find out the hard way.” He started for the back of his pickup and brought out a spray bottle. He didn’t seem to even notice the rain, which had now drenched him.

  “Hi,” Finn said as he gazed dreamily at Fifi.

  “Hi, handsome,” she responded, turning to look at him.

  He just continued to stare at her with the same zoned out expression everyone else had. I guessed the only reason he wasn’t as gung-ho about touching her was that he was just a kid so her pheromones didn’t work quite the same way on him as they did on adult males.

  And thank God for that.

  “Wouldn’t the rain wash the potion off Fifi?” Marty asked.

  I shook my head. “No, all it would do is ensure she’s wet and miserable.” Then I faced Roy. “You should spray that stuff onto Fifi in the truck, otherwise it will all just drip off her in the rain.”

  Roy nodded and sat behind the wheel, closing the door beside him.

  “What is that?” Fifi asked as she focused on the small bottle he held up to her.

  “It masks my scent. I use it for hunting.” He held the nozzle up and she closed her eyes as he sprayed it down her torso, and along her arms. Then he handed it to her so she could get her legs.

  “How do we know if it worked?” Marty asked.

  “I guess we just have to…”

  Roy got halfway through his sentence when the sound of vehicles assaulted our hearing. I glanced back to see a fleet of cars, trucks, vans, delivery vehicles, and even a few motorcycles appear around the bend in the road.

  “Time to go!” Roy yelled as he started the truck’s engine and then put it into reverse.

  “I can’t believe they found us,” Marty said as he turned around to look at all the cars, some of which were trying to pass the others. It looked like an accident waiting to happen.

  “Fifi’s pheromones are just that strong,” Roy answered.

  I took a deep breath. “Love’s Goddess is an incredibly potent recipe.”

  Roy put the truck into drive again and started around the barrier at the end of the paved road. Beyond it was the start of a rough-looking dirt trail.

  “Half those cars won’t make it on this road,” Roy said.

  “What about the other half?” Finn asked. I figured Roy’s hunting spray was doing its job because Finn was now no longer cow-eyed over Fifi, but back to his regular self.

  “That’s the half we need to worry about,” Roy answered, then faced me in the rear-view mirror. “Poppy, can you call Wanda and Lorcan? We need to get the Council to stop all the mundanes from leaving Haven Hollow. The last thing I need is to show up at my family’s doorstep with a bunch more humans.”

  And that was when I realized the time to have the conversation with Finn had just dropped in my lap. Like a bomb.

  “What are mundanes?” Finn started as he frowned at me, before looking back at Roy. “And why wouldn’t your family like humans when they are humans?”

  “It’s not that they don’t like them,” Roy answered as he looked at me and gave me a sheepish expression. “They just are very private in general and they don’t deal well with outsiders on a good day, but this would definitely earn me a trip to the doghouse.”

  I turned to face Finn and I started the conversation with information he already knew—that Wanda was a witch and she’d raised Libby from the dead and brought Darla back to life, as well. From there, I traveled into the territory known as Lorcan is a vampire. I let Roy explain about his lineage, and then Fifi explained hers. Then I informed Finn that Stanley was a centaur and the Rutledges were all werewolves. Throughout the whole explanation, Finn just sat still, saying nothing. But with his arms folded across his chest and his lips as tight as they were, it didn’t take a genius to realize he was upset.

  “Mom, you’ve been lying to me since we moved to Haven Hollow,” he said finally.

  “I wanted to tell you,” I insisted. “I wanted to tell you more than anything, but I was sworn to secrecy.”

  “The Council of Supernatural Creatures in Haven Hollow forced us to sign a contract, buddy,” Marty added as he looked over at Finn, who refused to look back at him.

  “Then you knew everything too?”

  “I wanted to tell you, Finn, just like your mom wanted to tell you.”

  “But neither of you told me anything—my own mom kept the truth from me and so did my best friend.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I tried to put my arms around him, but he was as cold as ice. “I hated not being able to tell you the truth but the Council said if we broke our vows, we would get kicked out of Haven Hollow.”

  Finn didn’t respond but just stared straight ahead. No one said anything for a few more seconds until Roy cleared his throat and broke the silence. He looked at me in the rear view mirror. “Can you call Wanda?” he reminded me.

  I nodded as I glanced down at my phone which I was still holding. I tapped Wanda’s name on the contacts list and listened as it rang once, twice. On the third ring, she picked up.

  “Finally you call me back.”

  “Sorry—”

  “What in blazes is going on? Why is everyone walking around like they’re on something?”

  I took a deep breath. “Angelo splashed Love’s Goddess all over Fifi and now the whole damn town is after her. We’re headed for Roy’s family stronghold in the mountains.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “We need you to make sure the Council intervenes to stop the exodus of people from Haven Hollow. There must be at least fifty vehicles on our tail and I’m sure they aren’t the only ones.”

  A long pause answered me and then Wanda smacked her lips. “You really know how to create a public disturbance, don’t you?”

  “This wasn’t my doing,” I said, even though I figured it could be traced back to me since I’d inadvertently told Angelo where Fifi was in the first place.

  You didn’t do it on purpose! I reminded myself. This isn’t your fault.

  “I need you to get Lorcan and rouse the Council to run interference,” I continued. “If you don’t do something quick, a bad situation is going to get infinitely worse.”

  “Keep your hair on, girl,” Wanda drawled. “The Council won’t be able to handle an uproar like that—not this quickly anyway.”

  “So, what, you’re not going to do anything?”

  “Will you stop from jumping off the cliff for a minute?” Wanda responded, sounding irritated. “We’ll have to call in the mundane authorities.”

  “Is there any way we can avoid that?”

  “Not that I can see. We’ll just tell them there’s some kind of natural disaster just outside city limits so they need to keep everyone from leaving town. I’m sure I can come up with something.”

  “Okay,” I started, even as I wondered what natural disaster would keep people inside town limits and how she was going to convince the police of the natural disaster in the first place. But, Wanda was resourceful so I had no doubt she’d figure something out.

  Hopefully.

  “Then I’ll, unfortunately, have to get in touch with the Portland Coven to do some damage control on Haven Hollow’s human population.” She paused for a second or two. “We’ll need a lot of witch help making sure the townspeople don’t remember anything about this.” She sighed. “I’m sure Mother is just going to eat this up.”

  “Then can I count on you and Lorcan to handle the crowd?” I asked, just wanting to make sure we were on the same page.

  “I’ll do what I can,” she replied without much enthusiasm. “I’m not thrilled about contacting Mother over this, just so you’re aware. I was hoping to avoid that for… you know, the rest of my life.”

  “I’m…” I wanted to apologize, but just then, two vehicles barreled alongside us in an open area next to the dirt trail. They drove parallel with the truck and the drivers and passengers waved to us from the windows. They leered in stark, stupid amazement at Fifi while they motioned for Roy to pull over.

  He shot them a venomous glare and fixed his eyes straight ahead. The engine whined to a frantic pitch and it seemed the rain was coming down even harder now. When Roy tried to jump ahead, a huge Land Rover pulled into him.

  The vehicle smashed into the truck’s side and overpowered Roy’s best efforts to keep the vehicle running straight. Everyone screamed and I wedged my arm against the seat in front, trying not to come up close and personal with it. Luckily, the truck didn’t roll over and Roy was able to keep it straight on the trail.

  I looked over at Finn and though he was wide-eyed and looked scared out of his mind, he was okay. I pulled him into my arms and held him tight, crooning into his ear that everything was going to be okay. Then I made sure his seatbelt was on as tightly as possible.

  Just then, a giant Suburban blasted past the Land Rover. It skidded in front of the truck and slammed on the brakes. My stomach turned when I recognized Angelo grinning through the rear windshield.

  Roy flung the wheel right and left, but nothing he could do would free the truck from both vehicles. Whoever was driving the Suburban braked even harder. The truck’s engine shrieked, but we slowed down anyway. The screams coming from inside the truck drove me out of my mind, and all I could think about was making sure Finn was okay. I held him even tighter than before.

  Without warning, Roy smashed his foot onto the brake as hard as he could. The truck skidded almost to a complete halt. The Land Rover and the Suburban both shot forward and left the truck behind, but only for a second.

  The moment Roy freed the truck from between them, he hit the gas again. He pulled beside both vehicles, into the open meadow which was even bumpier than the trail had been. Mud flew all over the windshield, giving the wipers an extra hard time of keeping the glass clear. Roy dodged the Land Rover as it staggered to adjust its course, and floored it into the clear, leaving both vehicles behind.

  As the Suburban tried to back up, its rear wheels began to smoke because apparently it was stuck in the mud. The Land Rover pulled up beside it and Angelo got out of the Suburban and into the Land Rover, before starting up after us again.

  And that was when I remembered I still had a banishment potion in my purse. And my purse was currently wedged between my feet.

  “Roy, I need you to let the Land Rover pull up alongside us and then I need you to roll down your window like you want to talk to Angelo,” I started.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because I have a way to keep him off our tail,” I answered and held up the vial of Banishing Oil.

  “Okay,” Roy said and I handed the vial to him. “What do I do with it?”

  “Luckily Angelo is sitting in the passenger seat,” I started. “When you pull up to him and he rolls down his window, throw this at him.”

  “What if I miss?”

  “Don’t,” I answered. Then I held the potion in my hands and closing my eyes, I chanted my intentions into it, imagining a bright, white light encapsulating and charging it with my desire. “Here,” I said as I handed it to Roy, taking the cork out of the top. “It’s ready.”

  Roy nodded and slowed down, allowing the Rover to catch up. Then he dropped his window down and motioned for Angelo to do the same. Once Angelo did, Roy slowed even more and started talking, clearly trying to attract Angelo’s attention away from what he was about to do.

  When he threw the potion at Angelo and it splashed all over Angelo’s face, I couldn’t help my smile as I yelled: “Stop following us and return from wherever you came!”

  Immediately, the Land Rover stopped advancing and as we turned around to watch, it started in reverse and once it reached a clearing large enough, did an eight point turn or so and started back down the dirt trail, going the opposite way.

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Good going, Mom!” Finn said as he reached over and gave me a hug.

  “Thanks, buddy,” I answered.

  “Super Poppy, to the rescue,” Marty added, giving me a big, proud smile. I returned it.

  “That’s just going to send Angelo back to Haven Hollow,” Fifi said.

  I shrugged. “It’s better than having him right behind us.”

  And no one could argue that.

  Chapter Ten

  Roy stopped the truck in the middle of the dirt trail in order to add more fuel from one of the tanks he kept in the back. Apparently, he was always ready with plenty of gas because he knew how long and how much fuel it took to make this trek into the mountains.

  The sun had gone down hours ago and the stars were coming out—the clouds and the rain had also cleared away, revealing a cool and clear night. We’d already been on the road over four hours and, apparently, still had a ways to go. Roy’s family fortress was a long ways away, yes, but the terrain was also so terrible that he couldn’t go very fast, thus making a long trip even longer.

  Roy stuck his head into the driver’s seat and caught Marty’s eye. “You ready to take over?”

  “Sure,” Marty answered and stepped out of the back seat, starting for the front. Roy then walked around the truck and asked Fifi to step out so he could douse her again with his anti-pheromone spray.

  Then he got into the back seat, next to Finn, who was napping against my shoulder. How he was able to sleep with the constant jarring of the rocks and divots in the dirt road was beyond me. It felt like my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering in my head.

  Marty started driving and as he did, the road seemed darker and the bumps even more plentiful. Clearly, my exhaustion and despair were catching up with me.

  ***

  I must have fallen asleep after all, because I woke up in broad daylight.

  “You can pull over here,” Roy said and pointed to an overgrown pull-out, off to the side of the road. Marty put the truck into park and then turned off the engine, at Roy’s instruction. Opening his door, Roy got out and stretched his long legs. Then he approached Fifi’s side, asking her to step out so he could douse her with the rest of his spray.

  “What’s the plan?” Marty asked.

  Roy tossed the empty spray bottle into the truck. “We’ll have to hike the rest of the way in.”

  “Hike?” I asked as I looked over at Finn, who was still asleep. I gently shook him to let him know he had to wake up. I hoped he’d worn decent sneakers. I hadn’t exactly packed for a hike and was wearing my ballet flats.

  “How far is it?” I asked, worried about his response.

  He shrugged. “A few miles, maybe.”

  A few miles of hiking up, down and through mountains probably would take hours. But, there wasn’t anything else to say. We’d come this far and turning back now wasn’t an option, so none of us said anything and just started following Roy, who took the lead. I fell in line behind him, and Finn behind me, with Fifi and Marty bringing up the rear. The sounds of their idle chit-chat floated back to me, filling me with a strange calm. That is, until I turned around to check on Finn and found him lost in his own thoughts, refusing to look at me. Obviously, he was still upset.

  In no time at all, it became painfully obvious that both men were dilly-dallying to accommodate mine, Fifi’s, and Finn’s slow pace. More than once, Roy went ahead to scout the area.