Page 51 of Magic and Muffins

“You’re invited too, Cross. If you can keep your lips to yourself.”

“I’ll do my best to resist.”

My phone buzzed with a group text with Miles and Vena.

Miles: Check this out!

A picture of a book page came through with the text. The paper was old and yellowed. On it was a drawing of a stone circle with what looked like a circular hula hoop standing upright in it.

The phone buzzed in my hands.

Vena: We need hints. What are we looking at?

Miles: It’s an ancient rendition of a fae portal. And guess what? It says they’re found all over the world.

Vena: Focus, Miles. You’re there to find information about the relic Grandma and Grandpa Hunter were looking for and a cure for vampirism.

Miles: Mom and Dad are sifting through GGH’s research history to check all the books they looked at before they disappeared. They’re hoping we’re missing something that will make it easier to figure out what exactly GGH were looking for or where they went last.

Vena: Is there anything we can do to help? Anywhere you need us to check?

Me: We won’t be checking. Shepard’s people will.

Miles: Nothing yet. I’ll let you know if there is.

“You’re frowning,” Cross said.

“Vena’s bored and going to get in trouble soon if you don’t give her something active to do.”

“Is she asking about that sex relic again?” Shepard asked.

“No, but that might be a good distraction if you can afford to lose Anchor for a few days.”

“I’ll talk to him after the watch party and see what he thinks. If it wasn’t about the relic, what was it about?”

“The other relic—the one Grandma and Grandpa Hunter were looking for. Miles found a book with a picture of a portal in it, and it says they’re found all over the world. He got excited, and Vena reminded him what he was supposed to be looking for.”

As I spoke, I sent Vena a private message.

Me: It’s the first time he’s excited about something. Be supportive. Remember what he’s been through!

Vena: I realized that after I hit send. I’m the worst sister ever.

Me: You know you aren’t. Just tell him good job and ask some questions about the portals. He needs to get lost in some research and forget for a while.

She sent me a thumbs-up.

Setting my phone down, I glanced at Shepard. “Should I make something for the watch party?”

“You don’t have to,” Shepard said. “Lisa will take care of the details. But if youwantto, you can. Everyone will gladly eat whatever you make. I swear I feed the entire D.C. population rather than a house full of wolves and their families.”

I looked through the cupboards and refrigerator to see what I had. “How about bacon-wrapped watermelon?”

Shepard nodded his approval, and the pair of them talked as I prepared the shareable. It was mostly about Denise, what people would think of the show, and the protesters. I noticed a hushed conversation as well, but it didn’t last long.

Once I finished the bacon-wrapped watermelon, we headed to the pack house. He escorted us to the empty dining room and took my appetizer to the kitchen while Cross and I looked around.

The large room was ready with a projector pointed at one of the walls. Someone had positioned the tables in their normal checkered rows, but they’d turned all the chairs toward the screen. It reminded me of a comedy club setup, which seemed fitting since the interview had been a bit of a tragic comedy.

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