Page 38 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

Cecil dumped the hexes inside and sealed the whole thing with a power word and a series of intricate knots.

Fennel trotted over and stood between my feet, his tail wrapped around my ankle to ground me. I took a quick look around the oddly silent neighborhood before digging the bag of soil out of my pocketand pouring the contents into my hand. As before, the dirt vaporized, sizzling into my skin. It felt like a bad beach sunburn, but it filled me with a rush of power.

“Abatir.”

Fennel meowed, tightening his hold on my ankle as he fed me a boost of magic. I pushed it all at the spell, palpated the invisible, membranous bubble with it, as I searched for a weak spot. Found it immediately. Left side of the house. Under a frosted glass rectangular window.

Together, Fennel and I sent a blast of power at it that rocked me on my heels and had him digging his claws into the grass. The spell broke, Fennel loosened his tail, and we walked up to the house together, the cat darting behind a bush just before I reached the door.

I dug theluciduscharm from my bag. I’d placed it in one of Ida’s old cardboard jewelry boxes and added a bow and forged card from Desmond. My clever little ruse to get Maya to put it on.

I was even dressed in unthreatening clothing—khaki pedal pushers, white sneakers, and a white polo shirt I’d picked up at DiscMart. I’d twisted my hair into a ballerina bun and added a pair of tiny gold hoop earrings and a digital watch.

Voila. The ultimate vague uniform.

I rapped on the door.

“Who is it?” a heartbreakingly weak voice asked.

“Special delivery for a,” I paused as if checking a clipboard, which I’d actually forgotten to pick up. Damn. “Maya Reeves Mace.”

“That’s not my name.”

“Sorry. It’s what the box says.”

“What are you delivering?”

“Ma’am, you can check me out through the peephole if you like. I work for La Reina Jewelers.” I sighed, loud enough for her to hear through the doorway. “I was supposed to deliver this earlier, but it fell on the floorboard of my car, and I missed it. Please, ma’am. If you don’t accept this delivery, I could get fired.”

The locks on the door opened one by one.Snick,snick,snick—three freaking deadbolts. From this side of the door, it had only looked like one.

A sad-eyed woman stared out at me. Her body was painfully thin, and her hair, which I’d thought she’d had cut, looked as if it had been chewed off at the ends. She held out a trembling hand. “I don’t want you to get fired.”

“Thank you.” I placed the box on her palm and held up my camera. “There’s another part to this, too—gosh, I’msosorry—I’m supposed to get a photo of you wearing it. Your husband specifically requested it.”

She gave me a pathetic smile that didn’t come close to affecting the rest of her face. “Okay.”

Trembling fingers with nails gnawed to the quick opened the box. “Oh, this is lovely. It doesn’t look like something my husband would choose for me, though. Are you certain it’s mine?”

“Positive, ma’am. I double-checked.”

She held the necklace out in front of her and smiled. Her teeth looked like they hadn’t been brushed in a while, and that, along with her unkempt appearance and body odor, made me so raging mad I was tempted to drive straight to the coven meeting and punch Desmond Mace in the godsdamn throat.

The charm started working the moment she picked it up. I’d made it strong enough that even holding it would have an effect.

“What is this?” Her forehead wrinkled, mouth turned down. She was heartbreaking in her confusion. I wanted to give her a hug, and that wasn’t like me. I didn’t hug strangers.

“Clarity,” I said, softly. “Maya, my name’s Betty. I’m a witch. Bronwyn sent me.”

She blinked back tears and let out a short, sharp breath. “He wouldn’t let me shift. Not even in the privacy of our home like he used to.” There were too many tears to hold back, and they began to tumble down her cheeks. “My skin itches, and I feel like throwing up all the time.”

“Why didn’t the rat pack help you?” I asked.

“I’m not in the pack. Desmond wouldn’t allow it. It was one of the reasons—and there are a lot—that I left him.” She put the necklace over her head and gasped. It was as if the full impact of what he’d done was only just hitting her. She went down on her ass on the threshold. “He’s hideous.”

“Is there anything you need from the house? Because I’m not sure how long the coven meeting is going to last, and I’d like to get you far away from here.”

“You aren’t with the coven?”

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