Page 100 of Sweetwater and the Witch

Already unnerved and frantic, she reacted instinctively. She yelped and twisted violently away from the source of the pain.

Ravenna dropped to her knees, getting out of Ethan’s line of fire. He rezzed the flamer. A bolt of lightning flashed.

Louise convulsed. The flamer she had been clutching clattered onto the quartz floor. She stared at Ethan.

“I’m dying,” she rasped.

“No,” Ethan said. “But you aren’t going to be a problem for a while.”

Louise convulsed again and fell to the floor. She did not move.

Harriet, once again showing a strong resemblance to a wad of blue-eyed dryer lint, chortled and dashed across the room. Ravenna scooped her up and hugged her close.

“I’ve been so worried about you,” she said.

Ethan looked at Ravenna. The lenses of his glasses did little to diminish the impact of his molten amber eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Ravenna said. “I was telling you the truth when I said she flatlined me with that gas.”

Ethan crossed the space and crouched to secure the flamer Louise had dropped.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”

“How can you possibly know that?” she whispered.

“I talked to Garrett Willis tonight. She used the gas on him, too. His talent has returned.”

“That’s very reassuring.” Ravenna looked at Louise. “She’s definitely unstable. Probably a dual or triple talent. Couldn’t control the power. Thinks she’s a genuine witch. But she’s deteriorating rapidly.”

Harriet chortled.

Ravenna looked down at her. “You do know how to live in the moment, don’t you? Nice talent you’ve got there, pal.”

“Wish I had the same ability,” Ethan said. He rose to his feet. “I may have to take to my fainting couch when we get home.”

“Ethan—”

“Hush.” He gathered her into his arms. “It’s over. It’s going to be okay.”

Harriet, squeezed between the two of them, wriggled free. She tumbled to the floor and immediately set about investigating the chamber.

“There were two men working with her,” Ravenna mumbled into Ethan’s jacket.

“Not anymore,” Gabriel Jones said from the doorway. “When they ran out of this room they ran straight into my men. Looks like everything is under control in here.”

Ravenna lifted her head and gave Gabriel a misty smile. “You and Ethan make a very good team.”

“The Sweetwaters and the Joneses have been working together for quite a while now,” Gabriel said.

Harriet bustled across the chamber, an object in her front paws. She offered it to Ravenna.

“My phone,” Ravenna said.

Chapter Fifty-One

“How did you find me so quickly after I rezzed Harriet’s pen?” Ravenna asked.

“By the time you activated the Valentine, Jones and I were almost at your location,” Ethan said.

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