Page 91 of The Witching Hours

Retaking his place on the floor in front of me, he said, “How do I use this?”

Okay.So, we’re doing this now.

“First, let’s put it on speaker so we can both hear everything.” Once that was done, I gave good directions on finding David in contacts and dialing the number.

“Hello?” David said.

“David! I’m in a meeting in your dining room with your uninvited guest.” I pressed on without waiting for a reply because, after all, what could he say to that? “We’ve reached an agreement, but you need to sign off. He wants you and Molly to come.”

“Ah. Well. I… Really?”

“Yes. Really. How long will it take for you to get here?”

“At this time of day, ten minutes. Molly can’t leave so easily.”

“Can you speak for the both of you?”

“Yes.” That was definitive, followed by uncertainty. “At least I think so.”

On glancing at Aeskilas, I realized I was protected by a circle. David was not. “Hold on. I’ll call you right back.” I endedthe call. I looked deep into yellowish eyes that were so different from anything familiar and said, “I’m in a protected circle. He isn’t. Can you be trusted?”

Aeskilas smiled broadly. “Check your circle.”

“What?”

“Go ahead. See if it’s working.”

I reached out to touch the invisible barrier. Normally, I’d be able to sense the thrumming vibration of an active ward. Yep. There it was.

“Yes. It’s working. Why?”

Smile still fixed in place he waved his hand. “Try it now.”

A lump of anxiety formed in my throat. If my barrier wasn’t working, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but I reached out with my fingertips.Nothing. It was gone.

The look on my face must’ve struck him as comical. I could tell by the way he chuckled that he was having a good time at my expense.

“You couldn’t really think you could stop me from doing what I want to do with some salt and trinkets,” he said. “I won’t call it insulting because you don’t know who or what I am, but I want to impress upon you, going forward, that you need to be more careful and respectful when confronting non-human species. Many are more powerful than you. Some are more powerful than I.”

With another wave of his hand the portion of the floor that contained my circle broke apart in upheaval and rendered me helplessly sliding down a forty-five-degree angle. As I slid toward the wall, along with my salt and trinkets, my linen hem caught the lit candle and began to burn. I yelped and began beating at the blackened edges. I yelped louder when I felt a burn on my hip.

With another wave of his hand, I found myself once again sitting in my perfectly ordered circle. The floor wasundisturbed as were my tools and my linen top showed no signs of fire.

I might’ve been a little short of breath. Panic does that. But as soon as I could speak, I said, “That was impressive.”

“If that’s true,” he said. “Then it takes little to impress you.”

I was working at recovering both my breath and my dignity. “Guess so.” I looked down at the phone Aeskilas had left within reach on the other side of my circle.

If there was no barrier, there was no reason to not reach for it. I picked up the phone and redialed David. He answered right away.

“I was worried,” he said.

I wanted to reply that there was no need for worry, but didn’t want to lie. “I can’t promise there’s no risk. The party we’re bargaining with holds all the cards. If you come, there might be a good resolution. But I can’t make promises.”

David was quiet for a bit. I was glad he was taking a minute to think it through. “It’s a consequence of a foolhardy decision to buy a house we couldn’t really afford. A lot of choices aren’t on the table anymore. I’ll be right there.”

“Wait. I want you to be prepared that the, um, ambassador we’re talking to does not look like us.”

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