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  He shook his head, as though he was disappointed with me. “How about you just give it a chance for a few weeks, eh? Chen has something important to teach all of us, particularly you, Moira.”

  It wasn’t like the boss to say, just trust me. Something weird was in the wind. “Why particularly me?”

  He put his index finger against his lips to hush me. “I could tell you, but that would spoil the surprise. We all know how much you love surprises.”

  He meant, he knew how much I hated surprises. I felt a sudden urge to shake him by the neck until he spit out the truth. Not that I could, but I loved to imagine bossing him around for a change.

  But despite my fantasy, he was much stronger and his magic was far more powerful. I wasn’t going to hear the truth until he was good and ready to tell it. I muttered impossible threats against him all the way back to my suite. Then I changed into Inconspicuous Me to get ready for my dinner with Sophia.

  -o-o-o-

  THE OLDER WITCH and I met at a fancy seafood place she’d picked out. This evening, the weather was perfect, and plenty of other people shared the outdoor patio overlooking the harbor with us. A pair of gulls circled overhead and called out to each other. A kid at a nearby table threw a piece of bread into the air, and one of the gulls swooped down to snatch it before it landed in the water.

  Sophia smiled at the sight. “In Santa Monica,” she said, “I own a little magic shop on the pier. That’s where I read palms and sell crystals and costume jewelry. After work, I love walking around to chat with other shop owners and friends. People always feed the birds although they shouldn’t. The pier’s also a great vantage point for watching surfers. By the Mórrígan, I love the sea.”

  “I’ve never understood how people could manage to stand on a surfboard,” I said. “Their skill in staying upright while riding those giant waves seems magical.”

  She knew how to surf and was explaining it to me when a burly man with short curly hair walked up to our table. Sophia rose suddenly and pushed her chair back. “What are you doing here?”

  He pointed a finger at her. “I challenge you for magical power.”

  When I tried to stand and move in front of her to protect her, I was frozen in place.

  “As soon as the fight starts,” she said, “get out of here.”

  I wanted to argue but couldn’t speak. Was she crazy? I was the experienced fighter, not her.

  Too quickly, the ten seconds ran, and the fight was on. All the normal folks around us carried on as though nothing was happening.

  When I could move again, I tried to step between them, but magic kept me away. I wasn’t about to run, like she’d said. Instead, I called the boss.

  “Some asshole sorcerer just showed up at Dorsal Fin and attacked Sophia! I wanted to take him on, but she did something to me, froze me. I—”

  “Stay there,” he interrupted. “I’ll be right there.”

  But he wouldn’t arrive quickly enough. The restaurant was a good ten-minute run from the inn, and in the early evenings, the roads near the harbor were packed with traffic.

  I changed to my normal form and tried to intervene again, but magic kept me out of the fight.

  Sophia conjured a lightning bolt, but it hit the sorcerer’s ward and fizzled out.

  “Calm yourself first and create protection!” I said, despite knowing she couldn’t hear me. Magic wouldn’t allow outside coaching.

  The sorcerer hit her with two balls of pulse lightning in a row, and she hadn’t created a ward in time. The poor woman fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

  I kept trying to help, but it was useless. Magic kept me isolated from her.

  Then a rush of wings above me caught my attention. Lazarus landed on the patio right next to our table. Ian appeared out of nowhere, standing beside me.

  I was so surprised my heart skipped a beat. I’d heard rumors that he had the power to merge with the eagle but hadn’t believed it. Clan members tended to say the wildest things about him.

  “Thank the gods!” I said. “I’ve tried to help her, but no good.”

  He pointed his staff at the sorcerer, but no spell emerged. We were forced to remain bystanders.

  Sophia tried to run, but the sorcerer caught her from behind. With a violent twist, he threw her against the metal railing surrounding the patio. She dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Ian said. “she can’t last much longer,”

  Sophia used the railing to pull herself up, and the sorcerer hit her on the side of the head, stunning her again.

  “If she loses,” Ian said, “I’ll attack right away. He might try to escape while I’m frozen. If so, do your best to hold him back. Once he and I are locked in battle, you can soothe Sophia.”

  At least one of us was thinking ahead. “You bet,” I said. “Good plan.”

  With another punch to her head, the sorcerer knocked Sophia senseless. She collapsed to the concrete, and her head hit with a sickening thud. She laid motionless.

  Before the sorcerer could react, Ian pointed his staff at him. “I challenge you for magical power.”

  Ian froze.

  The sorcerer immediately took off for the door to the restaurant, trying to escape. I’d expected that and blocked his way. Everyone around us remained oblivious to the fighting magicians in their midst.

  He attempted to push me out of the way, but I used a judo kick to knock his legs out from under him.

  He fell hard but immediately scrambled to his feet again. To thank me for slowing him down, he punched me in the stomach. Damn, that hurt! Even though I’d tightened my diaphragm, bile rose into my mouth.

  Ignoring it, I focused on slowing him down.

  The sorcerer tried to dash past me, and I tackled him in the middle of the patio. With a backward swing of his elbow, he caught me square in the forehead.

  That dazed me for a moment, but I held onto him as my eyes dimmed.

  Then Ian spoke behind me. “Moira, you’ve had enough fun. Now it’s my turn.”

  What took you so damned long? I released my grip.

  The sorcerer turned and shot a lightning bolt against Ian, but it bounced off of Ian’s ward and vanished into the sky above us.

  The bastard ran, but before he took three strides, Ian spoke in a clear voice laced with fury. “Holarthon, elbo choque.”

  A blindingly white bolt of lightning shot from Ian’s staff and hit the sorcerer between his shoulder blades. He lit up for a second like a light bulb and fell flat on his face, motionless.

  Just that quickly, the fight was over. I’d seen the boss in action once before, and that had been equally impressive. One shot, and a dark magician powerful enough to beat me was flat on the ground. He might even be dead.

  “Wow!” I said. “No wonder you get the big bucks.”

  He kicked the sorcerer in the side below his ribs, and the guy twitched. So, he was still alive.

  “That son of a bitch had the nerve to come to my town and attack one of my guests. Not to mention what he did to one of my disciples.”

  I staggered on my feet, a delayed reaction to the blow to my forehead.

  One of the waiters stopped in front of me. “Are you all right?” Then he seemed to see the sorcerer for the first time. “What happened?”

  I improvised. “I’m just lightheaded. My friend had some kind of seizure, but he seems to be coming around.”

  The waiter looked skeptical, but someone called him to a nearby table.

  “We should check on Sophia,” I whispered to Ian. “I don’t know how the bastard found us. She seemed to recognize him.”

  The boss and I hurried over to the witch. She was sitting with her back against the railing surrounding the patio. A bloody bruise on her forehead showed where her skull had hit the concrete.

  I dropped down on my knees next to her. “Are you okay? Ian took out the sorcerer. I don’t think he had time to grab
your power.”

  She tried to stand, and I helped her. Then she wrapped her arms around her savior and hugged him. “I thought I was gone for good. He was so strong. I didn’t stand a chance. Moira probably would’ve fought him much better, but I didn’t want her to lose her freedom to save me.”

  Ian patted her on the back. “I can feel your aura. You still have your magic. Thank you, Great Mystery Spirit.”

  She was shaking all over but stood erect.

  “We’d better get Sophia back to the inn,” I said. “She needs healing. Me, too.”

  “Take a cab,” Ian said. “I’ll follow you in a minute with the asshole.”

  Arm in arm, she and I walked back into the restaurant. A wave of relief flooded through me as I realized how close we’d come to disaster. I couldn’t have saved her alone.

  “I’ll have an amazing story to tell,” she whispered to me, “got incredibly lucky.”

  I had to agree. “The Mórrígan gave us a miracle.”

  Sophia’s whole body shivered from nerves as we worked our way through groups of people crowding into the restaurant. They stared at us, bloody and bruised, but no one tried to stop us. Once we reached the street, I kept a keen eye open for any other possible attackers.

  A moment later, a taxi pulled up to let a couple out, and we hopped inside.

  Once we were on the way to the inn, I relaxed. It was slow going, but our driver handled the heavy traffic well.

  Chapter 12

  BACK AT THE inn, everyone crowded around us to find out what had happened. I didn’t know how much Ian wanted to say, so I just reassured everyone that Sophia and I were okay.

  A moment later, he arrived with his new slave. Gracie came and took him away.

  Ian summarized the battles then pulled me aside. “At first, I thought assassins were after you or me, but the bastard told me he’d followed Sophia from LA. They’re using plane manifests to track certain important witches, and he caught up with her at the restaurant because she used a credit card at the restaurant’s bar to pay for a drink before you arrived.”

  I nodded. Not much else to say. Sorcerers were becoming more and more of a threat, even in supposedly safe areas. As usual, we celebrated the victory in the gazebo, but I didn’t last long. It turned out to be a lot more stressful to watch a witch I cared for fight than to do the nasty business myself. I was beginning to understand how Philippe felt whenever I fought, the poor guy.

  -o-o-o-

  Saturday, March 6th

  OVERNIGHT, THE STORM I’d been praying for arrived. Throughout our morning run, the wind and rain lashed at me. It was strangely invigorating, although I wouldn’t want to run through a monsoon every day.

  At breakfast, I sat next to Sophia and chatted with her. She’d gotten control of her nerves, and she kept thanking Ian for saving her butt. He was definitely a handy guy to have around, and he didn’t seem to think he’d done much to help. Just another day as the Rí benn.

  Then Gill said, “Moira, you’re such a publicity hog. There’s not a word about Ian’s victory on the sorcerer news sites, but they’re bitching about you again.”

  I sighed. Nothing good ever came from those sorcerer rags. “What now?”

  Katie elbowed her husband and gave me a warm smile. “It’s mostly bluster, just Breaux’s way of harassing you. He’s making a big fuss about the fact that you didn’t agree to fight him. Now, he says you can’t go after him or your sister. He claims, if you do attack him, he’ll torture you.”

  That was bullshit. “If I’d fought him yesterday and lost, he would’ve tortured me, too, just for the fun of it.”

  Gill nodded. “I’m sure you’ll be strong enough to take him soon, then it won’t matter. Or that Chicago witch might get Cara back for you. That’d be even better.”

  And just in case Henri didn’t work out, I had Suong as my backup plan. I glanced over at Dana who had agreed to meet with us at ten. She and Lee were cozier than ever. Well, at least something was working out well.

  Most of the folks at our table wandered away, and I was about to do the same. Then I got a call on a burn phone Henri had asked me to buy.

  “I’m making good progress,” he said. “I arrived in Montréal yesterday and met with a local witch who’s been keeping an eye on sorcerers here. He says that the head warlock in this city is Charles Breaux, the father of your buddy, Antoine.”

  At least we weren’t going after the toughest asshole in Montréal. “Is the dad a real monster?”

  “Of course, Mademoiselle. And there is no chance his oldest son, Antoine, will try to take his father’s position anytime soon. In fact, the son is the father’s most loyal lieutenant and top enforcer. Charles Breaux lives on a grand estate north of the city, and his son owns a smaller mansion nearby. I’m sure they’re wonderful neighbors for the rich people in their neighborhood.”

  “What is Antoine doing to pass the time while waiting for his daddy to croak?”

  “The son enjoys banging the local wenches, drinking himself into a stupor, and dabbling in the local real estate market.”

  “He doesn’t sound too dangerous,” I said.

  “My thoughts exactly. Hopefully, he’ll be easy to beat. My local source, who wishes to remain confidential, says Antoine hasn’t been seen since the Friday before you met him in Las Vegas. Instead, a new man who looks completely different, much shorter and blond, has been living in Antoine’s mansion over the last few days. Even more interesting, he’s been accompanied by a lithe and lovely redhead no one has seen before. He can’t seem to keep his hands off of her. I’ll send you photos. The two of them have been spotted at several of the popular watering holes in town. And the gentleman is driving Antoine’s Rolls-Royce.”

  In other words, Antione wasn’t doing nearly as much to hide from me as he could, like traveling to a different city. “I’m surprised he would bother to change his appearance. Maybe I’m scarier than I thought.”

  Henri chuckled. “Or perhaps he’s just stupid, ma belle.”

  “How do his friends behave around the new guy?”

  “Antione’s magical powers are an open secret. My source tells me he’s changed his appearance several times in the past. His friends are apparently used to hearing his voice come from a new man.”

  The real question was, What should I do next? “I presume you plan to set up an attack soon?”

  “Yes, I found him quicker than I’d expected, but I’ve already been in touch with my friend in Chicago. He plans to arrive here Sunday. I hope to call you with good news soon thereafter.”

  My heart seemed to swell with hope. “Fantastic. Great work. Please keep me informed.”

  Henri was working out wonderfully, and Gill had told me about the witch in Chicago who had agreed to attack Antoine Breaux. That witch was a senior Holar master who should have little trouble with the playboy. Best of all, I wouldn’t have to wait long enough for me to get stronger and attack Breaux myself. Who says money can’t buy happiness?

  -o-o-o-

  AFTER BREAKFAST, I headed to a meditation session in the smallest training room. We only needed enough space for two dozen members of the clan to sit on bare mats and stare at a blank wall. This time, though, Chen stood in front.

  When everyone was getting comfortable, Ian said, “Now that we have a professional meditator in our midst, I thought we could learn from the master.”

  That made sense, but I was used to navel gazing on my own. Why should I change what works?

  Chen bowed to us. “I know nothing more than you, but perhaps I have a different perspective. At this moment in infinity, let us consider constancy from the teachings of the Tao.”

  Then he chanted:

  Break into the peace within,

  Hold attention in stillness,

  And in the world outside

  You will ably master the ten thousand things.

  All things rise and flourish

  Then go ba
ck to their roots.

  Seeing this return brings true rest,

  Where you discover who you really are.

  Knowing who you are, you will find the constant.

  Those who lack harmony with the constant court danger,

  But those who have it gain new vision.

  They act with compassion;

  Within themselves, they can find room for everything.

  Having room, they rule themselves and lead others wisely.

  Being wise, they live in accordance

  With the nature of things.

  When he finished, he sat in the lotus position before us and remained perfectly still.

  I couldn’t help but wonder, What the hell am I supposed to do with that?

  For years, I’d focused my mind by clearing it of every thought and concentrating on my breath or a candle. Now, some monk came along and told me think about constancy? What I was supposed to be constant about?

  Instead of slowing my mind down, he’d set it spinning. Then I remembered how Ian was always rattling on about living in harmony with the universe. I’d never understood that either. But at least I’d felt a vibration in the ancient redwood near Santa Cruz that’d resonated within my magical core.

  That had to be a kind of harmony. It was as close as I’d gotten. So, I tried to remember that feeling and excluded all other thoughts.

  By the time the bell chimed to signal the end of the hour, I’d managed to generate a faint vibration within my core. Or maybe it was just my imagination. Anyway, I still had a long way to go before I could become one with the universe.

  To move further down the path to enlightenment, I described to Chen what I’d done and how I’d felt.

  He beamed at me, but that didn’t mean much. The guy smiled all the time. “Keep doing that,” he said. “Many paths to enlightenment.”

  In other words, I wasn’t following his path, but he hoped we’d both get to the same place. Not very reassuring.

  “What I should do different?”

  “You are fine. Keep to your path.”