scientist witches going missing?”
“I can have Nathaniel ask around,” Tonya assured her. “The covens don’t always publicize their transformations, but we know who to ask.”
“Don’t bother. I already found out who he is.” Dad tightened the lid on the jar and started shaking it. “I think I put too much shit in here.”
“Zhang Li, you did not,” Tonya exclaimed.
“Definitely did,” Dad said. “I need a bigger jar. Maybe that pickle jar. Is it empty yet, Katie?”
“I recycled it, Ba. You can’t use just any container for simples. Your spell components can become tainted.” Recipe spells were tetchier than single-ingredient spells. Not many witches could work around impurities. That was why some spell-grade components were often so doggone expensive and hard to come by.
Tonya interrupted. “What I meant was, you’d better not have gone poking around. Hellfire, old man. That’s why we had to relocate last time. You and your big mouth.”
“I hadn’t decided how to tell you that part,” Katie said with a sigh. “I wanted to deal with the immediate situation first.”
“Who did you call, mister?” Tonya pointed at Dad, and he quit shaking the jar. “If it was Shirl, I’m going to break your TV.”
“I called nobody.” He smiled. “I dug around in the elders’ forums. I’m a hacker now.”
“Gaia bless it.” Tonya returned to the couch and buried her face in her hands. “I was just starting to like it here.”
“He did it a month ago.” Katie sat beside Tonya and nudged her friend’s leg with her knee. “I don’t think he broke our cover.”
“Quit bellyaching. Of course I didn’t,” Dad put in.
“And it’s possible they’ve been biding their time.” Tonya had her own reasons for participating in Vern’s witchy witness protection program. She didn’t want to be reintroduced to the network either. “Lying in wait like snakes in the weeds.”
Katie rubbed her temples. Tonya was their front. Ostensibly, Tonya was the one with the handler—Nathaniel Oman, another sympathizer. Oman knew nothing about Katie and her father. This had been the deal they’d worked with Vernon after Katie’s inquest…and after the keepers had tried to wipe her.
They’d failed. A convex, alpha witch, Katie wasn’t wipeable. No one had known that was possible prior to her. The memory magic had ricocheted off her the same as destructive spells. Her final sentence, the only way to eliminate a wild card like her, had been death.
Hiram Lars had spearheaded that sentence. If the keepers—if Lars—found out she was still alive, they’d never be safe.
“I don’t believe they’d bide their time,” Katie said. “If anyone knew about us, we’d already be dead. However, I did update our go bags.”
Tonya nodded, growing more solemn. “I could have Nathaniel look into a new site.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dad said. “I’m tired of moving. I was dodging coven schemes, human eyeballs and wolf packs a century before you two were even born.” Her father had been a West Coast region elder. “I’m at the tail end of my third pass-through.”
Tonya shot him an evil glance. “Code for senile.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m sharp as a gorram tack. I know who wolf boy is, and you can’t remember somebody you met ten years ago.”
“What do you mean I met him?” Tonya asked. “I don’t forget a face, and I don’t forget someone’s chi.” One of Tonya’s abilities was viewing the chi of witches and wolves, like Katie had joked about with Marcus.
“Dummy,” Dad said. “His face now wouldn’t be the face you saw. You’re not the only one good at camouflage.”
“I’ll look at him with the true eye. It doesn’t take much energy. If we have a history, it’s best we know everything. It will also tell us what kind of man he is.”
“A man who can’t resist dipping his wick.” Dad shook the jar. “That’s what kind of loser he is.”
“Don’t be ugly.
“I can have Nathaniel ask around,” Tonya assured her. “The covens don’t always publicize their transformations, but we know who to ask.”
“Don’t bother. I already found out who he is.” Dad tightened the lid on the jar and started shaking it. “I think I put too much shit in here.”
“Zhang Li, you did not,” Tonya exclaimed.
“Definitely did,” Dad said. “I need a bigger jar. Maybe that pickle jar. Is it empty yet, Katie?”
“I recycled it, Ba. You can’t use just any container for simples. Your spell components can become tainted.” Recipe spells were tetchier than single-ingredient spells. Not many witches could work around impurities. That was why some spell-grade components were often so doggone expensive and hard to come by.
Tonya interrupted. “What I meant was, you’d better not have gone poking around. Hellfire, old man. That’s why we had to relocate last time. You and your big mouth.”
“I hadn’t decided how to tell you that part,” Katie said with a sigh. “I wanted to deal with the immediate situation first.”
“Who did you call, mister?” Tonya pointed at Dad, and he quit shaking the jar. “If it was Shirl, I’m going to break your TV.”
“I called nobody.” He smiled. “I dug around in the elders’ forums. I’m a hacker now.”
“Gaia bless it.” Tonya returned to the couch and buried her face in her hands. “I was just starting to like it here.”
“He did it a month ago.” Katie sat beside Tonya and nudged her friend’s leg with her knee. “I don’t think he broke our cover.”
“Quit bellyaching. Of course I didn’t,” Dad put in.
“And it’s possible they’ve been biding their time.” Tonya had her own reasons for participating in Vern’s witchy witness protection program. She didn’t want to be reintroduced to the network either. “Lying in wait like snakes in the weeds.”
Katie rubbed her temples. Tonya was their front. Ostensibly, Tonya was the one with the handler—Nathaniel Oman, another sympathizer. Oman knew nothing about Katie and her father. This had been the deal they’d worked with Vernon after Katie’s inquest…and after the keepers had tried to wipe her.
They’d failed. A convex, alpha witch, Katie wasn’t wipeable. No one had known that was possible prior to her. The memory magic had ricocheted off her the same as destructive spells. Her final sentence, the only way to eliminate a wild card like her, had been death.
Hiram Lars had spearheaded that sentence. If the keepers—if Lars—found out she was still alive, they’d never be safe.
“I don’t believe they’d bide their time,” Katie said. “If anyone knew about us, we’d already be dead. However, I did update our go bags.”
Tonya nodded, growing more solemn. “I could have Nathaniel look into a new site.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dad said. “I’m tired of moving. I was dodging coven schemes, human eyeballs and wolf packs a century before you two were even born.” Her father had been a West Coast region elder. “I’m at the tail end of my third pass-through.”
Tonya shot him an evil glance. “Code for senile.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m sharp as a gorram tack. I know who wolf boy is, and you can’t remember somebody you met ten years ago.”
“What do you mean I met him?” Tonya asked. “I don’t forget a face, and I don’t forget someone’s chi.” One of Tonya’s abilities was viewing the chi of witches and wolves, like Katie had joked about with Marcus.
“Dummy,” Dad said. “His face now wouldn’t be the face you saw. You’re not the only one good at camouflage.”
“I’ll look at him with the true eye. It doesn’t take much energy. If we have a history, it’s best we know everything. It will also tell us what kind of man he is.”
“A man who can’t resist dipping his wick.” Dad shook the jar. “That’s what kind of loser he is.”
“Don’t be ugly.
Similar Books
