With that somewhat under control, I focused on wrestling Ludolf to submission. With a final wrench, he lay panting in my choke hold. Between clenched teeth, I whispered to him, “I had the royal healers brew up a batch of potion based on all the recipes you used to try to ‘cure’ shifters. You know—all the ones that backfired and trapped them in their second forms.”
I spoke between gritted teeth. “We’re going to walk on out of the sewers with you, and no one’s going to stop us, not even your personal guard. Your own secrecy about your second form means no one even knows you’re a heron shifter.” I smirked as he struggled harder in my arms. “Your own sick desire for a cure—oof—and your own shame about who you are, are going to be your undoing, Ludolf Caterwaul.”
In all the court cases I’d won, in all the murders I’d helped solve, I’d never felt more vindicated and triumphant. Take that, Ludolf!
I glanced up, panting, as the witches continued to wail their alarm. Then again—we still had to get out of the sewers alive. I lifted my head and looked toward Horace and the prince and princess. “Uh, guys—what’s the plan?”
Francis, in a whirl of black smoke, dropped out of bat form and hovered beside the three witches. With a wave of his hand, they all collapsed facedown on their tables, unconscious.
He sighed in the now near silence. “That’s better.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure the alarm they sounded has the entire shifter army descending on us any moment.”
The real Neo, hands still in the air, nodded. “They’re coming.” He gave me a long look. “We’ll help you.”
Ludolf, in heron form, writhed under me. “And—oof—why should we trust you?”
Francis drifted over, the black toes of his shoes dangling above the stone ground. He rolled his wrist, and a large burlap sack appeared in his hands at the same time that a rubber band magically wrapped itself around the heron’s beak. Together we stuffed Ludolf, in bird form, into the sack, and Francis pinched the opening closed as inside, the bird writhed and flapped his wings.
I huffed and straightened, dusting off my jeans and jacket. I nodded at Francis. “Thanks.”
“Guys?” Sacha’s deep voice cut through the silence. He glanced behind him. “They’re nearly here.”
37
A RED HERON
Viktor chittered and twitched, and Sacha stepped closer, muttering gentle words to him until he quieted a bit.
Neo started toward me, but the prince stepped in front of him, blocking his way. Neo shot him a heavy look, then addressed me over the prince’s shoulder. “You don’t have much choice. They’re going to be here any second.” He raised his dark brows. “Darkmoonies stick together, right?”
I stared at him a long time. We’d successfully trapped Ludolf—was our whole plan really going to hinge on me trusting my old frenemy from the orphanage? I crossed my arms and shot him a sassy look. “What do you propose?”
“They’re close,” Sacha cautioned, his thick palms still raised.
The prince and princess exchanged worried glances, but Horace just gave a lazy blink. “Let them come.”
Princess Imogen flashed her eyes at him. “I’d rather not get involved in another battle royale, thank you.”
I frowned. Another? Was baking a more hazardous job than I realized?
Neo pointed at the three unconscious old witches. “They sounded the alarm; we need to hide them. I don’t know how, but I’ll try to explain why Ludolf and the witches aren’t here and why royalty is.” He frowned, clearly worried.
I shook my head and took the writhing sack containing Ludolf from Francis. I used both hands and dragged it across the ground till I reached Neo. “You mess this up or betray us, and we’re all going down. Capisce?”
He gave me a small grin, as he looked me up and down. “Yeah, Jolene, capisce.”
I rolled my eyes as I shoved the sack at him. “And stop looking at me like that.”
He blushed a little but passed Ludolf over to Sacha, who handled the writhing sack with barely any effort. I turned to the prince, princess, and Horace. “You three pose as the old witches.” I spun to the vampire. “Hide the real witches outside the back entrance so they’re out of sight.”
I turned to Neo. “And you pretend you’ve apprehended me. Go!”
Thunderous steps echoed down the tunnels as Ludolf’s army approached, and we all dashed to our places. Francis whisked himself and the three unconscious hags out of sight, the other three took on the witches’ appearances and their places at the tables, and the shocked Neo, Sacha, and Viktor pretended to hold me captive.
I hoped they were pretending. If not, I was about to find myself in the middle of a battle royale, as the princess had put it, without any powers or way of defending myself.
Soon, burly men and buff ladies in a hodgepodge of DIY armor charged down the narrow tunnel toward us. They could only walk one or two abreast, so the line of them seemed to stretch back endlessly. My heart pounded in my chest as I recognized the enormous lion shifter who’d tried to attack Sam Snakeman. I gulped as we locked eyes and his lips parted in a snarl.
A short but wide dude with a shaved head and leather chest plate stomped up to us. He glared at Neo, then past us at the three witches—our friends in disguise.
“Where’s Ludolf?” He narrowed his eyes at Neo. “We heard the alarm.”
Neo’s throat bobbed, and I willed myself not to look at the sack in Sacha’s hands. Ludolf was close by—just in heron form.
Neo ran a hand over his slicked-back black hair and shrugged. “Ludolf? We were just heading to see him.” He elbowed me, a little too hard for my liking. I glared at him. “We apprehended this one trying to sneak around the Darkmoon.”
The short guy got in my face. “The little thief, huh?”
The guards behind him chuckled.
“Ludolf’s
