Calling on my magic, I let a little power flow and crackle over my fingertips. “Wanna try me, wolf boy?”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I won’t bother you or them.”
The second he turned to walk out the door, I spellcast a stinging hex, hitting him square on his butt. Dash yelped and jumped, and I fought hard to hold in my giggles.
Mug, Nug, and Bug buzzed around my head until I called them to order. “Please do your best to keep your shenanigans down to a minimum,” I begged.
Mug threw back his minuscule shoulders and saluted me. He elbowed Nug who followed suit. With a tiny “Hmph,” Bug did the same.
Knowing a little about fae courtesy, I performed an awkward salutation that came across as half a bow and a poor curtsy. “Thank you.”
The three pixies returned to their duties with a better attitude and less glass breaking. Lucky caught me at the door before I left.
“Normally, I wouldn’t encourage trying to keep any of them in line with a wee lie. But if it keeps those roguish buggers from destroying all my things, then I owe you a debt of gratitude,” the leprechaun gushed.
I assured him I really did want to protect my guests and keep them out of trouble. “Oh, and thank you for helping to keep Aunt Nora in line.”
The leprechaun’s smile disappeared. “That woman is a foul wind ready to blow destruction through here.” He shivered once, then clasped my hands in his. “You make sure you take good care of your grandmother. We need her back as soon as possible.”
Dash scowled at me when I made it outside. “You didn’t have to actually hex me, did you?”
“Hey, it was your idea to put on the show. Thanks for the help.” As I collected Ben to go to my house, a terrible idea struck me. “Any chance you want to put your conniving ways to good use one more time today?”
Dash rubbed his behind like it still hurt, but his smile gave away his enthusiasm. “Depends. Will the results of said mission result in causing some trouble?”
“Oh, yeah. Especially for a very special someone.” I wiggled my eyebrows in play. “Are you in or are you out, Channing?”
“We’re calling each other by our last names now, huh?” Rolling his neck from side to side, he cracked his bones and leveled me with an amused gaze. “Okay, Goodwin. I’m in.”
Dash rode his motorcycle behind Ben’s car to my house. We didn’t need any conjured light orbs to make our way to the porch since every single light blazed into the night sky. I wondered what method I’d need to use to teach the pixies to keep my electricity bill from rocketing out of control.
“I’m still unclear as to what it is you’re looking for,” the shifter commented as we walked onto my front porch.
“Honestly, so are we,” Ben replied. He gave the breakdown of Lady Eveline’s claims that Tipper had stolen and then hidden the important town documents. “Allegedly,” he added at the end.
“Nice clarification, advocate,” I teased. Taking in the enormity of the property, I ignored the doubt permeating my hope.
As if sensing my needs, Peaches bounded up the stairs with a little purry chirp and weaved herself in and around my ankles. I crouched down and scratched her little head.
Dash leaned against the post at the top of the stairs. “Why don’t you just do your thing to find whatever it is?” He glared at my kitty when she leaped onto the nearby railing and demanded attention from him. Giving in, he stroked her fur with his fingers.
“Whatever we’re going to do, we need to stop stalling. Don’t forget that once we’ve found the covenant, I still have to interpret it to the best of my abilities,” Ben explained. “I’d like to sleep at some point tonight.”
“You know, this could be completely pointless. Tipper wasn’t exactly the most reliable source, especially as he got older.” Memories of my great-uncle flooded my head, and I waded through them with fondness and regret. “He could have been exaggerating with Lady Eveline.”
Ben thought about my assertion but disagreed. “Sure, Tip was full of malarkey at the best of times. But he was pretty wily from what I remember, especially when it came to town politics and his rivalry with Hollis.”
I scoffed. “He would have absolutely hated what Aunt Nora’s tried to do too many times. Maybe it’s time for Honeysuckle to consider letting all the council positions be elected ones.”
“Don’t be scared that you might have to step up one day,” Dash said. “You’ll make an incredible leader.”
His confidence in me took me by surprise. “That’s never been one of my life goals.”
“Sometimes the better leaders are the ones who didn’t want to lead in the first place.” The wolf shifter looked out over the darkened field in front of my house, no doubt thinking about his own position with his pack.
I shook off my melancholy and clapped my hands together. “Let’s do this.” Opening the front door, I led our small group inside to the foyer. “I truly hope I didn’t manage to trash anything important when I first moved in.”
“Where do you want to start?” Ben asked.
“Let me try something.” I closed my eyes and repeated the same spell I’d used at the advocate office. Casting my magic out, I waited for any of the signs that we were in the right place.
A thin golden thread stretched away from me, wavering in and out of focus. I walked with tentative steps, stopping whenever it disappeared. The heavy steps of my two companions followed behind me, and I attempted to grab onto the thread and tether it to me.
At the bottom of the steps, the thread divided into two. “That’s never happened before,” I muttered under my breath.
Choosing the stronger of the
