“Does that have anything to do with needing Rayna?” she asked.
“Possibly. Oh, and don’t be surprised if Margo starts bugging the firm about buying the shop. Who else is here?” She knew I meant witches.
“The whole coven. Why?”
“Call them in, please. This will be a good exercise for them. Plus, they probably need to know about it anyway.”
We got to the conference room. Sam pointed us toward Marla, who was setting up coffee and tea at the credenza-turned-coffee-bar at the back. “I’ll go get the others, they’re up on the roof.”
No one recalled whose idea it was to set up a training area on the rooftop of the building, but it was working out exceptionally well. Together, the firm’s five witches had spelled it so it was not only hidden from any of the taller buildings around, but also lightly shaded to combat the intense Louisiana heat. They had even set up a small garden area with dozens of potted plants and herbs and three large raised garden beds which doubled for growing ingredients for potions and provided a pleasant space in which to relax during breaks. Either Clyde or Dutch practiced self defense classes up there twice a week with them, along with any other of the firm’s employees who were interested in learning. The rest of the time, they used it for honing their magick and learning to work as a team. Tess had once jokingly called them the firm’s personal coven and somehow the moniker had stuck. The firm’s shifters even addressed them as that, but more importantly, their employment with the firm was slowly bringing two factions of the paranormal community—who had previously kept themselves almost completely separate from one another—together.
While Rand took a seat further down the table to allow all of the witches to sit at my end, I grabbed a napkin from the coffee bar and dumped the jewelry on it. Rayna leaned over to look at it.
“Oh, those are gorgeous. What are we doing with them?”
“When everyone else gets down here, I want to see if any of you can detect magick on these pieces, both individually and as a team. Then, I want to see if we can nullify all or part of it. I’m hoping your purification magick will help.”
She tilted her head, her expression pensive. “I don’t see why not. Let me think about what kind of spell that would take.”
I looked up gratefully as a cup of coffee was set in front of me. “Thanks, Marla.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am.” She gave me a reserved smile at my exaggerated wince. It had become something of a joke after I’d asked her not to call me ‘Madame.’ She went back for another cup, placing it in front of Rand. He winked at her as he thanked her. She arched a stern brow at him and turned away to get the teapot ready for anyone wanting something other than coffee. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the jewelry, inspecting the clasp.
“Marla, do you know if there’s a loupe or even a magnifying glass around here?”
She straightened, considering my question. “If there isn’t, I’ll arrange for one to be here within the next ten minutes. Would that be sufficient?” At my nod, she left the room. The woman was nothing if not efficient.
“You do know we’re all still trying to figure out what she is, right? She can’t possibly be one hundred percent human.” Rayna kept her voice low, her eyes on the door. Marla had hearing that rivaled that of the sharpest-eared shifters in the building.
“So I heard. Let me know when you figure it out.” When we’d first met her, Marla was the front desk person for the firm and we’d been sure she was human. She didn’t show up as anything more than that in my Sight, but I’d discovered that didn’t always mean anything in this world.
I looked up as the rest of the coven filed in, Sam right behind them. They greeted me, looked curiously at Rand, though they were mostly used to him by now, and grabbed what they wanted from the coffee bar before seating themselves.
Sitting back in my chair, I waited until Sam shut the door and everyone’s attention was on me before I launched into the explanation about why I was here. The coven knew about the pixies and had agreed to keep their existence a secret until they were given express permission otherwise. If I’d expected to see any surprise when I told them about the water fae and their situation, I would have been sorely disappointed. By the time I got to my visit to Margo’s shop, the outrage in the room was palpable.
When I finished, I spread my hands. “Thoughts, ladies?”
They all started speaking at once. Sam cleared her throat and they immediately fell silent. “Let’s just go around the table.” She pointed to Ruthann, one of the hedge witches.
“Margo is dangerous. None of us go near her shop, not since your aunt leased it to her.” Ruthann’s voice quavered indignantly. She was a tiny, dark-skinned woman with a shock of closely shorn, nearly white hair and large, soulful eyes. She was well-spoken, appeared to be in her mid-to-late fifties, and had proven herself formidable since she joined the coven. As a hedge witch, her specialty was potions, but she knew some offensive magick, too.
“How is she dangerous?” I asked.
Selma, the other hedge witch in the group, answered. “Your aunt used to supply the majority of the ingredients we use in our potions and spells. When Margo took over, we were assured
