“Is that—” I started.
Jeremy nodded vigorously, his grin mischievous. “Dat building looks down on Margo’s. Jus’ watch.”
He enlarged the view, zoning in on the front of the shop. Margo walked out, clutching a pendant hanging from her neck. She cast a wary look around to see if anyone was watching and spun in a slow circle. She stopped, facing in the direction of the building the view came from. Jeremy enlarged the picture again and I could see the woman’s face scrunched in confusion. She spun around again, stopping once more in the same direction. Her eyes narrowed, she studied the sidewalk and the people walking by. Slowly her gaze traveled up the building. There was a moment of dizzying movement as the shifter with the necklace backed away from the ledge, out of sight from anyone below. Jeremy turned the phone off.
“He’s not in any danger, is he,” I whispered.
Rand turned his mouth to my ear and asked, “Why are you whispering?” His soft breath sent delicious shivers down my neck and back. I smacked his arm. He chuckled, not looking even slightly put off.
“She perfectly safe. Jeremy watches out fer his peoples. Two more shifters, dey be close by, jus’ in case. She lead dat Margo on a good chase, she did. Right up ‘til she get da call from dat man.” His laugh was humorless. “She no happy now.”
Good. It served her right. But the information gleaned from this definitely helped, at least a little. She was using a piece of jewelry to track with. Did that one pendant track everything from the store, though? Or just certain things, like jewelry? How closely was she tied to the Paragons? The trackers they used were tech, not magickal. It seemed like Margo wouldn’t be safe working with them, if they really were witch hunters. Surely, she had to know that.
When I mentioned this to Rand and Jeremy, Rand shrugged. “When I was overseas, I saw people used like this all the time. The enemy would offer them huge rewards in some cases, or nothing more than a promise of safety in others, to get them to turn their own in. Or worse.” His face darkened with the memories. “Almost every time, the enemy did a complete clean-up when they were done. Everyone thought it wouldn’t happen to them, that they were smarter, special, whatever. Rarely was an informant left alive or used again. Chances are, these Paragons will do the same with Margo when they’re done.”
Shuddering when I realized what he’d meant by ‘clean-up,’ I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling cold.
“Come on, they’re waiting for us,” he said gently.
I looked up to see Sam and Tess watching us. Sam gave a pointed look at the plant Rand held, then lifted a brow. I pointed at Trina, who stood next to Rayna on the deck, still talking to a blushing Cappy. The others must have gone below deck to explore. Sam frowned, looking at the two witches.
I stepped on board, Rand and Jeremy right behind me. I twisted around and saw the loose overshirt Rand wore gape slightly, revealing the sidearm he wore in some kind of shoulder holster getup over his t-shirt. I was already feeling the weight of this trip coming down hard; that just added a few more pounds.
“Do I want to know?” Sam asked quietly. She eyed the plant, then the spot I had focused on Rand’s shirt.
Which was she referring to? I went with the plant. “Zara thought it would make Trina more comfortable. She didn’t say why.”
“Oh, I get it,” Tess said. “Danai and I covered this. Trina’s an elemental witch. Since her element is earth, she’ll be able to use the dirt in the pot, and even the plant itself to ground her magick. No pun intended.”
She was a step ahead of me, at least. “That makes sense.” I watched as Rand positioned the plant in a protected corner on the deck, next to a cushioned bench. Trina immediately made her way over to it and sat, her fingers trailing over the leaves. I could see the tension leaving her body.
“Will Selma and Ruthann be okay?” Sam, being, well, Sam, had already realized that Rayna and Willa would be fine.
Danai and Sebastian appeared from below deck, saving me from admitting I didn’t know the answer to that. “With the rest of us here, they will be fine. If it comes down to it, Roxanne’s magick will ground them.”
Speaking of magick, I reached for my knitting bag.
“Do I even want to ask why you thought you’d have time to knit, Rox?” Tess asked. “Is it a stress thing?”
“If only. Maybe we should do this below deck.” I didn’t expect that any curious onlookers would see what I was going to do as anything out of the ordinary, but I’d feel better away from the open deck. We filed down the stairs, motioning for Rayna and Willa to follow. It would be a bit of a tight fit for all of us in the kitchen and forecabin area. Jeremy and Cappy remained behind, to watch for the water fae.
As soon as everyone was situated, I began pulling Items out of my bag. The pixies, sitting along the top of one of the cupboards watched in silence as I handed Tess, Danai, and the other five witches identical necklaces. The women began murmuring to one another as they looked them over.
“Ooh, Rox, you shouldn’t
