“You had Blueberry in your bra?”
She shrugged. “He gets cold. And after the incident with the seed beads, I was not leaving him home alone.” She gave him a little nudge with her finger. “Psst. Blueberry, wake up.”
He rolled over and rounded into a ball.
She leaned in. “Hey, I need you. I’ll give you a cookie.”
He sat up.
She turned her hand so that he faced the house. “I need you to do a little fly-by and see if there’s a man in that house. Dark hair, glasses, tallish. Can you do that?”
Blueberry stood up and nodded, giving her a sharky little grin with all his pointed teeth showing. He fluttered his wings for good measure.
“Good. Thank you.”
He hovered over her palm for a moment, then zipped off, leaving a thin trail of blue shimmer behind him that disappeared like sparks going out.
Undrea leaned against a tree. “You sure Nina won’t notice him? All that imp magic flitting around her house?”
Mattie grinned. “She might be a powerful witch, but Blueberry’s an imp. He’s not a human with magic; he’s all magic. He trumps her. You get what I’m saying?”
Undrea nodded, hooking her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans. “Yes. And good. Because I’m tired of feeling like she’s one-upping me.”
“I hear you.”
Less than a minute later, Blueberry came flying back to them. Mattie held out her hand, and he landed. “So?” she asked. “Did you see the man?”
Before he could answer, the lights blazed to life again in the house, and the muted sound of a loud voice filtered through the evening air.
In full view of them, Ethan came down the stairs, brows bent, jawline tight. “Nina, answer me.”
She stood up from the area of the sunken living room, turned, and answered him. Her voice was too quiet for them to hear.
“Blueberry,” Mattie whispered. “Amplify.”
He lifted off her palm again, hovering about a foot above their heads. When he spoke, it was with Nina’s voice. “Ethan, you’re not well. You need to be in bed.”
Ethan’s scowl showed how well Nina’s answer went over. “Where is my backpack? It has my laptop and my notebook in it. And my phone.”
She put her hands on her hips. Blueberry became her voice again. “My only concern was you, not your things. They must still be at the fish girl’s house. I’ll get them for you in the morning. Unless you’re concerned that she’d steal your ideas.”
Ethan frowned. “That’s not what I’m saying.” He looked around. “Bowie. Here, boy.”
Undrea leaned toward Mattie. “Bowie’s the cat.”
“Right.” She nodded.
Ethan glared at Nina. “Where’s Bowie?”
From the rise and fall of her chest, it was easy to see Nina sigh. Blueberry continued to speak her words. “He’s still at the fish girl’s, too. He wouldn’t come to me. I’ll get him in the morning, too. I told you he was here because I didn’t want you to worry. Now, please. Go back to bed. You’re only going to work yourself up and—”
Ethan came down the last few steps. “I’m going back to Undrea’s.”
Undrea sucked in a breath and grabbed Mattie’s arm.
“Ethan.” Nina’s voice came through loud and clear on its own that time. It held a stern warning. Or maybe threat was a better word.
“No, Nina. I’m done. I told you that. I’m not staying here.”
“Yes, Ethan. You are.” She raised her hand toward him. “Egin eta ahaztu.”
He froze in place. Then collapsed, out of sight. Nina ran toward him.
“That’s not Latin,” Mattie said. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds old. And vaguely European.”
“Man dead?” Blueberry asked.
“He’d better not be,” Undrea answered, her heart in her throat. “Or the lady’s going to wish she never stepped foot in my town.” She looked at Mattie. “We have to do something. Nina just knocked him out again.”
Mattie nodded. “It’s time to visit Corette. I’m not sure Nina isn’t something more than just a witch.”
Undrea frowned. “Like what?”
Mattie stared at the house. “I don’t know. I’m hoping Corette can help us figure that out.”
“Are you sure it’s safe to leave Ethan here?”
“We don’t have much choice. Besides, if she wanted to hurt him, he’d already be hurt. They’ve been together for two years, after all. I’m pretty sure she needs him alive.”
“I hope so.”
Mattie offered a thin smile, meant to comfort, Undrea thought. “All she’s doing is incapacitating him. Keeping him from leaving. Until we know what we’re dealing with, we could end up incapacitated too.”
“But we’re not human. Well, I’m not.”
“No, you’re not. But your gifts don’t affect women, so you’re less powerful than I am in this situation.”
Undrea did not want to leave Ethan there, but she had no choice. She pushed away from the tree she’d been leaning on. “You drive. I’ll call Pandora and get her to meet us at her mom’s.”
“Okay.” Mattie held her hand out. “Blueberry, let’s go.”
He landed on her palm. “Cookies now?”
“No, nap now. Cookies when we get home.” She tucked him back into her bra.
Undrea started through the woods back to the car. Her friend was transporting an imp in her brassiere, but even that wasn’t enough to get her mind off Ethan.
What did Nina want with him? Was it his money? Undrea knew that could be a powerful draw for some women, but her gut said there was more to it than that.
She just didn’t know what. And she wasn’t sure how to find out.
If Corette couldn’t help them, Undrea would have to find another way to rescue Ethan. She was in too deep now. She couldn’t just let Nina have her witchy ways with him.
But what could Undrea do? Her skills weren’t designed for use on land. Her heart sank, and she trudged back to the car, unable to feel anything but defeated.
Corette looked over the rim of her elegant porcelain teacup at Undrea, Mattie, and Pandora. They were all sitting in her lovely living room. Stanhill, her husband, had prepared tea and a generous plate of cookies for them, although he’d disappeared after bringing the refreshments out. “You’re sure that’s what she said? Those were her exact words?”
Mattie nodded and repeated the phrase they’d heard Nina use.
Pandora made a face. “Do you know what it means, Mom?”
Corette didn’t respond immediately. Instead, her delicate brows bent, and she seemed lost in thought for a moment, her gaze on her teacup. “I don’t. And the language seems…not exactly archaic but definitely old.”
Finally, she looked up at Undrea. “I apologize, but I haven’t had a chance to research her properly. I got as far as running her name through the American Council of Witches database when a bride texted me in the middle of a panic attack about her dress.”
Undrea tipped her head. “What kind of panic attack happens over a dress?”