“So the thing that hit my car and sent me into that ditch was the dark spirit?”
“A dark spirit in a car, yes” Monty said.
“But how is it possible to make an entire car invisible?”
“She was using magic to conceal it.”
“Huh.” She paused. “So, what happens next?”
“Well, first up,” Monty said, “We’re going to the hospital to get you checked over.”
“I’ve already told you—I shifted shape, and I’m perfectly fine.”
“That may well be true,” I said, “but we’ve learned the hard way it’s always better to be safe than sorry after such an accident.”
“So speaks a witch with no real understanding of wolf physiology.”
“That witch,” Monty growled, “just saved your goddamn life, so cut the patronizing crap.”
“And I’ve also been in a serious relationship with Aiden for over six months now,” I added. “So I actually have a pretty good idea about all things wolf.”
“You could never—” She bit the rest of the sentence off and sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or patronizing. But it’s not easy to walk into a situation that’s totally the opposite of what I’d been told to expect. I can only imagine how difficult this all is for you, Liz. In fact, had the situation been reversed, I’m not entirely sure I would have been as understanding and as compassionate.”
“Oh, trust me,” I murmured, “I’m a little bit surprised by it all myself.”
She half laughed. “What happens once the hospital gives me the all-clear then?”
“We’ll take you and Aiden into protective custody,” Monty said.
“Oh, I can just imagine his response to that.”
Her voice was droll, and I couldn’t help smiling. “It doesn’t take any imagination at all, trust me.”
“If this spirit is so bad,” she said. “Why didn’t you just kill it when it was attacking us? I take it that’s what was happening when you had me crouching down beside the car.”
“Because,” Monty said, “she’s not only cunning, but probably stronger magically than either of us.”
Which was true only as long as I didn’t call on the wild magic. But given my growing connection to the wellspring, using it to do anything more than capture the hone-onna was absolutely out of the question. The last thing we wanted or needed was death forever staining the purity of the wild magic.
“Well,” Mia muttered, “that doesn’t fill me with a whole lot of hope.”
“Luckily for you,” I said, “we’re not the only witches on the reservation.”
Monty glanced at me. “You might want to check with Ashworth and Eli first before you start dobbing them in for protection detail.”
“I will, but do you honestly think they’d refuse, given the situation?”
He raised his eyebrows, amusement evident. He knew I wasn’t talking about the hone-onna’s attacks but rather Mia herself. Questions would be asked, both subtly and not.
“But even if they’re unable to help,” I continued, “we still need to talk to them. It was a dark witch who unleashed this hell on us. A royal dark witch.”
Monty’s gaze snapped to mine again. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “I know the council has a register of witches who stray into the dark side of magic, and Ashworth has the connections to arrange a search ASAP.”
“That might take more time than we have, but definitely worth a shot.” He pulled into the hospital parking lot and stopped. “We’ll head in. Do you want to contact Ashworth?”
I nodded, waited until they were safely inside the Emergency Department, and then did so.
“It’s far too early in the afternoon for you to be ringing about an excess of cake,” he said, tone amused, “so that obviously means there’s a problem. Are we talking big or small?”
“Both,” I said with a smile.
“Then you’d better hit me with the smaller one first while I sit down for the other.”
I laughed. “Monty and I just rescued Mia from the hone-onna, and we were wondering if you and Eli could protect her and Aiden for a few days.”
“Mia and Aiden? You’re not setting yourself up for heartbreak much, are you?”
“Aiden swears he would never resume their relationship, and I believe him.”
“Which was a neat sideways step on the heartbreak comment.”
“And you know why.”
He sighed. “I do. But I am at heart a romantic soul who keeps hoping this one will turn out.”
“All good romances eventually do,” I said, keeping my voice deliberately light. “But there’s always a black moment, when the whole thing goes to shit, and there’s never a guarantee that things will work out.”
And sometimes, in the books that were often called romances but were actually love stories, a happy ending definitely wasn’t on the cards. Ever.
Despite all my psi skills, I had absolutely no idea whether my story would in the end be a romance or a love story.
“What’s the second request?” Ashworth said.
“I managed to pick up a bit of the hone-onna’s bone—”
“Did you now,” he cut in. “That is interesting.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because the hone-onna is a spirit—”
“A skeleton spirit, which means they do have bones.”
“A technicality, and one that is actually up for debate. I’ve been reading up on them, and there are many who believe their skeletal presence is no more real than the other forms they can project.”
“They’re real enough to have sex—just ask their victims. And I can absolutely confirm that they do have bones, because when I kicked her leg, it was definitely solid and she definitely yelped.”
“Just because they can attain a form doesn’t mean they can maintain it permanently,” he said. “And let’s be honest here, a mere kick should not have caused a piece of bone to shear off like that. If it did, then it’s because she wished it. I take it you now possess said bone?”
“I do, but why would she deliberately lose a chunk of leg? Surely she couldn’t track me through it?”
“With dark spirits, one never knows, but it is unlikely. Did you get any reaction when you touched it?”
“I did, and that’s the other reason I’m ringing. I saw a woman I suspect is the witch who called the hone-onna into our lives.”
“And that is again very interesting.”
“Because?”
“Because it suggests she might not be a willing participant in this hunt.”
“A summoning is by its very nature a means of bending a dark spirit or a demon to your will. Doesn’t that imply most aren’t willing participants?”
“It depends on the practitioner and the words used in the summoning spell. Those who wish a longer life would never deign to treat spirits or demons as anything less than equals.”
“I’m betting there’s plenty of sorcerers who wouldn’t agree with that statement.”