Clang!
Immediately after the magical burst, a sound filled the room, like someone hitting the world’s largest gong with an asteroid. It didn’t sound like me getting attacked with a death blow.
A man screamed. Then a thud.
Smoke filled my lungs.
Still no pain. No impact. No magical death. Unless a magical death felt like surprise and nothing? That didn’t feel right.
It took my brain longer than it should have to process that something went wrong, and I was still alive. Had Nick missed? Was his magic too low to kill me?
Before he could try another spell, or worse, pick up his gun, I dove behind the armchair beside the couch. The carpet fibers scratched my knees, a glorious reminder that I could feel things because I wasn’t dead yet. I wouldn’t be safe for long, though.
Daring to open my eyes, I expected to see Nick standing above me, gun at the ready. Instead, I noticed a white glow emanating from my ring. The one Katrina protected for me. The glow formed an oval around me in all directions.
I gasped. She’d saved my life!
Tentatively, I reached out a hand toward the barrier. The light gave a bit, but held.
Okay, Aly. Time to get out of here. Katrina had said something about her spells needing renewal. There was still a murderer in the house, and he was probably mad that he’d failed to kill me. I needed to go before he found a better way.
Three steps from the door, the smell of blood hit me. I checked myself all over, but it wasn’t me. Then I realized that Nick hadn’t uttered a sound since that scream. I stopped and turned slowly.
He lay on the ground. His eyes were closed, his chest still moved. There wasn’t a mark on him, just like with Josh.
The blast he sent me must have ricocheted off the shield and bounced back at him. That was one heck of a protective spell. He’d be lucky if it didn’t kill him.
“Could you please put that away? You’re blinding me.”
Lilia’s voice made me jump.
When I looked up, she stood on the other side of Nick’s prone form. “Now you’re here? Gee, thanks for saving me.”
“Sorry, I was on a wild goose chase. Nick made a copy of himself that had me thinking he was halfway to Connecticut. Then it vanished, probably when you knocked him out.” She shook her head. “I should have known better. But seriously, cool trick. Now turn it off.”
“I don’t know how.” Theoretically, I could remove the ring, but did I trust Lilia? Not really.
Maybe the spell was only designed to last a short period or maybe it sensed that the threat to me had passed, because as I finished speaking, the light receded. A moment later, the only sign of my light shield was the golden glow emanating from my ring. It, too, faded the longer I stared at it.
“Looks like maybe you do,” she said. “You should talk to the witch who made it. I don’t know why you’re so salty. You were fine on your own.”
“I got lucky with a magic ring. That’s never happened before. Having another witch here would have been nice.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know what was happening until that ring did—whatever it did. We can’t be everywhere, you know. Only big magics hit my sensors, and that was a big magic.”
On the floor, Nick groaned, reminding me this wasn’t the ideal time for a heart-to-heart chat. Lilia pointed at him. “Sleep.”
The groaning stopped.
“I need to call the human police,” I said. “They need to arrest him for Josh’s murder.”
“What will you tell them?”
That stopped me. “I… I have no idea. That he attacked me, I guess.”
“There’s not a scratch on you. But I’ve got enough to prove that Nick broke the witch’s code, both by killing Josh and shooting magic at you. He’s coming with me. We’ll give him a full trial.”
“As long as the rest of the world is safe from him, that’s good enough for me,” I said. “But what about Josh?”
“The police think it was a heart attack. There’s not enough physical evidence to reopen the investigation. Nick was the murder weapon.”
I sighed. “You’re right. If Nick is locked away and no longer a threat, we might as well let the family believe it was a heart attack.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “You’ve got good instincts, Aly. If you ever want a job with the OME, let me know.”
That made me smile. “Thanks, but I think I’m ready to try the quiet life for a bit.”
“I understand. Still, I owe you.”
“If you could just return Mary now, I’d appreciate it.”
“Oh, right. No problem. I think she’s learned her lesson about bringing people back to life.” Leaning over, she touched my hand. “I’ll just take this back.”
A tingle moved down my arm, and I realized that the extra power she’d gifted me had been temporary. Too bad.
“I’ll miss that. Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
“No problem. Now, I really must get this guy off to jail before he wakes up.” Before I could reply, Lilia vanished with Nick.
A second later, Mary appeared in the spot they’d vacated. A rush of relief went through me. All this time, part of me worried that Lilia wouldn’t keep her word and return her safely.
She wrapped me in a tight hug that ended just this side of awkward. When we parted, I looked her up and down. Other than some shadows under her eyes, she looked more or less the same as the last time I saw her. “Are you okay?”
“Great now,” she said. “Thanks for saving me.”
I glanced at the ring on my right hand, which seemed to have lost some of its sparkle. One hundred percent, this ring was the only reason I was still alive. Katrina had saved me. “Don’t thank me. If it wasn’t for your sister, we’d both be in big trouble right now.”
“Sounds like we’re a good team, after all.” Mary yawned. “Who would have guessed?”
I snorted. “Maybe you should have trusted me earlier.”
She nodded. “You may be right. I’m going back to Kevin’s. Want me to bring you along?”
“I thought you lost your magic.”
“It was very, very low, but I’m fully restored now. Not sure if Lilia helped with that or not. At least I can teleport again. That was always my favorite part. Come on, you’ll love it.”
I shook my head. “Thanks, but my car is out front. Go tell Kevin and Katrina what happened. I’ll see everyone later.”
“Suit yourself.” She vanished.
As soon as I got to my car, I pulled out my phone. Now that Mary had been avenged, it was high time I figured out my love life.