Page 72 of The Sasquatch and the Hairdresser

He’s quite remarkable in the way that no one and nothing intimidates him.

“Actually, I have to agree with Skylar and Kassiel,” Emrys chimes in. “Hiring a mage could be a valuable protective measure for the short term. And I do believe it would make everyone feel safer about staying in town and attending the festival too.”

I pull my phone out of my apron pocket and send a quick text to Astraea. Her input on this amazing new suggestion Skylar has offered up is important.

“Aren’t there any mages in Mystic Hollow?” Jayden asks.

Sylvia shakes her head, long beard swaying. “Not in a long time.”

“Small-town life doesn’t suit most mages.” I don’t miss a note of bitterness in my friend’s voice, which makes me concerned about how badly Baxter was hurt in his past. “They usually want to be where the excitement and action are happening.”

Kassiel nods in agreement. “Adrenaline junkies of the magically gifted variety, to be sure.”

There’s a loud crack of thunder and a bright flash of light as Astraea arrives, dragon-style, on a bolt of lightning. This time, I manage to keep my heart from racing too much. By golly, I do believe I’m getting used to her favorite form of arrival.

“Was that really necessary, darling?” Kassiel asks, blinking rapidly, probably to get rid of the spots in his eyes if that lightning impacted him the way it did me.

Astraea narrows her eyes at him. “Yes. This is something that can’t wait.” She turns to Skylar and grins. “Hal texted me about your proposal. Have I told you that you’re fucking brilliant?”

Skylar’s cheeks pinken. “Um, thanks? I wasn’t sure if you’d considered the mage option before, but I figured I should bring it up just in case.”

Astraea strides forward and pulls him to his feet, then yanks him into a fierce mama bear hug. “I could kiss you, dear. Thank you.” She lets him go and he looks dazed but pleased. “The stress of things lately has really thrown me off my game. I can’t believe I never considered the damn mage angle.”

“We’re better off finding your son than some mage,” Baxter grumbles.

I do a double take and frown. This isn’t like him.

“I don’t know what happened in the past, but I’m here for you if you ever need to talk,” I say, giving him a supportive smile.

Baxter looks away and murmurs, “Thanks, Hal.”

Astraea redirects the conversation. “My son’s still MIA, so I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon. In the meantime, Skylar’s idea is a fantastic temporary measure to keep the magic under control,” Astraea replies, giving Baxter a stern look of warning.

Baxter growls in annoyance but says no more.

“I thought the magic could only be controlled by your son?” The tone of confusion in Jayden’s voice mirrors my own. “How could a mage help?”

Astraea takes a seat and props her boot-clad feet on the table.

“A mage won’t be able to end the magic instability, but they could bring the situation under short-term control,” Astraea explains. “Mages are a rare class of beings. They, like other half-fae beings, possess the ability to tap into the magical ley lines in this world. The magic in the Terran Realm was created millennia ago through the joint efforts of dragons and fae. Although I connected the node that powers Mystic Hollow’s protective magic to my son, there are ways the node’s power can be manipulated to our purposes.” She sighs. “What we need is a mage who can cast and maintain barrier magic, a type of fae magic that will weaken the effects of instability for a time.”

“Won’t that cut off the town’s protective magic though?” I glance anxiously at Skylar, worried about how he might react to that possibility.

To my relief, apart from stiffening a little, he seems fairly calm.

“To a large extent, yes,” Astraea says. “That’s why we need a mage who has the power to simultaneously cast a protective barrier around the town.”

Skylar frowns. “I’m confused. Why would we need separate barriers. Wouldn’t one over the town be enough?”

“It’s complicated,” Astraea admits. “The node that powers the magical protection already in place is part of a larger ley line. Ley line energy continues to flow to and through it. Erecting one barrier over the town without containing the node could end up creating a kind of magical backlash. First, we need to cut off power to the node. A barrier that acts like a magical tourniquet, if you will. But that means the node’s protective spell for the town will also be cut off. That’s why we need a second barrier. A mage can easily tap into another part of the ley line to achieve that.”

“That’s a tall order. Finding a mage with that amount of skill and power is tricky,” Emrys says, shaking his head.

Kassiel brushes some nonexistent fluff off his suit lapel. “I doubt there are more than half a dozen mages with that level of mastery in this realm.”

Astraea’s eyes flare, but she doesn’t disagree.

“We’re looking for a fucking unicorn,” Baxter grumbles.