Page 69 of The Librarian’s Familiar

“It’s building…so I can pull it apart.” He’d never pulled anything quite that large apart, and he didn’t need to take it apart completely. He needed it to lose strength and become more bite-sized. Then the resulting storm would be smaller, and there would be less damage done to the prison wards—assuming that that’s what the storm was targeting.

August shook his head. “You are not going out there on your own.”

“And I am not risking your life.” Charlie didn’t want to risk his either, but he couldn’t sit in the library waiting to see what happened. The sooner he dealt with it, the better.

“August is right, you can’t head out on your own. You don’t know the area, and you don’t look like you know how to survive.” August’s mother gave him a small smile. “Not only that, there are wild animals out there. Having a polar bear with you makes sense…much better than a fox.”

Wow, was that a dig at his fling with Sinclair? Did the entire town know about that? He was never going to live that down. He ignored the sting because she was forgetting that fox shifters were very useful. “Foxes dampen magic. They might be able to help protect the town.”

August’s father snorted. “What are they going to do? Sit around and groom their fur?”

“If that’s how they strengthen their dampening abilities, sure. All witches will be able to attest that when around a fox shifter; their magic is much harder to use.” Polar bears might have the brawn, but foxes were the most magical of all shifters. It used to be believed that a fox could steal a witch’s magic before it was discovered what they actually did.

“You’re assuming they will help.” August’s father didn’t look convinced.

He leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’m not having much luck with the polar bears, either.” His words had more snap than he planned. He hadn’t meant to sound so rude. “I’m sorry. I feel like I am watching a car accident in slow motion and there’s nothing I can do because no one is listening.”

Ever since Shelly had mentioned the lack of birds, his impending doom had been bearing down on him like he was already standing out in the storm.

“I will help you. But we aren’t rushing out into the night unequipped,” August said calmly. “We need to take the time to prepare.”

“I never said we wouldn’t help,” August’s father added gruffly. “Only that there needs to be a plan. You arrived without one, now we have to start. August will gather the supplies and go with you, and we will start to spread the warning.”

“You never did say what you’re going to do once you get out there?” His mother smiled as if it were a perfectly innocent question.

“I’m going to break apart the gathering of magic.” He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt, even though he’d never done anything like it before.

August’s mother looked unconvinced. “I don’t understand how a telekinetic witch can do that?”

Charlie pressed his lips together as he weighed up telling the truth versus continuing the lie. The lie was easy, and he was used to telling it. “It’s like unravelling a ward.”

“Oh.” Her frown deepened.

“A very large and messy ward,” Charlie added, not sure that his description was helping. “And if I could do it from the safety of my living room, I would.”

The last thing he wanted was to be out in the wild wilderness facing down a building magical storm. He didn’t want to do it on his own or with August, as his plan was nothing more than a collection of bad ideas stuck together with hope.

“Right. I’d better pack some food for you both. You’ll be burning a lot of energy even though you’re only a witch.” August’s father picked up his empty plate and disappeared into the kitchen.

His father didn’t seem very friendly, and Charlie wasn’t sure if that was because he was a witch or because he was sleeping with August. Possibly both.

“Don’t worry about the town. You do what you need to. We’ll make sure that people prepare.” She stood and glanced at Charlie’s plate. “Are you going to eat any more?”

“No, it was great, but there was a lot.” A lot for a witch anyway.

Her gaze flicked to August. “Can you clear the table?”

That was very obvious code for her wanting to talk to August in the kitchen.

“I need to make a phone call. Is there somewhere I can do that?” Charlie didn’t want to stand out the front or in the living room, where any shifter could overhear.

“My room is downstairs to the right. There’s a pile of clean bedding on the bed.” August picked up the plates while his mother gathered the glasses.

Charlie gave them a moment, then he got up and went downstairs. It was easy to find August’s room, as it was the one near the stairs, and the light was on. He stepped inside and pushed the door closed.

There were no messages from the Coven on his phone or from his mother. Did no one give a shit? Were they so far away from everything that it didn’t matter what happened?

He took a few seconds to reassure himself that he wasn’t overreacting. The agent had confirmed there was a magical buildup, and even if it didn’t become a storm, it was still a problem.