Page 78 of The Librarian’s Familiar

That was his hint to shut the fuck up. He punched in the phone number, with no idea who he was calling, only that the other person was going to be expecting the call.

“Hello? Who is this?” the man on the other end asked. His voice was gruff.

“Charlie gave me your number. He asked that you send a fox or two to the location I’m going to text you. We need them to help break a storm.”

“And you are? How do I know this isn’t a false lead?”

Charlie reached out his hand.

August put the phone on speaker and held it near Charlie, hoping it didn’t distract him too much.

Charlie gave a single nod. “This is Agent Quinlan. Send the foxes because I don’t have the strength to stop it entirely.”

“I need the foxes here. There are plenty in town,” the man said.

“They’re protecting the town…and they’re civilians. I need to get the upper hand. Give me them to me for an hour,” Charlie said, but it sounded as though he were pleading, and August had the distinct impression that if Charlie hadn’t broken the storm in an hour, there was going to be nothing more he could do. “Please.”

The man was silent for what felt like hours but was only a handful of seconds. “If I send them now and you fail, they will be caught out in it.”

August glanced up at the thickening clouds. They were going to be caught in it.

“If I fail, we are all going to be caught in it and the repercussions of the prison being hit.”

“Fine. Expect relief in twenty minutes.” The man ended the call.

“Can you keep this up for another twenty minutes?” Looking at the clouds and the way the weather had turned. August wasn’t sure they had twenty minutes before they were going to be hit.

“We’re going to find out, aren’t we?” Charlie’s face was grim, and August didn’t need the bond to tell him how dire the situation was.

“What can I do?”

“Find a way to get me closer.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The threads of magic kept twisting and turning to make it harder for Charlie to grab, but every time he got one, a little more of the storm unraveled. He sensed it growing overhead, but he didn’t care about the magic above him. He cared about the storm that the witch wanted him to ignore.

The witch was trying to distract him with this personal storm, and Charlie had taken the bait just enough that the witch wasn’t paying attention to what else he was doing. But it meant he was tackling the storm on two fronts, and it was far more difficult than he’d expected.

While he didn’t want to involve others in this battle, he didn’t know what else to do. August’s concern flowed through the bond, but he didn’t want to draw on him either. He didn’t want to weaken the only help he had.

“Closer,” August said softly, not understanding that the closer he was, the easier it would be for him to undo the main storm.

They didn’t need to be stealthy now the witch had located them. Perhaps they should’ve taken the quad bike…but that would’ve attracted attention sooner, and he’d wanted time to feel around before the witch found them.

He heard August rustling around but paid him little attention. He needed to keep picking and pulling and unraveling even though his temples throbbed and he was sure he tasted the metallic edge of the storm.

Drops of rain stung his face, cold and sharp.

August shoved his arms into a coat, and Charlie let him. He let him do it up and pull up the hood. Not that it mattered as he was facing the weather. August forced him to take another bite of the terrible chewy thing, and then a drink of water, before he moved away to do something else. He couldn’t pay attention to his mate and two storm fronts.

How long has it been since the phone call?

He lost a few threads, and the witch strengthened the storm overhead. He wanted to reach out to see if he could sense the foxes, but he was already spread too thin.

August returned. He shoved something into the pockets of the coat, and Charlie wanted to yell at him to leave him alone and let him concentrate. His lips moved, but no words came out.

Talking took energy.