me when I say it’s time to stop. Things have to change.”
The young man stiffened and even the easygoing Tony was now frowning. The room had gotten extremely quiet as they all waited for Étienne’s decision.
A hard knock banged against the wooden front door. We all jumped at the sound. Wands appeared a heartbeat later, sending me surging to my feet to stop any kind of preemptive attack. I was hoping it was Gideon, and he didn’t much care for having spells slung at him. The kids needed his help and pissing him off before getting him inside wasn’t a good first step.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I said in a harsh whisper, holding my hands up while sliding in front of the door. “We’re going for inconspicuous here. Wands down. Let’s aim for normal and then go from there.”
It was with a great deal of reluctance that the wands were lowered, but no one put their wand away. Maybe I was jealous that they had their wands on hand. Gods knew that I was dying to hold mine, but I would have to make do until I got back to my apartment.
I lifted my right hand and held it in front of the door, pulling up a spell to tell me exactly how many people stood on the other side of the door. When the spell revealed only one person, I sighed with relief. One I could handle.
“Who’s there?” I called.
“Gideon,” the cold, familiar voice snapped back. “Open the damn door.”
As I grasped the doorknob, I looked back at the kids. Alice had stepped in front of James, while the rest were spread about the room. All had matching grim expressions. They didn’t trust Gideon, and I couldn’t blame them. He was a member of the Towers to them. Opening the door, I stepped back so Gideon could enter. He didn’t get far. The warlock took one step forward, his eyes immediately landing on the kids spread about the small, dingy room.
“Shit,” he whispered, his shoulders slumping. Yeah, that was pretty much my thought. A second later, Gideon wrapped his fists in my polo shirt and threw me against the nearest wall. He held me pinned there, his lean face twisted with rage. “You promised me you weren’t talking to them! You said you would stay away!”
I opened my mouth to start shouting back at him when the point of a wand dug into Gideon’s cheek. “Release him,” Étienne said in a voice stripped of all emotion. I had little doubt that he’d remove Gideon’s head without a hint of remorse if he failed to obey. Unfortunately, I could see the anger in Gideon’s eyes being transferred from me to Étienne, which wouldn’t do the young man any good. I had spent the past several years putting up with Gideon’s abuse. I could take it. Étienne didn’t need it.
As soon as Gideon released me, I slid between him and Étienne, holding them apart. “Étienne, put your wand away,” I ordered. The teen hesitated, glaring at Gideon. “Do it! You’re not helping anyone. Gideon isn’t going to kill me.” Yet. I had a feeling that the warlock was positively itching to strangle me with his bare hands, but he’d wait for now. When Étienne grudgingly lowered his wand, Gideon took a step back, putting some space between him and his opponent.
A low meow broke the tense silence. I looked down to see Sofie slide through the open front door. She padded in, rubbing against my pants leg and then Gideon’s as her keen eyes darted about the room.
“Oh! What a lovely kitty cat!” Alice squealed. She rushed forward, scooped up the large Russian-blue cat, and held her pressed against her chest.
“Put me down, child!” the cat shouted, startling Alice, but she didn’t drop her. Instead, she looked up at Gideon, while brushing her cheeks lovingly against Sofie’s head. It was all I could do not to snicker.
“Is the cat your familiar? I was told we don’t have familiars.”
“I am not a familiar!” Sofie cried indignantly, starting to squirm. I was grateful she hadn’t started using her claws yet.
Reaching over, I pushed the door closed and locked it. “Sofie’s a witch that has been turned into a cat.”
Alice gave a little shout and dropped the cat as if it had suddenly burst into flames. The girl backed up, moving in front of her brother. In fact, everyone in the room seemed a little tenser, knowing that they were now faced with a witch