fists together, apparently his current weapon of choice. Then, we slammed the car doors and headed to the front stoop.
Before we got there, the front door opened. Anthony smiled lazily and leaned against the red frame. Anger poked up its ugly head. Anthony Lombardi should not be inside my house looking calm and comfortable. Like he owned the place.
“Good to see you again, Holly. With your human friend again. And, oh, I see your friend Laura is all in one piece.” He winked as I stepped inside.
My mouth fell open and I whirled to face him, even though I wasn’t all that shocked. “You did that. You killed those shamans.”
“Of course,” he said.
“But why?” I took a step away from him, backing into the table that held the Witch’s Drum.
“That’s part of what I need to talk to you about,” he said, waving me through the kitchen. “Just take a seat in the living room, and we’ll cover everything.”
I bit back a retort. As much as I wanted to tell this guy where he could shove his little chat, I was curious about what he had to say. Plus, I had a feeling I didn’t want to make him mad, especially if what had happened to those shamans was evidence of Anthony’s anger.
I moved down the hall, Laura two steps behind. A second later, I heard a thump, and I whirled around to see Nathan sprawled unconscious on the floor. My heart lurched inside me, and I rushed to his side. I fell down, fingers moving up and down his arms and back.
“What did you do to him?” I yelled up at Anthony while I felt Nathan’s pulse. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. It was still beating. Maybe he was okay.
“Oh, that?” Anthony waved his hands dismissively. “I put a little spell around the house causing any human who crosses the threshold to lose consciousness. He’ll be fine once he sleeps it off.”
I glared up at Anthony, relieved it was nothing worse but pissed off he’d done this to Nathan. “Why? Why would you do that?”
A sly smile lit his lips. “Can’t have the human authorities barging in if you decide to make a 9-1-1 call. Plus, there was a human snooping around earlier.” He cocked his head toward Laura. “I believe the adopted relation of this one? He’s in the living room now with your mother, Holly.”
Laura’s eyes went wide, and she threw herself down the hall. “Dad!”
“He won’t hear you,” Anthony called out with a chuckle. “After you, Holly.”
I stared at Nathan, hating to leave him, but I didn’t have much of a choice. So, I made my way down the hall and into the living room. I sat across from Mom, relieved to see she was the same as when I’d left her. Laura crouched by her dad where he was passed out on the floor only inches away.
Anthony eased onto the couch and crossed his legs at his knees, smile nothing but patronizing. It made me want to punch him in the nose.
Astral raced up to me hissing in anger. I jumped back, shocked, but quickly realized it wasn’t me he hissed at. He put his back to me and started pacing back and forth, staring intently at Anthony like he was about to launch an attack right then and there. Astral’s paw shot into the air to maul something I couldn’t see. And then I felt something else in the room. Something I hadn’t noticed because I’d been too focused on Anthony. A chilling sensation prickled every hair on my arms. There was a spirit in here.
“You destroyed my barriers.” I took my attention off my crazed cat for a moment. There were worse things to worry about. “You destroyed my bones.”
I wasn’t sure why that insulted me more than him sneaking into my house or sending me off on some pointless mission, but I felt like I could tear his eyes out. He’d left my house vulnerable. My home. The only place I considered totally safe.
His patronizing smile only widened, but his eyes looked pained. “Precautions. Just precautions.”
Precautions against what? My bone shields were precautions. Taking them down meant a spirit could come in whenever it pleased. But, I didn’t argue. Instead, I sat there watching him while Astral weaved through my tense legs. I was afraid if I opened my mouth, everything I was thinking and feeling would bubble out like word vomit.
“I need to explain to you about the shaman world, Holly, because I believe