Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4) - K.F. Breene Page 0,52

to mope around the house anymore, teary-eyed from the image of his car pulling away. It was time for action.

I would head into town and challenge Sasquatch, owning my gargoyle mantle and blending invisibly into the buildings. I’d lie in wait for Sasquatch to sneak by, and when he was nearly past, I’d stab him right in the back. It was the sneaky, underhanded sort of thing that my mood dictated right now. Stabbing him from the front might scare him a little more, but I felt like pulling a Psycho from behind.

I patted Cheryl, nestled in the back pocket of my jeans, the spring-loaded pocketknife with a razor-sharp edge. She’d cause a problem if anyone would.

After that, it would be off to the bar for a hundred and two libations, followed by an alcohol-induced coma. Drown the pain. Hopefully, my plan would bolster me enough that I could meet Austin’s brother tomorrow. I’d play ambassador to Ivy House, then we could sit down and talk about the mage’s visit. We’d need to set up dinners and…

I didn’t even know what. Clearly I’d need a lesson on what to expect from a formal meetup.

But all that could wait until tomorrow. We had a month to plan. One day of furlough wouldn’t hurt.

“It’s going to work this time.” I made a fist as I headed out the door, Ulric and Mr. Tom in tow. Jasper was already downtown, having organized the “game” with Sasquatch. “I’m going to become the stone.”

“You don’t actually become stone, miss,” Mr. Tom said.

“Yes, Mr. Tom, I know that. It was just a figure of speech.”

Sebastian met me on the porch, and I had a surge of hopefulness. His week had officially ended yesterday. Did this mean he would stay?

“What happened to your hedge maze?” he asked as he kept pace, having decided to tag along even though it wasn’t a traditional training session. “I ducked back there to give Edgar a new growing serum and saw him fretting over a huge hole in the side.”

“The basajaun did that,” I said. “Mr. Tom hid the golden egg—which was a solid gold egg, by the way.”

“How was I supposed to know the situation didn’t call for an actual golden egg?” Mr. Tom said, outraged. “You told me about your traditions, but you left out vital information.”

“You should’ve seen the look on Jimmy’s face,” Ulric said, laughing. “At first he was incredibly confused, then he thought it was fake gold. It wasn’t until he found out it was real that the facial gymnastics started. I think he was afraid to hold it.”

“Of course he was afraid to hold it!” I said. Niamh wasn’t on her porch. It was only midafternoon, but maybe she’d already headed to the bar. Jimmy’s departure had affected everyone. They’d liked having a younger person in the house to fawn over, like a bunch of grandparents. “He’s never seen that much gold in his life, not to mention the amount of money it represented. We were comfortable, the ex and I, but we were not rich by any means. Jimmy hasn’t ever seen the kind of money this place has just loitering around the attic.”

“If you would just finish the transition and officially transfer the—”

I held up my hand. “Not now, Mr. Tom. I don’t want to hear about that today.” If Austin and his brother had set up more robust defenses already, nothing had notably changed along my street. The houses ended and gave way to woods on both sides, sunlight fighting through the dense canopy, struggling to the ground. “Sebastian, to answer your question, the basajaun made that hole. He went into the maze with Jimmy to help find the egg. Once inside, though, they couldn’t find their way back out. Before Edgar could go in and retrieve them, the basajaun roared like he was being attacked, picked Jimmy up, and burst his way through the sides until he was out. Once there, he cleared a large patch of flowers and then drank all the champagne. Apparently he didn’t like being trapped in the maze.”

Sebastian threaded his hands into his pockets. “A basajaun, huh? I’d like to meet one of them someday. I’ve heard they are fearsome.”

“Yes. And incredibly violent when they get their dander up.” I peered through the trunks and leaves as we walked. “I need to put a spell around the woods at the end of the street to warn me of approaching danger. But hikers and animals and all