The hedge witch snickers. “I like you, Tyler. You have spunk, like your mom. The rest of you, come on. Get a move on. The mayor is waiting.”

“Hi, Gwyn,” Zoe says, her big brown eyes shining. “I’m doing great. I got a job working at the town museum. They were excited to get someone with a Celtic Studies background, since the area has so much Welsh and Scottish influence.”

Archie interjects. “That’s wonderful. Who says a degree in Celtic Studies is worthless?”

Spence and Skye raise their hands, smirking.

Everyone laughs, but Archie scowls in their direction, unamused. We all remove our sneakers and place them on the rack. Chatter from the living room trickles into the foyer.

“Hurry up,” Agnes says. “I don’t want this meeting lasting longer than it needs to. I need my shut-eye.”

She corrals us into her beautiful space for entertaining, which bears touches of both old and new. Not wanting to throw out all the furniture she collected over the years, we put a fresh coat of paint on most of the pieces. We find seats on her refurbished wooden kitchen chairs next to the new sofa and loveseat Leslie bought for her.

I scan the room. Elijah leans on the fireplace where he’s talking with Mayor Devine. He towers over her average height figure. Shane arranges pillows behind Ronnie’s back on the sofa while Agnes and Leslie settle into the loveseat perpendicular to them. The young witches lounge on the floor, squeezing in wherever they can. Zoe leans back against Tyler and grins at me. Not much can put a frown on her cheerful face—always the optimist.

Trinity Johnson, our coven leader and Director of A Family for All—the local LGBTQ support group—pushes up from a kitchen chair and quells the prattle to start the meeting. A woman in her 60s, she has a powerful presence, and not only because she stands at nearly six feet in height. Wrinkles form in the velvety brown skin on her forehead.

“Hi, everyone. We have plans to finalize for next week’s Samhain-Halloween open house. Ronnie, what a fantastic idea you had to engage the community. The more often we invite Unremarkables to our celebrations, the more they will embrace the Fellowship’s existence. Who knows when our secret may surface unintentionally? Creating closer connections with them will help us prepare for that possibility.”

“Thanks,” Ronnie says. “Halloween is a fun time for the town. Better to spend it creating solid relationships with Unremarkables than with the Otherworld.”

Trinity nods, her jade-green eyes gleaming. “But first, Mayor Jessica Devine would like to address the coven with her concerns.”

Elijah faces us, the ceiling light shining on his warm brown skin. “Before the mayor speaks, I want to remind everyone how supportive she has been. She has kept our secret under wraps, except for Corey Jones and Jeremiah Jackson, of course. But she is concerned about the lack of progress in closing the portal in the mound.” He motions to Jessica and sits next to Shane on the sofa.

“I commend the efforts you have made thus far, and I recognize you have forfeited much of your leisure time in your search. However, I can speak for Jeremiah and Corey as well as myself, when I say the threat of other beings invading our town through that portal frightens us. I am grateful you were forthcoming with the information surrounding the…what was it called?”

“A Dearg Due,” Elijah replies. “A vampire-like ghoul.”

Her already pallid face goes almost white. “Yes. It killed so many young men in our town. You must do more to eliminate creatures from slipping through the opening in the future. The recent kidnapping of that woman’s baby. Should we worry another creature has crossed over? Or perhaps the Seelie Fae children took him?”

“I don’t think so,” I say. “When I asked them about it, they appeared surprised. The police suggest it’s the crime ring from PA.”

“We understand your concerns,” Leslie says. “The Bearsden Coven formed years ago with the sole intention of helping this community, and we continue to abide by our original intent. But we must also acknowledge we may not discover a portal-closing spell in the immediate future. Should beings cross over, we will defend the community from their malicious intents.”

The mayor wipes her face with a trembling hand. “That’s not comforting when people’s lives are at risk.”

My witch family is silent, a few coughs and clearing of throats the only sounds in the room. What does she expect from the coven? We’re doing our best. Elijah stands and approaches Jessica.

“Thank you, Mayor Devine, for meeting with us. I assure you, we won’t stop until the portal is shut. As a member of the city council and director of the town’s shelter, I pledge to go above and beyond.”

“Thank you, Elijah,” she says. “As you always do. The town is fortunate to have you. Well, I guess that’s all I have to say. Many thanks for allowing me to speak.”

The councilman gestures for the mayor to head toward the door. “I’ll walk Jessica to her car.”

When they’ve left the room, the hedge witch doesn’t hold back.

“Aww, fuck the mayor and her concerns,” Agnes scoffs. “Unremarkables are weenies. We can handle anything that comes across, and we’ve proven that.”

“But our power isn’t limitless, my dear,” Leslie says.

Shane exhales. “Now, Agnes, she has a right to be frightened. She feels responsible for our town’s safety. We may have solved the mystery of the Dearg Due and returned her through the portal, but far too many perished before we did.”

“I admire your bravery, Agnes,” Archie says. “But this coven made a commitment to serve the greater good long before my arrival—and your return. We must work in tandem with the Unremarkables who are in the knowing. And be thankful they haven’t revealed the Fellowship’s true nature.”

“I’m with Agnes.” Spence points between himself and her. “We’re badass.”

She glares at him. “Don’t try to butter me up after tramping on my floors with your messy shoes.”

“What?” He throws his hands up. “I’m always on your side.”

Tanner shakes his head. “Quit while you’re ahead, hun. I understand the mayor, though. As long as that portal is open, we’re all in danger.”

“That’s an understatement,” Skye adds.

The hedge witch rubs at her back. “Can we get on with the meeting? My lumbar needs mattress time.”

“After a brief announcement,” Trinity says. “Courtney Davies, now Courtney Erickson, has returned to Bearsden.”

Spence throws up his arms. “Are you fucking kidding? How can she show her face after what she did to Gwyn?”

“Yeah, she has some nerve moving back here,” Skye says. “Made up all that shit about Archie.”

I raise my hand in a gesture to stop. “She apologized to me, guys. We should give her a chance.”

“Gwyn’s right,” Trinity adds. “Courtney works in the mayor’s office, so I didn’t want to announce this while she was here. I doubt Jessica is aware of Courtney’s witch status, and it’s not our place to divulge her secret. It appears she has moved on with her life. However, we will keep her on our radar. Hard not to when she’s married to a council member. Let’s wrap this up.”

Elijah returns, and we divvy up chores to set up on Samhain in record time. As Archie would say, “We’re all knackered.” After taking the chairs back to the kitchen, we put on our shoes and make our way out the front door.

“Mom, I’ll text you later this week about conferencing with Nain and Taid again,” Tyler says. “I want them to meet Zoe.”

“Oh. Are you ready to come face to face with spirits?” I ask her.

“You bet,” she replies. “Tyler said it was SO cool.”

“We’ll chat about it later.” I wave goodbye as they step out the door. “Archie, why don’t you go ahead? I want to talk with Agnes about…the remaining grimoires.”

“Sure. I’ll take Leslie home. Have a restful night, Agnes.”

Leslie kisses her love on the cheek. “Goodnight, my dear. I would stay if I didn’t have an early class in the morning.”

Agnes blushes. “Yeah, yeah. You sleep well, too, sweetheart.”

What a softie she is under that rough, worn exterior. Like her house, the hedge witch has had a makeover. Once Leslie and Archie leave, I pick her brain.

“Have you ever worked on your witch’s intuition?”

She squints at me. “What does that have to do with the grimoires?”