“Precisely,” he replies. “But we are many. Each of us should prepare to back up the person on your left and right. You’ll need to respond quickly.”

Leslie glances at Agnes. “My dear, we should not stand together. We are experienced, but our reflexes aren’t what they used to be.”

“Speak for yourself, sweetheart,” the hedge witch replies. “I survived an attack by the Kenilworths—ancestral witches to boot. I can fight off one pathetic Tylwyth Teg.”

“Let’s form our line of attack, everyone,” Trinity says, motioning toward the pond. “Ronnie, I understand you want to fight, but Seamus can replace you in the circle. Derek can’t defend himself against a Tylwyth Teg with a mama-bear attitude. Take cover near the forest. If Alys sees you here, she could lash out even more.”

My best friend makes eye contact with each of us. “Good luck. Bring my Luna back to me.”

I lock eyes with her. “We won’t stop until we get her. I promise.”

“Don’t worry, Ronnie,” Spence says, removing his coat and shoes. “I’ll bring her back.” He kisses Tanner. “Be ready to warm me up, hon. I’m gonna need it.”

“I love you, Spence,” he replies. “Don’t do anything stupid. Just get them out of there.”

Derek clasps Ronnie’s hand and they walk toward the forest. They find a large rhododendron and kneel behind its glossy green leaves, rolled up like cigars in the icy temperature. Spence stands at the water’s edge, shivering and rubbing his arms.

We line up shoulder to shoulder along the bog—Archie on my right side and Seamus on my left. Raising our hands together, we face our palms toward the silvery strip of fog, chanting to summon our power. As our magic intensifies, we interlock our beams of amber until all thirteen connect to form a thick central laser, as Agnes suggested. A buzzing like that of a motor echoes through the park. Holy crystals! I hope the townies can’t hear this.

“What now, Agnes?” I ask. “Do we set an intention on the weak part of the barrier? Does one of us decide where to focus it?”

Agnes shouts over the roaring hum. “I don’t fucking know. I told you I wing it. Witchcraft isn’t an exact science. Seamus, do you have a suggestion? We can’t blow this.”

Wow! The hedge witch is asking for help. That’s a first.

“Yes,” he replies, gazing into my eyes. “Gwyn should set the intention. Everyone, clear your minds and focus on the energy beam.”

Archie nods at me. “Do it, Gwyn.”

I search for the spot where the fog appears to open and close, gyrating to the left and right. If I set my intention in the center-most position where the swirling stops and moves in the opposite direction, I should break the seal.

“I’ll count backward,” I yell. “Three, two, one. On one, give me all you’ve got.”

The magical laser intensifies, the amber glow thickening into a wide beam of energy. I filter out everything around me—the trees, the foggy clouds of our breath, the gloomy skies above, Archie, Seamus, the others. I may have one chance to do this before Alys attacks.

“On my mark!” I shout over the humming. “Three. Two—”

“NO!” a female voice shouts behind us. “You’ll kill the children!”

We snap our heads around. It’s Courtney Erickson, and her husband John is with her.

“Stop! You don’t need to break into her protective bubble. I can pass through the shield and retrieve the children.”

We lower our hands, and the amber laser beam dissipates as Courtney rushes to us. Leslie addresses her.

“How is it possible for you to enter through the barrier? Do you have knowledge of a special spell?”

Courtney stares at me, pleading with me to decipher the puzzle for Leslie. Because for some reason, she can’t answer the Elder. I inspect her pale-blond hair, blue eyes, and fair complexion. I look at John, his head covered in golden locks. The frigid air has numbed my cheeks, but not my brain.

“Because she’s a Tylwyth Teg.”

Chapter twenty-eightTo Save the Children

“Fuck me,” Agnes says loudly, breaking the shocked silence of the coven members.

Archie whispers in my ear, “Well, that explains her early obsession with me.”

“Sure does,” I whisper back. “And the variance in her magic. My stronger intuition must have sensed the difference. Seamus’s did, too.”

Everyone else gapes at Courtney, creating a cloud of hazy white. Still running in place to keep the blood flowing through his body to stay warm, Spence remains ready to lunge into the icy pond. Ronnie and Derek join us from behind the shrub, Ronnie’s expression set to kill as she looks at Courtney. John wraps an arm around his wife, worry distorting his face. Agnes begins the inquisition.

“Another fucking fairy? How many Tylwyth Teg crossed over through the portal into Bearsden?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Courtney replies, clinging to her husband. “But the gateway in the Celestial gardens isn’t the only one in the country. Hundreds could be living here now. Please, don’t be angry with me. I want to help.”

“There are more fucking portals?” Agnes asks.

“We’ll deal with that issue later,” Leslie says. “We must focus on the task at hand.”

Trinity pounds the dirt as she approaches Courtney. “You’ve lied to us since the fucking beginning. Pretended to be a novice witch. Helped Audrey Kenilworth infiltrate the coven when she was under the influence of a hex cast by her mother. It’s why you were expelled. Why should we trust you now?”

The young witches shout at Courtney at random, reminding her of all her past deceptions. Who can blame them? She invited this condemnation. Tyler remains silent, having not been in the knowing of his ancestral witch status during Courtney’s past transgressions.

John yells back at them. “I understand Courtney fucked up in the past. But Alys threatened to out her if she revealed Alys was kidnapping the children. I didn’t have any choice but to vote as she asked and appear to support her. We remained silent until Courtney couldn’t live with the guilt anymore.”

Ronnie stamps toward Courtney, her face twisted in rage, and gets right up into her face. “Alys took my Luna. How do we know you won’t turn around and steal more children like she did?”

“Indeed,” Leslie adds. “You are Tylwyth Teg. It’s in your nature.”

“I won’t because…” Courtney lays a hand on her coat above her lower torso. “I’m pregnant. Please, let me help you get Luna and the other children back.”

Seamus limps over to the newly outed Tylwyth Teg and lifts his hand, a blue glow emanating from his skin. Courtney flinches as his magic passes over her.

“I sense truth in her words,” he says.

Courtney pulls her arm from around John and points at the shimmering fog. “I am telling the truth. I can fly through the barrier and grab the children one at a time.”

A warm aura rushes through me, my witch’s intuition confirming her statement, and I unzip my coat. “I believe her. Tell us what to do, Courtney. You can’t possibly pass through the shield without Alys noticing. She’ll attack you and the children before you free them.”

“You’ll have to blast the shield with magic. Irritate her enough to come out.”

Zoe’s eyes widen, and she waves her hands in the air. “Whoa! Stop! I thought that was bad?”

“Exactly,” Tyler says. “We could hurt the children.”

“If you pierce the weak point in the barrier, you could. The rest of the surface should hold,” Courtney replies.

Shane inspects the area where the fog swirls in and out. “That should be easy enough to avoid.”