“Sounds like a plan,” Spence says. “Can I put on my fucking coat and shoes now?”

Tanner runs to him and helps him into his coat sleeves. “We should throw magic bombs at her one after the other—big enough to piss her off, but not enough to damage the shield.”

Archie rubs his goatee. “Aye. But we should prepare for her wrath as before. She’ll come after each of us.”

“Ronnie, you and Derek go back behind the shrubs for protection,” Trinity says. “But be prepared to help with all the children.”

“We can do that,” she replies.

“Absolutely.” Derek grabs Ronnie’s hand, and they return to their shelter behind the rhododendron.

Skye approaches the right side of the bog. “Why don’t I act as a liaison? When Courtney brings the children out, I’ll run them back to Ronnie and Derek?”

“Perfect,” Archie replies, motioning to us. “Let’s prepare, everyone.”

John kisses his Tylwyth Teg wife. “Be careful. Alys could come after you.”

“Don’t worry,” she says, cupping his cheek. “I can handle her. I’ll hide behind that enormous oak tree until the coven creates an opening.”

Courtney removes her coat and calls on her wings to expand from her back. Glowing in green and purple hues, they lift her off the ground, and she floats toward the strip of hazy white. No one can deny her unique beauty. Who can blame John for falling in love with such an exquisite creature? Even if she is a lying bitch.

We line up as we did before, except this time, I pull out Archie’s dirk and shove it under my belt. I don’t want to kill Alys, but she may give me no choice. Courtney signals she is ready as she hovers above the entry point.

Trinity addresses John. “Councilman, we need someone to monitor the trail for Unremarkables.”

“I’ll start up the trail immediately.” He stares at his wife from a distance, pressing his lips together. “Good luck, everyone.”

“I suggest we start on the left,” Elijah says. “Blast the shield every five seconds. Once we get to the end of the line, repeat as often as we have to until Alys surfaces.”

“And then what?” Tyler asks. “She’s gonna come after us.”

“We’ll have to defend each other as she attacks,” Archie says.

Trinity raises her hand, an amber fireball burning inches from her palm. “Tanner, you’re at the far left of the line. Whenever you’re ready.”

We all chant, forming balls of fire in each hand and wait for Tanner. He raises his arms above his head, and we follow his lead.

“May the gods be with us today!” he shouts.

Tanner throws the first blast of magic at the barrier, and it explodes as it bounces off the surface, splaying outward with rays of yellow and burnt umber. One by one, we follow suit, throwing our energy bombs into the silvery fog. Our fire balls paint the space above the pond with fireworks of russet, amber, and bright yellow. The air fills with smoke, and we cough and hack as it drifts back to us.

Courtney flies back and forth to avoid the streams of fire, but a stray ember falls on her wings, singing an outer edge. She waves at us to continue, and we sling our magic bombs at the fairy shield. After five minutes of this, my upper arms burn and my ears ring from the explosions. I may be an ancestral witch, but my body tells me I’m menopausal and shouldn’t have skipped the fitness center last week.

“It’s not working!” I shout over the hissing and crackling. “Should we try something else?”

“No!” shouts Agnes, hurling another blast of magic. “She can’t put up with this indefinitely. At some point, she’ll get pissed off.”

“I agree!” Elijah yells. “If I know Alys, she’s fuming about now. She has little patience.”

Spence throws another sphere of fire. “I don’t know. She appears to be just fine with us wasting our time.”

“Keep at it, witches!” Trinity yells. “We can’t stop now!”

“Look!” Zoe says, pointing to the left of the pond. “The fog is separating.”

Alys emerges and flies straight up, her wings flapping a mile a minute. Her usual rosy complexion is red as a pomegranate.

“She’s madder than a wet hen,” Shane says.

“Or a protective mother,” I reply.

Zoe calls up a magical burning sphere. “Look out! Here she comes!”

“Prepare yourselves, witches!” Trinity shouts.

Alys flies toward us. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t allow you to take my children! I will kill you all first.”

She waves her hand from left to right and her fairy magic blows each of us back toward the trees like dominoes. My back slams against a pine tree with a trunk the size of a compact car. The evil councilwoman retreats into the trees behind the bog. Tyler’s screams echo from the left side of the trail.

“Mom!” he says, dashing to me. “Are you OK?”

I roll over and try to get up. “No. The pain in my lower back has returned. Screw that bitch.”

Archie arrives and helps me stand. “Your mum is made of tough stock. She’ll heal.”

“Gwynedd, are you hurt badly?” Seamus asks. “The defensive use of wind was unexpected.”

“No. I’ll be black and blue for a few weeks, though. Are you hurt?”

“Merely a few abrasions,” Seamus replies.

The others slowly rise, dusting off their clothes. I glance over at the shield where Courtney was floating. She’s nowhere to be found. Alys emerges from the forest, blowing air at us with such speed that we have to drop to the ground and clutch at the protruding rocks buried in the dirt. Limbs, stones, and other debris graze the skin on our faces, leaving lacerations. Blood seeps from the wounds and rolls down our cheeks.

“Leave before you suffer the consequence of your evil actions!” the narcissistic Tylwyth Teg yells as she flies back into the cover of the trees.

Courtney appears at the weak spot in the shield and flies toward the edge of the pond, snuggling a baby. The newly outed Tylwyth Teg floats down to the ground and passes the little one to Skye. The young witch darts back to the woods, her fire-red hair streaming behind her, and places the child into Ronnie’s arms. My best friend cries tears of joy. Luna is safe in her mama’s embrace once again.

Courtney turns and jets back to the shield to retrieve another child while the rest of us prepare for the next attack from a mother enraged.

“We must fortify our stance,” Leslie says. “Come together as one.”

“Yes!” Agnes shouts. “We’ll combine our magic like before, except this time, cast a protection barrier. When she turns around to head back into the forest, we attack.”

“Brilliant, Agnes.” Archie motions at the coven. “Quickly, before she returns.”

“Raise our hands as one, witches,” Trinity says, gesturing.

As we wait for Alys to return, Courtney passes through the shield and places the other kidnapped baby into Skye’s arms—Jenny Hansen’s son Daniel. Just as Courtney passes back through the shield, the councilwoman heads in our direction again. She must be losing patience, because she targets the coven with a bolt of fairy magic like the one she used to attack Archie and me. But this time, we are prepared. We combine our witch energy, creating an amber halo above us. The Tylwyth Teg’s lightning strikes our barrier and ricochets into the woods, starting a blaze. Alys retreats once more.