“Fire!” Spence shouts into the rafters of the forest.

“I’ll put it out!” Tanner runs to the burning flames quickly taking hold in the dry leaves and casts a spell for a contained downpour.

“I’m going to lend him a hand. You’ll be all right, Gwyn?” Archie asks.

“Yes,” I reply. “Go help him before it triggers the fire department to respond.”

“Here comes Courtney with the third child,” Shane says. “The two-year-old girl.”

Courtney sets the golden-haired girl onto the muddy ground and flits back to rescue the last of the kidnapped children, the toddler who was snatched in broad daylight. The little girl wraps her short arms around Skye’s neck as she picks her up and darts to Ronnie and Derek. Derek takes the crying little one and positions her behind the wall of rhododendrons.

Alys appears again, more enraged than ever, her face resembling the crimson hue of Ronnie’s curly hair. Who knew a fairy’s complexion could flush so severely with anger? I pull out the dirk because we may not have another option but to eliminate her. She heads toward us, her arm raised.

“I warned you!” she screams. “The children are mine!”

She propels her fairy magic with the force of a missile, and we barely get our halo barrier up in time. The impact pushes us to the ground again, adding to our accumulation of abrasions and bruises. She glares down at the bog and dives back through the fog. I shove the dirk back into its leather shield.

Archie and Tyler dart to me about the time Seamus is helping me up.

“Thank you for looking out for Gwyn when I’m not around,” Archie says.

Tyler dusts off my clothes. “Yes. Thanks, Dr. Duffy.”

Seamus smiles. “My pleasure.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I say. “You all act like I can’t take care of myself. I’m middle-aged, not on death’s doorstep.”

Elijah gestures toward the portal in the shield. “Courtney’s taking a lot longer than before to return with the last of the children. I’m fearful something’s gone wrong in there.”

“I’m afraid you’re right.” Trinity gestures toward the bog. “There they are!”

Alys and Courtney shoot up through the shield, flipping and tumbling in the air. Courtney has one arm wrapped around the remaining toddler, the other struggling to block Alys’s grasping reach.

“Attack Alys if you can!” Leslie shouts. “We must save all the children!”

We send precise blasts of fire magic at Alys, attempting to strike her wings. After several attempts, one of the magic missiles sets her fluttering appendage ablaze, and she takes a nosedive to the water’s edge. Agnes quickly casts a sleeping spell over her, and the councilwoman collapses on the muddy bog perimeter. Courtney stabilizes her flight and floats to the ground, passing the toddler to Skye.

“Ha! Take that, you fucking narcissistic fairy,” Agnes quips. “Enjoy your rest. It’s gonna last a while.”

Spence darts to Alys and stares down at her crumbled body. “How did you know the spell would work on a Tylwyth Teg, Agnes?”

“I didn’t. Fucking lucky, I guess.” She bursts out laughing.

I chuckle at my mentor. “Luck seems to stalk you.”

She snickers. “Not luck. Karma, Gwyn. But I’m OK with it.”

We all crack up as we huddle around Alys.

“What are we gonna do with her?” Zoe asks, staring at Alys’s limp body.

Shane twists his beard. “I suspect we’ll have to banish her back to the Otherworld.”

“Someone should run up the trail to tell John his wife is safe and he can come back,” Archie says.

Courtney walks toward us, her wings contracting within her back and her pale-blond hair dripping onto her wet clothes. “I told you I could save the children.” She lifts her winter coat off the ground and slips her arms into the sleeves.

Ronnie emerges from behind the shrubs with Luna swaddled under her coat. Derek and Skye follow with the other children. My best friend approaches Courtney.

“Thank you. I don’t care what anyone else has to say. You have redeemed yourself in my eyes.”

Derek wraps an arm around Ronnie and Luna. “Ditto. You’re OK in my book.”

“You’re welcome,” she says, eyeing the expressions on my fellow witch’s faces. “Please, don’t send me back through the portal. I’m having a human baby. I’ll never have a reason to covet another.”

John runs to his wife, panting, and hugs her. “Are you hurt? Is the baby safe?”

She kisses him. “Yes. We’re fine, John. Agnes Pritchard cast a sleeping spell on Alys.”

My hedge witch mentor scowls. “Fucking great. How many more half-breed fairies are out there?”

“That’s derogatory, don’t you think?” Tanner asks. “I never expected a response like that from you, Agnes. As long as they remain hidden, what does it matter how many are living among us?”

“Doesn’t,” she replies, shrugging. “As long as they don’t resort to kidnapping human children. It’s not about bigotry. Just makes our job as a coven much harder if we have to monitor them.”

I recall the days when Courtney coveted my man, but the woman standing before me now seeks redemption. “I agree. There’s no reason we should banish her. She put her own existence at risk.”

“Gwynedd speaks for all of us,” Leslie says. “We welcome Courtney into Bearsden.”

John exhales a frosty breath. “Thank you, everyone. Courtney is part of my life now. What can I do from here on to make amends?”

“You’ll have to take Mayor Devine aside and explain what happened here today,” Elijah says. “Fess up.”

“I will,” John replies. “But she may not believe me.”

“If you need me to back you up, tell Jessica to contact me.” Elijah fist bumps the councilman.

John and Courtney take off up the trail, leaving us to clean up Alys’s mess. Seamus grabs his cane.

“I will join the councilman and his wife on their walk back to town.”

Archie shakes his hand. “Thank you for your help, Seamus. Let’s hope your assistance won’t be needed again anytime soon.”

“I speak for all of us, Dr. Duffy,” Trinity says. “You are welcome in our coven if ever you should choose to leave your solitary status behind you.”

“Ditto,” Shane says. “Come by the store this week. I’d like to thank you by offering anything you need from our stock.”

“You’re most welcome,” he says, catching my gaze. “I wish you well with the tasks ahead of you.” He starts up the path.