I stood slowly, my heart hammering. Someone was following me, using some kind of invisibility cloak or spell. Not knowing what to do, I started walking again. Sweat trickled down my back. What if this person tried to follow me into the shop?

Moving quickly, I rushed up the steps to the shop door. I’d already unlocked it by sticking my hand into my purse and gripping my wand, saying the unlock incantation in my mind. Scooting Jade through with my foot, I turned and slammed the door hard. I heard a muffled thump.

I locked the door and crept to the window, my heart hammering.

Whoever it was must have seen me watching because I didn’t see anyone appear. Keeping my eyes glued to the floor outside, I watched the pair of shoes flicker into sight now and again as the person turned and walked to the sidewalk and down the road.

“Jade, can you follow that person discreetly?”

On it.

I let her out and watched her trot down the sidewalk. She was good at hiding, slinking into the shadows under the eaves or darting into an alley as needed. As I watched her, I felt a twinge of guilt. The invisible person had seen her and knew she belonged to me. If they caught sight of her, what would they do?

I had to remind myself that Jade was tough. She wouldn’t have taken on the task if she didn’t feel confident in her abilities.

The day passed at a crawl. I jumped any time a customer came in. I worried about Jade the entire day. I hadn’t expected her to stay out so long.

The minute the clock hit five, I rushed around, turning off lights and cleaning up. After I’d locked the door and re-checked the barrier spell, I ran for home. Fear clutched my heart as I approached the old townhouse. I hoped Jade would be there, waiting for me.

A vicious yowling and spitting met my ears as I approached the front door. My heart hammering, I followed the sound to the side of the house. A tall, thin person lay sprawled out on the lawn. Jade had whoever it was by the ankle, her teeth sunk deep into the flesh.

I stood there, transfixed with horror, watching as Jade fought to keep hold of the intruder. The person gave an unearthly shriek and kicked out their trapped foot. The heel of the shoe made contact with Jade’s face. She let go and fell back, stunned, while the culprit stood up and ran.

I screamed.

Chapter Twenty

My hands shook as I touched Jade’s head and neck and shoulders. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I figured I’d be able to tell if there were any serious injuries.

Her orange eyes opened then focused on me. She let out a weak meow. I burst into sobs and picked her up, not caring if she got mad at me for treating her like a cat.

“Jade, are you okay? Please just say something.”

She gave another meow, this one disgruntled. I’m fine.

Though she was irritated, I still took my time putting her down. It took immense self-restraint not to check her over again. With a little hiss, she got unsteadily to her feet and wobbled for a few steps before she straightened out again.

“Does anything hurt?”

Jade gave her entire body a little shake, as if she were getting water out of her fur.

My head hurts a little bit. But I think it was only a glancing blow.

The tears started up again. I sat on my rear on the grass, my arms crossed over my chest. “I shouldn’t have sent you out. I’m such a jerk!”

Crying won’t fix anything. Let’s go inside.

She trotted up the stairs and waited for me to unlock the front door. As soon as we got inside, I marched straight into the kitchen and got out half a block of cheese and several crackers and put them in Jade’s bowl. She attacked them with even more enthusiasm than normal, which I took to be a good sign.

I should get hurt more often if it means I get crackers and cheese.

I let out a weak laugh as I set a bowl of water next to her. She gulped it in huge amounts, taking almost the entire bowl. I frowned as I watched.

“Have you been following that person all day?”

She shook her head. I lost track of them around noon and spent a couple hours trying to pick up the trail again. I gave up and came back here to see someone working a spell on the barrier.

I gasped, bringing my hand to my mouth.

“Did you happen to see who it was?”

No. But I know it was a woman. It might have been the same one who was looking through the window at the shop. I noticed long, black hair.

My hands balled into fists. “It has to be Chandra. It just has to. Everywhere I go, I seem to be haunted by some woman with long, black hair.”

Jade didn’t answer as she kept eating, but I didn’t need her to agree. Who else would try to cause so much trouble for me? She must have kidnapped Theresa to try to frame me, and when that didn’t work, she’d resorted to intimidating me.

But who could I go to for help? The police didn’t care. Chandra was a person of influence in town. What if everyone here, even non-witches, were under her thumb?

I considered calling Jo. He had told me to call him if anything else happened. But what could he do? He seemed to think that Chandra wouldn’t stoop to such tactics. What did he know about Chandra, anyway?

Jade mentioned Faith the night before, along with the fact that I hadn’t visited her in a while. I’d stayed away from Faith to protect her. If the intruder really was Chandra, then it was more important than ever to keep Faith safe.

But I needed help.

Crossing my arms, I began pacing the length of the kitchen, desperate for any ideas to get rid of my stalker. Were the intruder and the person who followed me to the shop the same person? I thought again about the brown leather shoes. They looked like boots with small heels. The more I thought about them, the more I knew I’d seen them somewhere before. But where?

I hadn’t gotten a good look at the woman who attacked Jade. She was still eating, so I waited for her to finish before I sat down next to her on the floor.

“Did you happen to get a good look at your attacker’s shoes?”

Yes. Brown leather boots with heels. Why?

A chill crept up my spine. “Then the woman who followed us and the intruder are the same person. I saw those boots when we were being followed.”

She jumped onto the kitchen table and circled a few times.

Why would she follow you to the shop? And why go to the house afterwards?

“I don’t know, but she must have been using an invisibility cloak. Do things like that exist?”

Jade rubbed at her nose with her paw.

No, not in the sense that you’re thinking. You can put a spell on a coat or cloak or cape to make you invisible while you’re wearing it. There aren’t any cloaks that are invisible on their own.

I tapped my chin. “Why would they try to get into the shop? The woman must have been desperate because her cloak or whatever didn’t cover her very well.”

Jade froze mid-stride, turning her head sharply towards me.