“She said something about running a command post out of the Manx Hotel and that she had her hands full trying to keep track of all her agents,” the chief said. “They’re hunting Neil, Kieran, and now Raphael. She said, and I quote, I don’t have the manpower to keep tabs on Miss Blackwood, too.”
“Good to know I’m so low priority,” Amber said.
The chief chuckled. “I saw Gretchen was holed up inside Purrfectly Scrumptious with Betty and Bobby, but I’ve got Garcia stationed outside the place, too. Agent Howe also gently suggested that it would be safer for the Harrises to keep baking today instead of attending the parade. The Harrises didn’t put up much of a fuss. They’re sending their new employees to represent them in the parade today. There will be fewer people over in your neck of the woods for the next few hours, so if someone is acting suspicious, it’ll be easier to spot since the crowd has thinned.”
Amber nodded, but she could hardly process how much her life had changed in the past few months. Her magical and normal worlds had collided and intermingled in a way she’d never expected. “Thanks for being here,” she said.
“Of course,” he said. “Give a shout if you need me.”
Amber smiled at him, then headed back for her friends. Just as she arrived, she heard the crackle of Kim’s walkie-talkie, and then Bianca’s voice. “The parade has begun. The marching bands and the mayoral cars will reach your location in roughly twenty minutes, Kim.”
“Roger, over,” Kim said.
“Ugh,” Bianca grunted. “Over.”
Amber and her group chatted while they waited for the head of the parade to reach them. Jack slipped his hand into hers, grinning at her as he did so.
They listened while Kim grilled Willow about the afternoon she’d spent with John Huntley.
“His fans are coo-coo!” Kim said. “Did he, like, pour his soul out to you? I need you to know that I’ve basically written a screenplay in my head about your meet cute. The Popstar and the Wi—wonderful lady.”
Amber laughed. “Nice save.”
Kim grinned at her.
“You’re ridiculous,” Willow said, smiling. “And, no, not really. He talked a lot about how much he loves his job—both the music and the acting—but that it can all be really exhausting sometimes. He was so tense when we first left the shop, but after a couple minutes he realized no one knew who he was and he relaxed. He could just be a normal guy, you know? Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have a major ego problem. I was worried that once the adoration stopped, he would immediately miss it. But he genuinely seemed relieved.”
Kim clasped her hands together and propped her chin on her fists. “So he’s humble on top of being gorgeous and talented? Good grief. What else happened?”
Amber had heard all this already but was amused all over again at the deep shade of red that crept up her sister’s neck and face. Willow was confident and self-assured ninety percent of the time, but every once in a while, her vulnerability shone through. “We just hung out. I showed him all the classic Edgehill landmarks. We got lunch at the Catty Melt and a gingerbread latte from Coffee Cat. We went on a stroll through Balinese Park. And we just … talked. He’s really funny, too.”
Jack asked, “How did the whole … uh … face thing resolve itself?”
Willow laughed. “Well, the … uh … makeup started to wear off, so I suggested that we go somewhere to get it touched up. He took me back to his tour bus.”
Kim gasped and smacked Willow’s arm. “Shut the front door!”
Flushing again, Willow said, “Several teens were loitering nearby, so I may have, you know, changed a hedge at the end of the street to look like John. When the teens went running, we bolted for the bus. The driver almost tackled us to the ground when we got on. John explained the situation, managed to convince the guy it was really him, and then the driver relaxed. I told John soap and water would work best, so we crammed into the small bathroom and I practically had to sit on his lap while I removed his … makeup.”
Kim fanned herself with her hand. “All of this is going into the script. This is literally the best story I’ve ever heard.”
“You said that about one of my stories last week,” Amber said.
“You’ve said it to me at least one, too,” said Jack.
Kim waved this away. “Literal isn’t literal, guys. Geez.”
Amber, Willow, and Jack shared an amused look.
“Anyway,” Willow said, “once he was back to normal, he said he had a great time with me, yadda yadda. He, uh, got my number. Haven’t heard from him since, though.” She shrugged. “My love life is so sad that not being called by a celebrity is literally the most exciting thing that’s happened in months.”
“Sad? Weren’t you and Connor dating?” asked Kim. Amber shot her a death glare.
Willow grumbled under her breath and abruptly turned to stare down Buttercup Road.
“What’d I say?” Kim mouthed.
Thankfully the parade reached them a minute later, breaking up the awkward silence. After the marching bands from both high schools, the mayoral cars, and a gaggle of adorable little flower girls tossing various petals to the ground, came a troupe of acrobats from the Cathletic Club. Attired in skintight black catsuits, they danced, twirled, and flipped. They would occasionally drop to all fours and gallop toward children in the crowd, swiping at them playfully with their “paws,” then dart back into formation, their attached cat tails bobbing behind them.
Ben Lydon and Chloe Deidrick walked by next holding a giant banner featuring Ben’s design. Behind them followed representatives from each of the twelve winning Best of Edgehill businesses.
A little girl beside her said, “Oh, Mommy! I think I see the floats!”
Amber craned her neck to look farther down Buttercup Road, and sure enough, the giant willow tree was trundling toward them.
When it was only a few feet away, Jack squeezed her hand. When she looked over at him, she realized the gesture had been involuntary. His mouth slightly hung open. He let out a low whistle and said, “Marbleglen really does know how to make a float.”
After the garden float came a gaggle of Nine Lives Rescue workers in their signature green shirts. They all had their faces painted to mimic tigers, leopards, and housecats. The crowd, the children especially, gasped when they noticed how many of the workers walked cats on leashes. The man nearest them walked a slate gray cat who looked quite dapper in his forest green necktie and matching harness. Amber laughed, if only because she knew wrangling either of her cats into a harness would result in loss of limb. These cats, however, were pros, and only appeared mildly frightened by all the commotion. Amber liked to believe that these cats especially were descendants from Edgehill’s population of familiars.
Kim glanced over then and squealed when the Edgehill float was visible in the distance. The giant cats somehow looked even better now than they had in the float barn. A few more Nine Lives Rescue workers walked around on the float itself, waving at parade-goers. A few live cats were on the float as well, either peering out from carriers, or held in the arms of the workers.
Amber was just about to congratulate Kim on how great it had all turned out when something on the other side of the street caught Amber’s eye. The cat float trundled by a little more, the first cat’s body blocking her view. In the next few seconds, the cat passed out of her line of vision and Amber saw it again. Saw her again. The woman with black hair and piercing green eyes. The woman who likely had been the cause of Amber’s toys going rogue during Kids Day.
“Who is that?” Willow suddenly hissed in her ear.
So she’d seen her, too.
“I don’t know, but I’ve seen her a couple times now,” Amber said, losing sight of her again as the next cat on the float moved past. Amber angled her head this way and that, and Willow got up on her tiptoes. “She’s been acting shifty enough that even Garcia noticed her.”
When the float passed out of view completely and a few more Nine Li
ves Rescue workers walked by behind it with their cats, Amber got a clear view of the woman.
And she gasped.
The woman’s features were transparent, floating just over the surface of the ones beneath, as if two people were trapped in the same body.
It was Kieran Penhallow.
Chapter 24
Amber didn’t think. She let Jack’s hand go and started to push her way past people on the sidewalk. Willow was on her heels asking her what had her so spooked. Kim was asking, “What’s happening?” every few seconds, while Jack shushed her, likely worried Kim would blurt something that would be overheard by the wrong person.
As Amber hurried forward, apologizing as she shoved her way through the crowd, she flicked glances to her left, checking to see if Kieran was still there. He merely stood there on the opposite sidewalk watching her. Amber needed a break in the parade so she could cut her way across.
The cat float had moved past them by now, but another handful of Nine Lives Rescue workers meandered behind it with their cats. The marbled rhododendron float was making its way up the street now. Men and women in elegant suits and dresses in various shades of blue walked in front of the rhododendron float, each holding a bouquet of Marbleglen’s namesake. They walked slowly, waving at the crowd. Occasionally they’d walk to the viewers on the sidewalk to hand them one of the coveted flowers. Just as the last of the Nine Lives Rescue workers went by with their cats, Amber ducked under the caution tape and ran across the street.
“Amber!” Willow hissed, but Amber kept moving.
An alley ran next to Edge of Glen Pizza Parlor, the other side lined with a cinder block wall. A house sat on the other side. When Kieran, still wearing the face of the black-haired woman, saw Amber had spotted him, he ran a few feet to his left and then ducked into the alley. Amber took off after him.
He ran alongside the cinder block wall, then disappeared around the corner to the right. Amber braced herself as she picked up speed and rounded the corner too, and quickly slammed to a halt. The black-haired woman stood a few feet away in the narrow space where they were shielded on one side by the back of the restaurant, and on two others by cinder block walls. The lot beyond the restaurant was currently deserted, thanks to the parade. As long as no one came out the back door of the pizza parlor, no one would see them.
Willow, Kim, and Jack rounded the corner too, and nearly collided with her.
“Who is this?” Willow asked.
Which meant that Willow’s tincture—the one Aunt G had made—didn’t work. “Kieran.”
A second later, the glamour sloughed off, revealing the familiar man beneath. He kept his hands out, placating.
There was a collective gasp.
A noise-cancelling spell slammed down around them.
“I can explain!” Kieran said, glancing over his shoulder quickly. “I was sent here in large part to keep you distracted. The disguise I was wearing? That’s the face of Patrice Penhallow.”
Amber pursed her lips. “The woman who ran off with Raphael Henbane.”
Kieran nodded. “She’s one of the founders of the network. She instructed us to use her face as often as we could to make you think one woman has been following you around town. There are two of us here now. The witch who got me out, Henry Betel, is the one who made your toys attack a couple days ago, not me. He was wearing Patrice’s face.”
“So the Betel clan is sympathetic to the Penhallows?” Willow asked.
“Most, but not all,” Kieran said. “He’s keeping tabs on the WBI agent—Barker, right?—who’s stationed near the end of the parade route.”
“Why should they believe a word you say?” Jack asked from behind her. It was the angriest she’d ever heard him. He moved to stand beside her. “Amber nearly died because of you the last time you were here. Why should she trust you now? I don’t care that your magic is healed. Loyalty seems like something the Penhallows take very seriously.”
Kieran gave Jack an elevator scan. “Because,” he said, full attention shifting back to Amber, “I’ve been watching over Betty Harris since I got here. I overheard her conversation with you when you were in Washington. She was in her car and had no way of shielding her conversation from eavesdropping witches. Luckily it was me who heard her and not Betel. I know Ivy and Miles are alive. Don’t you think the Penhallows would love that information?”
Amber’s fists clenched. If the Penhallows did anything to Betty and Bobby or Ivy and Miles, so help her …
Willow must have sensed the rage pouring off Amber, because she asked, “Has Neil made any progress finding the spell?”
“The word in the network is that it’s actually the WBI who’s close to finding it,” Kieran said. “I had my doubts Neil could do it. Sure, he’d been desperately in love with Annabelle and has a ring he took from the burned-down house—he took the ring the same day he took your father’s watch.”
The watch that had been strategically left for her to find under the porch of 523 Ocicat Lane. The watch that had been so infused with energy from the night of the fire that had killed her parents that the mere act of touching it had woken up Amber’s memory magic. Exactly as Kieran had intended.
Exactly as the network had intended. Which meant Patrice had been the one pulling the strings dating back months ago, if not years.
“Even with that much energy trapped in the ring, I don’t think it’s enough to lead Neil to the book,” Kieran said. “The WBI figured out when you three left town to hide the grimoires, and they’ve pulled up satellite images and have cell phone tower data from your phones. Old school, non-magical detective work that’ll put them in the area close to the books’ location. They’ll use locator spells and scrying after that. Government-level Magic Cache. Several network witches are trailing the WBI. They’re letting the WBI do all the work. It’s their backup plan just in case Neil’s plan to let love show him the way doesn’t work.”
It said a lot that even Neil’s own brother thought the guy was out of his mind.
“Why are you telling us any of this?” Amber asked.
“You ended my curse,” Kieran said matter-of-factly. He eyed Jack with an air of distaste. “Believe it or not, what you did for me trumps family loyalty. I’m forever indebted to you, Amber. My hope is you can find it in your heart to heal the rest of them.”
Amber’s gut wanted to believe him, but her gut was already doubting Raphael’s loyalty. Did she now have a Penhallow as an ally and a Henbane an enemy? She supposed she could use a truth spell on him, but as she now knew, he could keep the truth from her if he was determined not to share it. She had the memory of a wicked sinus headache to prove it.
Could they use Kieran as a diplomatic force to sway the other Penhallows and their sympathizers?
Amber’s phone buzzed in her pocket; she had a text from Chief Brown. Several, actually. And he’d called her, too.
Ten minutes ago: Answer your phone!
Nine minutes ago: Are you all right?
Seven minutes ago: Answer me in the next two minutes or I’m calling Agent Howe
Five minutes ago: Agent Howe is on her way
“Crap!” Amber said. “WBI is en route.”
But Kieran already had a phone to his ear. He stared at her while he spoke. “Yeah, I had eyes on them, but Amber saw something in the crowd and ducked behind a building. Not sure how the WBI already knows that, though. I’m following her now and I’ve got the Patrice disguise on, so she doesn’t suspect me of anything. I’ll stay on her for now, but if anything changes in the WBI chatter, let me know and I’ll head your way.” He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket. “We maybe have two minutes before we’re found back here. Best bet is to break up the parade.”
Kim gasped as if this was the most shocking thing said so far.
In the next second, Kieran changed from a black-haired man about Amber’s height, to a six-foot-three television heartthrob. “I’ve got an idea.”
Willow and Kim both turned a furio
us shade of red.
Jack laughed, rubbing a thumb across Amber’s cheek. “Wow, you’re even redder than that time Olaf Betzen made you forget your own name.”
Amber flushed further and gently swatted his hand away. John Huntley’s face was semi-less intimidating when she could see Kieran’s just below the surface.
The sound-cancelling spell dropped. Kieran flashed them an award-winning smile, pushed his way past them, and then started screaming “Help! Help!” as he took off at a run.
“It’ll be nice to run after him for a change,” Kim said, waggling her brows. “JOHN! John, my sweet baby angel, come back!”
“Ahhh!” screamed fake John, and he took off.
Willow, Amber, and Jack shrugged, then followed as well, calling John’s name.
Fake John reached the mouth of the alley and then stopped abruptly. He looked left and right, gasping dramatically. “Goodness me! It is I, John Huntley, and I am in need of assistance!”
Kieran was even worse at this than Kim was.
A scream went up from their left and Amber glanced over to see a teenage girl hurtling down the sidewalk toward them.
“Oh my God,” Kieran muttered.
From a few people over, Amber heard, “Look! Is that …”
“That looks just like John Huntley!”
“I think that is John Huntley!”
“He said on his socials that he might be at the parade today …”
Meanwhile, the sprinting teenage girl had gained four followers who were all running straight for them.
“Sweet mother …” Kieran said.
“Uhh … run,” Amber said. “Now.”
Kieran didn’t need to be told twice. Amber, Willow, Kim, and Jack jumped apart to avoid being in a head-on collision with the sprinting girls. Amber recognized one of them from the grocery store—the girl who had a lawyer for an uncle. Tammy, maybe. She had her phone’s screen in front of her face as she ran.
“Scuttle Hunters, I’m coming to you live from the Edgehill parade,” she said into her screen as she went barreling past. “I have eyes on John. Today might be the day I finally catch him.”
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