Too Hexy For Her Wand (Hot and Hexy #2) - Susan Hayes Page 0,2
that bunch of wet-noodle warlocks.”
“What?” Why in the name of magic and mojo would she be in that kind of danger?
Tiff scampered out of reach, tail puffed to three times the normal size and ears flattened against her skull. “Calm down. You need to eat more ice cream before we continue this conversation.”
“Excellent suggestion.” She devoured several more mouthfuls and waited for the decadent blend of booze, sugar and cream to work their special magic. Comfort eating might not be the best way to cope with emotional upheaval, but thanks to her witchy metabolism, she didn’t need to worry about calories. Bless the Goddess for that little gift.
She set the bowl aside. She could do this. When Tiff wandered over to it, she flicked a couple of dark green sparks the cat’s way in warning. “Don’t even think about it. You’re in enough trouble already. I am seriously considering putting you back on kitty kibble.”
“You wouldn’t!” Tiff might be a cat, but she considered kibble and canned cat foot to be culinary crimes.
“Try me. You just told me you’ve been protecting me from something for half my life, and this is the first time it’s ever been mentioned.”
“You set out one bowl of those desiccated demon turds, and I swear by the Goddess’s G-string I will puke in every shoe you own.”
“Low blow. Shoes are supposed to be off-limits.” Fern would never do that to Tiff, and they both knew it, but the snarky banter was a welcome distraction from all the heavy news she’d been hit with. Feeling a little better, she tugged the lid off the tin and looked inside. It was filled with dark green and silver tissue paper.
She had to dig through it for a few seconds before she found everything inside. There was a packet of documents, a bit of tissue wrapped in silver ribbon, and a child’s stuffed animal—a Siamese cat. Its fur was worn away in some spots, it was missing an ear, and it looked like the tail was lightly singed and blackened, but she cuddled it close as a wave of nostalgia and loss washed over her. “Shazzy!”
“What do you remember?” Tiff asked, her voice soft and a little sad.
“Just that I loved this stuffed animal so much when I was a kid. I dragged him everywhere.” She lifted the toy’s slightly melted tail. “I think I did this to him. I was trying to make him fly, and it didn’t go quite how I planned. I can’t believe I forgot about him.”
She snuggled the toy under one arm and pulled out the paperwork. It was all bundled up with what looked like hand-spun wool, and the pages were yellowed with age. She dashed away a few stray tears with the back of her hand and skimmed over the top page, which wasn’t much more than a map to somewhere called Black Fin Bay and a picture of the welcome sign. There was the deed to a house, a birth certificate, and a stack of other legal documents, all in the name of… “Who the hell is Fern Summers, and why do I have all her stuff?”
While she’d been reading, Tiff-Tiff had wandered back to her bed. The cat cracked open one eye. “You’re Fern Summers.”
“Then why does it say Wilkinson on my driver’s licence and all my credit cards?”
Oh Goddess. Did that mean her credit cards were fraudulent? Was she going to lose her platinum status? Her chest tightened, and she downed more of the ice cream to stave off panic. This couldn’t be happening.
“All part of the plan to keep you hidden until it was time for you to go home again.”
“If this is some elaborate birthday joke, kitty kibble will be the least of your worries, Tiff-Tiff.”
“It’s not. Your parents asked me to protect you, and I have. They didn’t give me all the details because I didn’t need them. In fact, it was safer for me not to know. They didn’t want you to be alone in the world, Fern. They needed to know I’d look after you, and I have. I kept my promises.” She pointed a paw at the tissue-wrapped bundle. “There’s another message in there.”
“Baba Yaga was part of a plan to keep me safe? From what? From whom? And why don’t I know anything about this?”
“Because no way could a thirteen-year-old girl be trusted with secrets this big. Your parents…they knew terrible things were coming. They made what arrangements they could in the