“Lily, what in all the gods’ names have you done now?” Will’s low, urgent voice and his shoving my arm woke me.
“Huh?” I’d been lying on my back, happily dreaming of eating double-chocolate muffins with my besties, Imani and Liv. Dream cupcakes were almost as good as real ones, and you didn’t pay the weight price afterwards. Being woken in the middle of eating one was a total downer. I’d need a real one to make everything better.
I grunted and opened my eyes to our dim room, a strip of morning light peeking from where the blinds met the window. I blinked, not quite trusting my view in the gloom.
Little round eyes, lots of them, stared at me. Those beady eyes were attached to squirrels. Some of them were sitting on my legs, some were in the gap between me and Will, and some were on the other side of me, and a couple were on Will’s legs. My mouth dropped open. “What the hell?” I loved squirrels, but waking up to fifteen of them staring at you like creepy stalkers was too much even for me.
“You created this somehow, so you tell me?” Will looked at me and raised a brow.
I shrugged. “It’s not like I sent out an invite or anything. How do they even know where our bedroom is?”
That’s when I caught movement on my study table. Abby, my adopted cat, sat there, as elegant as you please. She brought her paw up to her mouth and licked it as if everything was normal. She refused to meet my gaze. Will followed my line of sight. “So, it’s not your fault.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why is everything automatically my fault? Haven’t you heard of innocent until proven guilty?”
He looked back at the squirrels, who were still eyeballing us. Did they ever blink? “Yes, but I know you. You’re usually at the centre of stuff when it goes south.”
One of the squirrels twitched its tail. They wouldn’t attack, would they? Nah, they loved me. Surely they weren’t here to murder us. When I’d wanted to create a squirrel army, I never envisaged that they could turn on me. “Can you ask Abby what they want?” I still hadn’t worked out how to talk to animals. I held out hope that it would happen soon.
“Abby, why are we surrounded by a furry horde?” Will asked. She stopped licking her paw and looked at Will. She meowed a few times. Will grunted and shook his head. He turned to me. “Apparently they’ve missed you and were worried something had happened. They wanted proof of life.” He smirked, and he shook with contained laughter.
I bit my lip, then laughed. “Wow, go away for a week, and have a few days to recover once I’m home, and that’s all it takes? I’ll have to explain to them whenever we go away.” My forehead tightened. “Do they even have a concept of time? It’s not like they use calendars or watches.”
“They probably don’t, and I’m pretty sure they can’t count either. It’s probably a lost cause.”
I cast my gaze over the caring fluffballs and smiled. “You’re all so adorable. Thank you for checking on me. I’m fine. Do you guys want some breakfast?” Chittering broke out. One of them scampered around the bed, setting the others off until the bedroom was a crazified zone of cuteness. I laughed. “I guess I’d better get up before someone gets hurt.”
I climbed over Will, who grabbed me and gave me a kiss before letting me go on my way. I magicked clothes on and hurried to the bathroom. Once all the morning business was done, I tracked downstairs, a crowd of squirrels behind me. The grey mass followed me out to the backyard, where I magicked nuts and seeds into their bowls. They jumped onto the bench seats, then the table, and sat at their squirrel-size version. Two of them looked at me, and I swear they gave me a nod of thanks. “You’re welcome. And thanks for worrying about me.”
My mother’s laughter came from behind me. “You and those squirrels.”
I turned around. “What? They’re totally adorable, and they’re my friends.”
She shook her head. “You’re a nut, so I guess you go well with those animals.”
It was then I noticed her outfit, and my heart constricted. “What are you up to today?”
Her expression morphed into serious. “Angelica and I have been talking about it for a while, and… well… I’m going back to work for the PIB. I’m going to be Angelica’s assistant, help her with field work, reports, that kind of thing.”
Without her magic, she’d be almost helpless against any witches who wanted to do her harm, and if she was accompanying Angelica out to catch criminals…. “But you have to be careful. And are you sure you’re ready for this? It’s bound to bring up things you need to forget.”
Mum lifted her chin and folded her arms, her gaze unwavering and stern. “I won’t be in danger. I’m not going out to catch criminals, just investigate the crime scenes. I’ll leave the capturing to Angelica and the other agents. I think sitting around here all day is worse. I need something to do to keep my mind active. And I need to make a difference. What’s the point of having survived if I don’t do anything with my life? Not to mention, what else am I qualified for that I’d enjoy?”
I sighed. She had a good point, well, several actually. Knowing she was right did nothing to make me less worried, but who was I to argue? It was her life, and it was her call how she lived it. The fact that her job was what got her taken from James and me in the first place shouldn’t come into it. Ah, who the hell was I trying to kid? It did matter, and I wasn’t going to like it. At all. But there was nothing I could do, and I didn’t want to create friction between us when we were just getting to know each other again.
Guilt nudged me in the ribs because I couldn’t bring myself to smile and be joyful for her. The only thing I could manage was a calm “Just be careful.”
“I will. Don’t worry.” She smiled. “It’ll be like old times. I’m so excited. I can’t wait!” Wow, she was ridiculously enthusiastic about it. “Anyway, I have to go now. Angelica’s ready, and I don’t want to keep her waiting.” She approached me, gave me a hug, then went inside.
I turned back to watch the breakfasting squirrels. If only everything in life could be as cute and harmless as my grey furballs. But that was impossible. Depressingly impossible, as the morning would soon prove.
