Free Witch Risen: A Paranormal Adventure (Bad Tom Series Book 2) by Jill Nojack Page A

get her over here. We're going to talk."
    An hour after the daughter arrives with her nails half-painted, I'm no wiser than I was before. Neither of them know anything about Tom or Kevin's relationship with Cassie. Neither of them know what Robert won't let Kevin do. They do report that certain members of the coven have been on the outs under the new leadership and have been subtly discouraged from attending. Maureen and Dora have felt unwelcome along with Zelda and her spawn, although Dora was never a special follower of mine. She didn't like Natalie much, though. But everyone else was certainly team Gillian, and I'm sure they were just waiting for me to pop off.
    None of this makes sense. But at least I know where my followers stand. With a little prompting, they'll be back in the coven at the full moon to lend "Cassie" their support when she asks for it. I doubt that Natalie would actually block them from the circle. Subtle has no power against the direct approach.
    What was that song about the moon Tom liked so much in the seventies? He would sometimes dance me around to it when he wasn't blaming me for his lot. I remember; I feel a bad moon a'risin'. My, oh my. Poor Natalie. That moon is rising soon.

My black fur blends in to the shadows in the narrow space between Eunice's big Victorian and the smaller one next door. Both of them are converted shops now—no one in Giles wants to live that close to each other. Too many secrets in this town. Who would want the neighbors listening in? Eunice is one of the few owners who still lives in the downtown area.
    When she walks past the break between houses, I pull Cat in as small as he'll go and try to disappear into the patch of darkness around me. Cat alarms me with an impulse to dart out behind her and catch the hem of a pants leg as she passes, but I distract him with the thought of his blue bowl inside the house, imagining the fishy scent of his favorite glop. It's a good thing Cat's impulses can shift like leaves in the wind. He settles again, dinner on his mind.
    I know Natalie promised that Eunice won't be able to sense me now, but I'm still not willing to take any chances. What Cassie told me about her has sharpened the edge of fear I've been living with since my caring girlfriend turned away from me that night in the attic and a devil turned back.
    I look out from around the corner when enough time has passed, and Eunice is well down the street. At the corner, Robert greets her and they enter The Diner of Earthly Delights together.I've got my cell phone strapped to my collar so Robert can contact me.
    I considered using the invisibility suit, but there's no way to test if it works on Eunice without potentially giving myself away. Better to assume that since she created it, she's also immune to its effects.
    I can't believe I'm counting on Robert to make sure this thing goes off without a hitch. If she balks and heads home too soon, the only thing between me and slavery is his arthritic thumbs tapping me out a text in time to get me out of there before she arrives. Although he's been the soul of hospitality since I started staying at his house, and I know I owe him, I still can't fully trust him.
    I'm swift as I run around the house and leap to the window Eunice usually leaves open for Cat. Cat is ecstatic. He's still thinking of dinner. He's going to be disappointed today. We leap into the parlor, and I head him toward the stairs instead of the kitchenette.
    He cooperates until I get to the top of the stairs, but he decides he's focused long enough now and bats at the phone swinging around on his collar, hoping to take a break for some fun on the landing. Too bad for him it hangs in too close to our body, and he can't quite figure out how to reach it.
    Whose idea was it to combine a tiny typewriter with a tiny phone and make people carry them around, anyway? The alarm function is useful, but I don't need to carry an alarm clock, or a phone, or a typewriter around all