Tate ducked and his hands covered his head out of panic. The gun fell out of the demon's hand. He stumbled forward, collapsing behind Tate. Tate whipped around, claws sharpening from his fingertips.

   Simone lowered the shotgun from her eye-level, her face dark with outrage. She stood framed by the hole in the wall, her hair askew and her eyes wild. Dust covered her clothes. "Who," she seethed, "the hell, put a hole in my wall?"

   Tate and I both pointed at the wizard. The wizard glowered. "The shapeshifter threw me through it."

   "I threw you out of it," corrected Tate hotly.

   Simone fished another shell out of her pocket, glaring. "Hold still, you son of a bitch."

   Both Tate and the wizard froze, unsure of who she meant. The wizard narrowed his eyes and stepped backwards, vanishing into the wall. His hand reappeared to grab the unmoving shifter's arm and he yanked her away. Before he could take the white-haired woman, I dragged her away from the wall with a snapped, "That's my leverage, moron."

   The dust in the room began to settle. The fae was unconscious on the floor, knocked out from snake venom. The white-haired woman glowered at her, her mouth gagged with a crimson bandana. Tate pressed his hand against the demon's throat. "He's dead," confirmed Tate. "Simone caught him as he materialized fully. That shotgun at point-blank range killed him pretty quickly."

   Jennifer appeared to the side of Simone. She sheathed her sword, and I noted the blood on it before it was hidden. The way she held her weight on one leg suggested her scuffle with the demon hadn't gone well. Simone jumped, flabbergasted, as Jennifer blew out a breath. "Lucky shot."

   Simone finally took a step back. I pursed my lips, unsure about what was going to happen. She looked at the woman wildly. "Where did you just come from?"

   Jennifer looked at her blankly. "You really haven't connected the dots already?"

   Simone shook her head. "I'm going nuts. Right?"

   "Uh--" I started.

   Simone lifted the shotgun at me immediately. I yelped and put my hands up. Her eyes bored into me threateningly. "You had better explain what the hell is going on!"

   "I will! Just put down the shotgun!"

   "Oh, hell nah. I just saw a woman appear out of thin air, two men explode my wall into pieces, and a guy that somehow seemed to be invisibly attacking me. If you think I'm dropping this thing for a damn second, you're way off."

   Yeah, taking it about as well as I thought she would. I grimaced. "Okay. Let's go sit outside, okay?"

~

    Simone, true to her word, hadn't let go of the shotgun since I started talking. It sat across her lap. Her fingers drummed a distressed beat on the barrel. It took around ten minutes of talking before I was able to stop. She stared at her fence, chocolate eyes distant. I fell silent and watched her expression, worried.

   After a moment, she muttered, "This is bullshit."

   My lip quirked. "Sorry?"

   Her hand dug into her pocket. I pursed my lips as she pulled out the box. Damn. I'd hoped she wouldn't have a pack on her, but I was wrong. She broke it open -- at least it had still been taped closed from purchase -- and pulled out a cigarette. Simone had a smoking problem, and she'd had it since high school. She'd broken the habit a while ago, but the stress of the last hour had pushed her too far. 

   She felt her pockets. "Damn it. Got a lighter?"

   I gave her a look. "Why would I light that?"

   She glared. "Because it's the only cigarette in this house. You really think I'd let myself fall off the wagon like that?"

   She was right. It was the only cigarette in the box. Apparently, she'd bought the box and thrown all but one away, then resealed it. It was her emergency stash. The tape and box was old, so she had bought it a while ago but hadn't broken the seal since. "You threw away the rest?"

   "Damn right I did."

   "You swear it?"

   Some seriousness took over her features. She understood that I would not get her a lighter if I thought she was going to start smoking regularly again. She nodded. "I need something normal, Roxie. It's the only one."

   Need something normal. That was something I understood perfectly. Without hesitation, I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers below the butt. Sparks flew from my fingertips. Simone jammed the cigarette into her mouth. She'd had a point. If smoking one cigarette kept her sane, then I would light it. But I was never lighting her another one. She knew it, too.

   She blew outwards and closed her eyes. The wind pulled back her hair, showing how pale her cheeks had gotten. "You're being serious, aren't you. Everything you said, you were being honest."

   "Yeah."

   Her head shook slightly. "I know you wouldn't lie to me, but I can't . . ." Her voice faded. Cigarette between her fingers, she waved at the porch. "I can't wrap my head around it."

   "It honestly took me a few days," I admitted. "And I was the one conjuring the magic in the first place."

   "Magic . . . shit." She looked at her lap, snorting. "Magic's real. So were the movies right or not?"

   "Uh, which?"

   "Any of them?"

   "No. No movie that I've seen was anywhere close."

   She took another drag. "And you say that you're a  . . . witch?"

   I shook my head. "Mage. Witches manipulate the magic that life forces give off. I manipulate the magic that comes directly from the barrier."

   "What's the barrier?"

   My lips turned down. In my memory, my own voice asked Alexie. He'd shaken his head. "I'm not sure. Alexie never really explained it to me. From what I can tell, it's like a wall. I don't think it's a physical, touchable wall, though. More like a sheet of fog, if you know what I mean."

   "I don't."

   I chuckled. "I don't get it, either. But mages seem to be able to draw on it for power. Mages are like conduits. We can redirect the flow of magic and use it for ourselves. I tap into it every time I use magic." My hand lifted to show her. Crimson liquid seeped into my palm and pooled. She poked her hand into the pool and gawped.

   "I can feel it."

   "Yeah, it's solid." I crumpled my fist and formed a lump. I dropped it into her hand. She fiddled with it before jamming it against the wood at her feet. It split. Her jaw fell. "You broke my stair!"

   I snorted. "You broke your stair. That's inactive magic."

   "It's your magic."

   Laughing, I threw my arm over her shoulder. "So you're okay, right? Not going to go into shock?"

   "I don't know yet," she grumbled. "I don't think it's really sunk in yet."

   I shook my head and looked back at the fence. So, Dani's first attempt on Simone's life had failed. But she was probably going to try again. I couldn't stick around her constantly, because I had to go after Dani. There had to be a way for me to protect her. I got an idea.

   "Still have that necklace?"

   "Of course." Simone pulled it from under her shirt. It had a charm depicting a small compass. She'd gotten it from her dad when she was little. 

   "I'm going to try something," I told her. I held it between two fingers. Simone frowned. Focusing, I concentrated on my hand. My other one summoned my staff and Simone yelped as it appeared beside us. Magic flowed down my arm.

   It was possible to make portable spells. I'd seen Alexie put shield spells on the door to his house. There was a way to do it. I concentrated sharply on her necklace. Sparks flew as the spell formed in my palm. It moved onto the charm and I shrunk it down until it was invisible. But now that it was there, how did I let Simone activate it?

   My head ached, but I opened my eyes and let go of the charm. "Okay. Now, grab it, and twist it around the chain."

   Simone frowned. She caught the charm and twisted it around. There was an explosion of red. I fell off of the stairs, surprised at the velocity of my own spell. Simone froze, sitting in the middle of a red sphere. I got up, dusted myself off, and grinned. "Perfect."

   Simone waved a hand at the shield. It shattered the moment her hand met its interior surface. My face fell. "Dude." Stepping forward, I grabbed the charm again and glowered. "This is your only line of defense, okay? It will keep you protected from practically anything but Dani herself. You can keep it until you can find an Enforcer."

   With the spell redone, I sat back down. Simone looked down at the charm. "What's an Enforcer?"

   "Oh. Yeah." I leaned my head backwards, not even bothering to raise my voice. "Can you come explain, Tate?"

   Simone frowned at me. "There's no way he heard you."

   Tate opened the back door, his lip quirked upwards. Simone glowered. "Were you eavesdropping?"

   "Not intentionally."

   At her incredulous look, I explained, "Tate's a shapeshifter. They've got pretty damn good hearing. Like so good that he was able to hear the people coming before they got to your fence."

   She blanched. "That's disturbing."

   Tate chuckled and took a seat of the metal chair by the door. "Anyway, as Roxie was saying, if you encounter trouble, all you've got to do is get to an Enforcer. They're the magick version of the Navy Seals. They will be able to protect you long enough to get you to safety. It wouldn't be hard to find one, either. With that shield, if you walk onto the street, an Enforcer will find you in less than thirty seconds. You'd be a threat to the secrecy of magic, so they'd come to you quickly."

   Simone pulled out the cigarette and nodded. "Fine. Do you think I'll be attacked again?"

   "I think it's practically a guarantee." I tossed my staff toward the yard, but it vanished before it hit the grass. Almost a second later, someone vaulted over her fence. Erlan landed on his feet smoothly and straightened. Simone's jaw fell. Caze wasn't as graceful about getting over the fence, but he was taller than it, so it wasn't that hard.

   Gene melted into existence beside Jennifer as she stepped onto the porch. Karen was the final person to get over the fence, using her staff to vault over. Simone glowered. "Y'all had better be allies. I really don't want another hole in my wall."

   Caze frowned at us. "Who died?"

   Simone stared. "How'd you know someone died?"

   "I can smell the death. One of Dani's?"

   Jennifer nodded. "The demon. Simone shot and killed him. There was a fae hybrid, a wizard, a fae, and what I think is another hybrid. We have the fae and the second hybrid tied up."

   Tate shook his head. "That white-haired woman is not a hybrid. Her scent is pure. I just can't identify it."

   Erlan walked into the house. Caze followed, wedging his way past us. Simone growled. "Just walk right into my house, would you?"

   Karen looked at her skeptically. "You killed the demon?"

   Simone hefted her shotgun. "Hell yes, I did. He was about to kill Roxie's boyfriend."

   I choked. "Simone!"

   "How long do you expect to take over my house?" Simone yelled as she headed inside, irritated. "And you had better pay for the holes in my wall and floor!" She threw down the cigarette and quashed it under her heel.