"Good." A white van, the kind you see in heist movies, pulled up.
"Totally inconspicuous," Lucas said drolly.
The van came to a stop and all of the Comey sisters spilled out like a paranormal clown car. "Speaking of creepy," I whispered.
His shoulders shook. "We have a lot of reasons to be grateful to them, no matter how weird all of this is."
"For sure. I just hope Marissa gets some peace."
"She will. I have a good feeling about it."
I sipped my coffee. "She deserves it."
Morgana stepped forward. "Is she ready?"
"Almost."
She nodded. "We must hurry. The spell surrounding the property will fail at dawn. We must be on the road and out of the barriers of this town by then."
I swallowed hard but didn't ask her why. Marissa came out of the house less than five minutes later, carrying her son, and pulling only a single suitcase behind her. She stopped on the porch and turned to look at the home she'd gone through so much in. I watched as she steeled her shoulders, turned around, and strode back down the steps. She stopped in front of Morgana.
"I very much appreciate what you're doing for me."
Morgana tilted her head. "You will be safe as long as you follow our instructions."
Her sisters held open the door of the van. Marissa put her suitcase in and stepped up with the assistance of the sisters. Morgana motioned for us to join them.
"We can't follow you?" Lucas asked.
Amusement sparkled in her eyes. "Are you afraid of close quarters with us, Lucas Marsh?"
I pretended not to notice his audible swallow.
"Our van is magically warded and protected in the event of pursuit. This is the safest way. If you wish to know where she will live, your only choice is to ride with us."
I grinned at him and stepped into the van to sit beside Marissa. For a moment I thought he wasn't going to follow, but he finally squared his shoulders and stepped in, squeezing into the tiny space beside me. A small smile quirked the side of Marissa's mouth but no one laughed out loud. Morgana offered us some tea, but we all declined. I wanted to be completely coherent for this car ride.
"Suit yourself," she said, but I noticed she, nor any of her sisters, poured their tea from that particular thermos.
We arrivedafter the longest car ride in the world. Morgana, current angel that she was, did not appear to have forgiven Lucas for his love potion purchase and spent most of the time staring at him in a way that kept goosebumps on my arms the entire ride. Marissa kept laughing about it. Lucas was pissed, and I was smacked firmly in the middle of it. I didn't think Morgana would try to murder him in the presence of both his girlfriend and friend, but I didn't know her well enough to really be sure about it.
So once we pulled up in front of a modest, two bedroom home in the middle of a twelve acre plot of land, we practically wrestled with each other to get out of the car. Morgana froze us both in place with barely a swipe of her fingers and let Marissa go first. Morgana rolled her eyes at both of us then let us go. I ended up letting Lucas go first just so I didn't have to feel the black fingers of her magic against my skin again.
She was crazy powerful and all I wanted to do was to get back home as soon as possible. I tried to forget the fact that we had a four hour car ride ahead of us. Again.
Marissa strode up to the house with a look of wonder. Clint was snuggled in the crook of her arm fast asleep. She looked back at Morgana who nodded and with an encouraging smile, flicked open the door using magic. Marissa stepped in and we followed behind her.
I was impressed. The house was old, but the bones were good. Original wooden floors were perfectly laid all through the downstairs.The kitchen cabinets had been restored and painted an antique white. The appliances were replaced with modern ones and when I opened the fridge I noticed it was stocked to the brim with eggs, milk, fruits, vegetables and everything else a young mother could need. A quick glance in the cabinets showed they were also stocked with cups and plate, pots and pans, everything necessary to make meals there.
Marissa gasped in surprise at every new discovery and when she finished walking the downstairs, she turned to Morgana and without saying a word, handed me Clint, and pulled the witch into a crushing embrace.
Morgana grimaced at the contact but allowed her arms to stretch around Marissa's small form. "I hope it works out for you here," she said. They stepped apart and the witch dug into her pocket, pulling out two small stones. "You'll need to carry these with you, wherever you go, and you should use them in sleep as well. Just in case. They will change your appearance and that of your child. You should be allowed to move freely around the town. Lucas is aware they need to be recharged. He has taken the cost of that upon himself. I, or one of my sisters, will return here once a month to recharge them for you."
"I can never repay you for this," Marissa whispered. She looked at all of us, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Your child grows close to his judgment day, Marissa. If he turns loup, you must end it. For if you do not, the world will suffer."
I looked down at the adorable sleeping baby and wondered how in the world this cute little thing could suddenly turn into a killing machine. He was still pooping himself. It seemed terribly at odds with his personality now. But what did I know about a one of a kind vampire werewolf hybrid baby? Not a thing, that's what.
