Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam #2)(50)

I sorted through my prepared spells and found a scroll I had written a month or so ago when I had an afternoon to spare. I unrolled it and began to read the words that would activate the magic locked within the paper.



Circle round this house and land,

Warriors stand and take command.

Let nothing fell cross boundary line,

Let nothing touch this house of mine.

Let nothing harm those within,

Let peace and quiet hereby reign.

By the powers of three times three,

As I Will, So Mote It Be.



There was an immediate hush as the day’s energies fell away. Then, one by one, shadow warriors appeared, blending into the walls. Some of them headed out into the cloudy day. I could barely see them, quicksilver flickers against the light. They encircled the house.

I let out a slow breath. The house would be protected until I returned, and so would Bubba, Aegis, and Franny. My magic was strong, and it would take a powerful witch in return to try to break through my barriers. Essie, with her Voudou, might be able to, but she was in her lair for the day. And I doubted if anybody in her employ was as powerful as I was. Essie didn’t like competition.

Feeling calmer, I grabbed my purse and threw on a light jacket. As I made sure I had my keys, I once again thought about the journal hidden in my basement. Thornton had balls, that was for sure. To steal something like that from a vampire queen and then stay in the community where she lived? That took guts, especially for a human. But in the end, he had paid for it. And thanks to him, we were all paying for it.

I hurried down the steps as Sandy pulled up. This time, I had double-checked both doors and made certain everything was secure, as well as the windows. Along with the shadow warriors, I had done all I could to protect my home, and sometimes, that had to be enough.





SANDY STARED AT me as I told her everything I had found.

“You’re fucking kidding me. Thornton tried to steal something that powerful from Essie? Was he a fool? And by the way, are you all right from last night’s little fiasco?”

“Yes, he was a fool. And yes, I’m all right. But I’ve decided that I should join a gym. Or at least buy some exercise equipment. If we’re facing a growing menace from the vampires, I want to be in shape for whatever comes our way.”

“I can work out with you—why don’t you join my hot yoga class?”

I stared at her, snorting. “Listen, Sandy, you’ve been doing yoga for what…thirty years? Longer? I mean, you live in yoga pants. And you go to aerobics classes. I’d faint dead away if I tried to keep up with you. Consider me a remedial student when it comes to physical education. I don’t think I’m going to be disciplined to follow through on my own so while we’re out, let’s find me a gym and get me signed up.”

Sandy gave me the side-eye. “You do realize you’re going to have to quit eating so much junk food. I mean, I love my junk food, but I only eat it when we’re hanging out. Well, sometimes for breakfast. Moderation, Maddy. You can’t live on cupcakes and hot dogs.”

“I made a cheese sandwich for breakfast,” I protested, but gave it up. Who was I kidding? I had the worst eating habits of anybody I knew, and it was only through the grace of the gods that my body hadn’t converted all the carbs to extra weight. I liked my shape—curvy, busty, a nice amount of padding on the hips and thighs, but I knew that my stamina was pretty much on permanent holiday, and my muscle tone had taken a nosedive long, long ago.

“All right, damn it. I’ll eat healthier, but I don’t like salad.”

“You don’t have to eat salad. Just add more vegetables and meat, cut down on the starches and sugar, and watch the level of caffeine in your blood.”

“You’re not taking away my caffeine. Or my booze.”

She laughed. “No, we’ll still party. But maybe we should curtail the once-a-week bashes.”

It sounded like a prison sentence, but maybe she did have a point. And it wouldn’t hurt for a while to see what happened. “All right. We keep our parties a little less boozy, I’ll eat better and maybe even have Aegis teach me how to make something besides a sandwich, and I’ll start working out. But I’m not budging on the caffeine. Not yet.”

“Well, you can’t just throw everything away at once,” Sandy conceded. She motioned to a large building up ahead. “That’s a good gym and it’s close to your house. Why don’t we go in and have them show us around?”

And just like that, I found myself in the clutches of a werewolf trainer named Wilson.





Chapter 14





WILSON FAIRHAUL PUT me through a short but gritty set of tests to assess my state. Mortified, I had to acknowledge just how out of shape I was. By the time I left, he had signed me up for personal weight-training sessions twice a week, a low-impact aerobics class, and a yoga class.

He also gave me instructions on what to make for breakfast—a smoothie that had at least a dozen ingredients in it, most of which I had never heard of, and instructions to quit the caffeine by two p.m. each day. He had wanted me to stop drinking it by noon, but I had given him a look that had cowed him into silence.

Sandy stood there laughing the entire time. After that was done, we swept out of the gym, which was one of those Spandex wonder gyms, sans the incessant Euro-tech music that made me grit my teeth. My checkbook had taken a beating and so had my ego.