Page 61 of The Librarian’s Familiar

She took a step toward him. “All of them, and I don’t know what to do.”

That made two of them. Shit. There was no one else here but him. He could make a phone call but…there were no other Coven operatives in Claw Lake. The witches here weren’t trained properly. They were all self-taught, piecing together knowledge over a generation, doing things that made no actual sense, but because it’s what they had always done, that’s what they did. They clung to rituals and charms because they believed them to be effective, not understanding the reason behind.

“There are two things we need to do. The first is, you need to ask them what is coming.”

“Ask them how? I talk to my dog, but the birds don’t listen to my voice.”

“Your dog isn’t listening to your voice either… Well, maybe a little. He’s listening to the words you are using in your heart and mind. Magic is amplified by emotions. You love your dog, and he feels safe talking to you because he knows you love him, and he will feel that when you’re communicating with him.”

She looked at him like he was speaking Latin. “With my mind?”

“I’m not an animal talker, but my understanding of it is that you are projecting thoughts. With wild animals, it will be more difficult as they have no reason to trust you. So there are two things you can do. First, ask your dog why you need to run. The chances are that he will have spoken to other animals around the place. The other thing you can do is feed the birds in your yard or the park or wherever you normally listen to them.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Make some phone calls.” He strode back to his desk and wrote his number on a bright pink sticky note before offering her the pen and paper.

“I haven’t seen any birds today. I think they’re gone.” She wrote her name and number on the paper and handed it back.

Charlie froze. There’d been no birds in his backyard this morning. He’d gone out with a couple of crusts of bread, expecting to feed them the same way he always did. “I think you’re right.”

Whatever was coming would be here soon. “Whatever your dog says, I think you need to listen and make sure he gets some different food.”

She gave him a soft smile. “I already suggested that to Dad. I told him he was old and wasn’t interested in eating, and he was starting to lose weight, and he agreed.”

“Good work. Text me when you know why we should be running.”

“You know there’s not enough planes? There’s nowhere for us to go.”

“Let me worry about that, okay, Shelly?”

She nodded but still seemed on the verge of tears. “I should be glad I’m not losing my mind, and that I was able to give you a warning, but all I can think of is that I don’t think I’m strong enough or brave enough to have magic. I’m not like the girls in these books.” She waved the book she’d checked out.

How could he tell her that she’d had this magic through several lifetimes? That it had always been part of her, the way his had always been part of him. “I think you are brave for coming and telling me, for trusting me. And I think you’ll find that in all those books there’s some kind of training montage where the heroine learns how to use her power…consider this the start of yours.”

She laughed and sniffed. “That’s true. Was it difficult when you were learning?”

It was still difficult. There were times when he wished he didn’t have it. And there’d been a period of several months when he was nineteen, when he’d considered letting the Coven take it. He didn’t want to be the equivalent of dark matter. However, even though plenty of agents in the Coven were concerned about his magic, they all agreed it existed for a reason. “I can honestly say it’s going to get worse before it gets better. But one day, you’ll wake up, and it will just be a part of you. Some days, you ignore it, and you build up your ability to contain it, and other days, you use it. Remember that the energy has to come from somewhere.”

She nodded. “And I can come here any time?”

“Yes, or text me.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll probably need to think about telling your father at some point.” Was he cursed to keep having this conversation?

She wrinkled her nose. “I suppose I’ll have to tell Dad. I won’t tell anyone I saw you kissing August North, though.”

Why didn’t she punch him in the face? It would’ve hurt less. “August will appreciate that.”

“I figured that, since no one in town was talking about it. They all keep saying how he’s such an eligible bachelor.” She rolled her eyes as if not believing anyone would be interested in dating him. “All those women are going to feel kind of silly for trying to find reasons to go visit his mother.”

Is that what they were doing? That was so weird. But then, August North returning to Claw Lake was the biggest news of the year. “We’re all about to have slightly bigger problems since all the birds have fled.”

“I’ll run home, and I’ll text you as soon as I know something.”

He wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to run, but maybe she did. Maybe they all did. But where are they running to?