Page 41 of Cursed By Fate

Vale offered a barely contained smile. “I’d offer you a sample, but we should preserve what we have in case we need to do the spell again.”

“Ready to give me a boost?” Harriet asked.

The witches joined hands and chanted. We watched the map intently, waiting for any sign of the monster. A white light sparked near Whitemarsh Island.

“As expected,” Vale remarked.

“There has to be a nest there, right?” Gage asked. “Why else would it stick so close to civilization?”

Catherine clutched her pearls. “You don’t think there are baby monsters, do you? I don’t think I could kill those.”

“No one’s asking you to kill anything,” I told her. “Your job is to help us find it. That’s it.”

“If you do spot it, you’re not to engage,” Vale added. “The second you spot the monster, send a message to the group chat.”

Margie perked up. “There’s a group chat?”

“It’s strictly for this mission,” I said, already anticipating the mischief she’d make. I turned to Meemaw. “You are not to call a single number in the chat. Everything must be done via text.”

Meemaw pulled out her phone. “Fine. Add me. What’s the name of the group?”

“It’s just the group chat,” Vale said.

Meemaw feigned a snore. “Boring. It needs a catchy name.”

“Not everything needs to entertain you.”

“Sweetie, this whole world exists to entertain me.”

“How about Monster Mission?” Catherine suggested.

“Ooh, I know!” Margie said. “Monster Marsh.”

I rolled my eyes. There was no point in arguing. “Monster Marsh it is.”

“How did people coordinate monster fights like this before cell phones?” Catherine asked.

“They didn’t—they died,” Meemaw said.

“We have magic,” Louise said. “We’ll be fine.”

I hoped she was right. I didn’t want them to die, and I definitely didn’t want to explain to Justine how one of her Neighbors was somehow killed off the island.

“No exceptional magic,” I warned. “And no magic unrelated to the mission.” I couldn’t risk them drawing attention to themselves.

Louise saluted me. “We’re here to serve, ma’am.”

Harriet eyed me. “She’s mocking you, right?”

“Mhm. One of their favorite activities on the island.”

“You’re a better sport than I am.”

The white dot on the map shifted a couple inches.

“Monster’s on the move,” Cowboy announced. “It’s go time.”

We divided into our groups and spilled outside.