Eddie’s face lit up as he followed me across the sandy ground. “Blowgun? Are you seriously—”

His words were lost as a mailbox suddenly exploded beside us. Without missing a beat, Eddie pushed me down and rolled us away from the worst of the heat and flames. Gravel and hard ground scraped at my skin, but it was certainly better than the alternative. Eddie kept himself positioned protectively over me as we both carefully lifted our heads and peered around, taking in the fiery wreckage.

“What the hell?” he asked.

Another explosion erupted from the ground beside us. No flames this time, but the rocks that flew up from it were as good as shrapnel, and I cried out as a particularly sharp one bit into my arm. I pointed at the closest building.

“There!”

Before he could stop me, I ran toward it, casting a spell of unseen force that shattered a window. An ear-piercing alarm blared out. No surprise Wolfe would have this place wired. The question was whether his paranoia would extend to having that alarm system monitored by the police or not.

Eddie followed me through the window, and I found we were in the building that had served as a training area for my self-defense class. It was wide and open, lined with mirrors and cases of weapons. I sized up the room, looking for the safest position. Eddie, meanwhile, ran straight for one of the cases. After waffling between a bola and some brass knuckles, he went with the bola, swinging it around with practiced ease as he warily backed up and kept an eye on the window we’d broken. I called up my favorite spell, summoning a fireball to my palm.

“Is it Alicia?” Eddie yelled, making his voice heard over the alarm.

“I’d guess so,” I called back. I’d sensed a human magic in those explosions, and unless there was yet another witch after me, Alicia seemed like the logical choice. With my non-fireball hand, I managed to text the most recent contact in my phone: Ms. Terwilliger. I could only manage a short message and hoped it would convey the severity of the situation: help.

I should’ve known Alicia wouldn’t settle for the opening we’d made into the building. The main door suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks and wood. A silhouette appeared in the doorway, and without verifying its identity, I hurled my fireball. The figure held up a hand, and the fireball smashed harmlessly against an invisible barrier. When it cleared, the figured moved forward, and I finally came face-to-face with Alicia. She gave me a cold smile.

“Hello, Sydney, nice to see you again. Surprised to see me alive?”

I called another fireball to my hand. “It was never my intent to kill you.” Even I realized how lame that sounded, considering all I’d done to her, and she gave a harsh laugh.