Maude smiled. “Sorry to disappoint, but no. For one thing, that would attract too much attention, and you probably don’t want that. For another, our power has limitations. We can’t go around creating gods. I’d say . . .” She glanced between Eddie and Sydney speculatively, her smile growing. “I’d say you’re strong enough to hold your own with a dhampir in an arm wrestling match.”

“I would kind of love to see that,” I admitted. Eddie’s face said he would as well.

Sydney groaned. “Really? That’s so barbaric.”

Eddie leaned over and propped his arm up on the table that had previously held the canteen. “Come on, Mrs. Ivashkov. Let’s do this. Besides, if you’re squeamish about arm wrestling, how are you going to handle going head-to-head with the Warriors?”

He had a point, at least based on the stories Sabrina had told us. Sydney stood opposite him at the table and mirrored his arm position. Their arms clasped, and Marcus counted them down, looking nearly as excited as Eddie. To my astonishment, when they started, Eddie didn’t immediately slam her hand down as I’d expected. His eyes widened, as did his grin. He increased his effort and began making progress. Gritting her teeth, Sydney pushed back, and amazingly, she soon took the upper hand, so to speak.

“It’s so strange,” she said. “I can feel the strength within me . . . as though it’s both part of me and yet not part of me. Like it was something I put on. Like clothing.” Ultimately, Eddie pushed his strength to its limit and finally defeated her, but not without her holding her own for a while. I held up her arm triumphantly, like a victor at a boxing match.

“My wife, ladies and gentlemen. Beauty, brains, and now brawn.”

“Awesome,” said Eddie, in a rare moment of delight. “How long will that last?”

“Four days,” said Maude, looking apologetic. “Like I said, we can’t create gods.”

“Four days,” Sydney repeated. “Sabrina’s taking us later tonight. So we’ve got three and a half days to find out what the Warriors are hiding about Jill.”

“Or just kick everyone’s ass the first day so they leave you alone after that,” suggested Marcus helpfully.

Noting the second tote bag the witches had brought, I asked, “What else is there besides super strength?”

Maude began unpacking the bag’s contents. “Jackie says we need to do some appearance changes too.”

“I’ve done those kinds of spells before,” Sydney told them. “You don’t need to do anything more.”

“Hush, girl,” snapped Inez. “You need to conserve your strength for whatever madness you’re getting involved in. Besides, maintaining a sustained spell of change is no easy task. You ever done it for a week?” She glanced at Eddie. “For two people?”

“No, ma’am,” Sydney admitted.