A Faerie's Curse (Creepy Hollow #6) by Rachel Morgan Page A

else has to cast it. Oh, one other thing,” he adds. “I’m pretty sure the Guild is still monitoring our ambers, so I made another plan.” He heads to the sideboard and opens a drawer. “These mirrors are brand new, so they should be safe.” He removes two small circular mirrors, pushes the drawer shut with his hip, and hands one to me.
    â€œCool, thank you.”
    â€œHey, how have you been staying in contact with your family? The Guild must be keeping an extra close watch on all their devices.”
    â€œWe’ve been careful. You know those really old ambers? The ones that come in pairs and can only communicate with each other?”
    â€œThe ones that don’t belong anywhere outside a museum?”
    â€œYes. My brother and I have been using those.”
    Perry nods. “Retro. Whatever works, hey.”
    â€œYeah. Anyway, thanks for this.” I slip the mirror and the spell into my jacket pocket. With a sigh, I add, “It’s ridiculous how badly the Guild still wants to find me.”
    â€œWell, you know, you’re supposedly a murderer and all that.”
    I shake my head. “I’ll figure out a way for them to uncover the truth one day.” One day when I’m not focused on rescuing Chase and stopping that veil-splitting vision from coming true.
    â€œWe can make that our next mission,” Perry says. “Or,” he corrects when he sees I’m about to protest, “you can wait until we graduate at the end of the year and get jobs as real guardians, and then I’ll obtain official permission to re-open this case. Then you can’t complain that I’ll wind up in trouble for poking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”
    I smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

C HAPTER
    S EVEN

    I’m confused to see Ana in the kitchen when I get back to the mountain. “What?” she asks when I stop in the doorway with a puzzled expression.
    â€œNothing.” I pull the blue wig off and watch her stirring something in a pot on the stove. “Weren’t you telling us this morning how much you like your own space?”
    â€œYeah, so? I do like my own space. Doesn’t mean I can’t have dinner here when Gaius extends the invitation.”
    â€œDoes he do that often?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen and lean against the long table.
    Ana shrugs, keeping her back turned to me. “I guess.”
    â€œI suppose you guys are kind of like his family.”
    â€œYeah. Kind of. Or we were until a stranger pushed her way in,” she adds under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.
    I decide that this animosity thing has gone far enough. I grip the back of a chair and ask, “Why don’t you like me, Ana?”
    She looks over her shoulder at me with a scowl. “What?”
    â€œIt’s painfully clear that you don’t like me. I’m just wondering why.”
    She does nothing but turn back to the pot and continue stirring.
    â€œIs it something I did? Is it about Chase?” Crap, maybe she has feelings for him and she sees me as the one who butted in and ruined everything for her. Except … she’s been unpleasant since the moment I first walked into Chase’s tattoo shop.
    â€œNo, it’s not about Chase,” she mutters without looking around.
    â€œThen what? Please just tell me what the problem is so I can do something about it. I’m not going anywhere, so you and I may as well sort this out.”
    â€œFine.” She bangs the lid of the pot down and swings around. “This team is all I’ve got, okay? They’re not just Gaius’s family, they’re my family. I’m very protective of them, and I don’t like outsiders. It’s just been us for years now, and I thought it was going to be like that until … I don’t know. Forever, I guess. And then you just barged in like you belonged here, and Chase didn’t make a big deal