Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up 4)

A few streets over from the main drag, a hard-faced shifter I didn’t recognize walked down the sidewalk toward us. Tall and broad, he had a gently lined face that showed his years, mid-forties, and eyes the color of onyx. He glided like the lethal killer he likely was, his gaze passing through our crew quickly but efficiently, showing experience. Shoulders back and limbs loose, his confidence was no small thing.

I gulped. This had to be one of the shifters Austin’s brother had brought in. He wasn’t here to cause trouble or challenge for a place in the pack. He was here to keep order and establish a presence. Given the sudden coiling of my body—half of me wanting to laugh manically and then sprint away, and the other half wanting to laugh manically, brandish Cheryl, and sprint toward him—he was damned good at his job.

“Time check,” I said, the shifter’s eyes coming to rest on me. I made myself keep walking, swinging my lead feet, tamping down that maniacal laughter. My small hairs stood on end, as though a battle drew near.

“You have five minutes, miss,” Mr. Tom said. “You might as well start now. That horrible little man is probably already in place. He has been a cheat for as long as I’ve known him.”

I expected the shifter to continue walking down the center of the sidewalk, a bit of posturing that would force us to either step aside or fight. I expected to play chicken with his barrel chest and thick, muscular body, using magic to ensure he lost. I would not be pushed around in my town. Not by someone I knew, and especially not by an outsider. I knew enough about the magical world to know you couldn’t always be polite, and you shouldn’t always take the higher ground. Sometimes you had to fight for your place.

Surprisingly, though, he slowed and stepped to the side, taking the curb so we didn’t have to move.

“Ma’am,” he said, nodding.

“Good day, sir,” I replied, then couldn’t help making a face like I’d just sucked on a lemon. “Good day, sir?” I muttered after we’d passed and were beyond his hearing. Hopefully. You never knew with shifters. “I held his gaze, won my place, and my celebratory salutation was good day, sir? What am I, Charles Dickens?”

“Technically, that is a who,” Ulric said. “That must be one of the new guys. He was the right amount of intense for the town at present.”

“I thought you did very well,” Mr. Tom said, and although he was behind me and thus out of sight, I knew his chin was raised in snobby disdain. “You showed the shifter that the mistress of Ivy House does not cower within a dominating stare.”

“Sure, but now he’s probably wondering why I didn’t stop and extend a lacy, gloved hand so he could kiss it before I walked on with my parasol,” I muttered. “I told Austin I’d show off my power and my people. Hard to look awesome when I say things like that.”

“People are wary of the unpredictable,” Sebastian said, hands still in his pockets, turning to look behind us. “You’re good. Keep being weird.”

“You say that as though you think she has a choice in the matter,” Mr. Tom said, and I got the feeling he was trying to help in some way.

“Okay everyone, disperse.” I waved them away, pushing back against the wall.

An older man and woman walked along the sidewalk on the other side of the street. They glanced over, and I gave a little wave before pulling my power around me and sinking into the elements. They waved back, and if I’d just rendered myself invisible, they would’ve given a sign.

“Dang it.”

I watched Mr. Tom don a bowler hat and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses before wrapping a yellow and maroon striped scarf around his neck. He rolled up the sleeves a little on his tux jacket and then hoisted one of the pant legs to his shin. That done, he drifted back to the wall.

“Become the stone.” Mr. Tom’s voice was soft and hollow, as though lending credence to his efforts. “Soak into your surroundings. Wrap the magic around you like a cloak.”

“Huh,” Sebastian said as Mr. Tom disappeared. I could still see him, of course, with my magic, but when they were in this element, there was a sheen to their appearance. It helped me identify when they were hiding and not. “That’s pretty slick. I can’t make him out at all.”

“But you can make me out?” I asked as Ulric crossed the street and then blended in on the opposite side.

I felt Jasper on the main drag, probably halfway between Sasquatch and me. He always made my opponents start at the other end of the downtown area so I had a chance to figure things out. Hadn’t happened yet, but today was the day!