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repeated twice. I then worked the edge of an athame into the wax to form the inverted peace sign symbol of Algiz, the x-shape of Gifu, and the slanted n of Uruz. The athame was actually a sliver of a broken sword, given to me by Cara. It was a Fae blade, entirely worked of Magrasnetto, which gave it far more power than a standard athame, even splintered into shards.
    After carving three pairs of candles, I scooped them up and walked over to the far aisle. At the end of the aisle, up against the wall, was a tall display case of crystals and stones filled with aventurine, coral, brown jasper, obsidian, and several drawers of amber. I walked past the case to a section of candles and hung the latest batch over the dwindling rack with a sign that read “Protection.” They were beside the rack holding black candles with a sign for “Curses and Destruction.” Of course, unbeknownst to most of my customers, the “Curses and Destruction” candles were made with red and brown food coloring instead of blood, and had nonsensical runes carved into them. In fact, the runes were more likely to get up and dance than proliferate any kind of curse. It was an amusing inside joke between me and Ashley.
    “Good morning, Damian.” The voice reminded me of the soft echoes of a wood flute.
    I looked up and my heart skipped a beat as Foster’s distant cousin Nixie walked into the room. “I, uh, thought you had to head back to the sea or something, no?”
    She ran her hands through the wavy cascade of nearly-white hair that fell to her waist. “It’s not the same anymore. It’s much more difficult to call sailors and pirates into the rocks with all this ... technology about. And without shipwrecks ...” she shrugged. “I was only thinking there may be more trouble to be had on land.” Her smile broadened as I fought to keep my gaze on her face, and not the outrageously sheer nightgown she was wearing. In an obvious effort to help, she leaned forward on the display cabinet with her arms crossed beneath her breasts.
    “Oh,” I said.
    Cara coughed as she landed beside the laptop and I tore my gaze away from Nixie’s pale flesh. “Girl, put something decent on,” she said.
    Nixie pouted and her sheer nightgown grew more opaque until it verged on modest. Barely.
    “Well, boy, I hope you don’t mind,” Cara said as she rolled her eyes, “but Nixie is going to stay with us for a while.”
    “In the shop?” I asked. “Oh, the cot.”
    Cara nodded.
    I glanced at Nixie, and before I could think it through, I said, “You want to grab dinner sometime?”
    “Yes, yes I do,” Nixie said as a smile curled her lips.
    “Nudd save us,” Cara said under her breath. “Safe to say he’s fine with you staying here, girl.”
    “You have customers coming,” Nixie said. “I need to change.” She smiled and slipped through the saloon-style doors. I thought I heard the back door open and drop closed, but I wasn’t sure why Nixie would have been going outside.
    The bell on the front door jingled as I finished hanging the candles on the rack by their wicks. I turned to find Carter walking in and waved before three morose looking men followed him. They were all bigger than Carter, dressed in Saint Louis Rams sweatpants and plain gray sweatshirts. The first was a black man built like a brick wall. He smiled and nodded to me once. The man behind him was a pasty blond youth who just glared at me. I noticed the third man was Native American, but my attention trailed back to the blond youth as he cracked his neck without breaking eye contact.
    I raised my eyebrows as Carter sat a plate of crispy rice squares on the counter behind me.
    “From the wife,” he said as he brushed a crumb off his sweatshirt.
    “Thanks.” The pleasantries didn’t go much further before the pasty one broke the mood.
    “You’re the piece of shit who dared trespass in the Alpha’s home.”
    “Trespass?” I said. I glanced to my left as the cu siths came tearing