Layla giggled, but no one else responded. They just stared with dumbfounded fascination, a reaction that made the difficult decision Quin had come to earlier in the evening even harder to swallow. If their family stared at them that way, he couldn't imagine what strangers would do, and his stomach tightened at the mere thought of his angel being endlessly ogled.
“I believe we have a discussion to get on with,” he pressed, looking around. “Unless you’re waiting for us to go back to what we were doing so you can continue to stare.”
Layla laughed again, and as she peeked from his neck to see what he saw, her mental voice entered his head. ‘Watch the fire.’
Quin flipped his gaze to the flames as they loudly popped, and the surrounding magicians nearly fell from their chairs as the blaze expanded with a loud roar. Flashing from one bright color to another, the fire rolled high into the air, illuminating the entire lawn and its shocked inhabitants. Then a final boom made them all jolt before the flames swirled into a cyclone and subsided.
Layla and Quin watched with amused smirks while everyone attempted to compose themselves, straightening in their chairs as leery pets slowly settled back in.
“Good one, love,” Quin approved. “That will teach them to interrupt us for no reason.”
“Yeah,” Brietta sarcastically agreed. “Really good one, if you consider an exploding heart good.”
“I thought it was funny,” Alana offered, giggling at Selena, who held one hand to her own chest and one to her daughter’s.
“Me, too,” Brayden agreed, staring at the fire with an ornery gleam in his eye.
“Oh great, Layla,” Selena cut in. “Now you've given Brayden another trick to play on us.”
“Glad I could help,” Layla laughed. “But remember, Brayden, you have to pick your moments carefully. It’s all about the timing.”
“Pick my moments carefully,” Brayden repeated. “Got it.”
Caitrin laughed as he pulled Morrigan under his arm and leaned back. “We really should get on with it. So what do you think, Quinlan? This is your call.”
Quin looked at Layla, who looked back, her gaze a trusting sea of innocence. She wouldn’t remain so naïve. Not after this. He pulled her wrist to his lips. Then he closed his eyes and breathed deep.
“Call them in,” he answered, finding Caitrin's stare.
“You’re sure?” Caitrin asked, nodding his agreement.
“I am,” Quin confirmed. “It really comes down to two options. Either we accept the probability of dying now, or we expose ourselves, improve our odds, and face the possibility of dying later. I choose later.”
“Wise choice,” Caitrin approved. “So we’re calling in strangers.”
“Yes.”
“How do you want to do it?”
“I don't want them near our homes. I suggest they stay in the clearing southwest of Mount Hood, the one used for our local herb festivals. It's big enough to hold a crowd, but not too big to conceal. It's also a good distance away from the glacier, our community, and Agro, so as long as it's not in use and everyone agrees, let’s secure it.”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“Yes I have.”
“Good,” Caitrin replied. “We'll make sure nothing's set to happen there in the next two weeks. Now, we need to spread the word, and with that, there's inevitable risk.”
“Yes,” Quin sighed, wrapping a spiral around his finger. “But it's a risk we're going to have to take.”
“Will you reveal yourselves to the strangers?” Caitrin asked, motioning to their bright hazes.
“They'll see us and our work,” Quin answered, “but they won’t see our lights until it’s absolutely necessary, and it will become necessary. We can’t face Agro with our auras and bonded lights concealed, but that doesn’t mean he needs a heads up. If someone from his cesspool makes it into our allies’ clearing, the less information we give them the better.”
Caitrin nodded then looked around the circle. “Obviously this will be a group effort. Once the help arrives, we’ll need to keep an eye on them while providing them with necessities. Secrecy will be of the utmost importance, so we're talking about living in a way most of you have never lived before. We'll be hiding ourselves and our auras, covering our tracks, and with three different locations – our home, the glacier and the allies’ clearing – there will be a lot of daily travel. I'm sure I already know your answers, but as our coven is a democracy and I don't believe Quinlan and Layla would have it any other way, let's see where everyone stands and open the floor for objections.” He paused, scanning everyone's faces. “Does anyone have a problem with our plan?”