The threats started as soon as Clara went to the police. Well, to Mike and his partner.

Anonymous threats at school. They must have known a student or a parent. Or maybe even a teacher. The first ones were taped to my locker.

They didn’t threaten to kill me. They threatened more subtle things. To expose me as a lesbian to the world; which made me laugh. I didn’t care who knew I was with Kanesha, and neither did she.

When that didn’t seem to intimidate me, they threatened to influence child services to get us split up for good and all. I trusted Mike to handle anything like that.

So? I ignored the threats. I would have ignored death threats just as thoroughly. I already knew the high priestess wanted me dead. I did go to Bruce and talk him out of a talisman that would help protect Kanesha from curses. Just in case. I was fairly sure I had defenses, but she didn’t.

It probably saved her life. It was almost the end of March at this point, spring definitely in the air. Guards were starting to come down, if I was absolutely honest about the matter.

Seriously, it was spring, the coven were being dealt with by the cops, and I was relaxing. I wasn’t snapping at Kanesha or anyone else any more. The temperature was rising and people were starting to pull out of winter hibernation.

So, everything was good, and then Kanesha passed out at lunch. I reacted quickly, easing her to the ground, checking her pulse. Recovery position.

It wasn’t like her to faint, though. The talisman Bruce had given me for her was glowing slightly. They hadn’t been able to get a curse to stick on me.

They had on her.

I’d find who had done this and I’d kill them, I vowed in that moment. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but as soon as I could find a good way to get away with it. Or I’d find some worse fate.

Life in prison would work too. She came around after a moment. “What happened?”

“Somebody tried to curse you.” I helped her to her feet. “Let’s blame lunch and get you to the nurse.”

The nurse, of course, wasn’t inclined to blame lunch. She tossed me out of the room so she could grill Kanesha on, I suspected, everything she’d eaten lately and any other possibilities.

Eventually, Kanesha came out. “I managed to convince her it was stress. Do you know…?”

“One of the Silver Thorns. I don’t know which one. Don’t take that pendant off.”

She shuddered. “I won’t. It felt like, you know, I was a hobbit stuck with a wraith’s knife.”

I shuddered myself. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything like that happen to you.”

No threats could have got to me. This did.