1. Ava

The silencein Mayor Brown”s office was suffocating. It was like being called to the principal’s office in high school. Sam and I were familiar with that feeling because back in high school, we had more than our fair share of getting into trouble. Usually together. And it was usually Sam’s fault.

Okay, so some of it was mine too. After all, we’d been besties since we were in diapers, which felt like a million years ago.

It was way too early in the morning for me to be up. But here I was, in a meeting with the Mayor of Shipton Harbor.

Drew, Sam, Olivia, and I shifted uncomfortably in our seats as the seconds stretched into an eternity. I glanced at my husband, then at my two besties before clearing my throat and focusing on the Mayor. “So, um, you were one of the people who saw the moving statues.”

Mayor Brown arched one dark eyebrow. His lips pressed into a thin line. He was not amused by the display of magic at the Christmas in July festival last night. I still failed to see how it was our fault the statues came to life in the first place.

“I’ve…we’ve got something to tell you.” I shifted in my seat again and exchanged a glance with Drew. “Maybe we should’ve told you this a long time ago, I don’t know, but the thing is…” Man, why was this so hard to say? “The thing is, is that the world is full of people and creatures so fantastical?—”

”Let me stop you right there, little lady,” he said, with a tinged with amusement. ”I probably know more about the magical world than you do.”

I couldn”t help but laugh. The notion was absurd. ”I highly doubt that.”

Drew snickered beside me and Sam, ever the show-off, bared his fangs in a smirk. But my laughter died when Mayor Brown continued, unphased by our disbelief.

”Shipton Harbor was founded by the magical,” Mayor Brown said, locking gazes with me. ”Those founding fathers that your sweet little baby caused to erupt from their stoney lonesomes? They were nephilim.”

”Erm, nephilim?” Drew echoed the word.

I threw up a hand, cutting through the confusion. ”Hold up, what do you mean our baby?”

”Your little baby girl. She was the one who the magic came from,” Mayor Brown said with a chuckle. ”I thought you were supposed to be some kind of fancy witch. Can you not sense when your infant is doing magic?”

Um, excuse the frick out of me? Before I could retort and defend myself, Drew grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze while saying, ”Nephilim are a myth.”

Mayor Brown”s laugh boomed around the room. ”You hunters and your arrogance. The world is full of sights and creatures you could never imagine, isn’t that what you just started to say to me?” His gaze held a challenge as he looked at us.

Drew leaned forward, squinting at him as if trying to see through him.

”And if you don”t find it in this world, you”ll find it in the next,” the Mayor added cryptically.

”But what about all those humans that were there?” I asked, dragging the conversation back to the pressing issue.

Mayor Brown sighed, frustration once again creasing his brow. ”That is a problem. We are not an entirely magical town, although we are very good at hiding it. Something is going to have to be done to ensure the humans who saw your little escapade can”t tell anyone else.”

That was true and I was totally on board with forming a plan to keep the knowledge of magic contained to our small town.

”We agree and will work with the coven on a spell,” Olivia said, her tone all business.

Drew leaned in, the lines on his face deepening with curiosity. ”What are you, Mayor?”

Mayor Brown spread his hands wide, a small smile playing on his lips. ”I am one of the founding fathers.”

Drew”s mouth fell open. ”You”re a nephilim? For real?”

”In the flesh.” The Mayor nodded slightly, an air of pride surrounding him.

Olivia tilted her head, pensive. ”But how is that possible?”

”Ah.” Mayor Brown began as if he”d explained this a thousand times. ”A nephilim, traditionally, is half-angel, half-human. However, our lineage is unique. Half-angel, half-shifter. We are a Pandemonium of phoenixes.”

”A what of phoenixes?” I couldn”t hide my bewilderment. I glanced at Olivia, who shrugged at me. Apparently, the princess of Faery didn’t know about Phoenixes either.

”Groups of parrots are called pandemoniums. It’s a thing. You can Google it,” he said with a chuckle. ”We adopted the term many years ago.”

”Phoenixes? As in, the birds that burst into flames?” Drew asked, skepticism lacing his voice.

”Something like that,” Mayor Brown conceded. ”We don’t die easily, and we don”t age the way you do.”

I studied Mayor Brown”s face, the creases, and silver in his hair. ”So, you always look like you’re in your sixties?”

With another chuckle, Mayor Brown closed his eyes, and his features began to shift. His skin smoothed out, wrinkles fading like mist, hair darkening. And just like that, he was young, a version of himself so strikingly handsome, it took me off guard.

”This is my true appearance,” he revealed. ”I do have to use magic to age myself. Once those who knew me pass away, I, as in my younger self, can ”move back to town” as a relative and start anew.”

”Great,” Drew muttered, ”Now I”ve got to tell Pearl that nephilim exist. But still, what about the humans who saw everything?”

”Powerful as I am, the solution requires a spell,” Mayor Brown replied. ”The coven must devise one that prevents Shipton Harbor residents from revealing any magic to outsiders unaware of our world.”

”Got it,” I said, pushing down the questions bubbling inside. ”We”ll get on it.”

“Good. Now if you don’t mind I have a busy day that is about to get busier once all the non-magical residents of Shipton Harbor wake up and start calling and showing up asking questions.” Mayor Brown stood and motioned to the door.

We muttered our goodbyes, and we left the office, the door clicking shut behind us.

When we were outside the Town Hall building, Olivia whirled around and yelled, ”Dad!”

Lucifer materialized with a spatula in hand, wearing a three-piece suit and an apron emblazoned with ”Kiss the Cook” above a cartoonish devil.

”Is something wrong?” he asked, looking around as if ready for anything.

”Did you know our mayor is a nephilim?” Olivia asked, eyebrows raised.

Luci arched an eyebrow of his own while looking at each of us. ”What, you didn”t know?”