Scritches and Witches
Part of the Small Magics Collection series
When danger creeps into the neighborhood, three unlikely guardians-two loyal dogs and one very opinionated cat-must protect the witch they call Mine.Happy Tail and Bark Face know every sound, scent, and shadow around Home. Sky Eyes, the cat with the dirt‑dusted fur and evil teeth, patrols the fences and vacant lot with claws sharp and magic sharper. Together, they keep watch over Mine, whose fire‑jasmine magic has dimmed ever since she drove off a rival witch with a hunger for power.But Sour Roses isn't finished.When a crack appears in Mine's protection spells, a strange familiar slips through-proof that the enemy is close, watching, and ready to strike. With Mine's sadness deepening and her magic faltering, the familiars must do what no one expects of them: work together, combine their magic, and become the escape artists they've always pretended to be.As danger rises and Mine faces a deadly confrontation, Happy Tail, Bark Face, and Sky Eyes must weave their magic into something stronger than fear-something fierce enough to protect the one they love.A cozy, heart‑tugging fantasy told through the eyes of familiars, Scritches and Witches blends warmth, mischief, and magical danger into a short story about loyalty, healing, and the power of found family. Linda Maye Adams is the author of "Alien Pizza," published in Kevin J. Anderson's anthology Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem. Publisher's Weekly reviewed her story as "especially delightful." She is a two-time silver honorable award winner in the prestigious Writers of the Future contest and also has received five honorable mentions. Her novel Crying Planet was selected for the Military Science Fiction Storybundle. She is currently writing two series, GALCOM Universe and Dice Ford, Superhero.