“We won’t be long,” I whispered. “And when we return, I will come to you.”
He sighed heavily and with some effort I turned away from him. I understood his point of view. I knew how I would feel if he were stepping into the mouth of the beast and that is just what we were doing.
“Okay,” I told Jeremy, “off we go. You know the way, so you drive.”
“Right,” he said, and I saw that he too was concerned. “You know I could do this without you,” he offered.
I laughed. “Not happening, bud. We are better as a team. You’ll have my back. I’ll have yours.”
~ Six ~
THE DRIVE TO BRENTLY MANOR took us on a winding, treeless, lonely road that was badly rutted in spots. “Wow, the town needs to pave this…”
“No one has any interest in coming here. Brently Manor is at a dead end,” Jeremy answered.
&nbs
p; “Oh, that isn’t good,” I said from the gut. I was beginning to think this might be a bad idea.
As we approached the long winding drive at the end of the road, overgrown shrubbery and trees with mangled branches, whose trunks were lost in overgrown weeds, formed a spooky forest on either side of what was becoming a dirt road.
“I’m not liking this,” I said quietly. “I have a bad feeling.”
“Shall we turn around? It might be the smart thing to do,” Jeremy offered.
“But not the brave thing. No, we better push on, Jeremy. We really need to keep Allora out of MacLeod. In fact, I am surprised actually that she hasn’t made another attempt to get at us. But she is bound to…and soon, so we have to do this.”
“Risk versus cost might not be wise,” Jeremy said as he pulled his dark SUV to a stop and turned into a narrow path in the woods at a distance from the manor’s drive.
“What are you doing? I don’t think I can poof us this far into the house,” I said, sizing up the distance.
“Poof us?” he asked.
“Poofing, sir,” I laughed. “Yes, I developed it when I was still very young. My mother taught me the knack and I have improved it so I can transport a guest, like my Aunt Elle, now and then. She doesn’t like it, but you might. I can’t travel long distances, but it takes me in a cloud of purple smoke to the place I think about.”
“Indeed, as it is, I know a great deal about that particular traveling skill,” he said, and frowned. “But I have one of my own…Fae shifting. I have only been able to master short distances, so I can’t take us all the way to the house, and your…er…poofing, even if it could take us that far, would leave a telltale smoke. No, we’ll have to use another method.”
“I could be a cocky New Yorker full of fun and tell you I am always ready, but hell, a part of me is shaking in my pretty boots. This place reeks of dead things,” I answered as I looked around.
He nodded. “Indeed, so our goal is to do this as speedily as we can. Ready?”
“Ready? What do you mean?” I eyed him, somewhat surprised.
“To walk right up and inside,” he answered, and gave me a wink.
I snorted. He waved his finger and mumbled some words. “Right,” he said when he was done. “Come on.”
“Wait, what?”
“We are cloaked. Invisible. We can see each other, but if there are any vampires or other supernaturals lurking about, they won’t be able to see us.”
“Oh, I like that. Holy good gosh, you have to teach me,” I said excited, and hurried after him.
“Yeah, I will when I get it down pat. Now, shhh, they can’t see us, but they can hear us, and vampire hearing is very, very good, so no talking,” Jeremy cautioned.
“What do you mean when you have it down pat?” I asked.
“Shhh,” he snapped.