True. Belle hesitated. Other than the scrapes, you okay?
Yeah, though I have to wonder how much longer I can keep pushing my luck.
Hopefully for many years yet to come, she said. And given the shitty nature of our teenage years and the twelve years we’ve spent constantly on the move, I think we deserve all the goddamn “good” luck in the world.
Here’s hoping fate agrees with you.
A twig cracked behind me. I twisted around, my pulse rate leaping into overdrive again. Thankfully, it was Duke rather than the soucouyant arriving to charcoal the three of us. He gave me a nod, limped past Harding’s still burning remains, and continued on to the remnants of the car.
Let me know when you’re on the way back, Belle said. I’ll run you a bath to help ease the aches.
Thanks.
A good familiar always looks after her witch, she stated, her voice philosophical, especially when the brigade has booked half the café out tomorrow, and said witch will probably have to work her ass off.
I snorted softly but didn’t comment as Tala came out of the trees. Her left shirtsleeve had been torn and there was a bloody scrape down the right side of her face, but like the rest of us, she’d escaped the explosion relatively intact.
“Why would she blow up the car and then burn Harding rather than us?” She stopped several feet away from his remains and thrust her hands on her hips—a movement full of frustration and anger. How she was standing the smell, I had no idea. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Do you think it was an attempt to cover up evidence?”
“Nope. Nor do I think it was a serious attempt on our lives—if it had been, we’d be dead.”
“And the thing that did this? Is it still around?”
I shook my head. “No. But I wouldn’t send me home unless you call in Monty first.”
She glanced around at that, a smile on her lips. “I wasn’t going to, but I will point out that your magic doesn’t appear to counter that of this fire creature.”
“Hey, we’re all still alive, are we not?”
“That we are.” She motioned toward the truck. “Do you want to wait inside while we examine what’s left of the car?”
I shook my head. “I’ll head into the trees where she disappeared and see if she left anything behind.”
Tala raised her eyebrows. “How likely is that?”
“Not very.” I shrugged. “But I still have to try.”
“Just give both the body and the car a wide berth, then.”
I did so then climbed the slight incline into the trees. The moonlight disappeared and the darkness closed in, but this time it held no sense of threat. The encasement spell had snared itself between two trees several meters in. I quickly disengaged it, but as the threads of power faded away, a second glimmer caught my attention. I studied it, my heart beating somewhere in my throat even though there remained no threat in either the night or that glimmer.
After several moments, I realized it was a will-o’-the-wisp—the same one who’d been in the clearing when we’d found the second body and the skin. I walked toward it. “It is good to see you again, my friend.”
The wisp spun, as if in acknowledgment. While they undoubtedly had their own language, it was one most witches didn’t understand.
“Are you simply passing by, or is there another reason you wait for me?”
The wisp’s light pulsed briefly, but before I could decide what that meant, it spun and darted through the trees. When I didn’t immediately follow, it returned, spun around, and raced away again. Obviously, it wanted to show me something.
It was casting just enough light for me to pick my way through the trees, which meant I could move through the small forest relatively quickly. In very little time we came out into the wide, almost park-like area. Before me lay a long, smooth slope that led down to the bank of a large dam—the same dam I’d seen from the road.
The moon remained behind the clouds and the lake’s surface was little more than a black mirror that barely reflected the light of the distant stars. I half wondered what the wisp would do when it got to the water—and whether it’d actually expect me to go into it. The question was quickly answered when the wisp jagged left and then stopped. In the pale glow of its light, there was a small but bloody glow of red.
Excitement surged, even though I had no real idea as to why. The wisp didn’t back away as I approached, but it did rise, keeping itself slightly above my head.