Spencer's Cove

by Missouri Vaun

  ***

  Foster felt a pain so sharp in her stomach that she doubled over. She’d thought for a moment she was going to be ill. Then a second pain, more searing than the first, dropped her to her knees. She had to brace one hand on the floor to keep from toppling.

  Cora was the first to notice.

  “Foster, what’s the matter?” Cora put her hand on Foster’s shoulder.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What’s wrong?” Evan bent over so that she could see Foster’s face.

  “I felt sharp pains in my stomach, like cramps.”

  “It’s started.” Evan’s strength had been gradually returning over the past twenty minutes. She almost seemed back to her former self, except with a lot less hair. Foster hadn’t gotten a chance to ask about that yet.

  “What’s started?” Foster got to her feet with Cora’s help.

  “The transmutation.” Evan checked her phone. “We only have a few hours. We have to figure out where they are.” She turned to Dena. “Any ideas? Did Leath say anything? It wouldn’t be unlike her to gloat and drop some hints without realizing it.”

  “Nothing…she didn’t say anything.” Dena was propped against a cushion with ice on her leg. “She just came in here and started blowing things up.”

  “I think Cora and I should take Dena to the urgent care place in Hamden. Her leg is starting to swell.” Jai held the ice bag up for a better look.

  Evan agreed with Jai, but she needed Dena’s help. If Foster could identify a location, then Dena was their best hope for recognizing the description. Dena knew the area better than they did. She was the local know-it-all librarian after all. Evan needed Dena to bring the knowledge. She ignored Jai’s comment for the moment.

  “Foster, this is all on you.” Evan was getting her strength back. She was feeling stronger by the minute.

  “What do you mean it’s all on me?”

  “You’ll know where Abby is.”

  “How?”

  “You’re her keeper. You’ll know. Those cramps mean the connection is strong. You’re feeling at least some of what Abby is feeling.” Evan faced Foster, with a hand on each shoulder. “Focus. Focus every cell in your body on Abby. Close your eyes. Focus.”

  Foster scowled at her but did as Evan asked. She knew Foster was worried, that heightened emotion would aid in the search. Foster and Abby had only gotten a few days of time together. Evan wasn’t sure how close they’d gotten in that short amount of time. The binding in the graveyard would help, but that probably hadn’t completely matured in terms of telepathy or other factors. Evan prayed their connection was strong enough to find Abby.

  “She’s afraid.” Foster opened her eyes.

  “Don’t focus on that right now. Focus on environmental details.”

  Foster clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut. She took a deep breath. Several minutes passed. No one spoke. Foster’s demeanor shifted. The air around her vibrated with charged particles. The connection was working. Evan stepped away, giving Foster room.

  “She is near the ocean, in a cave…no, three walls of dark rock facing the open sea. They are below a cliff. Offshore, I see two rocks jutting up from the surf, like sentinels.” Foster paused and tilted her head as if she was trying to figure something out. “Abby is cold. She’s lying on a raised stone platform, and the waves are splashing against the rock. She’s—” Foster stumbled backward and almost fell. She turned to Evan with a wide-eyed expression.

  “What? What just happened?” Evan caught Foster’s arm to stabilize her.

  “Abby saw me. She pushed me and told me not to come.” She swiped at a tear on her cheek with her sleeve. “Evan, she’s so afraid. We have to go. I don’t care what she said.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re going.” She squeezed Foster’s shoulder. “We’re not going to let anything happen to Abby.”

  “Devil’s Basin.” Dena spoke from across the room.

  Evan spun around. “What did you say?”

  “The place Foster just described sounds like Devil’s Basin.” Dena shifted so that she was sitting up. “It’s a partial cave carved out by the ocean. It’s north of here along the coast. It’s only accessible on foot or on horseback.” Dena looked at Cora. “Doesn’t this mansion have a library?”

  “Yes, yes, of course.” Cora nodded.

  “Then will someone please go find me a map?”

  Cora scurried away.

  Evan turned to Foster. “We have time. Leath won’t harm her in any way before nine o’clock. We have plenty of time.”

  The look of worry on Foster’s face said she wasn’t so sure.

  “If I only had my damn spell book.” Dena scowled.

  “I have one. I mean, I think we found one in the attic.” Foster crossed her arms in front of her chest.

  “Well, don’t just stand there, go get it!” Dena was wounded and unable to move, but she had no qualms about barking orders from her throne of cushions.

  Cora returned with a few large, rolled up maps that she handed off to Jai just as Foster trotted up the stairs.

  Evan was feeling optimistic. There was no way she could have imagined this menagerie might be able to pull together into a team, but she now realized that among the five of them they might have all the skills they needed, even, in Cora’s case, a cook and an ambulance driver.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Evan didn’t realize immediately that Dena was talking to her.

  “Better.” She revised her answer. “Good.”

  “I bought you some time by shaving your head, but we should see about getting that spell monkey off your back.” Dena held out her hand as Foster returned with the ancient book. “And you…you should put on some real clothes. You look like you’re about ready to hop out of a clown car.”

  Foster looked down at her mismatched sweats, the pants and sleeves two sizes too short. Foster didn’t answer; she just nodded and then headed back up the stairs.

  “Hey, Foster.” Foster stopped midway up the staircase and looked back at Dena. “How did you know this was a spell book?”

  “I remembered seeing that same design…” She made a circle with her finger over her head. “You know, Evan’s tattoo.”

  “Hmph, that’s some good deducing there, Nerd. It’s not like this book is in English.”

  Foster frowned and then half-smiled and continued up the stairs. Evan swept her palm over her bare head. She’d forgotten what it felt like. She’d kept her head shaved before, before the accident. During the depression that followed she’d just let it grow. Typical of Leath to seek out a weakness and exploit it. Her grief over losing Jacqueline had given Leath the opening.

  Dena was intently focused on the book, thumbing through the pages slowly.

  “Cora, you and Jai spread that map out while I sort out this weakness spell. I might be infirmed, but I’m still a librarian, and this librarian is about to kick some ass.”

  Evan couldn’t help laughing. Dena was a bossy pain in the rear, but she was seriously starting to like her.

  A half hour later, Jai and Evan had carried Dena out to Cora’s car.

  “I wish I could help more.” The expression on Jai’s face said that she wanted to go with them.

  “You’re not ready for this, Jai.” Dena spoke to her from inside the car. “Your time will come, but it’s not now.”

  Jai nodded reluctantly and got in the car. Foster bent down to speak to her through the window.

  “Listen, Jai, I’m not sure I properly thanked you for saving my life.” Foster shoved her hands in her pockets. “I mean, I’m sure this qualifies as one of those bequeath of first born moments, you know, if I had any plans to have kids.”

  Jai smiled. “A simple thank you is sufficient.”

  Foster nodded.

  Evan and Foster stood for only a few seconds as the car sped out of the long driveway before they headed to the barn. Foster stood by as Evan saddled two of the horses—Brother and Boots. Evan was a
little concerned about Foster’s riding abilities, but she was counting on Boots to be gentle enough for an inexperienced rider.

  She handed the reins for Boots to Foster, who looked a little spooked by the entire notion that they were going to ride horses at breakneck speed up the coastline. It was getting late. They needed to get to Abby before dark.

  Cora, ever the caretaker, had packed them each a sandwich while Dena removed the weakness spell Leath had placed on Evan. Fucking Leath. Evan couldn’t wait to get a shot at her. She’d never liked Leath, but back East, on Council grounds, she’d had to play nice and defer to Leath’s second seat in the circle of elders. Not any longer. As far as Evan was concerned, Leath forfeited any respect or standing the minute she took Abby by force. The gloves were off now.

  Evan was in the saddle before she realized Foster was still standing on the ground holding the reins as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them.

  “What’s wrong?” Evan didn’t have time for hand holding. Brother sidestepped and snorted, shaking his mane.

  “I’m a writer, not a warrior.”

  “I thought your people were good with guns?” Evan prodded Foster. If she could make her angry, maybe Foster would find some courage.

  “Do we have guns?” Foster prodded her back, the question edged with sarcasm.

  “No.” Guns wouldn’t do them any good in this fight.

  “Just so we’re clear, it’s a cultural myth about the South. Some of us prefer books to shotguns, despite the fact that they get handed down like family heirlooms.”

  “Foster, get on the damn horse.” Evan adjusted her seat.

  “Give me a minute.”

  Evan exhaled loudly, then she softened her words. “You can’t sit this one out. As much as I hate to admit—and believe me when I say I hate this—I need you.”

  Foster watched Evan from her tall perch, all full of cockiness and badassery. What did she truly have to offer to this fight? She was more afraid that she’d do something supremely stupid and get Abby killed, like getting trapped in a submerged cage. She looked away, toward the tall, swaying brown grass between the barn and the cliff’s edge, then closed her eyes and sighed.

  With eyes still closed, she rested her forehead against Boots’s cheek and sent him a silent plea for assistance. Abby needs you, Boots. She needs both of us. And I haven’t ridden a horse since church summer camp when I was twelve, and that was just a pony walking inside a round fence. Boots bounced his head up and down almost as if he’d understood her. Be gentle with me. And please, please, please, don’t let me fall off. She opened her eyes and gazed into the dark orb of his. She saw herself reflected there and his stoic presence gave her courage. Okay, we’re in this together.

  Foster placed one soggy wingtip in the stirrup and launched herself up. She nodded to let Evan know she was ready.

  “Okay, then…let’s ride like Abby’s life depends on it.” Evan zipped her jacket against the sinking temperature.

  Evan took the lead, galloping at a fast clip. Foster followed. She leaned forward a little in the saddle trying to come to grips with how high her center of gravity was. Beneath her, Boots was sure-footed and steady. She focused her energy on staying in the saddle. Boots was following Brother, so she gave him his lead.

  They were in it now, following the edge of old growth trees that bordered the grassy hills along the cliffs. The lost coast was remote, rugged, and beautiful. According to the map she’d seen over Evan’s shoulder, this region of the coast was just south of Klamath tribal lands, a huge swath of mostly undeveloped land populated by some of the largest redwoods Foster had ever seen.

  As they rode farther she caught glimpses, shapes of the Klamath Mountains, through the trees. Facts rose to the surface, tidbits from the small amount of research and reading she’d been able to do about the shipwreck of the Equus and the geology of the bay and the surrounding terrain. The rocks of the Klamath Mountains originated as island arcs and continental fragments in the Pacific Ocean. Some of that rock was five hundred million years old. Not that she’d always believed in the power of stones or gems, but with that sort of time on your hands there must be some seriously stored up energy. The perfect place to perform a ritual using the rocky cliffs between the mountains and the sea like a divining rod.

  Foster filled her fingers with Boots’s mane and tried to visualize Abby. When she’d hesitated to climb into the saddle it hadn’t been because she was afraid of getting hurt herself, it was more that she was afraid she’d do something to hinder Evan. Her inexperience at this sort of conflict weighed heavy on her shoulders.

  As her focus had turned to Abby, she’d fallen behind. When she caught up, Evan had pulled Brother to a stop. She waited for Foster to get closer and then dismounted.

  “Let’s take a break and eat something.” Evan fished in the saddlebag for the food that Cora had packed. “We need our strength, and the horses could use a breather.”

  Foster tried to dismount but dropped back to the saddle. Her thighs ached. The second time, she was successful. When she stood up, her legs trembled from the fatigue of hanging on. Horseback riding used a different set of muscles than typing on a keyboard, as in, all of them.

  “How are you holding up?” Evan held two sandwiches. She handed one to Foster.

  Foster was mid-stretch, arching her back. “I’m fine.” She accepted the food and found a spot to sit. She leaned against a large conifer while Boots grazed on the understory nearby.

  It was getting late, and Foster wondered how close they were to Devil’s Basin. That sounded like a name made up by some B-movie scriptwriter, not an actual place. But she’d seen the name on the map with her own eyes. As if responding to her silent question, Evan unfolded the section of the map she’d brought with her. She smoothed it onto the dry ground in front of her and studied it as she chewed.

  “How close are we?” Foster strained to see the details on the map.

  “If I’m figuring this right, based on how long it took us to get this far, we have probably another hour. That’s a guess…maybe a little less, maybe a little more.” Evan refolded the map and stowed it inside her jacket.

  “What’s the plan when we get there?” As far as Foster knew there wasn’t a plan. Or if there was, no one had shared it with her.

  “The plan is, I take care of Leath. You get Abby off that altar and away from the water.” Evan finished the last bite of her sandwich and wiped her fingers on her jeans.

  “Why away from the water? What does water have to do with anything? You know, aside from the fact that if someone locks you in a box you can drown in it.” Foster couldn’t help the embellishment. Evan hadn’t asked what had happened and she hadn’t offered it up.

  “Water is a conduit. We don’t want to give Leath more of an advantage than she already has.” Evan stood up and scanned the tree line. “I’m going to go visit Mother Nature.”

  Evan rattled off details as if Foster should know all the inside lingo of witchdom, which she did not. She hated being in the dark, but apparently Evan wasn’t quite ready to toss her a flashlight. What did she mean by conduit? She watched Evan disappear into the woods. After a few minutes, she returned.

  “Would it kill you to explain things to me?” Foster wasn’t stupid. If Evan would share just a little more information, then maybe Foster could be of more help.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Explain what you said about the water.”

  “Water acts as an instrument. It channels and amplifies power.”

  “Thank you, now was that so hard?”

  They were quiet for a moment as Foster finished her food.

  Foster watched Evan. She was all business. Checking on the horses and taking a long draw from her canteen. It was getting darker. A thin ribbon of light gray stretched across the horizon beneath the clouds, the last remnant of the longest day ever. It was almost impossible to believe that it was only the previous night she’d been with Abby. Really been with her
in a capital “I” intimacy sort of way. The thought of Abby’s body entwined with hers caused her stomach to nose dive. She closed her eyes and swallowed. Abby, we’re coming.

  “You should take a minute to relieve yourself before we start again.” Evan held Brother’s reins in one hand and shoved her other hand into her jacket pocket. The evening air was cool and breezy.

  “Yes, Mother.” Foster wasn’t in the mood to be bossed around.

  “Suit yourself.” Evan put her boot in the stirrup and effortlessly swung her leg over the saddle.

  Jocks. They were so annoyingly good at everything. Except communication.

  “Before we go charging into whatever this is, can you tell me something about Leath?” Any intel would surely be helpful, especially if they somehow became separated. Foster knew what Leath looked like and that one should never ask her for a ride, but that was about all.

  “Leath Dane is a psychopath with paranormal powers.” Evan’s tone was icy. There was definitely some history here that Evan wasn’t sharing. “She has no regard for the rights of others, especially anyone without powers. She’s gifted at figuring out weak spots and exploiting them. She’s callous, unemotional, and completely lacks either conscience or empathy.”

  “Jesus.” The thought of sweet, gentle Abby in the custody of Leath made Foster ill. She took a deep breath and focused on getting her stomach to settle.

  “Yeah, if you know him you should send up a prayer for sure.” Evan tugged at Brother’s reins, pointing him north. “He and I haven’t spoken in a while, so I’m not sure he’d pick up if I called.”

  Brother was already trotting away by the time Foster climbed into the saddle. Once again, she fell in behind. Hold on, Abby. We’re coming.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Abby drifted in and out of consciousness. The pain had mostly subsided, but chills wracked her body, and her head throbbed. The headache was coming and there was no way to stop it, and no way to escape the noise inside her head. Leath hadn’t touched her, but Abby sensed Leath’s presence as if she had.