Desmond stayed in the SUV. His stern face was frequently lit up as text messages came in on his phone. Audrey and Kandy slipped off into the forest in opposite directions. Twisted ankles weren’t high on their list of concerns. I guessed they were scouting, but — by the taste of their magic — they didn’t go far.
The first two vehicles to join us were the remainder of the shapeshifters. Other than Lara, I didn’t recognize a single other person among them and they didn’t approach me for introductions.
The witches, necromancers, and skinwalkers arrived in tandem.
Car doors slammed and gravel crunched, but no voices cut through the darkness. My mother crossed out of the night, passing Desmond’s SUV to join me in the wide beams of the headlights. By this light, her hair was a fiery red rather than its usual strawberry blond.
“Anything, my Jade?” she asked.
I shook my head. She nodded, her arms crossed against a chill I didn’t feel, and turned to climb into the passenger seat of Desmond’s SUV.
Danica appeared and offered me a sad smile as she climbed into the seat behind Scarlett. Then Rebecca, moving silently along the paved road, climbed in behind Desmond after the necromancer.
I inhaled and willed the peaceful evening to settle around me, just for a moment more.
Scarlett, clearly lit by the interior cab light, looked up at me expectantly. The blue of her witch magic rimmed her eyes. Desmond followed her gaze. None of the four Adept in the SUV spoke to each other. They were waiting on me.
My mother had convened a war council on the side of a highway in the deep of the night — and I somehow, someway was their key weapon.
I sighed. Then returned to the SUV.
“First, the witches will join Olive at her home in Ucluelet,” Scarlett said as I crammed myself in the back seat behind her, forcing Danica to scoot to the middle. “We will cast a seek spell for Sienna with the hairbrush Jade retrieved.”
I’d successfully used the residual magic in the hair from this brush to find Sienna over six months ago in Vancouver. She’d been in a protection circle next to Rusty’s half-eaten body.
“Her magic is radically different now,” I said. A seek spell, even one powered by seven witches, was 90 percent guaranteed to fail.
Scarlett nodded and then continued, “Rebecca will continue through to Tofino and approach the elder of the local band to see if he or the other elders might know of the location of the demon rising in 1778.”
“The government and the residential schools erased much of our history when they tried to destroy the First Nations way of life,” Rebecca said. “I don’t know how much the Tla-o-qui-aht have retained of their history or their connection to the earth, but I will ask.”
Yeah, no one in the SUV was going to bitch about the band’s ability or inability to help us. Whether or not they could help didn’t rank very high against the list of atrocities committed in the name of reformation, education, and religion — also know as a greedy-ass land grab by an invading force.
“The necromancers will try to determine if there is any unusual spectral activity in the area,” Danica said. “Once we have a better understanding of the situation, we will be able to formulate a response.” She didn’t elaborate further and that was fine by me. I didn’t know what was involved in necromancy, but I was satisfied with that blank spot in my education.
“Jade?” Scarlett prompted. I guess it was my time to share.
“I’ll dowse,” I answered. “For Sienna and Blackwell’s book.” And the sacrificial knife, I didn’t add. The SUV was getting stuffy with magic and my head was already aching.
“The shapeshifters will back the alchemist,” Desmond declared.
“I can’t accurately dowse when surrounded by too many Adept.”
“We will determine the space you need and move forward from there,” Desmond said. I wasn’t entirely sure we were talking about dowsing any more. “We will continue to keep in contact by text message.”
“When magic starts being thrown around in large enough quantities the cell phones won’t be reliable,” I said.
“By then we will be making a stand together, my Jade,” Scarlett said. “Because none of us will attempt to confront Sienna alone.”
My mother twisted around in her seat and held my gaze until I nodded my agreement. Then she exited the vehicle, quickly followed by Danica and Rebecca. None of us, it seemed, were comfortable in each other’s company for very long.
Desmond turned around to stare at me.
“What?” I snapped.
“You will not attempt to go off alone, dowser.”
“I already agreed.”
“Did you?” he drawled. “Or did you just lie to your mother?” He tilted his head as if scenting the air, as if he’d smelled me lying. Freaking shapeshifters.
I glared at him.
He grinned back. It wasn’t a nice smile.
I looked away. “Fine. Kandy can come with me. I know her magic well-enough.”
He snorted with satisfaction. Then he said, “As well as you know mine?”
And, we were back to flirting … hell, maybe the dominance games were all part of the mating dance for him as well.
“Well, I haven’t licked the inside of her mouth, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Desmond chuckled. The doors opened and the SUV shifted as Audrey climbed in the front passenger seat and Kandy climbed in beside me.
“What’s up?” Kandy asked.
“Desmond’s getting off on the idea of you and me in bed together,” I answered. My voice dripped with as much derision as I could muster.
“Who wouldn’t?” Kandy said.
“What?” Audrey screeched.
Desmond laughed louder at that and Kandy joined him. Audrey glared at me in the rearview mirror. The green of her werewolf magic ghosted over her eyes.
Still laughing, Desmond put the SUV in gear, pulled onto the highway, and turned toward Tofino.
I wanted to laugh too, but I couldn’t find the capacity to do so.
∞
I was numb — though maybe ‘mentally drained’ was a more accurate description — as I stepped out of the SUV in the first parking lot we came to off the main road. Highway 4 cut through Pacific Rim National Park on the way to the town of Tofino.
This time, I slung the katana across my back and cinched it too tightly in place. At least this pinch of pain registered, if only fleetingly.
The park was a well-maintained collection of beaches and hiking trails and lookout points. Long Beach was the most likely location for a demon summoning, just due to its size. At least, I hoped we’d started looking in the right place, because farther north along the beach the homes and hotels started right at the edge of the park and extended all the way into Tofino. Even in November, Tofino was a popular tourist destination — a world-class beach resort. And, being a Remembrance Day long weekend, I imagined the hotels and B&Bs were very full.
The Wickaninnish Inn was one of those hotels, and one of my fav places to stay when I could afford it. They had these thick white cotton sheets, heated bathroom floors, and tubs overlooking the crashing surf. And the food was great. They even made the strawberry jam they served in the morning with their fresh croissants.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of those trips.
As planned, the skinwalkers left us when we pulled into the parking lot, heading farther into Tofino to the native reservation. The witches had turned into Ucluelet at the junction to meet at the home of a witch by the name of Olive. That way, they’d have an established witches’ circle with which to cast the seek spell. They would be at half-coven strength tonight, and that was a lot of firepower for a simple spell. They’d know right away if it worked or not.
The necromancers had followed us into the parking lot, and began setting up some sort of spell of their own to communicate with any of the local ghosts who might be interested in chatting. Yeah, creepy,
but it was a fantastic idea.
I was just fine with walking away from all that, heading through the woods and onto the gray sand beach.
Desmond and the other thirteen shapeshifters intended to follow Kandy and me by scent, staying back far enough to not overwhelm my dowser senses. Half of them were stripping out of their clothing as I was heading through the trees. Actually, I tripped over a log looking back to see if I could catch a glimpse of Desmond’s ass. Unfortunately, he seemed to be keeping his clothes on.
“Eyes front,” Kandy said. She was walking ahead of me on the path. “Last thing you need is a broken ankle.”
Or heart, I thought. I hated when the wolf was right.
We stepped out onto soft sand, but it became hard packed a few feet away.
Long Beach stretched for miles in each direction. Other than a few randomly-spaced outcrops, nothing impeded the twenty foot waves from relentlessly pounding the beach. It had been raining on the drive here, and continued to mist now even though the night was quite clear.
“Wow,” Kandy said. The view, even by the light of the crescent moon, was breathtaking, but we weren’t here for the atmosphere.
“The tide gets even lower than this,” I said. “Can you tell if it’s going out or coming in?” Kandy could see better than me in the dark.
She didn’t answer right away. Her eyes glowed green as she scanned the vista. I took about ten steps to get to the hard-packed sand, which was still wet but easier to walk on. I waited there to see if the next wave reached me as it came thundering in … it didn’t.
“Out,” Kandy said.
“This reminds me, sickeningly, of Oregon,” I said.
“Nah, that was caves. This is beach.”
“Still, one of those rogue waves could grab us and pull us all the way to China.”
“I doubt the current would take you even half that far.”
“So not the point, werewolf.”
Kandy laughed, soft and husky. “All right, time to play. Do your thing, dowser. Right or left?”
I inhaled, attempting to ignore the mass of magic in the parking lot, as I tasted the area around and beside me. It smelled of sea, sand, and wet seaweed with cedar in the mix — probably from the fallen trees that had been stripped of their bark by the ocean and tossed to shore to form a border between the beach and forest behind us. No magic.
Oh, there was natural magic all around us. The area was abundant with it. Not as much as I’d felt at the grid point at Loch More, but the earth here was old and wild. Compared to Vancouver or London, it was untouched by humans.
“No clue,” I answered Kandy. “The witches are north. Let’s go south. I think open beach is more likely, no?”
“Who the hell knows?” Kandy said, but she followed slightly behind me as I moved southward, parallel to the surf. “No lights,” she murmured after a few steps.
“It’s all parkland here,” I said. “Long Beach Lodge over looks this beach at the very end of the park. If we don’t find Sienna before then … well, there’ll be a hell of a lot more people to protect.” I didn’t even want to contemplate dozens of demons rising fifty feet from homes and hotels.
We walked.
We got wet.
My hair began to stick to my face. And still there was no hint of Sienna.
I was cold and hungry. Chilled actually. And I was so going to ruin my boots and leather pants in the rolling surf and sand. I didn’t much care about the pants except that it was wasteful, but hunting Sienna was putting a nasty dent in my prized shoe collection.
“What if we’re wrong,” I whispered into the moonlit darkness around me. The crashing surf whipped my words away, but Kandy still heard me.
“If we’re wrong, we’ll figure it out. Also, Mory has been following us for the last mile.”
“I know,” I said with a sigh. “I’m trying to figure out whether or not we should acknowledge her.”
“She’s fallen twice. And she’s bleeding from the scrapes.”
I stopped walking.
“I’ll go get her,” Kandy said.
“All right.”
She turned back. The bitter chocolate taste of her magic receded quickly behind me.
And then I was alone on the beach.
“Now would be a good time, Sienna,” I whispered into the crashing surf. The wind, which had picked up in the last few minutes, lashed my damp curls around my face. “Just you and me.”
Nothing happened.
Kandy returned carrying a disgruntled fledgling necromancer over her shoulder. The green-haired werewolf dropped Mory to her feet in front of me. She looked like a defiant pixie with the moonlight washing across her face, glaring up at me through her shaggy, purple-edged bangs. Though the purple looked more gray in this light. Her hands were on her hips. It was like having an imp inexplicably mad at me.
Kandy’s cellphone pinged before I could acknowledge Mory verbally. The werewolf glanced at her phone. “The witches are out.”
Yeah, I saw that coming. “I’m surprised it took them so long. They must have tried multiple spells.”
I opened my mouth to chastise Mory, but she beat me to it. “I’ve saved your ass just as many times as you’ve saved mine.”
Kandy laughed.
“Yes,” I replied, slightly surprised that I had to agree. “But if you didn’t keep putting your — as you so delicately phrased it — ass in situations where it needed saving, my own ass wouldn’t be in jeopardy so much.”
I was rewarded for my wittiness with a chin jut from the angry imp.
Kandy’s phone pinged again. “The skinwalkers are out. And, man, that old lady raven has a mouth on her.”
I glanced at Kandy’s phone. “That’s a typo.”
“Ah, yeah. That makes more sense.”
I scanned the beach before us, then I turned to look out at the surf. We’d been walking for maybe forty-five minutes, but it felt like longer. Desmond and crew were catching up behind us.
“Rusty says …” Mory began, but then faltered when I turned to look at her. Rusty and I had an uneasy truce going on, but only because I had no idea how to actually get rid of him.
Mory straightened and fixed her gaze over my shoulder, which made me quickly step sideways.
“I don’t like him sneaking up on me,” I cried.
Mory laughed, and slammed her hand across her mouth to muffle the sound. “He’s a ghost. All he does is sneak.” Her words were garbled behind her hand and laughter.
“Still, creepy all around,” Kandy said, commiserating with me.
“Rusty says what?” I asked, weary but not stupid enough to ignore a potential lead.
Mory nodded, but not to me, to the air to my right. I forced myself to not step farther away.
“Rusty says that he might be able to find her … Sienna. Though he calls her … by another name.” Mory corrected herself awkwardly. She had no problem swearing like a drunken trucker, so I gathered this censorship was for the benefit of my feelings.
“What’s stopping him?” Kandy snapped her teeth on the question mark. The werewolf hated standing around and talking.
Mory looked to me, her eyes suddenly pleading for understanding.
“He wants you to take the necklace off,” I said. “To strengthen your connection.”
Mory nodded and bit her lip. “I knew you wouldn’t want me too, Jade, but …”
“If he’s right …”
“Yeah. Plus if you’re with me, you can put the necklace back on … if … you know.”
I leaned down to lock eyes with the necromancer. “Yeah, I know. If your ghost brother tries to kill you again.”
Mory puffed out her mouth, but then swallowed the protest and nodded.
I straightened and looked over at Kandy. The green-haired werewolf shrugged, seemingly uncaring, but I could tell by the tense way she held herself that she was wary and unhappy.
“Did your mother
say no?”
“Yes.”
Jesus. At least she was being honest with me. So when I said yes — because no matter what, Sienna had to be found and stopped — at least I knew ahead of time everyone would be pissed at me … again.
“Will he … remote project, or should you follow him?” I asked. My understanding of how necromancy worked was really basic.
Mory was already lifting the necklace from around her neck. “Both. He talked to the ghosts. The ones who wouldn’t talk with mom, so he thinks she’s close. But she’s not on the beach.”
“In the forest,” I groaned. I really wasn’t a fan of running for my life after midnight in the freaking forest.
“I like the forest,” Kandy said with a wicked smile, as green rolled over her eyes.
“Yeah, you and the skinwalkers.”
Kandy laughed and unzipped her hoodie.
Tofino was about to have a new pack of wolves. Delightful.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mory — well, Rusty via Mory — led us through a thick stand of trees that separated the beach from the highway — not that the road looked like a highway here, but it was still officially Highway 4 through to Tofino. We darted across the road, not because there was any traffic to be seen but because something about the wide expanse of asphalt made me feel exposed.
A newly paved bike path ran along the east side of the highway. Mory, pausing and murmuring to Rusty — or so I assumed — wandered along this path until she came to a perpendicular trail marked with a provincial park sign. The sign outlined hours of operation, no campfires allowed in the park, and that sort of thing. It also showed a map depicting a web of hiking trails, which pretty much meant nothing to me. I’d have to rely on the wolves to get me out of the forest even if we stayed on the path. I had a terrible sense of direction, and no idea how to identify landmarks in the dark to lead me back.
But then, I had known this might be a one-way trip … even if I hadn’t admitted it out loud yet. My sister had kicked my ass in London. I was alive because she wanted me to be.
While Mory paused at this crossroads, her head tilted slightly as she listened to something I couldn’t hear or sense. I reached out beyond the multitude of werewolf signatures hidden all around us in the forest and tried to find a hint of Sienna to the east. I had just assumed I should look on the beach …
Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser Series) Page 23