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Wiley couldn’t help but look around, expecting pestilents to come from the trees at any moment. The barrier spell was still holding, and he couldn’t be more thankful.
Clay set the lantern to the side as they stepped into the clearing. Moths instantly fluttered to it. Clay and Baer walked the perimeter before they all settled on the ground.
“What should I do?” Wiley asked as he crossed his legs on the soft grass. A cool breeze drifted through the trees, making the moss sway.
“See if you can sense the animals around us,” Baer said as he leaned back on his hands.
“I’m hearing a lot of animals.”
As soon as they’d gone outside, it was a cacophony of noise. It was giving him a headache as image after image bombarded his brain. Animals searching for food, shelter, and mates. Ones afraid of being found by predators. He could hear everything down to the smallest of creatures scuttling about.
Baer smiled, his face lit by the lantern. “At first, it’s overwhelming, but soon you’ll be able to pick them apart. Just try and focus on one animal.”
Wiley worked to filter out one set of images, narrowing his focus on a rabbit that had nestled in its shelter. It was close by and knew they were there. Poor thing was scared about the strange humans in her midst. “I have one. A rabbit. She’s not too sure about us.” He smiled. “But she’s sweet and safely hidden.”
“Okay, try to pick up a different one.” Baer leaned forward and crossed his legs, his elbows on his knees. “Maybe one of those birds flying above us. I’m tuned in to one now, who is scouting for a new place to nest.”
Wiley closed his eyes and immediately tuned in to a blast of imagery. He winced and rubbed his temples as pictures flew through his mind. “There are a lot of fucking birds around here.”
“It helps if you pick one image and focus on it.” Baer reached over and held his hand, his thumb stroking over Wiley’s knuckles. “You can do it, babe.”
He latched on to one stream of consciousness and zeroed in on it. A swallow, watching them from a perch on a limb above them. Unlike the rabbit, she wasn’t afraid of them, merely curious. She watched the three of them closely and it was weird seeing himself from another point of view. And it was strange how the animals didn’t think in words, but he could sense their emotions.
“Got one!”
“Okay, what’s she doing?” Baer asked.
“Watching us. She’s curious and has images of watching you guys train here before. She’s fascinated by the fire and the man who changes shapes.” Wiley laughed. “She’s been watching you guys a long time.”
Baer closed his eyes and Wiley knew he was trying to find the same bird. “Got her,” he finally said. He smirked. “She’s a brave little thing. She’s not the only one who watches us.”
The swallow got bored with them and turned away.
Baer opened his eyes. “What if you cast out farther? Tried to home in on one of the coyotes the witch has under her spell again?”
Wiley sent his senses out, but he couldn’t seem to get past all the animals close by. Crickets sang from the woods around them and when he really focused, he could even tune in to them, though their thoughts were quick and kind of murky.
Frustrated, he looked at Clay. “What if we get closer to the barrier?”
“Too dangerous,” Clay said with a shake of his head. “Practicing from here will be best.”
“I’ll keep trying.”
Wiley pushed aside all the noise and tried sending out his senses again. He touched on several animals, including a deer. Then he hit a wall. He pushed past it and slipped into the mind of something sleeping. It opened its eyes, growled, and stood up immediately as if it sensed him. He couldn’t quite get its thoughts, so he pushed harder and it whimpered. He was in a coyote and it could tell something was pushing at its mind even though it had a wall of blackness in its head.
Then, as Wiley looked through its eyes, a woman approached and kneeled in front of it. She wore black leather and her hair cascaded around her face. Her eyes were red—but it was like looking into darkness—and Wiley shuddered.
“What’s wrong, little one?” she murmured, staring into the coyote’s eyes. “Why are you awake?”
Scared, Wiley pulled out of the creature fast and opened his eyes. “I think I just saw the witch.”
Clay clapped his hands. “But you did reach inside one of the coyotes. Could you get anything? Like her plans?”
Wiley shook his head. “No, nothing but me seeing through its eyes. I was starting to get a sense of something, when the witch approached it. I don’t think she knew I was in there. She was only curious why the coyote was awake. But as far as the coyote, what I saw was ugly and painful. The animal wasn’t happy with it, though he couldn’t do anything about it.”
