“Uncalled for,” she sniffed.
“No one is staying here,” I said, waving my hands, surrendering to the absurdity of it all.I hadn’t even wanted houseguests, and now I had a fairy queen and a testosterone parade.
“Hey!”Tani’s hands went to her hips.
I sighed.“Except you.You can stay, of course, though I’m still not entirely sure where you’ve been sleeping.”The greenhouse, probably.Or maybe she hung upside down from the rafters like a sparkly bat.
The fairy beamed.“Greenhouse.Very cozy.Excellent moonlight.”
“I’ve been ordered by the Council.I’m not leaving,” Voss said.
“Then you can stay at the town bed and breakfast.”My voice went flat.“I know Dolores.I’ll speak to her on your behalf.Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get the potion and go to the tree.”
This time no one stopped me.
I bounded down the basement stairs, heart hammering against my ribs, and searched for the vial.The basement smelled of herbs and old stone.I grabbed the purple potion from the worktable, fingers tightening around the glass like it might anchor me.
Owen appeared in the doorway and stopped short.“You’re doing this.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re fine with him hovering around?”
I smiled faintly.“No.But life’s full of disappointments.”
“I don’t trust him,” he said.
“I don’t either, but I don’t have a choice.He’s not leaving, clearly.So he can stay in town—but not in my house.”I tucked the potion carefully into my pocket.“I have to get to the woods.”
His jaw tightened.“Whoever killed Alice wants you dead now.Because you’re the Guardian.”
“I know.”
“That doesn’t scare you?”
I straightened, meeting his eyes.“It scares me later.Right now?I have work.”
He studied me for a long moment, then nodded.“I’ll drive.”
Then his gaze landed on my bare feet.“Maybe shoes first, though.”
The motley crew descended on the hickory tree like a strange parade.
Voss folded himself into the extended cab of Owen’s pickup with all the dignity of an irritated linebacker.Tani rode shotgun, humming cheerfully.
I didn’t relax for a second.
Owen parked, and we all filed out.
I smelled it before I saw it—wet rot, smoke, rage.The ground at the base of the tree churned, black sludge bubbling like a wound that refused to close.
“The crossing’s compromised,” Voss muttered, already reaching for his communicator.
“No!”
I practically tackled him, knocking the device from his hands.It tumbled into the undergrowth.He stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Not yet,” I said.“Let me try the potion first.”
