My eyes burned when Octavia winced as she tilted her head up for inspection. I clung to my neck, pressing a thumb to my pounding pulse.
“This is…” Nico touched my upper arm, guiding me to the other end of the porch. “Something strong and tactical. Have you ever seen a cat five this strong yet restrained? Most spirits would have killed by now, right? Even if the kill’s accidental.”
“Right.” I squeezed my eyes shut for a second; a pounding headache placed spots in my vision. I needed to eat. I needed to sleep. I needed to be a million and one times better than who I was right now because there was no time left for second-guessing.
“This escalation,” I whispered. “Started when we got here. So, it’s strong enough to siphon fear fast. Lucid enough to understand it’s on a time crunch. The recharge rate’s…”
“Impressive.” Nico filled in. He ran his handover his jaw. Worry didn’t take up as much space as intrigue did in his eyes.
“Dangerous,” I said in a hard voice. None of this stuff impressed me anymore. The burning behind my eyes evolved into a burning in my veins. I couldn’t be curious when holding that woman in my arms and not knowing what it’d take to ensure her safety once I let go.
Nico touched my elbow. “What’s wrong? You’re…Rae, we’ve done plenty of jobs like this before. Just because the highest type?—”
“The remains were our only option.” I didn’t have the stomach for comfort and optimism. I didn’t deserve it.
“Are,” Nico corrected. “They are, and we’re going to find them.”
“You think you can track them down before another event? Do you think they’re even in this town?”
“The grounds.” Wilson wheeled to us. Jonah and December still tended to a wincing Octavia. I could barely look in her direction, angling myself so my peripheral vision didn’t pick up her slow movements.
“What?” I asked.
“People bury loved ones on their property all the time,” Wilson explained.
“You think Arnold’s buried on the ranch?” Nico asked.
“It’s worth a shot.” He nudged his chin toward their acres of land. “When we did an initial drive around the property before purchase, we passed a couple of huge trees and a few ponds. If I were going to bury someone, I’d do it there.”
Nico nodded. “Seems like a good idea.”
“Alright.” I placed my hands on my hips and took a deep breath. No matter how straight I tried to stand, I only felt a few inches tall. “We’ll start with water. People gravitateto those for peace. How many ponds are on the property?”
“There are five.” Octavia’s voice was dry and gravelly.
“You need to limit your speaking,” December murmured, almost pleading.
“How long do you think it’d take to cover all five?” I directed the question to Wilson.
He shrugged. “An hour. Maybe two? They’re spread out.”
“We need Esther,” December said.
“Sure, we can ask her to backtrack, but we can’t wait for her to show up,” Nico said. “I think it’s best and safest if we look immediately. If this thing’s as lucid as it seems, it’s probably listening and knows exactly where we’re going. We can’t assume it’ll wait until it’s fully rested to try and attack again.”
“Right.” I dug into my back pocket, fingers still shaking as I pulled out the map of the ranch I now carried around like a lucky charm. Another folded-up piece of paper fell out, the sticky note with Octavia’s name on it. I shoved it back into my pocket before the others could see.
“We’ll split up,” I said quickly. “Wilson, are you up for joining? Octavia’s in no shape to help, and you’re the only other person here who’s been to these parts of the ranch. We’ll be quicker with your eye.”
He nodded. “I’m in.”
I spread the map on the ground, and everyone formed a circle around it. “We’ll have three teams. Home team: December and Octavia?—”
“I need to be in the field,” December said. “I’m faster than Jonah.”
I sighed and glanced at Jonah. His eyes were big, but there was no desire to protest there. Shit. He was freezingup on us. Another one of my shortcomings, my failure to guide him through this type of crisis.
“We don’t have time for a teachable moment, Rae,” Nico said. “Put her in.”
