It was time.
“I call upon the mighty forces of Nature! I call upon all good and protective spirits! The forces of the earth, of the waters, and of the air. Hear me now. Help me now. Lend power and protection to the Goddess’s precious life forms that are now endangered. May the vast forces, the power and energy which I call forth, grow and redouble!”
The candle flame surged.
The room brightened.
Joell’s eyes remained closed.
“Sahara, name these men while I concentrate.”
Sahara studied a separate screen and began reading slowly.
“Tristan… Marco… Rocco… Brett… Gabriel… Giorgio… Jonah… and Scott.”
Joell nodded, still deep in trance.
“These men are aided and protected. Our power to find them grows, and my vision is true. Lead us to them, Goddess, keeping them safe until we can return them to their rightful place and destiny. So mote it be.”
She opened her eyes and passed her hand across the deck.
The Queen of Wands flew from the deck of the cards and landed on the pentacle.
Reversed.
Crowe’s ears flattened.
Well, hell. PMS has already started.
Joell passed her hand over the deck again. Several cards leapt free and scattered across the floor in front of her.
She studied them in silence.
Four lay slightly to the left of the reversed Queen. Four others fell to the right.
Her eyes narrowed.
“It seems they’ve been split up,” she murmured. “Four models with at least one perpetrator… heading in opposite directions.”
She studied the spread more closely. One of the cards was the Star.
“Lioness,” Joell said softly. “Are you still in California?”
“Yes.”
“Half of the models are coming your way.”
Joell closed her eyes again as images began swirling behind them. “Take care. There are two perps. Ugly inside and out,and cunning. They’re working with others. Their intentions are exploitative. They’re heading toward the Valley.”
Lioness’s pencil hovered over her sketchpad, ready.
“As soon as I have the sketches, I’m on my way.”
“Lioness,” Joell said quietly. “Tie your consciousness to mine. Are you receiving the images?”
Lioness’s eyes were closed. “I am.” Her pencil moved quickly.
Crowe watched in fascination. Even after all these years, the process still amazed him. Joell’s mind gathered the images somewhere beyond normal sight and projected them directly to Lioness. The results were always frighteningly accurate.
