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As we climbed back into the SUV, the clouds darkened, and the storm finally broke, sending sheets of rain to pound the pavement, the fat droplets bouncing as they hit the road. Chase navigated carefully. The highway was far narrower than the freeway as it curved through the rural area.
"Once more, tell me exactly what I should do if we run into the dragon," Chase said, glancing in the rearview mirror.
"If you see it first, cautiously and quietly back away. Hide if possible. If it sees you, it may immediately attack—in which case you're toast. Or, it may try to talk to you. If it speaks, listen, and don't argue. Don't let your pride get in the way, don't threaten, and don't give it your real name. That's asking for trouble. Apologize for entering its territory, ask politely if you may leave. Whatever you do, don't draw your gun or that's all she wrote, folks." I picked through the snacks and found a Milky Way bar.
Chase coughed. "Sounds lovely. I take it that for humans, it's a lose-lose situation all the way around?"
"Actually," Morio said, clearing his throat, "I've met one dragon that was quite friendly."
I stared at him. "You've faced a dragon before?"
"A couple, but don't get your hopes up. I lucked out with the friendly one. He was looking for dinner, and I happened to know where a farmer with a herd of cows lived. The other time wasn't quite so bloodless." He grimaced. "I was traveling with a young priest who decided he was more powerful than the dragon. He wasn't."
"Oh Jesus, that's just what I needed to hear," Chase said, slowing as we came to a turnoff to the left. A graveled road led us through a tangle of undergrowth. Huckleberry and bracken, brambles and juniper encroached on the road, and giant Douglas firs rose out of the thicket, along with wild crab apple, vine maple, and red cedar. Here and there, patches of fireweed long gone to seed dappled the area. As we bumped along, the wild energy that Delilah had mentioned spread like mist rolling along the ground.
When we rounded a bend, to the left up ahead we saw an old house. The road ended in a circular driveway, where a couple of old trucks sat, rusted out from the looks of things. Further back, three outbuildings looked ready to tumble. I scanned the area, looking for any sign of the lumberjack. Chase was craning his neck, probably looking for the dragon.
The SUV coasted to a stop, and we piled out. Chase lightly tripped up the steps to the house, skirting a broken patch that threatened to cave in under him. He knocked on the door, but nobody answered.
I slipped around the side, veering toward the tenuous outbuildings, looking for any sign of life. As I approached the smallest one covered with moss, Chase screamed as an explosion rocked the area. Hell-and high water!
Racing back to the house, I saw that Chase had been thrown clear of the porch by some sort of blast, and the sparkles that indicated magic at play were flying everywhere. He was lying on the ground with Delilah kneeling beside him. Morio was cautiously approaching what had been the door. I dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time, skidding to a halt beside the yokai-kitsune. He held his fingers to his lips.
"There's someone inside," he whispered.
Inhaling deeply, I mustered up as much energy as I could. Even though it was raining, lightning felt a long way off, but the Moon Mother—invisible as she was behind the cloud cover and daylight—ran strong and clear. I summoned her power, and it raced through my body, into my hands.
"Okay." I nodded at Morio. "I'm ready. Let's go see what we're up against."
As we rounded the archway, we found ourselves face-to-face with one of the Fae. She had pale mint-colored skin, and her eyes were the same color as mine, lilac and lavender. Tiny shoots, tendrils of some plant, emerged from various parts of her body, peeking from beneath a dress so sheer that she looked more naked than if she'd been nude.
Magnetic and lovely, she gave us a long look and then motioned to Morio, who took a step toward her. I grabbed his arm.
"No! I smell demon," I said. And then I knew who we were facing. It was Wisteria, from Jocko's journal. And as far as I was concerned, that meant Bad Ass Luke couldn't be far behind.
Wisteria shifted her attention to Morio. She held out a finger and again crooked it. I glanced at his glazed eyes and jabbed him in the arm.
"Snap out of it; she's using a glamour on you!" Morio shook his head and blinked. Wisteria gave me a dirty look and pulled her lips back, showing sharp little teeth. Oh yeah, she wasn't on our side; that much was obvious. Just then, Delilah and Chase pushed through the door.
Seeing the four of us standing there, Wisteria seemed to think the better of a fight and turned to run.
I was on her like snow on a mountain, sending a bolt of energy zinging in her direction. I hit her square in the small of the back, shoving her a good ten feet forward, but then to my horror, the bolt continued to ricochet off the walls. Before I could stop it, the energy slammed into Chase, knocking him off his feet.>Chase shifted gears as we exited off I-405, onto SR 167. "We're headed toward the Nisqually entrance to the park. Goat Creek is somewhere before there, and we'll be looking for a graveled path leading into a tangle of bushes."
"Road have a name?" Morio asked.
"Nope. Maybe a mailbox, though Mr. Lane may get his mail at the nearest post office. I did find out that mere are two giant holly trees on either side of the road. That shouldn't be too hard to spot."
I fished through my tote bag for Jocko's diary and opened it up. Delilah leaned over to get a better view, and we began thumbing through the pages. Most giants spoke in a guttural dialect of Faerie, and their writing was a phonetic version of their speech. Jocko was no exception. While translating took a little time, we could read the entries if we transposed some of the verbs and nouns. When we were able to decipher his handwriting, that is.
The first few months of entries were pretty standard fare for someone who was worlds away from his home. Jocko had been lonely, he'd missed the mountain air even though he didn't miss being picked on for his size. He missed his mother but was glad to be out of his father's reach. Apparently Jocko, Sr., had a tendency to violence. Jocko was loyal to the OIA, but even he seemed to notice the lack of support foreign-based operatives got.
And then, about midway through the diary, we came to the first mention of Louise.
She came in again today and I asked her for her name. Louise. What a strange name, but beautiful. She's so nice, and she told me that she likes hanging around with Faeries. I said, "I'm just a giant, and not a very good one at that," but then she said I was cute. She's going to take me to a movie this week. I've never been to one. I've heard of them, but was too nervous to go by myself. Everything still seems so strange.
Delilah gave me a broad smile. "He had a crush on her." "And it sounds like she might have returned the feeling." I glanced out the window. I was uncomfortable prying into Jocko's personal affairs. Even though he was dead, it went against my nature to snoop into thoughts that he had expected to remain private. But we had to know what went on and why Louise had been killed.
"We're almost at Puyallup," Chase said.
