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"Bullshit!" She struggled against the cuffs. "They gave me their word—"
"Are you too stupid to live?" Morio slammed his fist against the beam next to her. "Do you really believe they're telling you the truth? Grandmother Coyote was right—the balance is totally out of whack, and nut jobs like you aren't doing anything to help. Sure, humans have wrecked the land, but what they've done won't even begin to compare to what Shadow Wing has in mind. Who are you working with? Who contacted you about helping Bad Ass Luke?"
Wisteria spat at him, hitting him square in the face. As he turned away, fists clenched, I stepped in again. "If you don't believe him, there's not much we can do, but you're abandoning both our worlds to hell by refusing to tell us what you know." When she stubbornly shook her head, I turned back to the others.
"She's not going to budge. Floraeds are stubborn as ticks, and she's got it in that pea brain of hers that the demons are going to sashay up to the nature spirits and turn the keys to Earth back over to them once all the humans are dead or subjugated. If our efforts fail, I only hope I get to see her face when she understands what's really going down. Because, with the gods as my witness, I swear I'll tear her apart with my bare hands that day."
Furious at the veg-head, I delegated Delilah and Morio to search the house for anything that might tell us where Tom Lane was. Meanwhile, I stepped outside to see if I could conjure up a spell that might help rather than bite us in the butt.
The wind had picked up; it had passed chilly and was downright cold. Blowing in from the southwest, a downpour threatened to swamp us before nightfall. I sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of mossy trees and Douglas fir and molding fungi that padded the ground and made walking slippery.
The maples and oaks and other deciduous trees were almost bare now, their leaves whipped off by the frenzied gusts that swept through the area. Otherworld had its storms, some of them violent and awe-inspiring, but I had never experienced the continual drenching that the Pacific Northwest received for a good nine months out of the year. I longed for the sun, but according to Chase, that wouldn't be happening in any measurable amount, anytime soon.
As I stood in the soggy afternoon, shivering despite the thick weave of my jacket, I began to sense the presence of magic. Old magic, deep from the forest, deep from the ground. It wasn't the magic of wizards or witches. No, this was the magic from beneath the soil, growing out of the very element from which it was born. Earth magic—dark and loamy, filled with secrets buried under the years of leaves and branches that had decayed back into the planet herself.
There was something ponderous about the energy, something so heavy that it muffled my hearing and sucked me under. Dark as in deep nights in the thick of the woods, dark as in the wild hunt that raced across the sky. Dark as in ancient secrets that worked neither for good nor evil, but were simply a force unto themselves. A sparkle of green flared around me, and I understood that I'd contacted a minor earth elemental.
I knelt, steering clear of a puddle forming in one of the wheel ruts in the drive, and placed my hand on the slick earth. Listen, I told myself. Just listen. No casting spells, no calling down the moonbeams or starlight. Just tune in and respectfully ask where we might find the man called Tom Lane.
And then, I saw him—clear as a vision. Lumberjack, yes, but not a logger at heart. He was tall and strong, and beneath the grizzled beard, he bore a nobility born in another time and place. His eyes were lit with the sparkle of madness culled from living too long and seeing too much. I gasped as he reached out to me with an outstretched hand and begged for help.
Who was he? And why did he have the spirit seal?
As I watched, the dark maw of a cave opened up, and I understood that he was hiding inside it. I fine-tuned my internal radar and was pleased when I received a strong signal leading into the woods toward the side of a foothill. Tom Lane wasn't far, but it would take some navigation to get there, and the rain wasn't going to make it a whole lot of fun.
As I shook myself free of the lingering tendrils of energy, a hoarse shout from the house startled me, and I turned to race back inside.
* * *
CHAPTER 13
Wisteria was laughing. I glanced around to find Chase, doubled over on the floor. Delilah and Morio knelt beside him.
"What the hell happened?"
"We should have gagged her again," Delilah said. "Apparently, Wisteria can charm with her words. Chase got too close, and she managed to kick him in the balls. Hard."
Morio was trying to help him sit up, but it was obvious the kick had been perfectly aimed. Chase was so pale I wondered if he was going to be okay. His face was one big knot of pain.
I glanced over at Wisteria, who had a triumphant look in her eyes. Furious, I slammed her head against the beam, holding her by the throat.
"Try anything more, and you die. That's just the way it is. I'll let our sister come have some fun with you. You know Menolly? And you know that she's a vampire? Wouldn't you be a tasty treat for her?"
I could tell I'd made an impression. Wisteria swallowed—I felt her throat move—and I stepped away slowly, keeping an eye on her feet. "Delilah, tear up that tablecloth and tie her feet to the beam." I repositioned the gag on Wisteria's mouth. By the time we were done, she'd be trussed tight as a turkey.
As Delilah jumped to obey, Morio motioned me to Chase's side. "I think he'll be okay, but he's not going to be hiking around the woods today, that much I can tell you. What should we do?"
I sighed. "Leave him here to watch Wisteria. Secure him with some sort of cover. Morio, aren't your kind good at illusionary magic?"
He nodded. "Mekuramashi. The illusion-maker. I can fix it so Chase appears to be a pile of clothes. That way he can sit on the sofa and rest while we're out hunting."
"Good. Get him up there, then. I know where to look for Tom Lane, but I think he's in trouble and needs our help. We have to get to him as fast as possible." I helped Morio gather Chase up and gently transfer him to the sofa. Chase was trying to hold on to his dignity. He glanced up at me, and I gave him a tentative smile.
"Just sit here and rest. Everything will be okay. I've gagged Wisteria again. Apparently, floraeds are a lot like the sirens. Not a good thing when you're a human." I fixed a pillow behind his head as Delilah joined me, taking Chase's hands in hers. I discreetly withdrew, leaving them to speak in private.
I joined Morio, who was sitting at the table. "I guess we're about ready," I said. "What do you need for this spell of yours?"
He shook his head and said in a low voice, "I just need my skull familiar, but I don't want her seeing it. What she doesn't know, she can't use against me. Can you blindfold her?"
