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Trillian held up a serrated blade, then carefully sheathed it again. That was all he had to say.
"Well, if we're done, then let's get moving," Smoky said, standing up.
Iris entered the room. She carried a tray holding a bowl of chicken soup and a sandwich. Maggie was curled up on the end of the sofa by Zach's feet.
"You all be careful. I don't want to have to come rescue anybody," Iris said.
Camille gave her a hug. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Menolly will be back by sunrise, in any case. If something happens and you need help, use the Whispering Mirror to contact Trenyth."
Iris nodded as we herded out the door. "Understood. Please, girls, don't take any unnecessary chances. It only takes one mistake…" Her voice trailed off, and she waved as we clattered down the porch steps, our boots scrunching over the newly fallen snow.
We split into two groups. Chase, Rhonda, and Menolly rode with me in my Jeep, while Camille, Trillian, and Smoky rode with Morio in his Subaru Outback. Rhonda insisted on sitting next to me rather than Menolly, and I grudgingly agreed. I preferred having Menolly ride shotgun but didn't want to start a ruckus.
As I put my Jeep into gear and pulled out onto the road, I wondered if we'd all be alive by the end of the night. And would we be able to find Venus the Moon Child and the second seal before Shadow Wing got to it?
To get to Snoqualmie from Belles-Faire means driving over the 520 floating bridge, the world's longest pontoon bridge, which separates Seattle from the greater Eastside, then taking the 405 freeway to the exit leading to I-90 East. Once on I-90, it was a relatively short jaunt to reach the exit for the town of Snoqualmie.
By eight o'clock, rush hour had finally ended, and the roads were fairly clear, meaning plenty of traffic but not high volume. The ice and snow had slowed things down, but there were still a lot of drivers who assumed their SUVs gave them a free ticket to reckless winter driving, and twice we passed one of the big-ass cars that had skidded to the side of the road.
The snow fell steadily, muffling the world in a blanket of crystal. Something felt odd about this storm, almost magical. If we were still in one piece after our sojourn tonight, maybe I'd ask Camille to tune in and see what she could find out from the weather imps. The creatures usually ignored mortals of any kind, preferring to interact with only Elementals, but they made an exception for witches who could use weather magic.
I took the I-90 East exit and watched to make sure Morio followed me. As we curved under the overpass, I merged onto the freeway, and we were headed toward the Cascade Mountain Range. Of course, we'd stop long before we got to the top of Snoqualmie Pass, but even in the darkness I could feel the difference. We were headed toward still-active volcanoes and ancient mountains, towering peaks born from the heaving movements of great plates under the land. Earth's growing pains.
The traffic was light. Most people were shopping for the holidays or cozying up at home. We had the road pretty much to ourselves as we sped along.
"So what's our objective again?" Rhonda asked.
"Pretty simple," I said. "Find and eradicate Kyoka and the werespiders. Save Venus the Moon Child."
"So you don't really have a concrete plan of action?" she said, sniffing.
I kept a firm grip on the steering wheel. Her tone grated on my nerves, but I had no intention of letting her disrupt my thoughts. "We're lucky we even found the nest at all. We don't know what we're going into, and there's no way of finding out till we get there, so we just go in and fly by the seat of our pants. If you have a better idea, I'd like to know about it, because, babe, your people are running out of time."
She shut up. I knew I'd offended her, but I didn't care. The closer we got to Snoqualmie, the more I could feel the web that the Hunters Moon Clan had spun around the area. It was like a shadow growing in the mists that would take hold and root deep if we didn't clear it out. My senses clicked into high alert.
Chase directed me to turn off on Parson's Creek Road. The road was two lanes, and as my Jeep sped over the ice-encrusted pavement, I let myself slide further into trance. Menolly had remained silent in the backseat, but she suddenly stiffened and leaned forward.
"Demon scent. I don't know how long ago, but a demon's passed this way," she said.
I glanced in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were shining red, and her fangs were extended. She gave me a feral smile and winked.
"Jansshi demon," she said. "They're scavengers. They'll eat whatever you throw at them. This squad of Hell Scouts is probably led by Kyoka. Both Lianel and he have to be smarter than the Jansshi, who's primarily a thug wrapped up in brimstone."
Rhonda coughed. "I've never faced a demon," she said, sounding less sure of herself than she had a few minutes before.
"We have." I gave her a quick smile. "They can be terrifying, but in this case, I think we face more danger from Lianel and Kyoka than from the Jansshi. And don't forget the spiderlings. When I saw Geph von Spynne in my dream, he wielded a tremendous amount of power, and he can see out onto the astral. Of that I'm sure."
"The turn's a half mile up the road," Chase said. "Goldenrod Road."
My blood quickened, and I focused on driving. The scenery was looking familiar. I caught my breath. Shit, this was going to be bad.
"They're in a cave, mind you. We don't want to walk into a trap, but I doubt they'll welcome us at the door. We're going to have to go in after them. And that means danger."
Chase pulled out his cell phone and dialed. After a moment, he started speaking. When I glanced at him in the rearview mirror, he covered the mouthpiece and whispered, "It's Camille. Just coordinating."
I concentrated on driving. And there it was—just as I'd dreamed, a signpost that read Goldenrod Road. In my vision I'd been coming the other way, but that didn't matter now.
I took a shuddering deep breath and turned left, Morio right on my tail. As we bumped along over the rough drive, I tried to remember how far it had been before the turnout leading to the nest. The S-curves seemed more precarious now that I was driving, especially with the packed snow and ice clinging to the road. And then, before I was ready, there it was—the turnout. I pulled to the side and killed the motor.
