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"We're here," I said. "See that dark spot there between those two fir trees? That's our path." Reluctantly, I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of the car. The others followed suit, and Chase pulled out our supplies that we'd prepared before leaving. As I slid my backpack on and made sure my long knife was fastened firmly in my boot and that my wrist blades were secure, Camille pulled to a stop right behind my Jeep.
They tumbled out of the car, and we gathered by the edge of the road.
"Everybody have everything you need?" Camille asked. We all nodded. She glanced up at the clouds and closed her eyes. "Moon Mother, be with us. Great Mother, watch over us."
"Lady Bast, guide and protect us," I added my own prayer. "See us through the coming battle, strengthen our magic, and enchant our blades."
I looked up. It was time. "All right, let's go." The second seal hung in the balance. We couldn't wait any longer. I swung onto the path, slipping between the fir trees that towered over us. As a gust of wind billowed past, setting the trees to creaking, the mark on my forehead tingled. My blood surged and, like a river raging in its banks, a current of fire rolled through my veins. Shaken but feeling stronger than I'd ever felt in my life, I straightened my shoulders. Somebody had heard our prayers, it seemed, but a little part of myself wondered just who had decided to answer.
"Okay, boys and girls, here we go," I said, and plunged into the brush, the others following in a silent line behind me.
* * *
CHAPTER 18
As we headed into the bush, my vision shifted, and I found myself seeing everything as clearly as if I were wearing night-vision goggles. Startled, I stumbled, and Camille, who was right behind me, braced me from falling.
"Are you okay?" she asked, keeping her voice low.
I blinked. Sure enough, I could see almost as clearly as if it were daylight, in an odd, colorless sort of way. "I don't know," I said, quickly filling her in on what was going on with my eyesight. "At least whatever this is seems to be in my favor. Where's Menolly?" I added, looking around.
"Look. Up there, see her?" Camille pointed to a low-flying bat. Menolly was slowly but surely learning to use her own powers to shift, although she couldn't stay aloft for long.
"Wow, she's starting to get the hang of it," I said. "Though she won't be able to stay up for long. I don't think she's managed a transformation for more than ten minutes yet."
"Well, at least she's trying, and this is a good place to give it a shot. She might be able to hide in a tree when we get to the cave. She could be our surprise element." Camille did her best to sound lighthearted, but her expression told me she was anything but that. She knew as well as I did that a lot was riding on what happened in the next few hours.
As we hiked along the inclining path, we came out into the patch looking down into the ravine. Just as I'd dreamed it. Peering over the edge, Camille and I stared into the raging water as it poured along the channel.
"I wouldn't want to get caught in those blackberry bushes," she said, pointing to the thorny mass covering the side of the dirt slope.
"What's up this hill?" Chase asked from the other side of the road. "Did you have a chance to explore at all?"
We crossed the path to join him. Smoky was staring at the hillside, frowning. He shook his head and said, "I don't think it's a good idea for any of you to go up there. I could without worrying, but I won't."
"What is it? What do you know?" I asked.
"This area was inhabited by Native Americans. They called themselves the people of the moon, and I think they have sacred burial grounds near here. I can feel spirits moving," Smoky said.
"My guide! He said something about his people being the people of the moon." As I spoke, there was a flutter on the wind, and a hush settled over the area. A translucent figure took shape in front of us, his aura gleaming in the night. It was the spirit I'd met in my dream. He looked quizzically at Smoky, Morio, and Trillian.
I bowed, hoping that was the proper way to show respect to a land guardian. "We meet again." Great, I sounded like some melodrama out of the forties.
He cocked his head to one side. "Have we met?" he asked,. and then a smile flooded over his face. "Oh yes, I remember you. But you were your animal self that night."
I nodded, not wanting to admit that I wasn't sure just what animal I'd transformed into. "We've come to clean out the werespiders. Will you help us?"
With a shake of the head, he said, "I can't leave this place. But go, my friends, and may the spirits be with you." And with that, he faded out of sight.
"What do you make of that?" Rhonda asked.
"I don't," I said. "I've learned not to bother trying, because it's just a waste of time. Come on, we've got to get in there."
As I led them through the undergrowth toward the cleft in the hillside below, the snow picked up, and the wind howled down from the other side of the hill to sweep past us. Menolly landed nearby, abruptly shifting back into herself.
"Winds are too high for me to fly in bat form, and I can't hover up there either," she said. "I'm not going to be much use when it comes to aerial tricks. Give me a good solid wall, and I can climb it, though."
"Well, it was worth a shot," I said. "I don't see anybody around, do you?"
