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"We could shine a light in the forest and see if any eyes reflect, but that would give us away." Chase scooted up next to me, squatting as we hunkered down behind the huckleberry bushes that had grown wild through the area. "It's your call, Delilah. What do we do?">Rhonda looked over at Zach. "Will he survive?"
I nodded. "We called the medics in time to neutralize the poison, but he can't move much for a few days. He's stuck here tonight, and there's no chance he can go with us."
"Have the boys filled you in?" Camille asked.
Rhonda nodded, her gaze flickering over to Trillian, who stared back at her, cool and aloof. After a moment, she looked away, blinking. I had the feeling Rhonda was used to being the center of the party, and tonight, not everybody was playing the way she had expected.
I stood up. "Okay, before we get moving, let's come up with a rough plan. Camille, since moon energy doesn't work so well on the werespiders, what are you going to use for a weapon?"
She patted the sheath on her belt. "Short sword. And I know a few spells that don't rely on the moon's energy. I might be able to summon up an Elemental to help us—perhaps a wind or an earth Elemental. Of course, if they're pissed, they may decide to help the spiders, so…"
"Let's leave that as a last resort," I said quickly. "I'll go in fighting, as usual. Chase, what are you bringing to the table?"
"I have my gun, of course, and nunchakus," he said, holding up the fighting sticks. "Silver bullets only work on lycanthropes, so I didn't bother bringing them."
"Good. Smoky, Trillian, Morio?"
Morio arched his eyebrows. "My repertoire includes a number of spells and illusions. And if all else fails, I can let loose my true form and have at them. I'm not such a pretty boy when I let the demon out to play." He said it so calmly that I had to smile until I remembered that none of us had ever seen Morio when he was in full demon mode.
Smoky snorted. "I'm a dragon. I'll do what I do best."
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.
