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His icy eyes twinkled. “I do. And I might know where we could scare up a couple more of those. They’re pricey to come by, and I’ll have to head back to Y’Elestrial to find them, but I can do that this afternoon.”
“Price doesn’t matter.” Smoky glanced at him. “I have gold should we need it—currency everywhere. Camille’s safety is tantamount.”
Trillian nodded. “You will come with me, then? I don’t know how much they’ll be. We shouldn’t be gone longer than the night.”
My mind flashed to an image of the two of them, skipping down a yellow brick road together, and I coughed, almost choking on my sandwich. Morio slapped me on the back as Iris handed me a glass of water. Wisely, I bit my tongue, but I couldn’t suppress a snort.
Trillian gave me a long look. “You have something to say, wife?”
“I don’t think she believes we can take a trip together without killing each other.” Smoky joined in.
I face-palmed, groaning. “Enough, you two. This is serious.”
“Now look—she’s been caught and is trying to divert attention.” Smoky was enjoying himself. I could see it in his eyes.
Trillian nodded. “We need to teach her better manners.”
“Agreed.” Smoky pushed back his plate. “So, what are the plans for this afternoon and evening? Trillian and I will be headed to Otherworld.”
“I’m due out at Talamh Lonrach Oll tonight, so I’m just going to hang around the house and rest this afternoon.” I didn’t want to overtax myself before tonight. The Triple Threat were likely to put me through the wringer.
Delilah finished off her potato chips and wiped her hands. “I think I’ll head to the office. I haven’t been there for a few days, and I need to check messages and see if anybody has any jobs for me. I’ll check in with Giselle for you, Camille, and make sure everything is going well at the Indigo Crescent. Then, I guess…”
“After that, you can help me research ways to dispatch a god.” Roz leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “There has to be some weakness recorded. We can go talk to Carter this evening. He’s part Titan. He has to know something about the gods.”
“Good idea,” Delilah said, carrying her plate to the counter.
“I’ll stay home, with Menolly and Vanzir. We can watch over the house this evening since Camille, Smoky, and Trillian will be gone.” Shade grinned. “Menolly and I are teaching Nerissa to defend herself, so it will give us time to practice.”
I knew that Menolly and Shade had been training Nerissa in hand-to-hand combat. Nerissa could defend herself just fine in werepuma form, but she’d never really learned in human form, and now that she and Menolly were married and she was living here, it stood to reason that she should get in some practice.
I pushed back from the table. “I need to meditate before tonight. I’m going to sit in the yard for a while.”
The others nodded. I kissed each of my men before I headed outside. In the hallway, I stopped long enough to grab my ritual staff. Aeval had given it to me right before I’d accompanied Iris on her journey to the Northlands. Nobody had taught me how to use it yet, and I knew better than to ask for details. They would train me when they saw fit.
The staff was a little taller than me. Made of polished yew, a knob of silver atop the staff held a quartz crystal ball almost the size of my fist. A wire network wove over the top to keep it firmly secure. The foot of the staff was silver-clad, and it fit neatly in my hand.
I carried it outside to the front yard, where my herb garden was just starting to make an appearance for the year. The new growth cheered my mood as I headed for the low rock I’d had Smoky bring me from out near Mount Rainier. It was smooth, flat, and comfortable and felt more natural than a bench. I carried the staff over to the rock and settled down on it, staring at the garden.
The lavender was growing, and the thyme bush was looking good. The comfrey was taking up an entire corner in the garden. Sage and rosemary and fennel grew in the kitchen-herbs section.
And then there were the herbs that were not pantry-friendly, but that I needed for spell work. Belladonna and wormwood, rue and mandrake. My mandrake plants were a little over a year old, and they had a ways to go before I could harvest them for the work we needed to do. But all of my dark moon plants were planted safely away from the ones we could eat as well as use in spell work.
As I leaned back, the cool breeze flowed across me. Once again, I tumbled deep into trance. Everything felt heightened, from the hairs on my arms to the air playing across my lips. My nipples stiffened in response—going into trance could be an incredibly sensual experience. Magic and sexuality were intricately entwined, and when one force woke in the body, so did the other.
The staff was still in my hands, and I ran my fingers lightly over it as I drifted gently with the astral currents. The yew branch resonated in my hand, a tingle flowing up my arm.
Yew—the tree of transformation and the Eternal Return—was one of the most sacred and potent trees there was, even more so than oak. The yew was for new moon work, for death magic, and the magic of the Dark Goddesses. It was the tree of renewal, the tree of death and of birth.
I traced over the surface and paused. Something tingled beneath my fingertips—a carving? Runes? But when I looked, I could see nothing but smooth wood. I raised the staff to my nose and inhaled deeply. A faint scent wafted up, one that I felt I should recognize but that eluded me.
Turning my attention to the silver cradle holding the crystal, I gazed into the quartz, rainbows shimmering from the internal fractures—prisms dappling the globe. They whispered to me, but their song was just beyond reach.
After a while, I took three deep breaths and held the last, letting it wash through me as I slowly brought myself out of the trance. Setting the staff aside, I glanced at my phone. Nearly six P.M. Almost time to head out to Talamh Lonrach Oll. I wrapped my arms around my knees until I felt awake enough to drive, and then stood and put my staff in the car. My priestess robes were already in there.
As I walked back to the house to let them know I was leaving, Smoky and Trillian came out.
“Are you headed to Grandmother Coyote’s portal now?” I ran over to them and slid my arms around their waists.
