Page 14

Oh shit. It was happening.

Mother Nature, the Great Goddess, the Creatress of all life—or Mother, as she was called by the witches who worshipped her, was calling me to her.

I exploded out of bed, and Nia flew off the end where she’d been sleeping, her ears pinned back, on high alert. I quickly rubbed her head to calm her, even though my heart was like a jackrabbit in my chest. “We have to go out now, Nia.” Just like I could understand her, Nia could understand me. “And there could be danger.”

Nia will kill it. Keep Iris safe.

Her reply didn’t surprise me. My hands shook as I quickly dressed. “You must wait for my command. There could be demons, and there will be a monster, a serpent. Do you remember what I told you about the serpent?”

Nia remembers everything Iris says.

“Of course you do. She’ll look scary, and she’ll bite me, but I’ll be okay. She’s good, and you mustn’t attack her, okay?”

No attack unless Iris says.

“Exactly.” I crouched in front of her and cupped her fuzzy face. “I’m going animal while we walk through the woods, so the demons won’t sense me, but you can’t get too excited, you have to stay calm and alert for me.”

Nia quivered with excitement, unable to help herself. She loved it when I embodied an animal. I couldn’t shift forms—I was a witch, not a shifter—but I’d discovered that talking to animals and drawing them to me wasn’t all my magical specialty allowed me to do. I could take on some of an animal’s physical abilities, whatever animal it was that I chose. No, I didn’t physically change as such, instead it was like the spirit of that animal encompassed me. Nia called it a shadow; it was translucent, surrounding me in the form of the animal I chose.

It was the newest trick in my arsenal. Something I’d been practicing nonstop, and from what we knew, a power that was extremely rare.

It was a weird feeling, and it’d scared me when I first did it, but it might be the thing that would save my bacon during this task, not to mention the combat trial that would follow if I was successful.

We run in the woods?

“Yes, we’ll run,” I said to Nia.

Nia couldn’t contain her yip of happiness. I held my finger to my lips, telling her to stay quiet, and quickly put on my running shoes. I didn’t want to wake the rest of the family. They couldn’t come with me, and if they knew where I was going, they’d be up all night worrying when there was nothing they could do to help me.

I either made it back or I didn’t.

We tiptoed our way downstairs and let ourselves out as soundlessly as I could. The house next door, Brody and his aunt Cora’s house, now stood empty and cast a long shadow across our yard. Brody was dead, never to return, and I had no idea where Cora was. The council had taken her away. But seeing that house, sometimes it was like they were still there, plotting and scheming. A shiver slid through me before I could stop it. If I had my way, the place would be torn down.

I rushed to my car and opened the door. Nia jumped into the Toyota’s passenger seat, and I slid in behind the wheel. My gaze darted to our house when I started the engine. No lights came on. So far, so good. Putting the car in drive, I rolled out onto the street and headed toward Oldwood Forest.

Planting my foot on the gas, I battled my nerves. I knew what was coming. Willow had prepared me. We’d gone over it so many times that it felt like a memory, not someone else’s recollection. I was as ready as I’d ever be.

The dark entrance into the southernmost part of the Roxburgh State Forest loomed ahead as I pulled off the road and parked as deep into the shadows as I could get.

“Stick close,” I said to Nia when we got out. “No chasing, okay?”

Nia won’t chase. Except squirrels?

“Not even squirrels.”

Tomorrow?

“Yes, you can chase squirrels tomorrow.”

She bounced up on her back legs and gave me her beautiful grin.

The only thing left to do was summon my animal. I’d already chosen which one would be best for tonight. A wolf. Silver Claw had been taking back territory around Wolf Hill Woods, killing the demons hiding out there. So I had to assume the demons here would want to avoid any wolves they came across. Wolves could also run extremely fast and had an excellent sense of smell, both traits I could use tonight. A pity I couldn’t summon their sharp teeth as well.

Closing my eyes, I breathed in the scents around me—pine, earth, moss, animal, and let it sink deep. I envisioned a wolf, strong, proud, fast, and my heartbeat accelerated—

There she was.

Ash gray with arctic blue eyes. Every time I called on an animal, the more in tune we became. I didn’t know if they’d always been a part of me or if they were spirits that came to me and I became a part of them. Either way, the connection was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It was breathtaking, empowering. And so incredibly right.