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He wanted to talk to us about the dark spirit. I told him what I could, but he still wants to talk to you. She paused, and her amusement grew stronger. Tala is looking a little like a deer in the spotlight.
“Care to share?” Aiden said mildly.
I jumped slightly and then glanced at him. “Sorry. Belle was just informing me that the RWA witch has arrived.”
“And? Because I’m sensing there is an ‘and ’ after that statement.”
“Apparently, he’s old, crusty, and short-tempered. And Tala is looking rather shell-shocked.”
Aiden swore. “What the fuck were they thinking in sending someone like that? They know the situation here is somewhat tenuous in regard to witches.”
“Regional centers are often only staffed by a couple of people. Maybe with Anna out of action, they haven’t much other choice.”
“They could have brought someone more suitable in from one of the other areas.” He shook his head. “This is not going to sit well with the council.”
“And yet he could be exactly what they need. Maybe if they’re told in no uncertain terms the true depth of the danger they’re placing everyone in by someone who knows, they might finally get off their butts and get a replacement witch here ASAP.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And if he can’t convince them, maybe you should get up there and have a go.”
“As if they’d listen to someone they want to banish from the reservation.”
“Not all of them want to evict you, but all of them will hate a recalcitrant old fart treating them like errant children.”
Which in many ways was exactly how they needed to be treated, given their somewhat childish attitude toward the wellspring. In this day and age, there was no excuse for such willful blindness.
But there was little point in saying any of that, because Aiden basically agreed with me. We turned off the main highway onto another of those goat tracks that paraded as roads within the reservation, and then went right into another one. But just as the track started to climb, Aiden pulled off the road and stopped.
I glanced around. The area was a mix of open space and thick trees, and there was absolutely no sign of habitation.
Aiden must have sensed my confusion, because he said, “The gates into the Marin compound are up ahead. We have to formally seek permission before we can enter.”
I peered up the road, but couldn’t see anything resembling gates. Just two huge old gum trees guarding either side of the goat track. Were they the gates he meant?
“Why?” I asked. “You’re a ranger—surely that means you can move through the entire reservation without restriction.”
“I can—especially if it’s life and death—but this is more an official courtesy. It’s an acknowledgment that we’re entering sacred home grounds, and all three packs have the same rules and entry procedures.”
“They can hardly consider it their sacred home considering this whole area was once O’Connor territory, not Marin or Sinclair.”
His smile twisted. “Yeah, but that was long enough ago that they now consider this land theirs. So we shall be respectful and obey the rules.”
I held up my hands. “I’m all for obeying rules.”
“Only when it suits you, I suspect. You’ll have to come along—you’ll need to sign in.”
I frowned, but nevertheless climbed out of the car. “Neither Mike nor Meika mentioned any of this when I was talking to them yesterday. If I hadn’t insisted you come along, I would’ve blundered up here and gotten myself into a world of trouble.”
“They wouldn’t have done it deliberately. It’s a procedure that’s used in all compounds throughout Australia, so they probably thought you’d be aware of them.”
I walked around the front of his truck and fell into step beside him. “Presuming someone knows something is never a good idea. Maybe your council needs to provide a reference sheet of dos and don’ts for those of us who have never lived in a reservation before.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” His gaze met mine. “So if you’ve never lived in a reservation before, why choose this one?”
“As I’ve said, the fact this is a major tourist area was part of the reason.” I hesitated and then shrugged. “But it also felt right and, according to Belle’s guides, the omens were good for settling here.”
“Who or what are her guides? Are they spirits or ghosts? Or are they one and the same?”
“Ghosts are generally the souls of those who were taken before their time, or those who, for whatever reason—be it revenge, confusion, or a simple unwillingness—refuse to move on to their next life. Spirits are from the realm beyond ours—supernatural beings that were never human even if they can attain that form.”
