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“It was always going to come down to that. It’s just a matter of whether we’ll all survive said letting.” I pushed up from the table. “And on that cheery note, I’m going to bed.”
Belle’s concern ran through my mind. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just dead tired.” I paused and added with a somewhat wry smile, “Which is better than being dead any day.”
She snorted and flicked a leftover bit of cake at me. I dodged it with a laugh and headed upstairs. The spell across the top was still intact, which at least meant neither my father nor my husband had snooped. I set the alarm on my phone, then stripped off, climbed into bed, and was quickly asleep.
And dreamed of destruction, bloodshed, and death.
Whose was the one point the dreams refused to answer.
I shivered in my coat and then slammed the SUV’s door shut. The stars were bright overhead, but the moon was on the wane and her power little more than a distant hum. The mountain was an indistinct shadow that loomed above us, and the surrounding scrub was filled with the scrabbling of small animals, though whether they were bush rats, possums, or some other kind of nocturnal hunter, I couldn’t say.
Belle flicked on her flashlight and shone the beam on the barrier that signaled the end of the dirt road and the beginning of the goat track that led up to the wellspring’s clearing.
“I’m not looking forward to doing this in the dark,” Belle said. “It was bad enough climbing the damn mountain in full daylight.”
“At least this time, we’re better prepared.” Not only were we wearing proper hiking boots, but I also had water and energy bars in the backpack. I slung it over my shoulder, switched on my flashlight, and resolutely strode toward the track.
It seemed rougher—and the incline steeper—than I remembered. It didn’t take long for the burn in my legs to begin, but I ignored it and strode on resolutely. While my breath quickly became short, sharp pants for air, I noted with at least a little satisfaction that—unlike the last time we’d been here—I didn’t have to stop multiple times. My somewhat haphazard fitness routine was at least having some be
nefit.
We paused about halfway up to grab some water and munch on a protein bar. I tugged off the coat and tied it around my waist, but left the sweater on. The night was bitter, and I didn’t want the sweat chilling on my skin. The last thing I needed was a cold right now.
The scrub and trees became much denser the farther up the mountain we got. Unlike the forests around Castle Rock, this area didn’t have much in the way of old mines or tailings. It was so quiet that the sharp sound of our puffing echoed through the trees.
Eventually, the path leveled off. The trees around us were thick and tall, and shut out both the stars and the moon’s waning light, leaving the vast areas not lit by the flashlights in deep shadow.
But shadows weren’t the only things here.
There was magic.
Wild magic.
Katie’s magic.
She was waiting for us.
Chapter Eight
The sting of energy got stronger the closer we drew to the clearing. While this wellspring was far younger than the other, it was giving every indication it would end up being as powerful, if not more so, than the older one.
From up ahead came the soft glimmer of lights—wisps of wild magic, drifting on the breeze. Waiting for me, as Katie waited for me. My fingers twitched in response, and something within began to hum, as if in answer to unheard music.
We reached the edge of the forest and stopped. The clearing wasn’t very large, but it was strewn with rocks and other debris from the landslip that had taken out a good portion of the cliff directly opposite. At the base of this was an ankle-deep rock well. Water bubbled up from a seam near the cliff’s base, lapped over the edge of the basin, and then wound its way down the gentle slope, where it would no doubt join forces with the stream further down the mountain.
The tiny well was the source of the wild magic, and the air above it shimmered with its force. It had certainly ramped up since the last time we’d been here, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with Katie’s presence.
I raised a hand; the tiny threads of magic danced toward me and then curled around my fingers and wrists. They were as fragile as moonbeams and yet pulsed with power. Within that power was a sense of acknowledgment. Of kinship—and it was one that had nothing to do with Katie.
It should have frightened me—and I suppose in the saner portions of my mind it did—but this wild power was part of my being and coming here felt like a homecoming.
Your whole body hums came Belle’s awed comment. You’re totally in tune with the music and power of this place.
I glanced at her. Her eyes glowed with echoes of the energy that pulsed through me. It’s not Katie who won’t let me go. It’s the wild magic itself.
Because you’re a part of it.
