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“Something else. In an hour,” Bran said again, “by the seawall.”
Riley spent the bulk of the hour making those calls, then pocketed her phone to go gather weapons. Since Bran hadn’t been specific, she decided to haul out all of them.
When Sawyer walked into the sitting room turned armory, she realized he’d had the same idea.
“I was going to hunt you up after I took down the first load.”
“No hunting required, and with two of us, we should be able to handle it in one trip.”
“Speaking of trips,” she said as she slung the long-distance rifle over her shoulder. “I’ve got a source for your aquamarine.”
“You— Already?”
“We deliver. Bran didn’t say ammo, but . . .” She shoved extra mags in her pockets.
“Wait. Where? How?”
“How is I know a guy who knows a girl whose family owns a jewelry store in Dublin. They make and design as well as sell, so they have loose stones.”
“In Dublin.”
“Yeah, the other side of the country, but I don’t see that as a big for a shifter like you. The uncle of the girl the guy knows can have some stones to show you in a couple of days. If that’s the way you want to go, we zip over there, take a look, zip back.”
“Yeah, I . . . I didn’t expect it to be like now.”
“Your move, Cowboy.”
“Right. My move. I’m in. Wow.”
“Good. Load ’em up. Let’s see what Bran’s got cooking.”
Cooking wasn’t far off, Riley noted, as Bran had a cauldron hovering over the ground. Sasha’s painting of the coat of arms floated over it.
“You started the show without us,” Riley said.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Bran looked over as the ot
hers crossed the lawn. “We’ve talked of unity. We’ve shown our unity. Sasha’s given us a symbol of unity. We take another step here, if all are willing.”
“We’re with you,” Sawyer said simply. “Every one.”
Riley nodded. “So say we all.”
“Then here I cast the circle.” Taking an athame from his belt, Bran pointed it north, south, east, west. “On this land, at this hour, we cast our light, we lift our power. Spark the fire, stir the air.”
Under the cauldron, fire burned. The wind rose to shimmer the circle of light around the six.
“Against evil conspire, to stand in times foul or fair. Earth bloom, water spill. Both sun and moon defeat the gloom, so against the dark we test our will.”
Flowers tumbled out of the grass within the circle. Pure blue water fountained out of the air and into the cauldron.
“We are kinsmen, of blood and heart. As one together or apart. This symbol we create, our unity to celebrate.”
The air thrummed. Riley felt it beat in her own blood, felt the wolf inside her open to the power, to the sheer beauty as Bran held his hands over the cauldron. As he turned them up to the sky. In them now were two vials, gleaming white.
What poured to them to her eyes was liquid light.
Mists rose, and what stirred inside the cauldron hummed.
