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“True, but Sedona is also filled with about ten thousand innocent humans who can very quickly be turned into an army for John and the other pestilents. I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite wipe that many minds at once,” Grey snapped.
Ah. Good point.
“This might be a good place for us to regroup and take a look at the map. Or at least set up a base of operations until we can locate the rift,” Harrison ventured.
“Do we know how close the Weavers need to get to the rift in order to cast the spell?” Cort inquired.
“I conferred with Wiley about it over breakfast this morning. We think the Weavers need to at least be able to see it.”
Grey pulled the SUV into a paved roundabout that allowed them to enter the campgrounds or continue the way they came to the main road toward Sedona. The smooth paved road circled a big bulletin board covered with various notices and warnings under a slanted roof. He slowed to follow Clay down the dirt and gravel road that offered flat spots between trees and boulders for tents, but nothing larger. Each campsite had its own concrete picnic table and fire pit. It was a well-kept area but didn’t offer much in the way of privacy as the campsites were incredibly close together.
Luckily, it looked as if there was only one other campsite being used. Of course, it was also the middle of the week at the start of March. Probably not a time of year where the area was seeing high demand from campers. Clay pulled into an empty campsite that had some nice tree coverage from a stand of tall pines, and Grey chose the next one down. Gio, Lucien, and Calder in the third SUV drove past them and pulled into the last spot.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact location of the rift,” Cort said as he unbuckled his seat belt.
Grey and Cort exited the vehicle and Harrison started to join them, but Hale leaned over and grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Harrison’s dark eyes jumped to his face in question and Hale’s heart skipped. Yeah, he loved being the focus of that look. It was like the entire world disappeared for Harrison and there was only Hale. Who wouldn’t love that?
“I was serious a second ago. I don’t give a damn about soul mates and bonding. I’m yours. You said it. I believed it.”
Harrison shook his head. “But your soul mate could save your life. Me claiming you doesn’t count for much if you’re dead.”
“So says the man whose whole plan since meeting up with the Weavers was to die at the end of this journey. You think I’m giving up the man I love that easily?”
“What?” Harrison croaked, his eyes so wide they seemed like they would fall from their sockets.
Hale just barely held in his cackle of glee. It was so nice to be able to shock Harrison every once in a while. Of course, he was a little surprised himself. He hadn’t truly realized he’d fallen in love with the man until the words left his mouth, but he could feel the rightness of it all as that magical word floated around their heads. Harrison with all his stuffy properness and stern organization gave order to Hale’s life, which was continuously spinning toward chaos. Harrison was his balance.
“We’re not dying in Sedona. The Keeper and the Weavers are surviving this shit storm and going home to Savannah when this is over,” Hale said it with every ounce of conviction he could muster.
Harrison blinked and cleared his throat before giving a brusque nod. “Okay, then.”
It wasn’t exactly the vow of love and devotion Hale would have liked to hear, but that might be moving a little fast for the former straight man trying to get caught up on all the sudden changes in his life. Hale winked at him and released his wrist so they could both climb out of the car.
At Clay’s SUV, they found the Earth Weaver leaning against the back of the vehicle, pale and winded as if he’d been suddenly struck down by a bad case of the flu.
“Clay!” Hale cried, rushing over to join Baer, Wiley, Grey, and Cort already around him. Dane was holding tightly to his mate, looking as if he were concentrating hard on possibly healing the man.
Clay held up a hand as the last of them drew near. “I’m okay.” He lowered his hand to touch Dane’s cheek. “It’s okay. You can stop. I’m getting my bearings.”
“What’s going on?” Lucien demanded.
“It’s the pestilents,” Grey replied before Clay could even draw a breath. “They’ve saturated the ground here, stolen so much of the earth’s power that it’s throwing Clay off-balance.”
The Earth Weaver frowned at Grey. “Get out of my head.”
