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Colin is standing next to my equine escapee. He’s feeding the little delinquent an apple. The horse turns and shoots me an almost smug look as it chomps on its treat.
“Yes. Thank goodness.” I place a hand casually over my ribcage and attempt to breathe more softly. “How are you, Colin?”
A quick sweep of my eyes over the group shows me Blake isn’t here. I feel both relief and disappointment.
“I’m good, Tamsin. And it’s good to see you.” He offers me a friendly smile.
“You ran all the way from MacPherson House?” asks Daniel.
I nod. “Mostly.”
“Here.” He stands, passing me a bottle of local whisky. “Sit a spell. Catch your breath.”
They’re all sitting around a campfire which is letting off the most delicious heat. Even from a few feet away, its warmth starts to thaw my frozen cheeks. There’s meat cooking on sticks over the flames, rabbit from the looks of it.
“Okay, thanks.” I smile and walk over to put the halter on the horse, then lead him with me as I take a seat cross-legged in the grass by the fire.
The other two warlocks, who I also remember from our teen years, offer greetings as I sit down. I feel a wave of nostalgia for this land, these people, my blood and my bones. It’s probably only a bit past lunchtime now, but I raise the bottle of whisky to my lips and take a big swig, then pass it back to Daniel who is sitting on my right.
He claps me on the back. “You can still handle your whisky, even though you’re a city lass now.”
They all grin and laugh, and I find myself smiling, too. Since I’d come back, everything with Blake has been so tense, I’d forgotten what it was like to relax. I’d grown up with these men. We’d all been dear friends, something I’d never really experienced in Manhattan. I had acquaintances, but nothing true or deep like the bonds I’d had before.
“So, what are you boys up to out here in the hills?” I ask. The whisky feels warm in my chest, in my veins. It makes the teeth of the wind less sharp.
They all shoot each other glances, and then Colin says, “You know. Just patrolling our territory. Wolf stuff.”
I snort. “Wolf stuff.” Man am I a long way from New York.
We chat and catch up on each other’s lives as the whisky bottle goes round and round. The warlocks tell me who they’ve dated, which witches they fancy. Colin is married now to one of the local witches, and they have two children. He shows me pictures on his phone. Then they ask about New York and being a doctor.
Daniel must have noticed my frown because he reaches out and touches my hand. “I’m really sorry about Luciana. About all of it.”
I nod and offer him a weak smile. He passes the whisky to me, and I take a long pull. My head is warm and fuzzy from it now, as we’ve been passing it around for quite some time.
“I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances,” Colin says, “But it’s really good to have you back, Tamsin. Things just haven’t been the same without you.”
His kindness nearly brings me to tears. I cradle the bottle of whisky against my chest. “I appreciate that. More than you know. I was really worried you all hated me… like Blake does.”
I take another swig of the whisky. Silence falls around the fire. My eyes dart up, but they aren’t looking at me. They’re looking at something behind me. A shadow falls across the grass where I’m sitting.
Blake is standing right behind me.
