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What sort of repercussions?
You’d basically be blacklisted by the spirit guide community.
I’m thinking that’s a consequence our sorcerer wouldn’t care about.
No. Mine are warning to tread carefully. There’s magic afoot.
I’m not sensing it.
The fog is swallowing sound and sensation.
Which is just what we need in this sort of situation. Especially when the inner countdown was saying we were rapidly running out of time. That if we didn’t find Juli soon, we wouldn’t find him alive.
We’re dealing with a wraith hell-bent on revenge. He was never going to make it easy for us.
None of them ever do.
The boat’s captain looked up as we approached. He was a tall man with a thin face, a thick gray beard, and a cheery red-and-gold wooly hat. “You Saska Sarr?”
She nodded and flashed her ID. “Thanks for coming at such short notice, Mike.”
“At the rates being offered, I’d be a fool if I didn’t.” He grinned, revealing neat rows of yellow-stained teeth. “Especially when it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to the island from here. The engines won’t even get a decent workout.”
He helped us both into the boat. I nodded my thanks, but the bulk of my attention was on the island. There was no indication of movement, no sense of anything untoward rising in the air, but my instincts twitched.
There might not be even the faintest whisper of magic riding the cold air, but the ceremony I’d envisioned had begun.
My brother had minutes, rather than hours, of life left.
I moved to the stern and wished I could ask Cat to scout ahead. Traps awaited, I had no doubt of that, but it would have been handy to get some advance warning. I flexed my fingers as the boat reversed away from the dock, but it didn’t do much to ease the growing tension.
After a moment, I asked, “How are we going to play this?”
“Cautiously.”
I smiled and couldn’t help but wonder if it looked as tense as it felt. “Beyond that.”
“It’ll depend on what awaits.” She gave me a stern look. “You are not to go it alone, no matter what happens.”
There was little point in arguing, given that until we were on the island, we had no idea what we were facing. Of course, if she actually knew me, she’d be well aware that she was pretty much wasting her time with an order like that. “What do you know about wraiths?”
“Not a fucking lot.”
“I take it then you’re not carrying any kind of blessed weapon on you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you’re carrying a knife? As a deterrent for supernatural nasties?”
“They do have a bad habit of treating the reservation as a drive-through restaurant.”
It was wryly said, and she laughed.
“Then thank goodness I live here, where the only nasties I’m forced to deal with are the living kind.” She paused. “Is there anything beyond a blessed silver blade that will work against this thing?”
“As far as we know, our only other option is holy water.” I swung my purse around and plucked out one of the remaining bottles I had with me. “Use this if he attacks, and under no circumstances let him touch you.”
She accepted the bottle somewhat dubiously. “It seems a very small amount to seriously threaten a demonic spirit.”
“Evil cannot stand holy water. That’s the one belief that generally holds true.”
