AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They’re all gums.
Amusement flowed through the line between us.But not all gums are built the same.
I smiled.Are you able to get any sort of indication of where those trees are?
Hang on, and I’ll try to slow and deepen the loop.There was a long pause.She was pulling washing out of the machine when she saw a small group of strangely dressed people walking past the back gate. She went to investigate and saw them walk under the bridge and disappear.
An illusion or reality? Either was possible given we were dealing with mage who also happened to be a vampire.
Did she follow them?
Another pause.Her memories are too confused to get much of an answer. There is a vague impression of an old house in the woods, but to get more, I’ll basically have to telepathically unscramble what they’ve done.
Will that work if her memories have been magically altered rather than telepathically?
I don’t know. What I can do right now is unloop her thoughts and ease her pain. That’ll return her to normality, though she still won’t be able to tell us much until we can sort out her memories.
Normality without the pain is a good start.
Belle’s presence in my mind sharpened abruptly as she worked on Joselyn. I was little more than a bystander, but it was nevertheless fascinating to watch Belle work quickly and efficiently in another’s mind. It certainly wasn’t something I was privy to all that often.
As she withdrew from our minds and I dropped my hands from Joselyn’s temples, the older woman blinked and glanced around in surprise.
“Where am I? What’s happened?” She paused, her gaze widening. “Where’s my grandson? Is he safe?”
I placed a hand on her arm, and her gaze jumped to mine. Panic surged in her expression, and I hastily said, “He’s safe at your place, Joselyn. Belle’s with him.”
“But why am I here, and why are you and Belle here?” She paused and looked around in confusion. “A ranger and Monty. What on earth has happened?”
“You saw something odd and went to investigate,” Tala said. “Brandon couldn’t find you, so he rang Liz here.”
“He’s such a sensible, clever little boy.” She sniffed and glanced down at her ankle. “I have no memory of what happened or how I did that. Why am I feeling no pain—it looks bad.”
“We gave you something to numb sensation,” I said. “And with your permission, Belle can help restore your memories, but only after you’ve been checked by doctors.”
“I can’t go to hospital. I have Brandon to look after.”
“Let’s see what the paramedics say,” Tala said. “We’ve called them—”
“Direct them to my home. I need to see Brandon.”
She made moves to rise, but Monty stepped past me and lightly touched her shoulder. “Hold on there, Mrs. H. Let me and Tala help you up and shoulder your weight.”
She hesitated and then nodded. Tala shifted to the other side of the older woman and, between the two of them, they got Joselyn to her feet and all but carried her back to her home.
Brandon came running out as we walked through the gate and flung his arms around her. “Nanny! You’re safe.”
She moved her arm from Tala’s shoulder and mussed his hair. “I am. I just fell over and hurt my ankle. Let’s all get inside and have a nice cup of tea.”
Monty helped her the rest of the way, but Tala caught my arm and stopped me from following. “Did Belle glean anything else in her mind that might help us understand how she actually hurt herself or where that house was?”
I shook my head. “She’ll try to do a deeper reading once Joselyn has recovered, but I wouldn’t advise sendinganyoneout to find that old house. It just might be the base of operations for our vampires.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought you’d be wanting to find that base ASAP.”
“We do—meaning us witches, not you werewolves.”
She snorted. “A werewolf is more than capable of dealing—”
