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“It was hiding. Otherwise we would have sensed its presence.” Valen had no idea how the powerful magic had shielded itself from being detected, but it was reasonable to assume that it had gone into some sort of hibernation to protect itself. “Perhaps it didn’t sense your powers until too late.”
“Why not follow me?”
“You took off in a helicopter.”
“True.” Peri wrinkled her nose, as if she was forcing herself to consider the possibility he was right. A second passed, then another before her eyes abruptly widened. “Or…”
“Or what?” Valen asked.
“Destiny was there,” she said. “What if the miasma thought she was the power it was sensing?”
Valen slowly nodded. She was right. If the miasma had gone into hiding after it’d destroyed the coven, it might have been capable of sensing the power that had visited the ranch without being able to pinpoint the source.
“It would explain why it followed her,” he agreed.
“But surely by now it’s realized its mistake?” Gabriel demanded.
“Yes. The miasma might have followed Destiny in the belief she held the power it craved, but once it realized its mistake it would know it was too late to try to trace Peri.” Valen paused, considering various explanations for the fact that Destiny and the miasma still appeared to be in the same place at the same time. “Perhaps it hoped the witch would lead it to Peri.”
“And that if it created public chaos, that would attract her attention?” Gabriel suggested.
Peri shook her head. “It’s not a bad theory to explain why it didn’t reveal itself at the ranch, and why it followed Destiny, but why didn’t it attack when we were at the Jackalope Station?”
“Maybe it wasn’t ready.” Valen made a sound of impatience. He sensed he was close to the truth, but too much still remained shrouded in mystery. Then another puzzle piece abruptly snapped into place. Of course. “Or maybe these attacks are designed to lead you somewhere,” he said, his voice edged with anger that it’d taken him so long to see the pattern.
Peri studied him as if she thought he might be joking. “Like an evil Pied Piper?”
“The Pied Piperwasevil,” he said dryly.
Dragging in a deep breath, Peri glanced back at the map that was still projected onto the steel screen.
“If you’re right, the miasma is making it easy to know where to find it.”
“Which is why we won’t be anywhere near Kansas.”
Valen instantly regretted his words as Peri’s brows snapped together, her chin jutting to a stubborn angle. He might as well have waved a red flag in front of her.
“We can’t just let it continue to kill.”
Ignoring Gabriel’s mocking smile, Valen took a moment to frame his words in a way that wouldn’t provoke Peri’s fierce independence.
“I think we should continue with our original plan,” he slowly suggested. “If we can discover where it came from and how it ended up in your mother’s possession, we might have a better chance of knowing how to defeat it.”
She narrowed her eyes, as if aware he was appeasing her ready temper, then without warning, she nodded.
“I agree.”
Valen slowly turned his head to meet Gabriel’s amused gaze. “You were wrong, Gabriel.”
“About what?” the male inquired.
“Miracles do happen.”
Chapter 19
With an ease only a member of the Cabal could have achieved, Valen arranged for a jet to fly them to a private airfield outside of New Orleans and a limo to pick them up. It had, however, taken a considerable length of time to negotiate with the local vampire leader, Micha, to determine the terms of their stay in the area and the boundaries of what they were allowed to do in search of the miasma. Peri hadn’t been allowed to listen to the conference call, but Gabriel had revealed that Micha was a recluse who fiercely guarded his territory.
It was just past four o’clock in the morning by the time they were bundled into a limo and headed toward the French Quarter. They had enough time to check out the Masque Salon before they had to travel to the safehouse where Valen had arranged for them to spend the day.
