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“Love you, too,” she teased.
“Just tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you still in Wyoming?”
Peri glanced out the windshield, admiring the dramatic landscape that surrounded her. She’d forgotten how much she loved the majestic thrust of mountains and the rich scent of pine that perfumed the air.
“No, I’m in Colorado.”
There was a short pause, as if Peri had caught the older woman off guard. “Did you destroy the miasma?”
“It wasn’t there.”
“Do you mean it was never there or that it’s no longer there?”
“It was there and then gone.” Peri returned her attention to the road. There wasn’t much traffic, but she didn’t have time to dealwith an accident. “I think it either infected Destiny Mason or it’s chasing her.”
“Destiny?” It took a second for Maya to place the name. “Are we talking about the girl from your mother’s coven? The one who survived?”
“Yes.”
“Are you following her?”
“I wish. The truth is that I have no idea where she is. There was no sign of her or the miasma when we got to the bar, and none of the witnesses could tell us anything that might help.”
“So why are you in Colorado?”
Peri cleared her throat. The next few minutes were going to be tricky. Really, really tricky.
“That’s the reason I’m calling. I have a quick question.”
“What?”
“Tia’s home is near Vail, isn’t it?”
Maya knew exactly who she was talking about. Tia was like Cher, she just needed one name to be immediately identified. Tia claimed to be the most powerful mage who ever existed, but Maya argued the woman simply had no morals and a good PR department.
It wasn’t a stretch to say the two women hated each other with a passion, although Peri had no idea what had happened between them.
“It’s a couple miles south of the Vail Pass.”
Peri slowed the truck. She wasn’t far from the Pass. “What’s it called?”
“Emerald Glade. Typical for Tia. A flamboyant name for a parcel of land stuck in the middle of nowhere,” Maya muttered. “Why are you asking?”
Peri hesitated. She’d considered lying to her friend. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, right? But Peri wasn’t stupid. Not only would Maya instantly know she wasn’t telling the truth, butif she got into trouble, she needed her friends to know where she was. They were the only ones who could battle against the powerful mage to save her.
“I caught sight of her at the Jackalope Station,” she reluctantly admitted.
A shocked gasp whispered through the speaker. “Tia was there?”
“Yep.”
Peri had recognized the woman the second she’d glimpsed her at the bar, despite the fact she’d only seen her once before. It had happened shortly after she’d been taken in by Maya and before Skye had joined them. Tia had arrived at the Witch’s Brew late one night and cornered Peri in the bookshop. Peri had no idea what she wanted, but Maya had suddenly appeared and forced the older woman into her private office. Less than ten minutes later there’d been the sound of raised voices followed by Tia storming out of the building, her hand lifting as she passed through the coffee shop to release a spell that had shattered the mugs and destroyed their very expensive cappuccino machine. The brief encounter had seared itself into Peri’s mind.
She didn’t add that Tia had brought along a trigger-happy companion to Jackalope Station. Maya was going to be furious enough without adding fuel to the fire.
