“Lily”—he shook his head and walked forward, easing her gently back toward the bed—“I really don’t care.”
Twenty-Three
Their second day of this oddly appealing journey on foot—and, of course, through the passages—passed almost exactly like the first. They woke, ate breakfast together, loaded up their belongings from the temporary camp, and took a final dip in the river for good measure. Lily spent a little time walking with the half-dozen villagers who showed interest in the process of summoning the glowing ball of light, and Rosalía eventually took over for her without being asked. While her people practiced with the light, the girl practiced the illusion spell. The next time Lily walked past to see how everyone was doing, the child jumped to her feet and ran toward her.
“I’m ready for something else.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that soon.” She nodded and squinted up at the treetops. “I’m still thinking about the best next step.”
“What about that pulling?” Rosalía balled her hand into a fist and pulled it toward her side. “When you held that woman back and she couldn’t do anything to stop you.”
Well, yeah. That’s exactly what I was thinking about. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that she brought it up first. She smirked at the girl and tilted her head. “Maybe.”
“Maybe. Okay.” Rosalía nodded, spun away, and dropped onto the ground to keep practicing with the others.
Shortly after that, they moved on, the oxen once more hitched to the massive, unruly wagon-like structure while new villagers took up the duty of pulling the smaller carts along behind them. This time, they walked for two hours through the thickening jungle. The children spent most of that time piled into the largest wagon, and Romeo fell asleep in the passenger seat for at least the last third of it. Lily had no problem driving at the speed of a leaky faucet behind the procession.
When the villagers stopped again at mid-morning and dispersed to form a circle around their odd caravan, she parked the Winnie, turned the engine off and crawled halfway onto the center console and shook his shoulder. “Hey.” He snorted and rolled head his toward the window. “They’re gettin’ ready to…jump. Or whatever. Romeo.”
He jerked awake and winced when his shins cracked against the underside of the dash. “Okay, we need to move this seat way back or shave, like, six inches off this thing.” Scowling, he glanced at her and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“They’re circling.”
“Oh, jeez. Okay.” He had to try twice to push himself out of the passenger seat, but then he moved quickly enough toward the kitchen table and the carefully potted wolfsbane plant that sat snugly in the corner of the booth.
Lily turned in her seat to watch him. “You really gotta find a better place to put that.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the…precarious situation.” He smirked and she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Lil. The second-best option was to put it in the shower. The pot’s about the same size. And this thing definitely won’t fit under the table. But if you want me to strap it down somewhere—”
“You should probably hurry.” She gestured toward the other villagers, her eyes wide, and faked a grimace.
“Right.” He turned to delicately pick two fully opened purple blossoms from the plant, popped them into his mouth, and joined her at the front again. “Do you think Rosalía’s magic gave me my own never-ending supply?”
“I couldn’t tell ya.”
“Who knows what the side effects are of super-growth-hormone spells, right?” He stopped chewing and frowned. “Are there any side effects?”
She snorted. “Probably not. Obviously, magic always does something. But if you haven’t noticed a difference with those flowers yet, I’d say they’re normal—for being an extremely poisonous plant that helps you deal with highly concentrated magic, of course.”
“Right.” He slipped into the passenger seat. “I’ll probably ask Rosalía about—”
That humming drone from the circling villagers, all connected by their clasped hands, filled the Winnebago again. She had expected it this time, but it didn’t stop her from leaning back against the seat and gripping the armrests tightly. He muttered something, but she couldn’t hear it over the low chanting that now seemed incredibly loud while the rest of the world vibrated and shook like an earthquake on fast-forward.
In a moment, it was over and Romeo whistled. “Okay, it’s totally different when I’m…hey, what do we even call that? Magically sober?”
Lily snorted, tucked her hair behind her ears, and grimaced at the odd sensation of all her bones settling again after the passage. “Sure. We can go with that.”
He chuckled and sucked a tiny piece of purple flower from between his teeth. “Still. This is really, really cool.”
The only thing that had really changed about their surroundings was that they seemed to be on top of another hill in the mountains, and the three trees toppled beside the RV—all of them covered in thick moss and strung together with thick, twisting vines—had clearly been there for quite some time. But their traveling party obviously hadn’t.
“I guess it’s time to explore the new campsite, huh?” He pushed out of the seat again and headed to the side door.
“Hey, it sounds like you’re happy with the idea of sticking with these people all the way to the temple.” She stood and followed him.
“Well, maybe. Yeah, it would’ve taken us another eighteen hours or so once we brought the kids home. Driving on the highway, right? But this is…better?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure if turning two days of driving into four days of walking-slash-teleporting sounded like a good idea, either.”
He opened the side door, stepped outside, and held it for her. “It kinda feels right, though. Doesn’t it?”
“What? You mean even with all the vegetables?”
“Ha, ha.” He let the door close behind her. “You know what I mean, though, right?”
“About trying to do a good thing for a couple of kids and ending up feeling morally responsible for and connected to basically a whole coven of witches who have no idea how powerful they are? Like that?”
His expression suddenly blank, he studied her for a minute before he raised an eyebrow. “Is that a trick question?”
She snorted. “No. I’m feeling flippant, apparently. We can ignore that and I’ll simply say I totally agree with you. It does feel right in a way I don’t quite understand.” Lily took his hand, and the acrid scent of thick smoke overwhelmed her. Her nostrils flared, and she licked her lips, trying to make the taste of it disappear. “Did they get started on the fire already?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean what’s burning? You really don’t smell—”
“What is it?” someone shouted. A few gasps rose from the villagers in front of them and Lily looked at the huge, dark wingspan of the black bird made of smoke. The apparition was equally as massive as the last time she’d see it—at least six feet from wingtip to wingtip, and it swooped through the jungle canopy, rushed like water over rocks, and left twin trails of black smoke behind it.
Her eyes widened. “Mom?”
“What?” Romeo jerked his head toward her.
Why did I say that? She didn’t have the time to answer her own question. The black shadow-bird hurtled toward her faster than she could even think about a deflection spell. The werewolf growled and ducked into a crouch, and the shadow-bird pounded into her body. A cold wave of something dark and dangerous filled her from the inside out, the taste of ash exploded in her mouth, and she whirled instinctively. The bird was gone, but the warning remained.
“Something’s wrong.”
“Yeah, you were pummeled by that bird that’s been chasing us since—”
“No.” She turned again and looked at Romeo with wide eyes. “Something’s—”
A streak of red, crackling light careened from within the jungle. Fortunately, it missed the villagers and the wagons
but the attack spell seemed focused on the Winnie. At a grating metallic screech and a dull thud, she twisted and grimaced at another charred dent in the RV’s side. A few birds erupted from the tree branches behind them and squawked in surprise and irritation.
“Come on. Like I didn’t get enough of those in Charleston?”
Another flashing, crackling line of red darted toward one of the wagons now, and she raised her hand to throw up a deflecting shield over it. The attack sparked violently against her spell and ricocheted into the trees behind the Winnie.
“Everyone, get back here!” Romeo waved the villagers away from the tree line and toward their vehicle. Surprisingly, none of the other witches screamed or panicked but they all obeyed instantly, abandoned their provisions, and ran toward the werewolf with the silver-flashing eyes and the witch who kept them all protected. The children were ushered forward first, and as soon as they reached the RV, they were pushed back behind the adults.
Lily studied the trees, waiting for the next attack, and looked for signs of movement. “Is there any way whoever that is came here for the kids too?” she asked and leaned back a little to glance quickly at Neron.
“It is possible,” the necromancer said behind her. “I do not know if those who took our children used magic.”
“Okay.” She stepped forward while Romeo told everyone one more time to remain near the RV. He moved beside her and took a deep breath through his nose. “Did you see where that came from?”
“Only from the trees.”
“So who—”
The jungle lit up again with that crackling red light, this time with a massive ball that would have probably blown a hole through Lily and the Winnebago. She raised both hands barely in time and deflected the attack. Her aim was almost perfect too. The sizzling red orb of energy boomeranged toward its source and hissed malevolently until it disappeared in the darkness of the thick jungle undergrowth.
“Do you think you got ʼem?” Romeo asked softly.
“No…that looked more like fusion.”
“What?”
“Whoever it is…sucked the spell back in to—wait.”
There was definitely movement now between the trees. A dark form almost floated through the jungle, lacking the rise and fall of regular footsteps. It made absolutely no sound as it approached, nothing to distinguish it from the constant buzz of insects and the slowly retreating screech of whatever bird or monkey thought it was the right time to make noise. The figure stopped a few paces before it would have entered the muted light streaming through the jungle canopy and onto the collection of wagons.
“With as much magic as we felt here, we expected you to put up more of a fight.” The male voice was low and a little nasally.
It’d kinda be nice right now to know if I’m hearing English or something else my little translation spell’s picking up. Lily tilted her head and waited a few more seconds before she responded.
“That wasn’t a fight,” she called into the jungle. “That was me being cautious.”
A tense silence followed before another streak of flaming red erupted from between the trees.
Her teeth gritted, she deflected that one immediately before another came from her right. That one, she hurled toward the ground in a spray of damp earth and lush greenery but the attacks didn’t slow. Come on. Both her hands jerked up at her sides, and she activated a warded shield around the wagons, the villagers, and the Winnie behind them. The red attacks struck her shield and vanished, leaving jagged cracks of glowing silver in her spell before they faded and reappeared wherever the next red streak made contact.
“This looks familiar,” Romeo muttered.
“Probably.” She grunted and kept the shield up as long as she had to until the attacks fizzled out and finally stopped. The silence seemed ominous and threatening. She waited a little longer to make sure their surprise visitors didn’t try anything stupid. Apparently, they were thinking the same thing about her.
“Why are you here?” the voice demanded from the darkness.
“We’re literally passing through.”
“Lies.” A deep rumble echoed through the jungle, and she was jerked forward across the ground.
The werewolf snarled behind her and prepared to shift if he had to, but she didn’t let anyone get that far. Even as she was dragged against her will across the jungle floor, she flicked her hand toward the shadowed figure in the trees. The same blue flames she’d used on the club owner in Canada flared to life on his clothes. The attacker’s compulsion spell was instantly severed and she regained her footing to take a few large steps backward again.
Someone shouted behind the trees, and the figure that now flailed in growing blue flames staggered back before he tripped over something and landed with a hard thump. A bright light flared behind the fallen newcomer, and the flames were extinguished.
No one said a word as the person who hadn’t yet fallen under Lily’s almost unquenchable flames sat slowly. The dark hood that had covered his face—and she only knew it was a man after hearing his voice—had fallen back to reveal short dark hair, a surreally pale complexion, and the red eyes of a warlock. He stared at her and his red eyes narrowed. “Is this still your caution?”
She tilted her head in a challenge. “Do you still wanna find out?”
The warlock bowed slightly but held her gaze the whole time. “No.” He spread his arms, and at least half a dozen more cloaked figures appeared from within the trees, all of them with skin equally as pale and eyes that glowed the same dark blood-red. “We want to know why you have trespassed on our lands. Why you have brought so much power with you if you do not mean to fight us with it.”
“This power is not ours.” Aluino stepped forward from the villagers gathered in front of the Winnebago.
With a flick of his wrist, the warlock summoned another crackling sphere of red energy in his palm and held it there, the same color reflecting in his eyes. Lily raised her hand and silently warned their adversary to wait before she turned briefly toward Aluino. The tall man moved cautiously toward them and passed Romeo with his silver-glowing eyes to stand only a foot behind Lily.
“This man speaks for his people,” she said and gestured toward the villager. “If you quit throwing attacks for a few minutes, I bet you’ll get your answers.”
The warlock’s gaze flickered from one to the other before he slowly nodded his agreement.
“We are traveling,” Aluino began, “to protect what children still remain to us. Our destination is the healing temple in Guatemala. Ichacál. Our home is in Chiapas, and we left it for the safety of the temple and perhaps some answers. All this power you sense is not ours to command. It comes from the earth and it belongs to her still.”
“Refugees.” The warlock looked unimpressed. “We felt your arrival. It interrupted one of our”—he clasped his hands together and rubbed them—“ceremonies. Is this your magic, witch?”
It’s not like we had time for introduction, but I’m gonna assume he’s talking to me. She shook her head. “No. These people accessed it.” She glanced at Aluino, who could manage to describe the whole process without sounding like he had no idea what he was talking about. I’m not sure I understand it enough myself.
The man pressed his hands together as if in prayer and nodded at the warlocks. “My people know how to access the passages within the earth. That is all. Ten minutes ago, we were almost two hundred kilometers northwest beside the river. Now we are here, yes? We opened the passage together and the earth allowed our crossing.”
“Then open another and leave.” None of the opposing men moved but the coiled tension filtered through the air again.
“We cannot manage two in one day.” Aluino shook his head and lowered his gaze toward the jungle floor in deference. “And not from this place.”
The leader looked thoughtful. “You mean to reach the portal on the next ridge over.”
“If this portal and our closest passage are the same, yes.”
Neron blinked and the slow nod of his head was barely visible.
“Yes.” Aluino spread his arms and bowed again before he took a few steps backward. “We will continue to the next. We did not mean to disturb what you do here.”
“When you are gone, the disturbance will be ended.”
He didn’t exactly accept an apology but at least he didn’t say we’re all gonna pay for crashing their warlock party. “We understand,” Lily said.
The villager retreated toward his people and spoke in low tones with words she couldn’t hear. The lead warlock stepped toward her. Immediately, a low growl rose from Romeo’s throat behind her, and he moved toward her in response. The other warlocks spread throughout the jungle shifted, their faces still shrouded within the hoods of their cloaks.
She paused and waited for the tension to die down a little before she took a few more steps toward the warlock. It seemed obvious he meant to speak more directly to her than anyone else who’d apparently trespassed on ceremonial lands. She held his red gaze and pressed her lips together, waiting for whatever it was he still had to say.
“There is much you do not understand. We have seen this. Soon, you will see it too.” He clasped his pale, long-fingered hands in front of his chest slowly as if he were gesturing in thanks for trying to retain whatever patience he hadn’t lost when attacking first and asking questions later.
Great. It sounds like everyone else seems to know something about me that I don’t. “What else did you see?”
His eye twitched as his gaze flickered back and forth across her face, studying her. Something like a cold, feathery hand brushed over her skin and she fought back a shudder. “Someone is watching you. Good tidings and bad come on dark wings.”
Any Witch Way (The Witch Next Door Book 3) Page 16
