by Catie Rhodes
“Do you see his death yet?” I put on the face I used as Sanctuary’s second in command and locked my gaze onto hers, something I never did with Hannah.
Shock widened her eyes. “N-n-no. But I’ve never seen a death more than a few days out.”
I nodded, and we neared our campers. Tanner slid one arm around my waist, kissed my cheek, and said, “I need a cool shower. This humidity has me soaked. But I’ll help you do whatever needs to be done with those runes.”
My face heated. Hannah stopped walking and turned to stare at me, mouth open. “You were naked with him. I can tell.”
Tanner’s face turned dark red. He hunched his shoulders and shuffled to his camper, slamming the door behind him. A lock clicked.
I tried to play it cool. “Do you have a cigarette? Mine got wet.”
She took the pack out of her pocket but held it out of my reach. “You have to spill at least a little.”
I led the way back to my camper, went in, and got out my own cigarettes. Lighting one, I gave Hannah a smug smile.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s probably as fantastic as he looks.”
“Twice as fantastic.” I put a saucy lilt in my voice, not willing to tell Hannah that it had been more than just sex. No need to push things.
Tanner had a long way to go before he decided what he wanted out of a life without his wife and daughters. I had a long way to go before I knew if Tanner was anything more than Mister Right Now. But it was good so far, and I was glad I’d turned the corner.
“How do you get all these men?” Hannah frowned at me, as though she didn’t turn heads everywhere she went. Men like Leon Blackfox, men who owned things and didn’t have a zillion problems, glommed onto her way before they would me. She was classier and didn’t look like she might give them a black eye.
“I’m a charming sumbitch.” I grinned and jetted cigarette smoke out of my nose.
An SUV crept through the RV park. I recognized Griff’s stiff posture behind the wheel. I stepped out into the lane and motioned to him. He saw me and sped toward us.
Both Griff and Mysti clambered out, looking as though they hadn’t slept in a day. I ran at them, and they wrapped their arms around me.
I hadn’t yet changed out of my ruined shirt, and my wounded chest was on full display. Griff zeroed in on it.
“This is the mark? It’s complete.” His eyes widened. “Holy shit. You escaped after she’d completed the mark?”
Griff’s reaction brought even more pride in what I’d managed. I let him take pictures of the mark with his phone and beamed at his praise.
“Tell us how you won.” Mysti’s eyes sparkled. My win equalled a win for my mentor.
I spilled the whole story, excited words running together. Mysti stopped me at points to clarify. Her eyebrows raised when I got to the part about the death and rebirth ritual that finally let me use the wheel of life for its true purpose. Hannah rolled her eyes at that part.
“But I’m so exhausted now I don’t even think I could call a circle,” I babbled.
“You need rest.” Mysti had said these words to me so many times she could have saved herself energy by printing them on a card and just holding it up when needed.
“You do too.” I pointed underneath my eyes to show I’d noticed the dark circles under Mysti’s. “I hate that you came rushing over here.”
“Our purpose is double-pronged,” Griff said.
Before he could continue, Tanner banged out of his beat-up old camper, hair wet. He’d dressed in olive shorts, a brown tank top, and flip-flops. He glanced around the group, saw the knowing looks, and flushed.
“Hot water heater doesn’t work. I’ve learned to shower fast.” He shoved his hands in his pockets with the pronouncement.
Griff strode to Tanner, hand out. “I’m Griffin Reed, Tanner. You don’t know me, but I’ve heard of you. Are you still dealing in…” Griff thought for a few seconds and said, “Special items?”
“That’s my real job.” Tanner relaxed and smiled at Griff.
Griff took out his card and handed it to Tanner. “Maybe we’ll find a way to work together when the time’s right.”
“Is this why y’all came rushing over here?” I muttered to Mysti.
She shook her head. “Brad and Jadine are getting married tonight.”
“That was a quick engagement.” I glanced at Hannah, eyebrows raised. What had happened while I was gone? Before Hannah had a chance to answer, Mysti pulled me aside.
“You need to do something with those runes, like yesterday.” She’d turned back into my teacher. It was a good thing because I’d almost forgotten about them in all the hubbub.
“I told Hannah to drop them somewhere deep where nobody would find them. You got a better idea?” I watched Tanner talking to Griff.
His demeanor had changed. He stood straighter, more confident, and talked like an expert. I truly didn’t know him well. Perhaps feeling the weight of my gaze, he turned and gave me a little smile and a wink. But we knew each other well enough for a start.
Mysti watched the direction of my gaze with none of Hannah’s teasing lasciviousness. When she spoke, it was with concern. “So no more Wade?”
I shook my head. “I told you about Desiree’s visit.”
Mysti’s gaze scanned over my face, sadness evident in her soft eyes. “If Wade believes in Desiree’s prediction, it’s true. We create our own reality.” She stepped a little closer. “But I’ll tell you something about Tanner. I sense that one mates for life. Watch yourself.” She tipped a nod in Tanner’s direction.
If that was the case, I was too late. The future pressed down on me, filled with worries about wasting my time with Tanner. I shut it off with a click. Enjoying life with someone you liked was not a waste. Especially not when they looked like Tanner Letts.
“Now about these runes,” Mysti said. “ Do you have any potions or herbs to ward off interest?”
We exchanged a smile. I had tried out a lot of the recipes Samantha had in her grimoire. Most of them were in the tradition of root work and scarily effective. “Come on in my camper.”
Mysti grabbed her witch pack out of the SUV and followed me inside. Hannah trailed behind us, so curious she almost climbed up our backs to see what was going on.
Inside, I dug through the items that weren’t destroyed when Oscar blew up my shabby chic buffet. I found myself bitching to Mysti about the loss of the buffet as we searched through my magical arsenal.
“At least you figured out what he was doing,” said Mysti, the queen of silver linings.
Hannah got the runes out of the camper’s tiny freezer where she’d put them in a plastic freezer container, the kind usually used for food.
Evil rolled off the runes, ominous as the heat waves that rise off blacktop in the summer. Oscar knew I was up to something. He wanted to scare me away. Too late now.
“We might want to work a little harder to seal this box airtight,” Mysti said.
Hannah found a roll of silver duct tape and started to tape the box shut. Mysti stopped her.
“We’ll pack this with agrimony.” She withdrew breathable packets of herbs from her witch pack.
“What do those do?” Hannah leaned close.
Mysti went into full teaching mode. “Agrimony sends negativity back where it came from.”
I held up a little brown vial of oil I sold to people in my tent at the carnival. “I’m going to anoint the runes with Althea oil to persuade anybody who finds the box that it’s nothing of interest.”
Mysti nodded and packed the agrimony around the runes, whispering, “Do not let this evil touch others.”
The fork I’d left lying in my sink began to rattle. “It won’t work.” Oscar’s voice filled the camper. We ignored him.
I anointed the runes with the Althea oil, eyes closed, calling the mantle to bless it. “Nobody who sees this box wants it. They don’t want to know what’s in it. They will forget they even saw it right away.”
> Oscar rattled the fork in my sink some more. Finally the fork rose and flew at me. I batted it out of the air and said, “Close it, now.”
Mysti snapped the top on the runes. They rattled inside, popping the lid like bugs hitting a light after dark. Hannah covered the box with duct tape. The runes kept rattling. Mysti reached back into her witch pack.
“I think it needs more.” Mysti dug through my pack and held up a can of flat black spray paint.
I nodded my agreement, picked up the box, and walked outside. I dropped it on the ground next to the charcoal grill provided by the campground.
“Why are we doing this?” Hannah followed close behind.
“Black soaks up nasty energy and dissolves it.” Mysti shook the can several times and began spraying the box. When she covered the top side, we sat down at the picnic table to wait for it to dry.
Griff and Tanner still stood in a huddle, talking intently. Brad and Jadine had wandered over.
Brad threw his arms open. “Sis!”
Mysti got up and hugged him but without her usual sparkle at seeing her beloved brother. She hugged Jadine as well. “I can’t believe someone as pretty as you wants to marry my scalawag brother.”
Jadine gave her a shy smile. I knew her well enough to know she was capable of her own shenanigans.
“Who’s marrying y’all?” I asked.
“Finn,” Brad said.
I raised my eyebrows at Hannah. She put her hand over her mouth. The idea of Finn marrying someone made me want to bray laughter, and I couldn’t in front of Mysti. This was her brother.
Mysti got up to turn the box and spray it again. I followed to find her squatting, with tears streaking down her face.
“What is it?” I whispered. Mysti had always been such a comfort and help. She deserved the same kind of friendship from me.
“Brad and I have been together since our parents died, except for the three years when I had already aged out of foster care and couldn’t get guardianship of him.” She bit her lip. “Now he’s moving on. I can’t be there to watch and make sure everything goes well for him, that he’s treated fairly.”
I bit my lip. Brad could use a little real world experience. Mysti had him spoiled. He considered most mundane tasks beneath him. That didn’t fly in Sanctuary. I didn’t let it. If Brad wanted to thrive here, he’d learn exactly the kind of lessons Mysti wanted to shield him from. But I could keep a watchful eye on him.
“I’ll make sure he’s treated fairly.” I didn’t promise he’d get his way all the time or that he’d be farting “If You’re Happy And You Know It.” But nobody would crap on him.
She nodded, and another tear leaked down her face. “Griff’s glad he’s moving out.”
I laughed and gave her a one-armed hug but dropped my arm when I got a whiff of myself. “We’ve got time before the wedding to get rid of these runes. What do you say?”
“I’d like nothing better.” Mysti put on a brave smile, but sadness still clouded her usually sparkling brown eyes.
“Let me get a quick shower.” I hurried into my camper and washed both the sex and the fear sweat off my body. Just as I got out, my phone rang. The number showed up as unknown. I answered. “Hello?”
Silence on the other end. Then a click as they hung up. I took the phone away from my ear and stared at it. The smell of Wade—sunshine and gasoline—filled my senses. Had it been him? Didn’t matter. Good or bad, it just hadn’t worked out.
I let the loss of Wade well up in me and spill over. I sat down on the edge of my unmade bed, put my hands over my face, and wept. The proximity of people who’d be upset if they knew I was crying convinced me to keep my sobs as silent as possible, but I let myself hurt over the loss of Wade.
It wouldn’t be the last time I cried over Wade. Healing takes time. That’s why I could anticipate that things might change between me and Tanner. All I had, all any of us ever have, is the one moment in which I existed. So I let myself feel the way I felt.
The sobs died down on their own. I got up, washed my face, and put on makeup. Someone rapped on my door.
“Come in,” I yelled, still smearing eyeliner on my lids.
Hannah climbed into the camper, her phone in one hand. Had she gotten the strange hang-up? Maybe Wade had talked to her. If he had, I hoped she kept it to herself. It was past time for me to let go of the whole thing. I stiffened in anticipation of whatever she had for me.
She put her face next to mine in the mirror. “That the eye shadow I bought for you?”
“Tantalizing Taupe in the flesh.” We both snickered at the silly name. “It’s good stuff. Thanks for getting it for me.”
“You need to buy better makeup and clothes for yourself. You’re worth it.” She winked in the mirror.
Hannah’s friendship made me feel like I could face anything. I tipped my head at her phone. “What you got?”
“While you were missing, I looked for places to get rid of the runes. Mysti and I were just discussing which would be best, and I wanted to run my idea by you.” She held up the phone. I clicked off my makeup mirror and faced her. She held the phone where I could see. “This place is only an hour away. It’s a hole over one-hundred feet deep, and public spelunking is not allowed.”
I stared at a deep, dark hole that looked wide enough to be a small pond or lake. The deep blackness of the hole made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
“We’ll have to invent a ruse to get in.” Hannah gave me a wild-eyed smile, another little remnant of her old self. She loved shenanigans. “It’s only open to the public when tour guides bring people into the park.”
I returned her smile. “Sounds like a winner to me.”
The drive out to this deep, deep hole felt as though it took forever. Tanner sat in the back seat next to me, his arm over my shoulder. I let his smell, soap with a hint of wild musk, push away the memory of Wade. A weight lifted off me. We smiled at each other. He gave me a light kiss.
Mysti’s words came back. That one mates for life.
The thought of all that could mean rose up, threatening to destroy the inner peace I was working so hard to find. Not the time, I reminded myself and settled into Tanner’s side, watching the landscape get more and more sparse as Griff’s fast driving ate up miles of parched highway.
When we got to a place where there was more sand and short trees than anything else, Griff told us to look for signs of a state park. We found it and pulled off on the roadside.
“Someone get my briefcase out of the back.” Griff’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. Paying me or not, Griff was still the boss, and I was still the employee. I ducked out from under Tanner’s arm, climbed into the scorching heat, and opened the SUV’s cargo doors.
Beneath heavy luggage, I found Griff’s scuffed, black leather briefcase. I dragged it out, got back into the car, and gave it to him. Griff took out a wide wallet, the kind I associated with law enforcement, and tucked a laminated card into it. Then he started the car and drove down the narrow lane into the state park. A vehicle marked with an official seal had parked across the road to block our way.
A skinny guy wearing a khaki uniform climbed out of the car. “You folks want to visit the park, go back into town and look for the park visitor center. You’ll buy a ticket, and they’ll drive you out here for a tour. That’s the only way the State of Texas can allow you out here. Too dangerous otherwise.”
Griff showed him the wallet and badge. “Griffin Reed, deputy chief. Our agency is considering doing a geological study on the area. My team and I were assigned to assess our interest level.”
The park ranger leaned into the car and looked us over. Between Tanner with his long hair, funky jewelry, and shorts and Mysti with her hippie wear, we didn’t look the part at all.
Griff said, “My crew is made up of freelance archaeologists and geologists.”
The park ranger handed back Griff’s fake ID and put his hands on his hips. “Well, I suppose since this is what the
US government wants, I’ve got no choice but to let you pass. But I’ll just say I’m not happy about you people coming out here like you own the world. This is Texas. We take care of our own business here.”
“We understand, sir.” Griff put the car in gear and waited for the park ranger to move his car. When he did, Griff drove past, following signs directing us to the sinkhole.
The desolate, open land, so different from the lush pine forests of East Texas, had its own kind of beauty. The sun made the dull-colored rocks and sand blaze like white fire. The thorns on the scattered cacti looked like a thin, wiry coating of hair. Animals raced in the distance. I first thought them deer, but closer inspection revealed they were large goats. The largest ones I’d ever seen.
I thought of the place as desert but knew we’d not quite reached the Chihuahuan desert of Texas. This was just the prelude.
We finally found the sinkhole. On one side was a fair-sized asphalt parking lot. On the other, stark wilderness with heat ripples floating over the sand. A thick metal guardrail protected the sinkhole, warning people not to get too close. At over a hundred feet deep, if someone fell in, they were done in this life.
Griff took the plastic ice chest where we’d put the box containing Oscar’s runes out of trunk. I held out my hand. Griff cocked his head at me.
“You sure? I’ll do it.” He held the ice chest just out of my reach.
“Oscar’s my problem.” I leaned down and grabbed the ice chest, pulled it from his grasp. The evil of the runes, blunted by the protections and wards Mysti and I had put on them, still crawled up my arm. I steeled myself and walked toward the huge hole.
When I got close, I set the ice chest down and removed the box of runes. A cloud raced over the sun, and a chill wind sent sand to pepper my face. I put my arm up and staggered backward. Rocks slid under my cowboy boots.
Remembering how close that long, dark drop-off was, I panicked. An arm slipped around my waist, and Tanner pulled me against him.
