Staring over Clover’s shoulder, Honora drummed her fingers on the thick book that her sister was reading. “The wall is protected with stations at the four directional corners at opposite sides of our world, which is unfortunate for me, but strategically sound. They’re completely hidden. Not even the manual mentions where they’re located.”
“Did January give you any additional ideas, like where she got the manual or anything else?”
“No, she just said that she’d had it for a long time. It’s one of her collectibles. Once the Hexer came around, she practically threw it at me. Why? What are you getting at?”
“Nothing. Just that it wasn’t that hard for you to find, and it lines up with Jonathan Rainer’s disappearance and you getting this case. It was either a lucky break, or…” She raised her brow.
“You’re not suggesting the book was planted?” Honora twisted up her face. “I don’t believe that. January would have said something. Wouldn’t she?” Her friend could be very mysterious, but she wouldn’t keep something as important as the witching wall a secret.
“I don’t know, but from what you’ve told me about her, she knows everything about Everland. She’s practically an historian. I’m just saying that it was a lucky break.” Clover’s gaze was pressed tightly to the pages.
“January wasn’t so lucky when the Hexer attacked her. Having the book brought her trouble. Or was that me?” Honora’s shoulders slumped. “The Hexer followed me right into her shop. Let’s face it. Mayhem strikes again.”
“Here, I found something.” Clover tapped her finger on the page. “It says a unique warden guards each corner. The Woodsman guards the North, the Archer guards the South, the Sky Flyer guards the East, and the West is guarded by the Mountain Ranger.” Clover grinned. “Awesome. There are some seriously cool witches and wizards protecting our world.”
“That’s a relief. This is a good sign. Finally, I’ve got something more to go on.” Honora’s heart leapt. “What else does it say?”
Clover pounced on the page and continued to read, encouraged by her findings. “From what is says here, the manuals were written as guides, passed down to the wardens generation after generation. They were kept as cherished secrets. In the beginning, dozens were created, but while in combat during the days of infiltration of the Otherworlders, some of the books were lost or stolen during the fighting.” She straightened up and blew a rogue curl out of her face. “I had no idea so many Otherworlders had invaded Everland.”
“It must have been rough. The council kept it under wraps. Well, at least that explains how January got hold of one. But I’ve been thinking about who would benefit from Jonathan Rainer’s disappearance, and my conclusion isn’t good.” Honora stood and paced the woven rug. “His knowledge of barrier spells would be valuable to anyone who wants access to protection magic and the counter spells to bring the barrier down.”
“That’s the Otherworlders. It could be anything over there, dangerous creatures.”
“That was January’s worst fear. We need to get to work.”
The two sisters combed through The Manual of Protection and some of Clover’s reference books, but were no closer to a solution or a new direction. Frustration filled Honora. Her task was too big, the wall too expansive. Even with narrowing her search to the four corners, she still didn’t know which one to search. The library was scattered with opened books, but they might as well have been blank.
The door to the library creaked open and Vivi poked her head in. “What’s going on in here? It’s awfully quiet.”
“Hey, come on in. We could use the help. Honora’s on a new case, and we’re having a hard time finding anything out about the witching wall. Unfortunately, we’ve hit the wall literally, as far as ideas go.” Clover stood and stretched.
Vivi carried a decadent peanut butter pie mounded with whipped cream in her hands. “I brought sustenance. Maybe this will help. There’s nothing like a good dose of sugar to get your mind racing.”
“That looks like it could induce a sugar coma,” Honora said.
“Well, hello there, gorgeous.” Clover’s eyes widened.
“Are you talking to me or to the pie?” Vivi asked.
“Both,” Clover said with a wink, snatching the dessert and heading for the kitchen. The three sisters gathered around the table while Clover cut into the pie and served up generous portions on china plates.
“I’m stumped.” Honora turned to Vivi for help.
“Why don’t you review the facts and catch me up on the case?” Vivi suggested.
Honora spilled the details, lifting up her fork and pointing it at her sister as she continued her thought.
“What would you do if you wanted to invade Everland?” Vivi asked.
“I’d use the arch. It’s the one way through, the literal doorway to the Otherworld.”
“It’s also the obvious choice and the most guarded,” Clover said, playing devil’s advocate.
“True, but Vivi asked what I’d do. And I would kick down the front door. It’s bold and aggressive. If I were trying to infiltrate Everland, that’s where I’d go. It makes the most sense if the wall’s in danger. The arch is the weak link, and the one area that needs additional spellcraft reinforcement. I’d bet Rainer’s gone to reinforce the arch. But we’re still no closer to finding it.”
“Do you want my brutally honest opinion?” Vivi asked.
“Here it comes.” Clover put her plate in the sink.
“I hate to bring up a sore subject with you, but have you considered going through some of Mom’s old letters and stuff that she sent us over the years?” Vivi nailed Honora to the chair with her gaze. Her confidence had gone through the roof ever since she faced the truth about her persuasion a few months back, and now she seemed to relish getting others to face their own truths. “Mom’s the only witch we know who’s traveled through the wall. Her correspondence is the next logical place to look.”
Honora cleared her throat. “I know, but Mom never wrote a word about where she went or how she got there. Remember how infuriating it was to not know anything?” She sighed, realizing full well her sister was right, but hating to admit it.
Clover cleared Vivi’s plate and rinsed it off in the sink. “Vivi does have a point. We haven’t looked through Mom’s stuff for years. For all we know, there could be something useful, and face it, there’s nothing left in my library that’ll be any help. The old steamer trunk is your best bet.”
Honora took one last bite and chewed thoughtfully. She was trying to be less stubborn. Her spine stiffened. “You’re right. I’ll sift through the stuff and see if there’s a clue. Thanks, Vivi. That’s actually a really good idea.”
The three sisters headed up to Clover’s famous attic. Since she had the most space in her house, Clover became the official keeper of family treasures, and her attic was packed with boxes brimming with stuff from their childhood and beyond. Clover heaved the steamer trunk where she stored all the mementos their mother had sent them over the years, including a stack of letters, out from under a teetering pile of knitted throws. “Let’s get reading,” she said, and divvied up the letters.
After a few minutes of sitting in the cramped and dusty attic, the three sisters found themselves back around the kitchen table, sharing snips of news, laughing, and drinking tea. But so far they’d found no clues or hints about the Otherworld.
Finally, Honora found something in a journal entry from one of their mother’s field notebooks. “Shh. Listen. ‘Once through the gate, I removed my hat and gloves. It’s warmer here, unlike the cold Everland winter snow.’ That’s it!” Honora yelped. “The snow, the snow. Don’t you get it?” Excitement filled her.
Vivi snatched up the letter and read. “Cold, winter snow,” she repeated, and then a wide smile formed on her face. “I think you really found something.”
“That’s a great clue,” Clover said, sipping some tea. “Snow narrows down the location.”
Honora’s mind ra
ced, her focus sharpened. “The gate through the wall must be in the North. Why else would she be wearing a hat and gloves? It’s not in the South. That’s for sure. Where else does it snow heavily?”
“We get snow in Willow Realm,” Vivi said. “Just not a ton.”
“If there was a station in Willow Realm, then I’d consider it, but there’s not. It has to be north.” Honora was practically giddy.
“It could be the East. It snows there, too,” Clover added.
“Yes, it could, but you said the warden of the East was the Sky Flyer, which literally implies the warden can fly, so the station is probably located at a higher elevation,” Honora said. “The arch has to be accessible, and high ground isn’t easy for travelers to reach.”
“True, unless you wanted to keep people out, and then it’s a great place,” Clover said, wiggling her eyebrows. “But I think you’re probably right.”
“I agree. It sounds like the North is your best bet.” Vivi smiled. “Mom would be so angry with herself if she knew she left a clue to the whereabouts of the arch.”
“Tell me about it. She probably didn’t even realize it. It’s taken hours of reading to find that tiny clue.” Honora swept the letters off the table, stacking them into a neat pile.
“The real question is—are you ready to meet the Woodsman?” Clover asked, and ushered them back to her library and collection of maps. “Most likely, the station is located in the forested areas of the North Woods.” Clover unrolled a huge parchment map onto the round wooden table in the center of the room. “The North Woods is an isolated place. The council leaves the territory mostly to itself. There are some settlements and a few towns, but only one major town called Rawlands. I imagine only the most resilient witches and wizards live in the North. It’s a place of wild earth magic.” Clover’s eyes went wide.
“Sounds rugged. This place gives new meaning to the idea of a skyscraper.” Honora examined the drawings of thick wooded forests with trees as big as houses. “I can do camping. They have flushing toilets up there, right?”
A litany of giggles flew out of Vivi’s mouth like a stream of bubbles. “Your high-heeled leather boots say otherwise. You’re a city witch, through and through.”
“Did I mention that the North Woods is cold, really, really cold?” Clover asked.
“Finding Jonathan Rainer is worth freezing my tush off,” Honora said. “I’ll be sure to wear some long underwear.”
The three sisters headed to the cozy fire Derek had lit in the big hearth in Clover’s living room and snuggled down on the overstuffed sofa to talk. A beautiful red fox with a bushy tail was curled up on a pillow in front of the hearth. Rusty was Clover’s familiar, and spent most days prowling the woods by her house, but in the winter he loved a toasty fire as much as the sisters did.
Clover sipped her wine. A stitch formed in her brow. “All kidding aside, I’m scared for you. Maybe you should go to the council and officially report Jonathan Rainer missing. You could turn in the Hexer who attacked you.”
Honora sunk into the sofa, her mind made up. “His wife already tried that. Plus, with Hex involved, I think the council already knows and doesn’t want me snooping around.”
“So why are you? You could bow out. Let the case go. Tell his wife what happened to you today. I’m sure she would understand,” Vivi said.
“I’m not a quitter. No way I’m backing down, especially now that Hex Division is against it. I’m more committed than ever.”
“You’re going to need more than the manual to find the Woodsman,” Clover said.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Honora said, going for her purse and digging out the cracked crystal ball that January had given her. She tossed the baseball-sized orb to Vivi. “Got any idea what this does?”
“Where did you get this? It’s a real beauty.” Vivi rolled the crystal ball around in her fingers. “I’ve only seen the one Scarlet has at her shop. They’re very rare.”
“Really? What exactly is it? And what’s it do?” Honora asked. Maybe it wasn’t a piece of junk after all.
“It’s called a blind eye, and it’s a tool used in prophecy.” Vivi smiled proudly. During the last couple of months, she’d been studying up on her divination skills since she began training with Honora’s old friend and sometimes nemesis Scarlet Card, who owned a fortune-telling shop in Willow Realm. The sisters had agreed Vivi would not attempt to use her persuasion of prophecy on them. “Not many seers have them anymore.” She tossed the crystal to Honora.
“Blind eye doesn’t sound like a good name for a soothsaying device, but many ancient oracles were physically blind but could see into the ether,” Clover said.
“That’s a nice history lesson, but what’s it do? Can it see the future?” Honora asked.
“No, not at all. That’s what makes it so rare,” Vivi said. “This crystal sees the present. It sees what’s right in front of you. The event or thing you are missing in your life.”
“Interesting.” Honora examined the ball with her new information.
“I’ll take it if you don’t want it,” Vivi said with an envious smirk.
“Well, I don’t know how much good it will do me on this case, but if it comes up bust, then you can have it.” Honora nudged her sister. “I’m sure you’ll have much better use for it than me.”
Even though it was well after Midnight, Honora stopped by the office on her way home to see what progress Sawyer had made that day and was shocked to find him still at his desk. His schedule was flexible, and he often came in later in the afternoon and worked late, but this was true dedication. She smiled. He was one of the most devoted and hardest-working wizards she’d ever met.
“What are you still doing here?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be home relaxing by now?”
“Hey. I could be asking you the same thing.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “I got caught up working on a few new spells for compiling data and lost track of time.” He shrugged. “What can I say? I love my job so it doesn’t feel like work.”
“You’re the best.” She winked. She filled him in on all the juicy details she’d discovered at Clover’s house. “What’d you find out today?”
“There’s no news back from the lab on the blood from your wand, so I got you a replacement.” He handed her a slim box with a new wand nestled inside.
“Thanks. You realize I’ll probably lose it, right?” For some reason, dropping wands from a high altitude was her specialty.
“Yes, you’ll notice it’s pretty generic. I know better than to shell out too much gold on a good one. Tomorrow I’ll pack up some gear and create an enchanted map for your travels north.”
“Perfect. I’ll need to know as much as I can about a town called Rawlands,” she said. “Looks like I’m going to the North Woods and hopefully meeting the mysterious guardian, the Woodsman.”
8
Honora was up early. She slipped into a pair of gym shorts and a tank top and spelled the copper kettle to warm. Whenever she was this restless, she visited the gym and pummeled a heavy bag. Barnaby rested on his perch after a night of hunting. Honora had built him a tall tree-like structure out of wood that looked part owl habitat, part sculpture. Her familiar was a barred owl with beautiful full brown feathers flecked with white. His yellow beak was a sharp hook. His enchanting black eyes watched her from above like a guardian, making her feel like someone always had her back.
Years ago, Barnaby had landed on her window ledge with an injured wing during a nasty snowstorm. After scooping him off the ledge, Honora had kept him in a crate filled with old towels and shredded parchment and nursed the predatory guy back to health. Originally, she’d hoped to release Barnaby in the Meadowlands, so he could fly with his own kind in the wild, out in the country with wide-open skies and tall trees, but night after night he returned to her window, and no matter how many times she released him in the Meadowlands, he always came back to her city roost. She decided not to fight it and realized he’d chosen
to be her familiar.
Barnaby had transitioned to city life by building a giant nest in an old brass cage in the rafters of her loft apartment. They’d grown close and had often flown side by side through the night skies. He cooed as she filled up his food and water dish, which were mostly just for snacking, since he preferred the city’s delectable rodent selection. Someone had to keep the mouse population under control, and he was a natural-born hunter.
Honora perched on her stool in the kitchen as she scanned the latest edition of Witch World Daily. After her eye-opening evening with her sisters, poring over ancient texts about Everland, the North Woods, and her mother’s journal and letters, Honora was more excited than ever to plow forward with her investigation. Her plan was to work out with Slader, then drop by the office that afternoon to check in with Sawyer, before heading north via the Silver Train.
Barnaby snapped his beak, his telltale warning, but there was no sign of trouble. Still, she leaned up and scanned her apartment, sending out her senses in all directions. Her nerves were on edge since the Hexer attack yesterday at January’s shop. At first she didn’t get any signs of magic. A pigeon must have gotten too close to his ledge. Barnaby didn’t like to share, especially with other feathered friends. But when he snapped his beak repeatedly, this time ruffling up his feathers, Honora jumped to her feet. That was no pigeon warning, and she knew enough to trust his keen hearing. A reflection in the window glimmered. It was similar to the disturbance she’d seen yesterday at Jane’s house.
Honora dove for her staff and gave the magical flickering a wide berth, preparing to go another round with the Hexer. The disturbance warped and bent the air on the stairwell to her bedroom loft. Then it disappeared. Honora waited and listened. She refused to follow the shiny flicker of light for fear of getting cornered. Stay in the open.
Fly By Midnight (A Sister Witches Mystery) Page 8
