by Sara DeHaven
Daniel fumbled with the side of the passenger seat until he got it to recline more. “He certainly seemed to be implying they come from another realm, that this isn’t their native space. It also seems pretty clear that he’s describing some kind of symbiosis with these Seldenai, whatever they are.”
“‘We the heart, they the mind,’” Bree quoted. “There’s some pattern there, something in how Gelsenim seems to want to do work for you. I think that’s in some part what he means when he speaks of the Seldenai being the mind.”
“And yet he was very reactive to the other demon calling him a slave. It doesn’t make sense.”
“We’re missing a piece somewhere,” Bree reflected, stopping for a red light.
“Yes, but we’re gaining pieces as well,” Daniel replied. "You come at this from a different angle, and that's incredibly helpful.”
Bree was warmed by the praise, but also distracted by worry over possible conflict with the Keltoi at Daniel's house. “I wish we had more of a plan about getting your things than ‘I hope there’s not too many of them.’”
"We park a couple of blocks away, scan for Keltoi and possessed, neutralize any we find, and get in and out quick.”
“It’s the neutralizing that’s got me worried.”
“Look, if they’re at all tired or distracted, I can probably sneak up on them and hit them with a freeze spell.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to, you know, bind them?”
“Better in the sense of easier and safer,” he conceded, “but you know I don’t like to use my Binder abilities. It kind of freaks me out.”
You and me both, Bree thought to herself.
They were soon in Daniel’s neighborhood, and he directed her to park the car two blocks away, on a side street. As they approached his house on foot, Daniel pointed out a silver BMW with two men in it parked about three houses down from his place.
"Not very subtle, are they?" Bree asked.
Daniel continued on past his street at a brisk pace. "It just confirms what I was thinking. The Keltoi didn't send their best on the stakeout because they don't expect me to come home at this point." He led her on a wide loop around his street until he felt confident they had spotted the only Keltoi around.
Bree felt lightheaded with nerves as they approached the BMW from behind. She readied her shield spell in her mind and gathered up her will energy to cast it. They were about two car lengths away when she saw one of the men turn around in his seat. Almost immediately, the man opened the car door. "Oh God, here we go," she whispered.
Daniel's hand shot out, and a cold wave of energy washed by her.
Both men slumped forward, and Daniel moved quickly to push the one who'd been getting out back into his seat. He gestured at the men again, then shut the car door firmly. "That should hold for about ten minutes. Let's go." He turned and headed for his house.
Bree felt a strange sense of anti-climax. Not that she’d wanted another battle. She’d just worked herself up to a fine edge of tension and she felt like it had nowhere to go.
They both did a quick energy read, and confirmed that no one was in Daniel’s house. After he shoved some extra clothes into a duffle, he went to his workroom and started pulling out drawers. He extracted several bags, bottles and objects, and put them in his bag so quickly that she couldn’t make out what they were, especially since her attention was primarily on scanning for anyone approaching. Finally, he brought out a plain, locked wood box. He waved a hand over it, muttered, “Release by my will,” and the lock dropped open. He pulled out an astonishingly large roll of hundred dollar bills.
“Emergency stash,” he said to her wide-eyed look.
“Kind of makes mine look pathetic,” she commented.
“Yeah, well, there’s some weird shit that goes with old family money, but it’s handy to have around sometimes,” he responded as he zipped up the bag and threw it over his shoulder. “That does it, let’s go.”
Daniel hit the still frozen Keltoi with another spell on their way out to make sure they wouldn't be followed, then led the way to her car.
“So,” she said as they got back in, “Where to now?”
“I want to get as close as possible to the water to work the finder spell. Gelsenim said Hunter was being kept near water, so where can we get a hotel room on the water, somewhere downtown?”
She started the car and drove off quickly, wanting to put distance between them and the Keltoi. “There’s a hotel that extends right over the Sound called the Edgewater. I went to a wedding there once. It’s on the waterfront below downtown. So it’s not going to be cheap.”
“Right over the water is perfect in terms of the casting. That makes it worth the money,” he assured her.
"Forgive me if I'm being dense here, but how does being near the water help with the finder spell?"
Daniel shifted in his seat, winced, and rubbed at his injured side. "You know how elements in nature all have their own particular energy signature? The water in the Sound is different on an energy level from water in a lake, or water in the ocean. And the water that's near downtown is different from water in other parts of the Sound.
"I think I see where this might be going," Bree replied.
"Finder spells are notoriously difficult because you're trying to get magic to reach for someone far away. Three blocks is a long distance for a spell to travel, let alone three miles."
"So you attune the spell's energy to the Sound water to limit the radius of the spell to areas near that particular type of water."
"That's a big part of it," Daniel agreed. "The other piece is about raising and binding energy to a lot of different items and elements that are related to finding Hunter as opposed to some other person. The Sound water is one of those elements. I'll be raising and attuning energy to each item, then I'll bind the energy together in the final spell and release it all at once. That's what gives it the power to travel."
"As opposed to using only your own base energy."
"Exactly."
Silence fell between them, and Bree became preoccupied with scanning for any Keltoi or possessed that might be following them. She felt surges of energy from Daniel that told her he was doing the same. After a rather nerve wracking drive, they finally pulled up outside the hotel. It was modern in shape, two white rectangles softened by wood window frames, pergolas and balconies.
Inside it was an interesting mixture of rustic and posh. The lobby included a big rock fireplace, antler chandeliers and black bear statues mixed with gold and crystal lamps and ornately carved armchairs. Daniel chatted up the perky blond at the reception desk, and she admitted it was possible to get them a room in advance of the usual check in time. Bree trooped out to collect their bags of clothes from the car and handed her keys over to the valet. She met Daniel back in the lobby, and they made their way up to their room. In the elevator, Daniel murmured, “Sorry about getting only one room, but it’s safer for us to stay together.”
The prospect of sharing a hotel room with Daniel created an instant rush of distracting fantasies. She firmly ordered her libido to stand down. "That makes sense," she replied with what she hoped was a casual tone.
After another intensive scan of their surroundings, which yielded nothing of concern, Daniel swiped the key card on the door to their room, and they went in. It was a good few levels of luxury above anywhere else Bree had ever stayed. A gas fireplace was in a corner by the window, fronted by two green leather chairs. There was a view that included clouds hovering just beneath the jagged expanse of the snow dusted Olympic mountains on the far horizon. A white car ferry made its way across the blue-grey waters of Puget Sound that lay between Seattle and the Olympic peninsula to the west.
Bree experienced a brief, dreamy sense of being on vacation. She turned to look at Daniel, and found him smiling a soft smile. As their eyes met, she was acutely aware that she was in a hotel room with a tragically attractive man that she had been kissing like a demented maenad mere hours ag
o. The beds suddenly loomed large in her consciousness. She whirled around so fast that she caught her foot on one of the chairs and tripped. “Off to the bathroom,” she tossed over her shoulder as she recovered her balance.
She shut herself in, transfixed by her panicked image in the mirror. “Coward,” she told herself, and splashed her face deliberately with cold water.
When that didn’t help, she decided to get seriously cleaned up. She indulged in an indecently long shower and got out feeling much refreshed. As she dressed, she reviewed all her reasons for avoiding a romantic relationship with Daniel Thorvaldson as well as her rationalizations for not talking about last night. This was about finding Hunter. She felt calm, focused, even relaxed.
She came out of the bathroom to find a room service tray waiting, piled with scrambled eggs, sausages, glistening, jewel-like breakfast pastries, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a carafe of coffee accompanied by real cream and sugar, as well as a pot of tea. The sight made her realize she was absolutely starved. “You are a God,” she told Daniel in awe.
"We should eat as much of this as we can stand. Both our power levels are still sub par." He was sitting in the other chair with a mostly consumed cream cheese danish on his plate.
Bree nodded, and started piling up her plate with food. They both ate in silence for a while, then Daniel said, “It’s good to see you happy.”
Bree looked up in surprise. Her cheeks were warm from heat of the merrily burning fire in the fireplace, and she could feel speckles of pastry frosting on her lips. Daniel laughed at her expression. “Seriously, I’m not sure I’ve seen you relaxed and happy before. Laughing at disgusting gallows humor, yes, but not really happy.”
She realized that she actually had been, just for a moment, quite content. “Yeah, well, life has been pretty complicated since I met you,” she replied, then wanted to kick herself as the light went out of his face. “Interesting, though, adventurous,” she backpedaled.
“A little too adventurous,” he replied, avoiding her eyes. “You know, I just want to say that whatever is going on between us is too complicated to deal with right now. Can we agree to focus on getting Hunter back and worry about all that later?”
Bree blushed, and avoided looking at him as she replied, “Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Good.” He wiped his hands on his napkin, and set his plate aside. “I'm going to take a quick shower, then I’ll get to work on the spell.”
Daniel came out of the bathroom in record time, looking and smelling deliciously clean. He had on black jeans and a long sleeved red t-shirt, and his feet were bare. He picked up his duffel bag, and laid it on the bed nearest the door. He climbed up and settled in cross legged as he began to pull out what he needed for the spell.
Bree went over and stood by bed, and he didn’t object. She was interested to see what was involved in such a complex spell. She'd been tested as having some Caster ability back at the academy, but she'd been young and far more interested in socializing than in studying, and developing Caster talent required a great deal of study. She’d learned the few spells required for exorcism, and had otherwise stuck with working on those powers that came easiest to her.
Daniel pulled out several bags of what looked like herbs, a gold ring with a red stone, a gold medallion inscribed with a hawk, some shells, some dried oak leaves, and a small hank of brown hair tied with a string. He glanced up at Bree, paused, then seemed to decide to go ahead and clue her in as he worked.
“I still have some of Hunter’s hair left over from when I made him the locator amulet. That will help provide a personal link. Most of the rest of these involve affinity with fire for protection, because we’re seeking Hunter for his protection. I’ve got the red candle, the garnet ring, the oak leaves, some rosemary, and some cloves for that element. I also have the hawk for seeking and seeing clearly, and eucalyptus, which is good for penetration and protection. I’m hoping to penetrate the spells the Keltoi have up to block finder spells. Some of this, like the shells, is to resonate with water, and I'll run down and get a cup of water directly from the Sound when I'm closer to being done." He looked up to see if Bree was following him, and she nodded for him to continue.
"I have to charge each of these objects with specific intention related to finding Hunter, and connect a bit of my base energy to each. And like I told you in the car, I'll do a final spell that will set all the energies working with each other in such a way that the overall energy is greatly enhanced. I'll need to raise as much energy as humanly possible to have a hope that this will be effective."
A shadow crossed his face, and Bree was reminded how pessimistic Javier had been about a finder spell working. She knew it was a long shot, but it was all they had. "How long will it take?"
"If everything goes perfectly, maybe a day and a half."
Bree choked back a cry of disappointment. She'd known it was a complex spell, but with every minute that passed, there was a greater chance that the Keltoi would move Hunter, making it even more difficult to locate him. Her curiosity about the spell was replaced by a rising sense of anxiety that was becoming all too familiar. What was happening to Hunter right now? Would Franchesca follow through on her threat to have him possessed again? She wrestled her worry back into submission. It did no good to dwell on the things they couldn't control. "Do you mind if I watch the first step? I'll get back to scanning for trouble after that."
Daniel gave her a distracted nod as he finished arranging the items he'd brought around him. Then he picked up the ring and held it in one hand. He closed his eyes, and for some time, Bree didn’t feel anything. He was quite still, in fact so still she knew he was likely getting stiff muscles. Finally, there rose the unmistakable sensation of magical energy building. Daniel opened his eyes and passed his other hand slowly over the ring then back again. Bree felt a mild internal click of something settling into place. Daniel set it down, and looked up at her. “Did you feel that?”
“I got something like a key locking a door, when you can feel it's fully locked."
“That's the magical potential settling into place. That piece is done.” He unfolded his legs, stretching out one at a time and bending over it, trying to work the muscles loose.
“So is that basically it?" Bree asked. "It’s all an internal process?”
“Most pieces of it are. It’s about tuning into the natural and energetic properties of the substance, then you shape it a bit until it’s more specific to your purpose. In this case, it means convincing the ring that it’s not complete, that it’s looking for something to be complete in its mission to provide protection. Sort of like an imbalanced atom seeking a specific electron to stabilize itself.”
“I can see I’m not going to learn much just by watching.”
"High power Readers actually have a great advantage in learning casting work because they can attune to another powered and read how the energy is being worked.”
“I was tempted to do that, but I didn’t want to disturb you,” Bree admitted.
“Normally I wouldn’t mind. My concentration is generally pretty good, but given how important this is, I have to admit I’d be worried about any distraction.” He looked up at her with a look half annoyed, half serious. "And you are definitely a distraction."
And there was a "go away" message if she'd ever heard one. She wondered if her presence was just going to make this more difficult for him, like he'd said on their hike, and the thought was caused her gut to twist with tension. “Well, I should probably leave you to it. I'm going to head downstairs and see if I can find a book in that gift shop in the lobby. I'll continue to do some scanning from time to time to make sure we haven’t been located, and I'll definitely monitor your energy level, but I won't need to do that non-stop."
“Good idea,” he muttered as he reached for the bundle of rosemary.
Bree agreed and retreated downstairs. There were a few books available in the store, alongside the over priced toiletries, clothes and souvenirs
. She wasted a few precious minutes of her cell phone battery life to call first Sophie, then Kevin. Sophie had clearly been fretting, and wanted some kind of assurance Bree wouldn’t get in over her head, an assurance Bree could pretend at but not sell with any conviction.
Kevin seemed to have recovered somewhat from his post possession shock and was forceful in insisting he and Steve be informed if Daniel succeeded with the finder spell. The amount of time that had passed had left him less willing to simply trust the Keepers to handle the search for Hunter. She signed off with a promise to call him as soon as she had any information, and also to check in regularly to find out if the Keepers had had any luck, or if they’d arranged another attempt at trading Daniel for Hunter. She certainly wasn't going to call Javier directly.
By the time she got back, Daniel appeared to be right in the middle of potentiating another element of the spell. She quietly settled down in one of the leather chairs with the mystery novel she had procured, but it was a struggle to concentrate. Time moved at a glacial pace. She got nothing on her periodic scans of the area to worry her. Daniel broke off briefly for lunch, bolted down his food without speaking to her, then did the same thing with dinner.
After each meal, Bree read a spike in his base and will energies, but by mid-evening, she felt both dip sharply, and he seemed to run into some trouble. Several times, he stopped in the middle of a stretch of silent focus to swear and pace, clearly unsuccessful in his efforts. As much as Bree was desperate for him to be done, she knew the casting would take longer if he kept making mistakes because he was tired. He snapped at her when she suggested taking a break, and the small tendrils of Reader sense she sent his way after that confirmed her concern that his energy was weaker and, disturbingly, darker.
After the fourth time he broke off his efforts with obvious frustration, she chided him, “You’re just making more work for yourself by pushing it too hard.”
