Misty
Logan is quite gaunt. That’s the first thing I notice as I linger in the doorway of the healer’s cottage, watching Cole check Logan’s ears. Cole is amazing with kids, and it shows, because Logan cracks a smile at something Cole says and Aviva interprets.
But Cole’s eyes are heavy with concern when he turns away from the boy, his eyes scanning his notes before closing his notebook and setting it on the counter. Aviva, wearing Lexa on her back, takes Logan’s hand and leads him out of the healer’s cottage, closing the door behind her.
I watch through the window as they walk away, into the rolling, morning fog. It’s a chilly late summer morning–the first truly cold morning since we arrived last week.
It’s been four days since almost everyone fell ill, but thankfully that’s over.
And, Kyra isn’t here right now. She’s off doing something in Endova, according to Cole and Ryan.
I feel immediately more relaxed in her absence.
“So? Is he going to live?” I try to tease to break the tension in the cozy, herb filled room.
“He will. I think he’ll be fine with a better diet and some exercise. He’s stressed, that’s obvious. I’m mostly worried about his bones and teeth right now. He looks like someone who went months without adequate food–minerals and vitamins, especially.”
“Which aligns with his story that he was on a boat,” I add, and Cole nods.
“I wish we were in Crescent Falls with him right now. I could run a full panel on him to find out for sure what he needs, what he’s lacking but… for now, I think Aviva and her friends are going to keep him fed and happy. That’s what matters most.”
“How do you think he got the scar?”
Cole stills, leaning over his notebook with a sigh. “I have no idea, but whatever did that, it would have been a horrific injury. It’s an old scar, definitely, and looks like it wasn’t stitched up or mended every well, but anything could have caused that.”
Addy coos faintly in my arms, tangling his little fists in my hair. The thought of Addy being injured like that makes my stomach ache, but I ignore the feeling, saying, “Logan loves Aviva, at least. He’s been following her around like a little duck.”
“And she’s the mother duck,” Cole smiles, nodding his agreement. “I talked to Ryan about that last night, actually, during dinner. They like having him around, but he’s weary of Ryan and most of the men in general. Ryan’s hoping Aviva convinces him to open up soon. Anyway,” he breathes, stretching out his arms before reaching for Addy, “are you leaving soon?”
“Yeah, we are. I need to go now if we’re going to be home at a decent hour tonight.” I kiss Addy on the forehead then rise on my toes to kiss my mate–just a little peck–but Cole wraps his hand around the back of my neck and kisses me deeply, so deeply in fact, I feel my toes curling, and a warm ache beginning to spread in my lower belly.
Unfortunately, I have to pull away. “I’ll be home tonight, I promise.”
“I know,” he smiles. “Have fun, okay?”
I kiss him once more for good measure and take off in search of Aviva, who I find tucked up in her house, laying out her weapons and some shifting clothes for me.
I glance at Logan, who’s kneeling on the ground next to the couch, scribbling frantically with a set of colored pencils.
I smile at the sight, especially since Lexa’s lying on a blanket beside him, totally enraptured by the movement of his hand.
“Ready?” Aviva asks, her dark, amber-hued eyes meeting mine. “It’s going to be a long night, I think. I’m packing snacks.”
“How long?”
“Well, that depends on what we find.”
I swallow hard. Maybe I shouldn’t have told Cole I’d be back soon, judging by the shovels resting against the wall near her front door. How we’re going to carry those over thirty miles away, I have no idea, but apparently, Aviva has a plan.
Ryan arrives at the house a few minutes later, just as the light is pulled from the sky and dark rain clouds move in. I feel the temperature drop several degrees and glance out the windows, sighing.
I know this is important… finding out why that clearing is so special and what lies beneath… what’s calling to my powers, and to Aviva, who is powerless.
I reach along my side to my leather satchel, drumming my fingers against its side… and the book that lies within.
A book I haven’t touched since Cole got it for me for Solstice. The copy of the Book of Whispers.
“It’s about to rain, hard, I think,” Ryan says apologetically, scanning the weapons and halters on the table.
“We’ll be fine. It’s just a bit of water,” Aviva murmurs under her breath. “I want to get some hunting done on our way back.”
I can feel tension in the room. It simmers between Ryan and Aviva… but not in a sexual way, thank the Goddess. Ryan’s worried about her, that’s clear. While Aviva has had four days of rest and recovery after the strange illness that swept through the pack, she’s still on the pale side.
Regardless, we spend the next twenty minutes gearing up in those strange outfits and harnesses and follow Ryan outside. Aviva and I shift, and he takes a few minutes to secure the shovels–smaller than the average, another thing I’m grateful for–to our backs.
I’m weighed down by the weapons and gear, but Aviva moves with grace as she throws him a wolfish look over her shoulder, likely saying goodbye to him through the mind-link.
We trot out of the village. I can feel the stares of the pack as we weave through the village center, then out onto the road, where everyone has gone back to their usual chores with vigor. The clock is ticking on the harvest, and there’s no time to waste.
We pass the smoke shed, which is only half full. No wonder Aviva mentioned hunting on our way home tonight.
But my heart lurches when I see Cole and Addy waving from the door of our cabin. Cole’s smiling, but his eyes are dark, full of concern.
Into my mind, he says, ‘Be careful.’
‘I love you,’ I reply, my chest squeezing painfully as my intuition flares to life, sensing I’m about to walk into something bigger than I can chew.
‘I love you,’ he replies, and I reluctantly turn toward the road.
* * *
It takes us several hours to reach the clearing. Rain pours over us, soaking our fur and making it nearly impossible to see past the sparse ring of alders lining the clearing. Any scent that’d been lingering is now washed away, replaced by ozone and damp earth.
Aviva rolls into her usual form and slides to a stop, panting, her face twisted in disappointment. This isn’t ideal weather. Not in the slightest.
I shift with her, shivering against the cold rain and squint into the ever growing darkness, deciding not to waste a second of time. My powers of mist rumble to life, filling the clearing with light, showing her the same vision I’d painted for Ryan. A massive castle grows around us, reaching toward the sky with twisting spires and walls stretching twenty stories high, maybe further.
Bigger than the castle in Moonrise, by far.
“What was this place?” Aviva asks over the downpour.
“The Firestones had castles all over the place,” I shout back as my powers curve and fade, the castle falling in a cascade of mist. I’m not sure if it’s my powers flickering out or if they’re giving us a glimpse of how this place actually fell to oblivion. The ground beneath us fills with silver mist, rising around us in a bubble–a cavern… a cave.
Aviva whirls, wiping water from her face with the back of her hand as my powers create a shield from the rain. “What is this?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper in awe, looking upward at the vision of crystals and stalactites hanging from a domed, rock ceiling. A great… something rises before us–between us–spreading out in a wide circle of stone.
Aviva jumps back as a roaring sound splits the air around us, and voices explode, their words unfamiliar and pitched in what sounds like a song.
I have no idea what my powers are trying to show me, but Aviva looks ghostly pale as she listens, and looks, at the silver-white flames breaching the stone circle–the well.
Her eyes meet mine, the fire dancing in her irises. “I know where we are. I know what’s beneath us.”
She waves a hand through the mist, my powers snaking between her fingers and around her wrist.
“There’s a forge here, isn’t there?” I shout.
She’s staring at my magic playing over her skin, but then her eyes meet mine, and she nods gravely.
I let my powers shut down completely, the mist dissipating so rapidly we blink, and the vision’s gone, replaced by rain and darkness.
Aviva looks at the ground beneath us, heaving a breath. “We need to make camp.”
“We didn’t tell the guys we’d be gone all night.”
“Misty,” she says sternly, holding my gaze with a predator's intent. It makes me start and straighten. I’ve only seen this look on her face in battle. “The Firestone forges haven’t been active in thousands of years. This one is, isn’t it? You feel it too. I know you do.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“We’re going to dig and find the entrance to where it’s being kept.”
“No,” I say, barking a laugh. “Are you insane? We don’t know enough about the forges to–”
“They’re supposed to be dormant. Something’s wrong. The hellhound that came here… he must have sensed it. He was guarding this place for a reason.”
I take a step in her direction. “And you want to… what? Dig a hole? Hope we find an entrance? Then what? We don’t know what this thing can do.”
“We need to put it out,” she says under her breath. “Before someone with malicious intent finds it.”
“We need to tell Ella,” I rasp, shaking my head. “First and foremost. The only active forge is in Moonrise, and the Mystics will know what to do.”
A shuddering howl breaks through the forest, echoing over the rain. I shiver, whirling toward the ungodly screech that follows.
I hear the swift metal song of Aviva drawing her golden bow. “That was a rogue. We need to make camp now. We’re not the only ones who can feel this thing bubbling back to life.” She lifts her chin, sniffing deeply, her eyes going as dark as polished onyx. “More than one, I think. Come on, our hunters made camp a few miles away. It’s likely dry there.”
“We need to tell Cole and Ryan–” Another snarling howl rips through the clearing, closer this time. Close enough to cause my heart to skip a beat and freeze.
“Misty,” Aviva breathes, her entire body locking up as she lifts her bow. “Run.”