I feel dull and empty, suddenly, the ache of where my magic usually resides dead in my chest. Sage shakes his head, paws the ground, then his ear as though in distress. I comfort him with a quick hug, gasping my own loss.
“It’s all right,” I say out loud in the echoing quiet of the cavern, the dirt and stone floor cold under my knees, even through my jeans. I reach for his mind and come up blank. Sage licks his chops nervously, tail hitting me hard as he swings around then back to me. “I know, that’s the point. This place suppresses magic.” I look up at the perma-glow of the suspended witchlight overhead, smell the old taint of the demon who was trapped here, the magician and the vampire. “We need to stay a bit. I think they felt us cross.”
Sage pants heavily, but nods even as relief rushes through me. I can’t hear him and the cavern suppresses power. There is a chance this place could have turned him into a simple wolf after all, something at which even his transformation hadn’t succeeded. I know it was a slim chance, but seeing him respond to me assures me he’s still in there. Sage is still with me, though I can’t hear him in my head or feel his power.
He crouches next to me, shivering, whining softly on occasion as I hug him close and bury my face in his fur. I might not be able to feel his magic, but his solid wolf form is comforting nonetheless.
I could have made a terrible mistake bringing us here. If the Enforcers tracked us after all, they could be on us at any second. And they would have us trapped, powerless. Surely, they know about this cavern? But as the seconds tick by and only the quiet of the cave embraces us, I finally relax and ease back from Sage.
“They might know someone crossed the veil,” I say, “but they either don’t have the nerve to come into Syd’s territory to check, or they assume it’s her.” Hopefully, the second. They have to be tracking her movements, though. So if she’s not here, if she’s off on another plane or in the veil helping the drach leader, Max, the Enforcers will know something is up.
No more time to wait. I have to risk it.
I stand, ruffling Sage’s fur. “You’ll be safe here,” I say. “I’m going to run to the house and talk to Syd. As long as you remain inside the cavern, they won’t be able to find you.” If they capture me, I will never reveal his location.
Sage shakes his big head, growling at me, showing his teeth. He stands and paces toward the exit, a dark tunnel leading off toward the surface. It’s difficult not to roll my eyes, but I do toss my hands and shrug. We’ve been in this together from the first. I guess I can see his point.
Sage pauses at the tunnel mouth, looking back at me and I nod and follow him.
A huge breath escapes me as I lean against the boulder guarding the exit and shove it aside. It rolls easily, releasing Sage and I into the outdoors, our magic back—to my gasping relief—into full power.
It’s warmer outside than I remember, the valley where Wilding Springs was built holding in more of the autumn heat than the ridge where we parked our stolen car. I return the guardian rock to its place and ease through the trees on the way toward the center of town. We can’t risk another veil ride, not inside the bounds of Syd’s territory. We’d draw Enforcers, for certain. I feel around ahead of me, grateful to have my magic back and to have Sage’s power linked once more to mine.
Sage moves with the confidence of experience and I remember then, with a little shake of my head, I’m not the only one who has lived here. He’s spent the last several years running the dojo downtown, his small apartment over the studio our secret rendezvous. I don’t have to guide him. He knows this place as well as I do.
How easily I forget this isn’t just about me. Yes, I put Sage first when I chose to save him, but I fall so easily into the singular protection mode I was taught from childhood. Without a bonded master to protect, I’m supposed to be number one, my needs and my goals those of the pack and the throne. But Sage is his own person—wolf—and I have to keep reminding myself he has his own path to walk.
The park is dark, the small copse of trees near the back end the perfect entry point. I circle the subdivision where Syd’s house stands, choosing to enter through the yard instead of taking the street. While the feeling of Enforcers remains outside the familiar touch of Syd’s magic, I refuse to take chances.
The closer we get to the coven’s main house, the stronger the Hayle power becomes and I feel it welcome me. I shush it softly with a touch of energy, hating the risk, but knowing without it all kinds of alarms could be raised. Better to let the family magic accept my presence than set off the wards protecting the family.
Sage hugs the line of trees bordering the park, staying at my side while I slip through the shadows, eyes everywhere as I wait for an attack that never comes. By the time we slide past the family wards and into the back yard at Syd’s house, I’m wound tight and ready to fly.
The shielding embraces me, hugs me with love. Syd’s made sure the family magic knows me as well as any coven member, and I’m grateful now for her thoughtfulness. I reach through it, feeling for her, knowing before I do she’s not here. If she were, she’d be in the yard by now, alerted by the family power I arrived. Instead, I quiver like a hunted animal, clinging to the comfort of the coven’s magic even as I contemplate running.
This was a bad idea. She’s not here. And I won’t put the rest of the family at risk without her around to protect them.
Sage seems to agree, backing up a few steps. We’ll have to retreat to the cavern and come up with a new plan. Or wait for Syd to come back.
The back door opens, the motion-sensitive light coming on. I duck quickly to the side, hiding in the shadows with Sage shaking beside me, while a dark figure steps out into the yard. She looks worried, one hand clutching the door, the other clenched at her side. Dark, straight hair shivers around her as she takes another half-step onto the patio stones, the light reflecting from her dusky skin.
“Charlotte?” Sashenka Hensley’s whisper carries into the night, backed by a thread of power, seeking me. I block off from habit as Syd’s second—Tallah’s sister—raises her free hand to clutch at the throat of her robe. She’s dressed for bed, feet bare, but she looks wide awake. “Charlotte, is that you?”
I hesitate, not because I don’t trust Shenka. I do. Syd chose her for a reason, to care for the coven when she’s not here. But I need Syd, damn it. Where is she?
“It’s okay,” she continues, still whispering. “I know you’re afraid. But I also know you’d want to hear this.” She pauses, looks around, steps out further, letting the door close behind her. “Piers is okay.”
I choke on a silent sob, crumpling to hug Sage who licks my cheek. I’ve been so worried about the blond sorcerer, the relief of knowing he’s not harmed is almost worse than a blow.
“He told us you were probably coming this way.” Shenka releases the chokehold she has on her robe and holds out both hands. “Syd’s not here, but you are always welcome. Let us protect you.”
I shake my head in the dark. I can’t do this, can’t risk it. Not with the kids in the house. What if the Enforcers come? I won’t put Gabriel or Syd’s daughter, Ethie, in harm’s way.
“Please,” Shenka whispers. “Trust us. Syd would want it this way.” One last pause. “You’re family, Charlotte.”
She had to say that, didn’t she? I feel myself caving even as my traitor feet carry me out of the dark and into the light. Shenka doesn’t move, still holding out her hands. The last three steps I run, hugging her tight as she clutches me close, her face wet with tears as she kisses my cheek.
“Oh, Charlotte,” she says. “Welcome home.”
***