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  “I think that we need to keep her from running off half-cocked, so yeah. I think that would be a good idea. She can wait in the outer room with Wren while we talk.” Tad shoved the Rolodex back in his desk. “I have to know somebody with information about them, but I’m coming up with a total blank right now.”

  We milled around the office, taking care of minor things until my aunt arrived. Hank and Tabitha came trooping in shortly after that, and Wren escorted Tabitha out into the main reception area and closed the door firmly behind them.

  We gathered around the table again. I brought Teran up to speed. My aunt was sixty-seven years old, but she didn’t look a day over fifty, and she was more active than most twenty-year-olds. She had never married, instead choosing to date a string of men, and she had never shown any desire to have children. She was tall and sturdy, with long hair that she dyed depending on her mood—lately it had been black with electric blue streaks, but she told me that she was starting to think about green, for spring.

  She gave me a peck on the cheek and sat down. Teran was in her overalls, and I could tell she had been working in the garden due to the dirt beneath her fingernails. She smelled like freshly turned soil and damp leaves.

  “I’m sorry, I pulled you away from your garden, didn’t I?” I asked. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “Yes, and no. I just finished a latte on the way here.” She paused, then added, “What have you gotten yourself into with the Woodlings? Hurry up, my lettuce won’t plant itself.”

  Even though she sounded brusque, the truth was my aunt was one of the sweetest women alive. She had no time for idiots or foolishness, but she did like to have fun and sometimes she seemed younger than me.

  I glanced at the others. “Well, we’re working on a case. A changeling case.”

  “Uh oh.” Teran paled. “I haven’t heard of one of those in a while. You do realize they almost never turn out without heartbreak?”

  I nodded. “So I gather.” I explained what had happened, and then showed her the carousel. “I found this yesterday morning out in the yard. I’m wondering why the mother brought it to me.”

  “You’re sure it was the mother?” Teran asked, gazing at me so intently that it made me nervous.

  “No, I can’t be positive. But it was out in the yard and Xi showed me the image of a Woodling—”

  “Never assume, my dear. Never assume,” Teran said, examining the carousel. She paused, turning it this way and that. “Did Esmara have anything to say about it?”

  “She said human hands didn’t make it.”

  “Maybe human hands didn’t, but…” Teran paused. “You know there’s talk in the family history that one of your great-grandmother’s daughters was carried off by the Woodlings? The girl was never found.”

  I stared at her, startled. “Talk, or fact?”

  “Talk, I think. But Colleen believed it to her dying day.”

  “Then you need to hear what I found in the attic.” I told them about the book of shadows and what I had read about Lara. “So, why would the rumors still persist if they actually found Lara’s body? Have you checked the cemetery to see if there’s a headstone for her?” I was confused. The rumors should have been put to rest with the discovery of Lara’s body.

  It was Teran’s turn to frown. “I’m as confused as you are,” she said. “I never heard the story that Lara was murdered. But then again, I’ve never seen Colleen’s book of shadows. Are you sure that’s what she said?”

  “Yes, she didn’t want to believe it. Also, Great-Grandma was jealous of Rowan Firesong. They knew each other and Rowan and Brian were pretty chummy, from what I gather. I’m not sure what, if anything, to ask when Rowan gets back from her trip.”

  Rowan Firesong had actually been my father’s mother, unbeknownst to him. That made her my grandmother, and she was from one of the strongest witchblood families around. My father, Trevor, had grown up believing he was a Jaxson through and through, even though they had been his foster parents, not his biological kin. He was never told that, although my mother had known.

  “You don’t say,” Teran mused. “Rowan was around during that time, though she was young—probably in her mid-twenties. I can imagine, if she was anything like she is today, that Colleen would find her intimidating. But Colleen was no slouch herself. She ruled the roost, from what I gather.”

  “I have a feeling a lot went on under the surface back then. A lot we may never know about.” I still had no clue why my grandmother had needed to hide the fact that my father was her son. But she had, apparently out of concern for his safety.

  “Would the Court Magika have any information on the family?” I asked.

  “You want to stay away from them as much as possible—”

  I had been debating whether to tell my aunt about Ellison, but it seemed like I’d have to, now. “Um, too late. I stopped there this morning to file a report.”

  It was Teran’s turn to do a double-take. “Why? What on earth caused you to do that?”

  I let out a long breath. “You’re going to find out anyway, so I might as well tell you. Ellison showed up at the house last night and he took a swing at me.” I told her what had happened both before and after Killian showed up. “Millie recommended I not only file for a restraining order, but that I consult the Court Magika, so I did.”

  Teran sat back in her chair, regarding me quietly. After a moment’s silence, she said, “Ellison tried to hit you?”

  I nodded. “Killian came in right then—right after I let some sort of energy ball. I’ve emailed the Aseer to set up that appointment. I’ve never thrown off energy like that before and I’d—”

  “Oh, you’ll want to do that. But back to Ellison. Was he drunk?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I said. “He was just being his usual self.”

  Teran looked so grave that I was beginning to get worried. But she said nothing about Ellison. Instead, she picked up the carousel again. “I have a feeling you’re right. This holds the key to finding Zoey. I suggest we take this out into the Mystic Wood and wind it up.”

  I stared at the toy. “I thought it was a music box at first. It seems odd that it’s not, given the unicorns circle the carousel.” I held out my hand and took it from her. “I like holding it. I don’t know why, but…”

  Because it resonates with the woodland energy, and that resonates with Druantia’s energy. Esmara chuckled. You’ll find you’re much more in tune with the forests now that you have officially claimed service to Druantia.

  That makes sense. I paused, a thought crossing my mind. Is that why the Woodling brought this to me? Did she sense my connection to Druantia? Are the Woodlings connected to her as well?

  Now you’re using your brain, Esmara said. Think it through. I’m here to guide you, not give you the answers.

  “The Woodling, she trusts me because she senses my connection to Druantia,” I said. “It just hit me. That’s why she brought this to me. Can we head out to the woods now? Teran, will you come with me?”

  Teran nodded. “I can do that.”

  “Before we do that, we should talk to Tabitha,” Tad said. He motioned to Hank, who popped out into the reception area and escorted Tabitha into the room.

  She settled in at the desk, glancing nervously at Teran. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “I’m Teran Karns, January’s aunt,” Teran said, extending her hand. She had a way of making people feel comfortable, and within minutes Tabitha was telling her all about Zoey and what had happened.

  “All right, let’s figure out what the timeline was,” Tad said. “Tabitha, when you put Zoey down, was the window in her room locked?”

  Tabitha shook her head. “I usually keep my windows and doors locked, but yesterday I aired out the nursery and I think I forgot to close the window.”

  “Then whoever stole the baby must have gotten in that way.” He paused. “Did you call the police?”

  She shook her head. “After wh
at happened with them not believing me about the changeling at first, and then the doctor talking to the police chief—”

  “Dr. Fairsight checked out the Zoey standin and verified that, beneath the glamour, the creature is a baby Woodling,” I told Teran.

  Teran nodded, turning back to Tabitha. “Go on.”

  “This morning when I found the baby gone, I was worried that the police might think I hurt her. But I wouldn’t have hurt her. Not now that I understand what’s going on. If I hurt their baby, they might hurt Zoey in return.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell her that wasn’t the way the Woodlings usually worked. That if we didn’t find Zoey and bring her home, chances were she’d end up a slave.

  “We’re going to see if we can find any trace of Zoey out in the Mystic Wood,” I said. “My instinct tells me to go tonight, even though that’s more dangerous. You are not coming along. I want you to go home and stay there, in case the mother returns with the baby.”

  Tabitha nodded. “What should I do while I’m there?”

  “Just keep an eye on the nursery.” I turned to Tad. “Do you mind if I take the lead on this? I’m going on instinct.”

  He shrugged. “That’s fine. Go ahead.”

  I thought for a moment, then said, “Caitlin, Teran, and I will head into the Mystic Wood with the carousel. I wonder if Ari can get away.” I put in a call to her and she said she’d come right over.

  “Do you want Peggin to come with us? She’s still in town and she’s willing. And she’s a damned good shot. She carries a nine-millimeter Sig Sauer, which endeared her to no end with Meagan, who loves target practice.”

  “Bring her, if she’s willing to follow orders. Make sure she’s dressed for a hike in the woods. Meet us at my house.” I disconnected, turning to the others. “Ari and her friend Peggin are coming along. My instincts tell me that women need to go into the wood…men are going to be rebuffed.”

  “Are Woodlings all women?” Tabitha asked.

  Teran shook her head. “No, but the male members of their society stay quiet and in the background. They act as sentinels and guards while the women go out and do most of the work and gather their food and run their villages.”

  “What do they eat?” I couldn’t imagine what kind of food they ate, given what little I had seen of them.

  “They’re omnivorous. Woodlings feed on just about anything. They mainly scavenge for their food and eat everything from leaves to mulch to rotting bodies of animals—and humans.”

  I shuddered. They seemed entirely alien to me, and I wondered just how far removed from our world they really were. But they were part of nature, part of the food chain and part of the life cycle. I tried to remember my mother talking about them, but I couldn’t recall the subject ever coming up. She used to talk about “creatures” in the trees, but I had never expected “creatures” to be walking bushes. When I thought of beings out of the wood, I thought about Tolkien’s Ents, but the Woodlings were like no Ent I had read about or seen in a movie.

  We gathered up our things, and Hank volunteered to drive Tabitha home, and then meet us at my place.

  “Will we need any equipment?” Tad asked.

  I shook my head. “This is one time we aren’t going to go in with cameras. We do that, and we probably won’t see hide nor hair nor…branch…of a Woodling.”

  As we headed toward the parking lot, I kept thinking of the mother Woodling, and the look on her face when we chased her off from her baby. I knew she had brought me the carousel for some reason, and I hoped that I would have reason to thank her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I was the first one to reach my house. I dropped my purse on the sofa, then changed shoes to a pair of hiking boots so I could tromp through the woods. I changed out my coat for a windbreaker and then scared up a pair of crocheted gloves that I could wash easily enough if they got too dirty.

  Xi and Klaus were dozing on the sofa, and I scooped them up and carried them up to the guest room. I didn’t want to take a chance on them getting out, so it made sense to give them a quiet time out where they couldn’t slip between anybody’s feet. One of their litter boxes was already in there, so I just added a bowl of water and a bowl of kitten kibble, and they were good to go. By the time I got back downstairs, Ari was there, sitting in the living room with Peggin.

  I grinned at them. “Hey, you.”

  “I hope you don’t mind us letting ourselves in,” Peggin said, but I shook my head.

  “Ari knows she can come and go as she pleases.” I sat down beside them as we waited for the others. “So, Ari says you carry?”

  Peggin nodded. “I’ve taken a number of classes, and I target shoot regularly. I don’t rely on my gun to solve problems, but it’s there if I need it. Do you think I should leave it behind? I know sometimes, when I go into the woodlands surrounding Whisper Hollow, I have to be cautious where I take this.” She patted her pocket.

  “I think that it might be a good idea. Here, we can lock it up in my desk.” I opened the bottom desk drawer and she carefully emptied the gun and put it in there. I locked the drawer and we locked the ammo up in another drawer.

  “I normally carry it with me, but magical woodlands are an entirely different environment.” She returned to her seat on the sofa. “My boyfriend…significant other? How old do we have to be in order to stop calling them our boyfriends?”

  I laughed. “I don’t know. I’m forty-one, and I call Killian my boyfriend.”

  Peggin grinned. “I’m forty-three. My SO is called Dr. Divine—”

  “A doctor?” Somehow I couldn’t picture Peggin with a white-coated medical professional.

  Peggin snorted. “Oh, no. D-D isn’t that kind of a doctor. Um…someday you’ll have to meet him. He’s an artist.”

  At that point, our conversation was interrupted by the doorbell. It was Tad and Caitlin. Hank would arrive as soon as he dropped off Tabitha, and my aunt was also on the way.

  I wandered into the kitchen where I retrieved the cookies I had baked and spread them out on a plate, carrying them into the living room.

  Peggin perked up. “Love those!”

  Ari laughed. “Cookies. Of course. Got any wine to go with them?”

  “We’re not getting drunk. We’re not even getting mildly tipsy. At least until we’re out of the Mystic Wood.” I set the cookies down and answered the door again. Teran had arrived and, behind her on the walk, Hank was striding through the rain. I let them in, relieved that we were all here and ready.

  “How’s Tabitha doing?” I asked Hank as he passed me by to enter the living room.

  He shrugged. “I think she’ll be okay, but she’s definitely having some issues processing everything. Losing this child, even though it was a changeling, seems to be triggering her just as badly as losing Zoey did. She seems to feel even guiltier.”

  “Crap. I wish she wouldn’t. I can guarantee you that if one of the Woodlings wants a child, they’re going to find a way to nab it.” I scratched my head. “So, otherwise, though? Do you think she’s okay?”

  “Otherwise, well…she’s doing as well as we can expect her to be, I guess.” He glanced around. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks, I grew up here.”

  “Local yokel, then?” He grinned as he said it and any sting slipped away.

  I nodded. “About as local as you can get. My great-grandfather helped found this town, you know. I thought I told you that.”

  “You probably did, but I don’t always file away everything I hear. My brain already feels fuller than I can handle at times.” Hank winked at me.

  I glanced around the room. “It looks like we’re all here, so why don’t we head out? There are lawn chairs on the back porch, and Hank and Tad, you might want to bring them along so you can sit while you wait for us.” I glanced around, wishing I knew how to use a weapon. I was rethinking asking Peggin to leave her gun in my house. “Do you think we’ll need weapons? I’m not comfortable with Peggin bringing a
gun, but…”

  “Face it, January, if things gets physical, we’re screwed.” Ari laughed, then sobered quickly. “Seriously, I wouldn’t even know how to begin to fight against something like a Woodling. I doubt if you can shoot them, because we don’t even know if they have any internal organs. Has anyone ever seen one bleed?”

  I shrugged. I had no idea what the inner anatomy of the Woodlings looked like. Given how treelike they were, I wondered if their veins contained sap rather than blood. “I’m not even sure if it’s safe to carry an ax or a hatchet into the wood.”

  “At the least, take a whistle and your cell phones in case you run into trouble. If you can’t use your phone for any reason, blow loud on the whistle so we can hear.” Tad still didn’t look happy about being left behind.

  “That we can do. I actually have a whistle for when I walk out at night alone. I haven’t had to use it since I moved back from Seattle, but I always wore it when I took a walk at night in the city streets.” I dashed upstairs to my jewelry box, where I found the whistle. I was just about to return downstairs when Killian texted me, asking what I was up to.

  i’m headed into the mystic wood with ari, teran, caitlin, and peggin. we’re heading out looking for zoey. the mother woodling kidnapped her own baby back from tabitha, and she seems to have left me a clue.

  don’t you dare go until i get there, Killian texted back.

  we’re not taking the men with us, we have the feeling it would be an unwise move. besides, you have to work.

  That didn’t go over well at all. Killian texted me that he was coming right home and again warned me not to go into the wood without him. Once again I told him that we were headed out now, but if he wanted to come wait with Tad and Hank, he was welcome.

  Hoping that he wouldn’t be too angry, I headed back downstairs so that we could get the show on the road.

  The rain had lessened, but Tad and Hank set up umbrellas over their lawn chairs. I glanced at the other women, who seemed to be waiting for my lead. I took a deep breath and plunged into the wood. The others followed. We were all apprehensive, and it took some effort for us to spread out rather than cluster together.