Witching Hour: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 7 Read online

  I shivered. “I suppose we have to do it over at Lana’s?” I wasn’t sure what he was cooking up, but Llew was pretty adept.

  With a reluctant nod, he let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. And only one of us should go in. Again, unfortunately, you’re far better equipped to handle this, so I’ll be your spotter.”

  “Spotter? I’m not lifting weights.” I knew what he meant, but I was hoping I was wrong.

  He snickered, then quickly sobered. “You’re going to have to go in on the astral.”

  I groaned. “Oh hell. Well, at least I can work with Laralea. You sure?”

  “Raven, you’re far stronger in your astral form than you are in your body. You know that.” With a pause, he tilted his head, looking at me expectantly. “Well, will you?”

  “Will I what?”

  “Will you do this? If I’m going to be your spotter, I need to know you’re going through with this willingly.”

  It was my turn to sigh. “Yes, I will. And I can use a good spotter. If we were both to go and something happened, there wouldn’t be anybody to pull us out.”

  Lana tapped me on the arm. “Are you sure? It’s dangerous. I can just pick up my things and run.”

  I took her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes. “Lana, with that Target on your back, no matter where you go, Tag can reach you. So many of these psi mages have massive control issues. You won’t be safe until we’re done with this entity, and until we’re done with Tag.”

  Lana hung her head, looking defeated. “Then no matter what, somebody’s going to be in danger. Either me, or anybody trying to help me.”

  I patted her on the arm. “Remember, Llew and I have dealt with creatures like this before. We know what we’re doing.”

  She gave me a long look, then nodded. “And all the feel-good affirmations in the world won’t help, will they?”

  “Right. You look exhausted. I want you to go back to bed and rest. I will set up a ward around you so you should be safe for now. Llew and I will go back to your house—Tag’s house—and try to clear this thing out. Then we’ll plan out what to do about Tag.”

  Finally, she gave in. I loaded her up with a bag of potato chips, some ice cream, a box of cookies, and sent her to back to bed.

  Turning to Raj, I knelt and patted his head. “I have to go out. I want you to watch Lana and make sure she’s okay. I’m going to hook the wards into the alarm system. If it goes off, do what you can to get her and the ferrets outside. This is important, Raj,” I said, staring at him.

  He nodded. I gave him another pat and a kiss on the head, then stood, turning to Lana.

  “I promise, I’ll call you if something’s going on.”

  Lana shuffled back to the bedroom, holding her stash of goodies. She looked so conflicted that I wanted to give her a long hug and tell her everything would be okay, but I didn’t know that it would be. I glanced over at Llew.

  “I suppose we’d better be on our way. What do we need?”

  “A long list of things,” he said. “So we’d better get started now.”

  As he began to rattle off a list of supplies, I realized it wasn’t going to be easy. But then again, nothing with the spirit world ever seemed easy to me.

  Chapter Twelve

  We were still gathering things together when Lana’s phone rang. She glanced at it, then glanced up at me, fear in her eyes.

  “It’s Tag. What should I do?”

  “Answer it. Sound as noncommittal and compliant as you can. When you talked to me earlier today, you had a very complacent, boring tone to your voice so do your best to sound as bland as you can.” While I didn’t want her to answer it, I knew that if she didn’t, Tag would get suspicious. When he cast the control spell on her, he probably programmed it into her to answer his beck and call.

  She quickly swiped her phone and held it up to her ear. “Hello?” After a pause, she said, “I was just getting ready for bed. … Okay, are you sure? … Well, if you have to, you have to. I understand. … No, I didn’t go anywhere today, sweetheart. … Yes, I just took the pill you left for me. I’m getting sleepy now. …I miss you. Come home soon. … Yes, I love you, too.” She hung up, then dropped back on the sofa, letting out a long sigh.

  “What did he want?” I asked.

  “Tag won’t be home until early Wednesday morning. Apparently his boss scheduled him with a last-minute meeting with a new client tomorrow night, so he’s not getting out of there until midnight. He should be home about three or four in the morning, Wednesday. It’s a three-hour flight.”

  That gave us an extra day, which we sorely needed. “Good. We have more time.”

  “What does he do?” Llew asked.

  “Tag’s a sales consultant with Reimer Electronics Consulting Services. He meets with clients and tries to sell them the latest tech.” She groaned, leaning forward, staring at her phone. “He asked me if I took the sleeping pill he left for me. I have no memory of him telling me to take one, but I’m assuming he did. So apparently, he’s planning on keeping me drugged up as well as under control.”

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured. “But at least you know what he’s like.”

  “That doesn’t make it much easier, though I’m quickly advancing past grief and into absolute anger,” she said, glaring at her phone.

  I glanced at Llew.” We better get over there now. At least we have a bit more time to play with.” I paused, glancing at Lana. “Do you have the Find Friends app on your phone? I’d like to make sure Tag is where he said he is.”

  She nodded. “We thought it would be a good idea. Oh crap, that means that he can tell that I’m not at home if he bothers to look.” She paled. “What do you think the odds are?”

  “Check his location.”

  She was right. He could find her as easily as she could find him. But if she had sounded convincing enough, we might luck out and he might not bother.

  “He’s still in Colorado Springs. He’s at the hotel. Is there any magical way of blocking my location from him, given this is technology?” she asked Llew.

  He frowned, chewing on the inside of his lip. After a moment he shook his head. “There are, but I don’t have anything right offhand that would help. Turn off your phone. That will block your location. Granted, it may make him suspicious, but you can always say it was an accident if he asks, once you turn it back on.”

  She quickly turned off her phone, then took another deep breath. “Hopefully, he hasn’t checked where I’m at already.”

  “We’ll get moving. We’ll get this over with as soon as we can.” I turned to Llew. “Let’s not drag this out any more than necessary.” Then to Lana, I added, “I’ve left the number for the Wild Hunt, and for Ember, on the table. If by any chance you think Tag’s on the way here and you can’t get hold of us, call them. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Raj will protect you.”

  As Llew and I headed for the door, I knelt by Raj. “You protect Lana, okay? It’s very important, and she’s in danger. Do you understand?” I knew he would understand me, that I didn’t want to put him on the spot by making him talk in front of Llew and Lana.

  He stared into my eyes and nodded, his expression grave.

  “Good boy. I’ll be back soon.”

  I slipped into a jacket, making sure I had Laralea and Venom. Then Llew and I headed into the night, over to his shop and then off to tackle the demon.

  After stopping at the Sun & Moon Apothecary, where we got more yohumabe, as well as blightwort and Blessing Water, we headed for Lana’s house. It was nearing midnight, the witching hour, and I wasn’t looking forward to our upcoming confrontation. Both ghosts and demons were stronger at night. There was something about the shadows and the power of the nighttime that increased both their activity and abilities. Also, people were innately afraid of the darkness—of the unknown—and that fear fed them as well.

  As we silently walked up the sidewalk toward the porch, I glanced at the sky. The heavens had cleared, and the dark moon sh
one down, a faint glimmer against the sky. She was scarcely visible except to those of us who were tied to her. For me, my ties to the moon came through Arawn and his shadow world, as well as from the magic that I ran. The magic-born were also tied to the moon. There was a deep connection between magical energy and the Moon’s cycles. Oh, there were some of the magic-born who were bound to the sun, as well as some of the Ante-Fae. But mostly, those who worked with magic worked with the moon and her tides.

  The trees surrounding the house towered over us, their leaves rattling on the branches. All it would take was one good windstorm and they would go whirling off to scatter across the lawn. Their silhouettes loomed like giants in the night, dark and malformed. I paused, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring up at one giant walnut tree.

  Llew looked at me. “Is something wrong?”

  I shivered, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “There’s something tainted about that tree. In fact, I can feel it all through this lot, now that I’m standing here focusing on it. I haven’t been here much, and I didn’t pay attention earlier when we were here.”

  “What do you mean?” Llew asked.

  “I think…” I hesitated. “I think there’s an evil connected to this place, bound to it root-deep. I mean, we know there’s an entity, but this runs deeper than I thought. It feels like it’s infiltrated the house and the surrounding soil, and all the plants. I don’t like this.”

  “Do you still want to go through with our plan?”

  I nodded. “As much as I’d like to turn and run, I think we need to take care of this. I also know that whatever’s in there, it can sense us coming. So we need to be careful. I still can’t pinpoint what kind of demon it is. There’s still part of me that believes it’s some sort of ghost, even though I know it can’t be.”

  “Well, there’s only one way to find out. Let’s head in.”

  Lana had given us her keys, and as we clattered up the porch, I readied the main house key. I paused, key near the lock, as Llew lit the blightwort. As the smoke enveloped us, the vapor began to shield us from the spirits within.

  I opened the door to a flurry of activity, though I couldn’t see anything. But there were things afoot and on the move—the air was whirling as though a breeze was passing through, and I shivered as cold fingers brushed my back. But whatever it was, it didn’t seem to notice us. At least, not for now. I quickly flipped the switch next to the door, flooding the foyer with light. As I glanced around, nothing seemed to be out of place.

  “To set my mind at ease, can you run upstairs and check to see if there are any sleeping pills near Lana’s bed? If so, then we know that Tag probably didn’t suspect anything when he called her. If we can’t find a bottle of pills, then he may have been testing her to see if she was still under his control.”

  “Are you sure you want to stay here alone?” Llew asked.

  “If you hurry, I should be fine.” I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning against one of the walls. Llew dashed up the stairs, and I nervously waited until he reappeared.

  “I found a bottle of sleeping pills by the bed, along with a pitcher of water. So I think we’re safe for now.”

  I breathed a little easier. As long as Tag stayed where he was for now, Lana should be safe enough from him siccing something else on her.

  “I suppose I should set up in the living room with Laralea. I’m not looking forward to this, but it would be worse if we were down in the basement. I sure wish I could do this remotely, but I don’t trust my memory to bring me over here. I’m not sure I know the coordinates on the astral.”

  “I’ll watch you, and do my best to protect your body,” Llew said. “That sounds weird, but you know what I mean. You have your yohumabe on you?”

  I nodded, pointing between my breasts. “Tucked into my bra. It’s the easiest place to keep it.”

  I settled on the sofa, unzipping the hard case that protected my handpan. Crossing my legs, I made myself as comfortable as I could and set Laralea on my lap. Over the years I had learned different combinations of patterns, which would open different portals. Stepping onto the astral was an easy combination, one that came as naturally as breathing to me. Once I was comfortable, I motioned to Llew.

  “I’m ready. Tell me when you’re set up.”

  Llew waved. “It’ll just take a moment.”

  He set up a temporary altar on the coffee table. In the center, he set a large brass pentacle. On either side he put candles, one red and one black, lighting the tapers once they were firmly in their holders. Then, he crossed a dagger and a handheld sickle over the pentacle. Both the dagger and sickle were silver in color, and both looked wickedly sharp.

  Pulling up an ottoman, he sat in front of the altar, mere steps from me. He lit a stick of incense, and immediately the room felt like it was swirling. I wasn’t sure what herbs he had compounded together, but the incense definitely shifted the energy. As I focused on it, I realized it was creating a circular barrier around us, reflecting all energy that tried to get inside. Llew drew a rune in the air, the energy flowing in a golden light from his fingertips, although it died away as soon as he was done.

  “Let’s get the show on the road,” he said. “I’m ready.”

  I took three deep breaths, and then began to tap out the rhythms that would open the door to the astral plane. Eerie, almost melancholy, the rhythm vibrated in the air, circling around me as it created a vortex. The song wasn’t long or complex, but it was a precise set of notes that worked as coordinates. Three minutes later, I struck the last note on Laralea and folded my hands on my lap. The next thing I knew, I was stepping out of my body, the transition easy and smooth. I turned to Llew, who was staring at my astral form.

  “I see you. Go ahead, I’ve got your back.”

  I lifted my hand to show him I heard him, and then set off toward the basement. It was a breeze to get through the door, and before I could even blink, I was standing in front of the brick façade hiding the secret entrance to Tag’s ritual room.

  I looked around for the demon, hoping the yohumabe would work on me even in the astral as long as I was wearing it on my body. For now, at least, either the entity was asleep or it was ignoring me. I was betting on the former.

  I walked through the secret door, glancing around Tag’s ritual room. I hadn’t thought out that it would be dark, but then I noticed a bright light emanating from the back wall. It hadn’t been there the last time—or I hadn’t been able to see it in physical form. I slowly approached it, wondering what the hell was going on. It didn’t feel like the entity itself, but it did feel connected.

  As I placed my hands against the wall and began to step through it, I found myself blocked by an unexpected barrier. It was the astral equivalent to running into a brick wall, face first. I bounced back.

  What the hell?

  Reaching forward again, I lightly placed my hand against the wall and, once more, met resistance. But it didn’t feel like it was coming from something physical. No, this was a magical barrier meant to hide whatever I sensed peeking from behind it.

  Okay, Tag. What are you hiding now?

  I had a hunch there was another secret door here, but that didn’t account for the magical barrier, so whatever was back there, it was probably important.

  Turning around, I was about to return to tell Llew what I had found when a knife resting against the nearby table flew off into the air and headed my way, whirling as if someone had thrown it. I jumped to the side, even though I knew that in my astral form, the blade couldn’t hurt me.

  “All right, who are you and why are you haunting this place?” It was stupid of me to ask, because I broke my illusion. There was a chance that whatever was attacking me hadn’t really known where I was, but my intention and focused thought gave me away.

  A large form rose up, bipedal in nature but as dark as the new moon, and it loomed over me, racing forward. It felt like a cavernous hole, eating up energy as it moved.

  I thought
myself back into the main room of the basement, but the entity came after me as quickly as I could move. On the astral, my usual magic wouldn’t work, but I still had some protection. I held up my hands focusing on repelling the demon, and it bounced back briefly, giving me enough time to turn toward the stairs. But before I could think myself to the top, it enveloped me again, surrounding me like an inky shroud, glomming onto me as it began to drain my energy wherever it touched.

  I screamed, though I knew Llew couldn’t hear me, but there was a chance he would sense the danger if my body shifted. Trying to focus, I narrowed my vision, seeing me slam back into my body without taking the proper procedures. It was a process that always hurt, but the pain would be better than being drained.

  The creature didn’t want to let me go. It stuck like slime, sending pinpricks of pain through me wherever the shadow touched my astral form.

  Once again, I struggled, focusing on my body upstairs, keeping the vision of myself in mind. I forced my will, straining against the entity, pushing every ounce of energy I had into repelling the thing.

  A loud snap echoed through the room, sounding very much like a fist striking someone’s nose. The creature went sailing back, toward the secret room. I took the opportunity to think myself up the stairs, and then back into my body just as it rounded the bend after me. I slammed into my form, jarring every bone and muscle in my body.

  Llewellyn was standing there, dagger and sickle in hand, aimed toward the door of the living room. As I opened my eyes, winded and in pain, the black form came charging through the closed doors but it hit the barrier around us, bouncing back so hard that it disassembled into wisps of smoke. It formed again, trying once more, but again the barrier deflected it. The next moment, it vanished back through the living room door, leaving the barrier still standing.

  I slid my handpan off my lap, onto the sofa next to me, leaning over as I cradled my stomach. My solar plexus hurt like hell. The third chakra had felt the impact of both the creature’s attack and the shortcut I had used to return to my body.