Shadow Silence (24 page)

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T
his time when I arrived at Ivy's, all three of the older women were dressed for scouting through the woods. I was surprised to see Gareth there, as well. I glanced at him, then glanced over at Ellia with a questioning look. She motioned me off to the side.

“We decided it wouldn't hurt to have a little muscle with us, and Gareth isn't afraid to do whatever he needs to.” She
gave me a little smile that told me she was rather pleased about the brawn. Of course, Ellia could do a lot of damage on her own. All she had to do was take off her gloves and touch someone, and they would go spinning into a madness from which they couldn't return. A little touch—a little time spent in hell. A longer touch—lost forever in the turmoil of their own mind. A secret part of me hoped that someday she would have the chance to use that curse on her own mother, who had long ago stuck her daughter into a limbo of never being able to touch another human with her bare hands. I had never asked Ellia if she had ever had a lover, or boyfriend—or girlfriend for that matter. It somehow seemed a hurtful question and although I was curious, I wasn't about to rub salt in a very deep wound.

I waved to Gareth and settled down in a chair until everybody was ready.

“So, last night we found out that the Ankou can attack you in your car.” My statement put an end to the bustle. All three of the women and Gareth turned to stare at me.

“What did you say?” Ivy settled in by my side.

“Last night, on the way home from the Fogwhistle Pub, we were attacked by one of the Ankou. It appeared in the backseat and attacked Peggin. I don't think it was connected to the Lady though. I think it was a random attack, to be honest. I used the Void Runes to dispel it, but we ended up in the ditch and had to call Niles to pull us out.”

“Well, hell. This is just peachy. We can't get up on that mountain fast enough. Aidan wanted to come, so I told him we would stop on the way and pick him up.” Oriel flashed me a grin. My grandfather was staying at her boardinghouse and had settled in quite nicely.

Ivy blushed. “I hope you don't mind that I suggested he come with us. I just figured that the more hands on deck, the sooner we find those bottles.”

I choked back a laugh. “Oh, give it up, Grandma. You know you got the hots for my grandpa.”

Ivy and Ellia burst into laughter. For one thing, I
never
called Ivy and Aidan
grandma
and
grandpa
. When your shapeshifter grandparents don't look that much older than you, it's kind of hard to refer to them by those terms. And for another thing, every time Ivy mentioned Aidan's name she blushed. I wondered if they had slept together already, but decided that asking would be going too far.

Her hands on her hips, Ivy turned to me. “Young woman, how dare you speak to me like that.”

I just snorted. “So when are we getting on the road?”

“I think we're ready. We just have to stop by the boardinghouse, pick up Aidan, and then head on out.” Oriel shooed us out to her monster SUV. Before we got in, I showed them the dents from where my own SUV had gone sliding off the road the night before.

Ivy put her hand on one of the dents and closed her eyes. “I can feel the residue. And you're right, I don't feel any residue of the Lady. Just of the Shadow Man. The sooner we get this done with, the better. If they are attacking random people on the road, pretty soon it won't be safe to live in Whisper Hollow.”

“As beautiful as it is, Whisper Hollow has never been a safe place to live. But you're right, it's just going to get worse the longer Magda is allowed to rail against the town.” I climbed into the back of the SUV, leaving the spare seat for Aidan so he could sit next to Ivy. She flashed me an annoyed grin, but said nothing.

Aidan was waiting on the corner. Oriel's boardinghouse was a beautiful three-story powder blue and white Victorian, kept thoroughly up-to-date and in perfect condition. It exuded coziness and safety, and as I stared at it, I wanted nothing more than to move in.

My grandfather tossed his backpack in the back with me, then climbed in next to Ivy. A lion shapeshifter, Aidan was a burly man, muscled, and looking around forty-five. But the expression in his eyes read far older. His hair was golden
brown, and he looked like he could body-slam any wrestler to the ground. Ivy caught her breath and inclined her head as a sign of respect. When most shapeshifters first met my grandfather, the men went down on one knee and the women curtsied, for Aidan wasn't just a lion shapeshifter. He was
Lord Corcoran
, the head of the entire Corcoran pride. In other words: Aidan was a king.

I leaned over the backseat from the cargo bay and threw my arms around his neck, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. “It's been a while since I've seen you. What have you been doing with yourself? I hear you've been spending some time with my grandma.” For some reason it delighted me to be able to tease the pair of them. Maybe because I'd had so few family members I could ever joke around with. Actually, when I thought about it, I had
never
had any family members I could joke around with, except for Grandma Lila. Now the only blood family that I knew of, that were alive, were Ivy and Aidan.

“You are an insolent little kitten, Kerris. You treat your grandmother and me with some respect.” But the light in his eyes told me he was laughing on the inside. He returned my kiss and patted my cheek. “How is your guardian? Is he treating you right?”

I nodded. “Bryan told me he loves me.” As I said the words, they came out more shyly than I had expected them to. But it felt good to be able to tell my friends.

Ivy clapped and smiled as Aidan simply nodded. “Well, you tell me if anything goes amiss. He's a good man, and I want to make certain he stays that way.”

I turned around to stare out of the back window as we began the trip up to Timber Peak. The snow was coming down thicker and it looked like we were actually settling in for a bit of a storm. Feeling warm and cozy, and actually quite happy, I leaned against the backseat and spread out my legs, falling into a light slumber as we rumbled along.

*   *   *

I
woke up somewhere between the mountain road and Lupine Valley Campground. I stretched, yawning. Ivy peeked over her shoulder at me.

“Did you know you snore?” At my horrified look, she laughed. “Not loudly, but you sounded very sniffly back there. Maybe it's the dust.”

“Bryan's never complained.” I really didn't want to think about snoring at the moment. I glanced out the window over her shoulder. “We're almost there, aren't we? How was the trip up here? I didn't mean to fall asleep.”

“No worries,” Ellia said from the front seat next to Oriel. “We'd rather have you well rested than tired.”

Gareth cleared his throat. He was sitting to the left of Aidan. “There were a couple dicey moments when we almost spun off the road, but Oriel's one hell of a driver. If I were pulling a bank heist, I'd pick her as my getaway driver any day.”

We all knew that was a compliment so we laughed. Gareth didn't quite have the social niceties of most people, but he was honest, and he meant what he said.

“What are we looking for, exactly? And where am I likely to find a witch's bottle?” I realized that I had no clue what we were looking for. Oh, I knew the name—but I didn't know what to expect.

Ivy fumbled in her bag and pulled out a small journal. She opened it to a page midway through the volume and handed it to me. There was a drawing of a bottle filled with threads and what looked like broken nails and other items. It could have been a wine bottle or a beer bottle, I wasn't sure which.

“So it's just a regular ordinary bottle? It looks like it's filled with garbage.”

“That garbage is magical, and the contents vary depending on the intent of the bottle itself. What you're looking for
will probably have snips of unexposed film, well—exposed to the light now, but it will be fresh film. I also suspect there will be charcoal, obsidian, possibly jet in the bottle. Maybe shards of broken dark glass. Possibly bone dust or bone chips. That sort of thing, and it will probably be in a wine bottle because I doubt Magda would use beer bottles. Or it may be a bottle that once contained vodka. The alcohol involved leaves an energy in the glass even after you wash it.”

“What happens when we find one? Do we just pick it up and bring it over to you?” I wanted to make sure that I didn't screw anything up. Magic was very touchy, as I had been finding out, and sometimes the oddest things could make it go awry. I had no desire to somehow bind one of the Ankou to myself out of carelessness or ignorance.

She looked startled and shook her head, holding up her hands. “No, under no circumstances should you pick it up. Just plant a marker so that you can remember where it is and come get me. I brought several dozen flags.” She held up bright neon orange plastic flags. They looked like construction-grade material.

Gareth frowned, staring at the markers. “Where do you think we will be most likely to find these bottles? Will they be just sitting on the ground somewhere?”

“That's going to be the harder part. I suspect she probably has hidden them in the nooks and crannies in trees, or behind boulders, maybe under nurse logs. You might also scan overhead; I can easily see her dangling them from a branch. Whatever you do, don't underestimate her intelligence. Magda is smart and cunning. Combine that with dangerous? A volatile combination,” Ellia said.

Ivy glanced over at Ellia, a melancholy look on her face. “She's right. You should also be on the lookout for Sasquatch, the Gray Man, and bears. All in all, these are dangerous woods. I suggest we go in pairs. Ellia, why don't you go with Gareth. Kerris, you go with your grandfather. And I will hunt with Oriel. Here's a whistle for everyone,” she said, passing out whistles on
chains to each of us. “If you find a bottle or get in trouble, blow loud and clear. We need to find as many of these as we can, so don't get sidetracked, and try not to get lost. This isn't the time to look at interesting mushrooms or stop to talk to the squirrels. And by that, I mean you, Oriel.” She grinned.

Oriel rolled her eyes. “Now, how many times have you seen me stop to talk to a squirrel?”

“More than I'd like to say. As soon as we get out of the car, I'll see if I can summon up one of the forest Fae and ask them to help us. Gareth, if you can manage it, try to be as unthreatening as possible, please. Some of the Fae are very skittish creatures. Others can yank your head off.”

Gareth grunted, but then let out a bark of laughter. “I'll do my best.”

We reached the campground and piled out into the snow. Up here, on the mountain, the snow was deeper. There must have been about eight inches. I imagined that up on Hurricane Ridge, there was a veritable deluge of the white stuff. I stamped, shivering as the cold infiltrated my jacket. I'd get used to it in a moment, but that first blast of chill air was a doozy.

Ivy walked over to one of the picnic tables and brushed the snow off, sitting on the bench with her back to the table. She closed her eyes and held out her hands, then whispered, “Ellia, the
Song of Summoning
?”

Ellia began to sing what sounded like a Celtic ballad, old and haunting. It sent a shiver up my spine and I moved closer to my grandfather, who wrapped his arm around my waist. Gareth stood back, keeping an eye over the campground. A few moments later there was a rustle in the brush and a stag slowly emerged. He was stately, gigantic with a rack that had to have at least seven tines per side. He bellowed so loud that it practically knocked the snow off the branches.

I caught my breath. He was beautiful, incredibly powerful, and there was a look in his eye that told me he was more than just an elk. He snorted, his breath coalescing into white mist.

Aidan stepped forward, motioning for me to stay where I was. He walked up to stand three yards away from the elk, then knelt and bowed his head. Ivy opened her eyes and her hand fluttered to her throat. She stood and joined Aidan, kneeling on the ground. The elk moved forward until he was standing right above them.

It was then that I could see, superimposed over the giant beast, the figure of a man rising like a ghost over the elk. He was tall, dressed in skins, and the same rack the elk bore on his head was mirrored on the man's brow. I wasn't sure who it was, but I had the same feeling that I had when the Morrígan had greeted me at Ivy's house. Then I understood. Ivy hadn't summoned one of the forest Fae at all. No, we were facing one of the gods.

*   *   *

O
riel stepped forward between Aidan and Ivy. She laughed, holding out her hands. The image of the god vanished as the elk nuzzled her fingers.

“Herne, my old friend! It's been far too long since we've met. Welcome to Timber Peak, although I'm sure you've been here for some time.”

The stag bobbed his head, rubbing his nose against her cheek.

“Thank you for that. We need your help. We need the help of the forest Fae. We're searching for a series of witch bottles that the old crone has hidden throughout the forest. She's the one bringing dark shadows to the mountain. She has summoned the Ankou without permission from Arawn. We're seeking to break her spell, and to do so we need to find all fifteen bottles. I realized that the forest Fae may be skittish, but if they could help us even a little, we would be ever grateful.”

Herne!

Now
I knew who the elk was. Even though I wasn't as conversant with the Celtic gods as Ivy or Ellia, even I knew
who Herne was. He was Lord of the Forest, the Woodland incarnate, the Wild God. I felt a surge of fear, mingled with awe and respect.

The elk slowly turned and loped back into the forest, but three crows flew out of the trees and landed in front of us. One took wing and landed on Ivy's shoulder. The second flew over to land on Oriel's shoulder. And the third flew toward Aidan and me. Before I knew what was happening, it landed on my shoulder. I felt a surge of energy, dark wild magic, and I could hear the Crow Man laughing in the distance. We had our guides, thanks to the Forest Lord. I wasn't sure how they would help us, but I knew that they were on our
side.