Page 84 of Shadow's End

“Besides,” Eli added, “it’s unlikely she’ll come after us before the three of you, or Aiden. As far as that lot are concerned, we’re the spares rather than the main event.”

“But,” Ashworth said, flicking a glance my way, “we’ll nevertheless ramp up the protections again, just in case.”

“Good,” I said, even though I suspected they were right about us being the targets more than them. If Marie or Maelle was going to kidnap anyone in order to take me out of the picture, it would be either Aiden or Belle, and instinct was leaning more to Belle. Maelle was well aware that she was my familiar and, thanks to her telepathic raid of Roger’s mind, so was Marie.

Ashworth dropped us off at the café with the promise to return the SUV later that morning. Belle made the three of us a strength and revitalization potion, which I gulped down without really tasting, then I staggered upstairs, grabbed a quick shower, and all but fell into bed. I was asleep almost before my head hit the pillow.

Dreams came and went, fragile wisps that held neither warning nor substance, but rather the desperate need to find Jaqueline. She was probably our biggest hope of ferreting outMarie’s location before an all-out, all-consuming war started. Because that’s what was coming if we couldn’t find a way to stop it. We needed to find her.Hadto find her.

As that thought echoed through my dream state, something within me shifted, and I once again found myself on the astral plane. This time, I caught a glimpse of my sleeping body first, before my astral being was swept away, not to a forest clearing, but rather a house. It was a two-story building with a steeply pitched roof and two dormer windows on the front side of the building that rather resembled eyes. Dark, broken eyes—as broken and as dark as the people who sheltered inside. It was surrounded by ancient trees that kept it shrouded in shadows despite the brightness of the sun, and the song of cicadas rode the air. There was no car, no van, and nothing to indicate anyone actually lived here, even if every sense I owned said there were at least three inside.

A flicker of movement through the trees to my right had me looking around.

A figure stumbled out from the trees, her clothes torn and dark with sweat, her copper-colored hair no longer in a ponytail but floating around her face like glimmering snakes.

Jaqueline.

My gaze darted back to the house.

This had to be Marie’s lair.Hadto be. Andthatmeant this time, for the first time, I hadn’t been called onto the plane, but had stepped onto it of my own free will. Excitement pulsed through me, but I resisted the urge to move. Jaqueline showed no sign of sensing my astral presence, but I wasn’t about to risk changing that or drawing Marie’s attention.

Jaqueline staggered toward the house and up the steps. The door must have been locked, because she raised a fist and hit the old wire screen several times. The sound echoed and, a few seconds later, the main door opened, and a man appeared,though I was too far away to see anything more than a vague, largish outline.

They spoke for a few seconds and then the door was opened, and Jaqueline stepped inside. I wanted, so wanted, to follow but caution held me in place. Better to be safe than sorry, even here on the astral plane.

A few seconds later, voices rose. One angry and yet oddly amused, the other bitter and filled with hurt. I had no idea what they were saying, because they were speaking French, but it was very definitely Marie and Jaqueline.

Then magic rose and, a heartbeat later, Jaqueline came flying backward out of the house. She hit the ground hard and rolled several times, then simply lay there, sobbing and cursing.

Maelle had been right. Marie had no use for Jaqueline now that she had lost her magic and regained her humanity. To be honest, I was surprised she’d simply been evicted rather than dined upon.

Jaqueline lay there for a few more minutes, then rose, brushed the dirt and blood from her hands and face, and raised a fist, yelling something in French at the house. Something that very much sounded like a threat. Then she turned and limped away.

My gaze returned to the house. Dark silence had returned.

As tempting as it was to go closer, I resisted, and instead tried to follow Jaqueline and get some idea where this place was.

But tiredness pulsed through me, and an awareness of danger rose. I was draining what little remained of my strength and if I was on this plane when my strength failed, then it was possible I could be stranded here. I closed my astral eyes and imagined my room, my bed, and my sleeping body, then expressed a wish to return.

In an instant, I had, but I didn’t wake. I simply sank deeper into sleep and finally got the rest I so desperately needed.

I woke to the realization Aiden hadn’t made it home, and panic surged, even though I knew there were a dozen different and very logical reasons why he might not have, including him simply not wanting to disturb me. Logic played second fiddle to fear, however, when there were two angry vampires prowling the reservation.

I reached for my phone and called him. The phone seemed to ring on forever, which only increased my tension.

He did finally answer, though.

“Sorry,” he said, sounding tired. “Didn’t hear the phone over the noise.”

Said noise was evident in the background—sirens, men shouting, the crackle of fire. “God, don’t tell me we’ve been hit with another fireball?”

“No, just a regular old bushfire this time. It’s in the heart of the old forest behind the Eureka Reef area.”

“Meaning the smoke we smelled when we were up there was the start of it?”

“I don’t think so, because we did send a drone aloft and couldn’t find anything.” He paused, and a voice in the background said something I couldn’t quite catch. “And now we’ve got some fucking tourists sightseeing up on one of the fire roads. I’ll have to go and guide them out.”

I hesitated, wanting to tell him about what I’d seen on the astral plane, then simply said, “Okay.”

---