Page 37 of Signs and Wonders

7

EVAN

Evan triedto play it cool even though his heart raced. He drew on his experience as a bartender, chitchatting with strangers and watching every little detail. When he answered the questions of the overly friendly lodge staff, he tried to make sure he conveyed information to Seth and hoped this whole outing would be useful.

Knowing that Seth could hear everything eased his stress. Seeing Travis outside helped too. Evan knew that if push came to shove, he wasn’t exactly helpless on his own, but he preferred not to test his luck.

Evan also had the auris charm to help protect him against lies and manipulation, which made him more confident. And he had wooden sigil disks in his pocket to channel his own minor magic quickly.

The event filled the library’s community room. Colorful displays on tables along the walls showed photos of the lodge buildings and interiors. If the place really looked as good as the pictures, someone had put serious money into bringing the abandoned Mountain Laurel Lodge back from oblivion and turning it into Swain’s Summit.

One of the things Evan noticed immediately was a symbol that hadn’t been on the flier but was everywhere on the posters and materials—a heraldic shield with two crossed keys behind it. He committed the symbol to memory and vowed to find out more when the meeting was over.

Evan mumbled about the photos as if he was talking to himself. “They’ve got an outdoor pool and a spa in what looks to be a natural cave underneath the building. Big dining room, large gathering hall…some of the sleeping rooms are in the main lodge, and the rest are in outbuildings. Looks nice.”

A cave with a pool? Like in Drake’s vision? That can’t be a coincidence.

He had hidden his phone so it couldn’t be taken away, but that kept him from snapping photos. Evan looked for likely places Swain might have hidden his anchor or where he could possibly do his ritual but didn’t expect to find them on the public map.

There are a lot of woods around the resort. I wonder if any old outbuildings exist from the lodge’s past. Maybe a few caves or old mine entrances? If Swain wasn’t using the camp anymore, then everything has to be close to the lodge.

Evan did his best to look engaged and interested while analyzing everything he saw. The four “guides” all looked to be in their early thirties. Their “business casual” style walked a line between looking professional and remaining casual enough to sell the Renou-Vous experience as relaxing.

Despite the friendly greeting, Evan tried not to fidget. Intuition told him something wasn’t right, and he had learned the hard way to trust his gut. Despite his protests to Seth, he wished his partner was beside him.

Evan tried to figure out what made him jumpy. Given the room full of people, he wasn’t worried about physical danger. Staying away from eating and drinking ruled out getting drugged, and he doubted Swain intended to use sleeping gas on the whole library to kidnap them.

Maybe my bullshit meter is just finely tuned to being manipulated. God knows enough people in my past tried.

Like in any sales presentation, the cheerful friendliness was insincere. As they took their seats, Evan sized up the other attendees. They ranged in age from thirties to fifties, with most falling toward the younger end of the range. Most were trim and looked like they probably favored yoga or running over lifting weights. Although price hadn’t been discussed, the crowd looked reasonably well-off.

Evan didn’t expect Swain to make an appearance since the witch disciple’s picture didn’t appear anywhere in the resort materials. Two guides ushered a distinguished-looking man in a linen shirt and loose slacks into the room and toward the podium.

“Everything okay? You stopped talking—” Seth’s voice cut off mid-sentence.

Evan didn’t dare check his connection, trusting that his hidden phone would continue to record even if something disrupted the wire he wore. He wondered if someone had used a signal-dampening device to ensure confidentiality, although so far, the event had hardly been worthy of top-secret handling.

He took a deep breath to calm himself.Seth knows where I am. Travis is just outside. We’re still in a public library. Seth doesn’t need to storm the gates armed to the teeth, and Travis doesn’t need to raise an army of the dead. No one else here has probably even realized the cell signal dropped.He let his hand curl around the magic-dampening charm he wore and felt glad that the auris talisman protected him from being manipulated.

“Welcome. I’m pleased to see so many smiling faces,” the older man greeted the crowd. “I’m Paul Wellington, one of the mentors for Renou-Vous. Thank you for coming. I’ll make this short so you have time to look at the materials and ask questions of our guides.

“Summit Lodge and the Renou-Vous seminar program are different from the other spas and retreat centers you might have encountered,” he continued. “We’re not as luxurious as some, although visitors will confirm that the rooms are comfortable and the food is amazing. We aren’t in a prestigious location, although the mountain views in the morning are second to none. But what we can offer you is magic.”

Evan’s ears pricked up at that. Some in the audience smiled at the word, while others appeared to remain hopefully skeptical. Only Evan knew how true that statement might be.

Does Swain bewitch them to take their energy and give them some sort of euphoria? Maybe he uses his abilities to make sure they don’t notice anything strange.

“You’ll feel better than ever, sleep well, get your appetite back if it’s been missing—and more,” the man promised. “Follow the program while you’re a guest, and it will change your life. You won’t just be rested—you’ll berenewed.”

The speaker left the stage to scattered applause, and the woman who had greeted Evan took his place. “It’s hard to follow that, but we’ll do our best. Come get some refreshments, look at the posters, and ask plenty of questions. And if you’re ready to make the best decision of your life, we are booking reservations for all programs—including our overnight introductory session.”

To Evan’s surprise, no one made a beeline to the door. His hand went to the deflection necklace at his throat, and he wondered if a hex bag or spell on the room increased audience receptiveness.

Watching the others speak with the guides, Evan thought the ones who were most engaged seemed a little lost. He remembered what it had been like before Richmond, when he had fled an abusive boyfriend and been disowned by his family, bouncing from one temporary gig to another until he had gotten the job at Treddy’s bar, where his co-workers made him feel like he belonged.

Now that he and Seth were together, he had a partnership and a purpose. They had friends like Travis and Brent. Sometimes Evan felt exhausted, and there were moments of sheer terror, but now that he had a found family, he never felt alone.

That’s how Swain and his shills suck in the most vulnerable people. They’re promising peace and community. It’s compelling, and people who are desperate and lonely won’t look too hard at the details. They might also not be noticed quickly if they vanish.

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