Page 19 of Wicching Hour

He turned and gave me a rare smile. “We think alike. I’m sure I have it in one of my journals. I’ll look when we get home. I’ll make a copy of it for her.”

Hearing him call our placehomewarmed my heart.

Orla returned a few minutes later with a mug for Bracken and then she looked at Declan and me. “Did you want tea as well?”

We both shook our heads.

“My favor,” I said, trying to get us back on track, “is to ask if you’d be willing to fly along the coast—Bracken can show you where—and see if you see or hear or smell anything off. We believe my cousin is holed up in a house that’s been warded to keep it safe from detection. We were just driving the 17-Mile Drive tonight, searching for any kind of magical buzz.”

Bracken handed me his mug and took one of his journals out of his tweed sport coat pocket. He most often dressed like an absent-minded professor, with mildly rumpled shirts and worn jackets with leather elbow patches.

He flipped open the journal and took out an old hand-drawn map. “Do you see here, where it saysshades? We believe that refers to the lair Corey sorcerers have been using for generations.”

“Not a terribly accurate rendering, is it?” she observed.

Shaking his head, he said, “It is not. Ergo, our need for help.”

“Honestly,” I said, “at this point, it would be great if you could fly the whole coastline, from maybe Santa Cruz down to Point Sur State Park. I’m not sure how big of an ask that is.” I grimaced. “I’ve seen a vision of where she is. I know it’s on the water and we know that she has to be close to do what she does.”

“We also know,” Declan said, “that there’s been an uptick of violent crimes in Monterey over the last decade or so when one sorcerer—Arwyn’s aunt—and then her apprentice—Arwyn’s cousin—were working with demons. From what we’ve been told, when a sorcerer is working in a particular area, the evil seeps into the community, affecting humans and supernaturals alike. Because crimes are up here and not north or south of us, we think she’s nearby.”

Orla nodded slowly, thinking. “I can close early over the next few days and go out searching. I’ll take smaller sections and go over them multiple times. I don’t think it would be helpful to fly the entire coastline at once. You’ll get an answer faster, but if they’ve stayed hidden for generations, finding them will be more challenging than spotting a smoking chimney in the middle of nowhere.”

“True,” Bracken said before drinking his tea.

“If you could do that,” I said, “we would all be incredibly grateful.”

Orla looked up at the clock over the front door. “My regulars usually arrive by midnight or one. I’ll close after that and then begin the hunt.” She glanced at Bracken’s pocket, where he’d stowed his journal. “I have a better map than that one. I’ll make note at the end of each night’s flight if I’ve found anything I think you should study more closely.”

“That would be fantastic,” I said. “Thank you.”

Bracken’s attention had drifted to the bookcases. I knew Declan wanted to leave ten minutes ago, but I also loved that Bracken seemed comfortable here.

“We should come back soon so you can browse Orla’s books,” I suggested.

Bracken’s attention snapped back to Orla. “Yes. I’d very much like that. I too have a large collection, though mine are predominantly old histories, not new fiction. Once we have solved our problem, I’d love to come back. You, too, may visit my home and see my books anytime you wish.”

Orla, eyes bright with interest, bowed her head, accepting the offer.

“Great,” Declan said. “Orla, it was good to see you again, but we need to get going. I have a pack meeting tonight.”

Orla stared a moment and then nodded. “It’s good to get the wolves away from the sorcerer. You have too much natural aggression as it is.” She opened the book in her hand and wandered off, already reading as she disappeared behind a bookcase.

Declan and I looked at each other in surprise. We’d known she was smart, but to have made that connection so quickly was remarkable.

“Let’s hit it,” I said.

We all walked out and piled back into Declan’s truck. He dropped Bracken and me off in front of the gallery and drove off, heading out of town later than he’d intended. The responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. He knew the safety of our community relied on him wearing out the wolves.

TEN

A Hard Truth

“I’ve had a thought,” Bracken said, as we rounded the gallery into the parking lot where his RV was situated. “But first I want to know if this arrangement is working for you?” He glanced over and then looked out at the water again. “Do you mind having me living so close, visiting so often?”

I reached over and patted his arm. “I didn’t know what it would be like when I invited you to stay.”

His shoulders tensed, as though waiting for the blow. For a man who’d been overlooked and pushed away for most of his life, this heartbreaking hope and world-weariness tore at me.

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