Page 40 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“All right, but I thought you said you weren’t able to get a fix on Spooner’s frequency. How do you know he’s moving?”

“When I realized he had blocked his sig amber I went old-school. I got a fix on the tracking device the rental company put on his car.”

“Is that legal?”

“I’ve never actually asked that question.”

They reached the Slider. He released her arm. She slipped into the passenger seat. He loped around to the driver’s side. By the time she got her seat belt fastened, the powerful vehicle was in motion, shooting down the driveway. The heavy gates were already swinging open.

Ethan glanced at his watch as he drove out of the garden. “Looks like Spooner’s heading for the Shadow Zone.”

She was intensely aware of the energy in the atmosphere of the front seat. Ethan was rezzed. The hunter in him had surfaced. She knew that sort of energy. She had picked up similar vibes from the members of the FBPI task force team.

“You know,” she said, “there might not be anything sinister about Spooner’s visit to the Shadow Zone. It’s popular with tourists who arelooking for the old-fashioned Illusion Town experience. It’s got lots of atmosphere.”

“It’s also got a lot of fog and minimal security, which makes it an excellent location for a meeting with someone you’d rather not be seen with.”

“Good point,” she said.

Ethan piloted the Slider through the narrow streets and pulled into her driveway a short time later. She got her door open before the vehicle stopped, then jumped out and looked back at him.

“Go,” she said. “I can get myself through the front door of my own home.”

“I’ll call you,” he said, putting the car in gear.

She smiled. “I’ll bet you say that to all your dates.”

“Damn it, Ravenna—”

“Just teasing. Go on. Do what you have to do.”

She closed the door and stepped back to watch him race off into the night.

A set of blinding headlights appeared at the other end of the driveway. A big vehicle drove toward the house, effectively blocking the way out.

Her first thought was that someone who didn’t know the DZ had taken a wrong turn and wound up in her front yard. Before she could sort out what was happening, she realized that Ethan had slammed on the brakes and was leaping out of the Slider.

“Open the door,” he ordered.

She obeyed without thinking. Whirling, she turned and rezzed the lock. She had the door open by the time Ethan reached her. They plunged into the hall.

Ethan slammed the door, set the lock, and turned to look at her. “Feels like a hit team. Downstairs. Now. We’ll go into the tunnels. Odds will be better there.”

Outside, vehicle doors slammed open. Ravenna ran for the basement door, Ethan hard on her heels. She got the door open and started down the steps. Ethan paused long enough to bolt the door, and then he followed her.

She raced across the basement to the vault door that sealed the entrance to the tunnels.

“Amber check,” Ethan snapped.

She focused briefly and got a reassuring ping from her earrings and bracelet.

“I’m good,” she said.

She rezzed the lock. The vault door swung open.

“Go,” Ethan said.

She went through the fissure in the quartz wall and into the glowing Underworld.

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