Page 58 of Guardian of Shadows

Nekoma twisted the braided bracelet that contained Grevolus’s hair, then pointed to it. “I use this to sense his whereabouts. If I conclude he’s secluded, I can portal. If not, we will have to travel by... what did you call the metal wagons? Cars?” Elle nodded.

“But you portalled into my backyard,” Tony said. “How did you know there weren’t a lot of people around?

“I connected with a raven here and looked through his eyes.”

Cailín coughed. “Say what now? You can use a bird thousands of miles away to see?”

“Yes. It was part of the spell my mother cast on me. I can also call on them to create chaos, as I did when Grevolus held Elle in the basement.”

“That’s some Bran Stark shit right there,” she muttered.

Elle assumed that was some movie or book reference, so she didn’t bother to ask. “How long should we wait to head north? If he has been idle for three hours, he might have found a place to stay for the night.”

Tony squeezed her hand. “I say we give it a couple of days at least. If he’s stopped at a hotel, then he’ll be moving on tomorrow. I’d rather we wait until he’s found a place to live where we can confront him without humans around.”

“What about Connor’s drawing?” Cailín asked. “Tabby told me it showed an old farmhouse. A different one than where he and Elle lived. Harlow, could you do your voodoo and find it with Zion Earth?”

“Can I see the drawing?” Harlow asked instead of answering the other female.

“Yeah, hang on.” Tony rose from the sofa and retreated to their bedroom where he’d placed the drawing for safekeeping. When he returned, he unrolled it and laid it out on the coffee table.

“Yeah, no. There are far too many old farmhouses between here and the coast. Even if there weren’t, this one is surrounded by trees, and the satellite wouldn’t penetrate the barrier. Our best bet is like Tony said and wait until Grevolus stops moving for a few days.”

That was fine with Elle. She wasn’t looking forward to confronting the dark fae. She prayed the three million would keep him from taking another innocent life until they found him.

Tessa called out from the kitchen, “Are you girls staying for supper?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” Cailín responded. “If Gregor’s cooking, I’m eating.”

Elle smothered a giggle. She knew the answer to that one. And she wholeheartedly agreed. Tony’s dad was an excellent cook. Both Harlow and Cailín stayed for supper. Although Elle didn’t get half of what either one spoke about, she was intrigued by the easy way they joked with each other. Cailín wasn’t one of Tony’s many cousins, but she still felt like family. Elle loved her snark and lack of filter. If she thought it, she said it, even when Harlow threatened to tell Trevor, one of Cailín’s dads.

Once they were done eating, Elle cleaned the kitchen, and Tony suggested they go outside and start a fire. Nekoma objected, since he misunderstood that they weren’t burning the standing trees, but when Elle explained what Tony meant, Nekoma was all for it. Tony showed him how to stack cut logs for optimal burning, and when it came time to light the kindling, Elle said, “I’ve got this.” She called forth two purple fireballs, launching them at the bottom of the firepit, setting the smaller twigs alight.

“Now that’s a stellar party trick,” Cailín gushed.

Gregor and Tessa brought out a cooler filled with beer and seltzers, while Tony took Nekoma with him to grab the folding camp chairs from a small barn which held a lawnmower and landscaping tools. Everyone took a chair, pulling it out of its carrying case, and unfolded it, setting it in a circle around the fire.

Tony popped the top off a beer bottle. “I should probably invest in some more permanent seating.”

“Maybe don’t get Adirondack chairs. Those suckers lean too far back,” Tessa said.

Tony pulled out his phone and searched for a photo, then showed it to Elle. “This is what she’s talking about.” Nekoma leaned across Elle so he could also see the picture.

“If you wish, I can build something similar that sits more upright,” Nekoma offered.

“That’d be awesome, man. I’ll get the supplies and pay you for your time.”

Nekoma leaned back. “Payment isn’t necessary. I enjoy building furniture. I do it in Autumnvale, and my mother trades it at the market for blankets and vegetables.”

“Is she going to be okay while you’re here?” Elle asked.

“Yes. I spend several moon cycles building smaller items she keeps stored in case I’m away when it’s time for the market. She is good with craftwork and sells her own items. Also, fae come to her when they need remedies and pay her either in coin or wares of their own making.”

“What’s a moon cycle?” Harlow asked.

“Evyndral has two moons, and they move in opposite directions. From the time they overlap until the next is about three weeks here.”

Harlow leaned her elbows on her thighs, letting her seltzer can dangle between her legs. “What else is different?”

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