Page 105 of Deadly Reckoning
What the hell?
Why does my necklace feel hot?
Why does that seem like a familiar feeling to me?
“Go back to the house,” Wallace warns as he suddenly appears to my left, his back to me as he stares at something that I can’t see in the woods beyond.
Apparently, I can hear him without having to touch him anymore.
There is a moment where I consider arguing with him and asking him what’s going on, but honestly, we’ve got enough to deal with right now.
“You know what, no problem. Tell Winston I will be asking him about this at some point,” I warn Wallace.
“Understood. Now hurry, I will deal with this. There’s nothing to worry about,” he replies.
“Oh, I’m sure there is, but okay,” I reply bluntly.
Turning back around, I do as he asked and take off at a run. It’s like his appearance has triggered my instincts to come back online because I definitely don’t feel as comfortable in these woods as I did a moment ago. They seem darker, and a hell of a lot more dangerous than they did, and I love the woods. I am never uncomfortable in them.
I have this feeling that I just barely escaped with my life, and I had no idea that I was under threat in the first place, and that’s fucking terrifying.
I run faster.
Ransom
Iknow that I’m supposed to be packing all of this stuff up, and I did pack some of it up last night with Doc’s help, but I have no idea where I’m going to set this up at Neith’s place, and I don’t know how well everything is going to work there. Plus, I really want to try and sort this ward thing out before we go so that the only thing I’ve got to work on while we’re there is the blood.
However, it’s still not fucking working.
In theory, the root of the plant that I picked up yesterday should easily bridge the gap between the two ingredients that are vital to the spell, but that won’t work together.
In theory.
In practice, they’re still not cooperating, and I can’t find a single logical, magical, or scientific reason for it.
It’s driving me fucking insane.
“Come on, there’s got to be a way to make this work,” I mutter out loud.
I’m aware that it makes me sound like a crazy, magical scientist, but there’s no one in here to hear me, so does it really matter?
I’ve known that I’m crazy for a long time.
It’s not news to me.
Sighing, I decide that it might just have to be something that I figure out at House. Ethel is ancient, I have absolutely no doubt about that, maybe she’s got some sort of idea on how to make it work.
Suddenly, a force grabs the front of my shirt and pulls. I’m seconds away from blasting it with my magic when I realize that it is actually something to do with my magic, and I’m not being attacked by some kind of invisible force. It takes me longer than I care to admit to figure out why something is pulling at me, and it even takes an extra strong pull that nearly has me landing on my face, to make me realize that it wants me to go with it.
Maybe I should have gone to sleep last night after all. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious that’s what it wanted. It’s just in my nature to fight and resist.
I have no idea what’s going on, or how this magic literally has hold of the front of my shirt, almost as if in a fist, but I have learned over the years that it’s a lot easier to just go with it when magic plays up like this.
It can be pretty stubborn and almost dangerous in that stubbornness as well.
My decision to follow it turns out not to be my choice after all, because it once again tugs me forward, and I have no choice but to follow it, wherever that may be.
Surprisingly, it pulls me out of the door of my workroom and further into the house.
