Page 31 of Wolf, Willow, Witch
“The Lord will keep her,” Tehlor said because it was the only reasonable thing she could possibly do.Give them obedience. Show them you’re on their side. Be agreeable.
Amy beamed. Satisfaction slackened Phillip’s face, but Rose looked entirely unimpressed. Still, the house echoed her.
“The Lord will keep her,” rang out, spoken in unison.
Tehlor steadied herself, willed her smile to stay sweet, and told her body to withstand the panic gracefully.Don’t let them see you afraid.She closed her eyes, nodding along to the sound of fifty voices, and brought her thrift store crucifix to her mouth, kissing it. Lincoln pressed against her back, staying close. The heat of him sank through her clothes and a foolish, half-baked thought ran through her mind.My vorðr would rip you all apart.But she didn’t know that for sure. Not anymore.
“Let’s get you home,” Lincoln said.
“Leaving already?” Rose asked. She eased from the crowd and gave Tehlor a quick once over. “I put your shoes by the door.”
Tehlor swallowed hard. “Oh, thank you.”
Her spindly hands landed below Tehlor’s elbows and swept upward, caging her there, holding her captive. Rose met her eyes and Tehlor knew a searching look like that. It was the same expression cops, and priests, and savvy shop clerks wore. Suspicion shielded by strength.
“Your baptism will be beautiful. Drowning your past, emerging new…” Rose said and centered Tehlor’s crucifix overtop of her high-necked dress. “It’s the godliest thing we can do, I think. Give ourselves to fate and let the Lord decide if we’re worthy.”
“Holy Father speaks through you, Rose. I’m just happy to be here.”
Rose’s smile sharpened. She leaned closer, pressing a chaste kiss to Tehlor’s cheek. “And as the Lord kept us, we too shall keep you.”
The hair on Tehlor’s nape stood. She brushed her lips across Rose’s cheek, mimicking her, and then stepped backward, allowing Lincoln to reach out and clasp Phillip’s hand. They said their goodbyes through manufactured smiles and fake laughter, waving joyfully as they slipped through the front door.
Once they were across the street, Tehlor quickened her pace, clutching her heels and purse in one hand and fumbling for the handle on the passenger’s door with the other. She tossed the keys at Lincoln. The frozen ground left her bare feet numb and chapped. She rubbed them together and shivered, pulling Gunnhild out of her coat pocket.
Lincoln climbed into the driver’s seat. Anger tightened his handsome face. “What the fuck was that?”
“It’s over. We’re done, we’re packin’ it in.”
“What?”
“They already used it—the breath, the relic,whatever—can you drive, please?” She flung her free hand toward the slowly defrosting windshield. “It’s too late. There’s literally nothing to steal, so we’re done. We’re not going back—”
“Tehlor, c’mon. There’s no way—”
“You weren’t there,” she snapped. Gunnhild squeaked, startled by her shrill voice. Tehlor held the rat beneath her chin and mumbled an apology. “You didn’t hear whatever they’ve got locked behind that door, okay?”
Lincoln stayed quiet. He faced forward in the seat and inhaled a long, deep breath, sighing thoughtfully.
The windshield cleared. He yanked on the gear shifter and hit the gas.
Gideon passed by in swathes of glittering white and dark brick, naked trees and black skies. Tehlor chewed her lip. Fear influenced her the way it did most mid-sized hunters. Like a fox, she assessed her prey carefully, silent and smart. And like a fox, she knew better than to continue a hunt after she’d been bested. Rose was a grizzly with an army of sharp-toothed minions at her disposal. Going up against her and Haven was a death wish. And that thing.That thing.She still felt its breath on her ear. Still felt the cold dread creeping along her insides.
Tehlor had reached for power, had called to her magic, but she hadn’t been able to summon anything more than panic.
Forgive me, she thought, calling out to Hel.For weakness prevailed when strength was needed.
“I think you’re overreacting,” Lincoln said, steady and too calm.
“If you try to make me feel crazy about this, I’ll get crazy. I’ll get real fuckin’ crazy, Lincoln,” she bit out, glaring at him. “Whatever they’ve got in that house, it’s not anything I’ve dealt with before. Witchcraft, potions, curses, sacrifices, spirit boards, I can deal with that shit. But this was…” She pictured the battered fingers curved around the bottom of the door, beckoning her. “This was some exorcist stuff, okay? Straight Linda Blair shit.”
He guided the truck into the driveway and parked, nodding along as she spoke. His two-toned eyes remained soft yet attentive, but his mouth curved into a smile, expression strung between confidence and something else. Excitement. Hunger.
“Not anythingyou’vedealt with,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Right, I forgot, you’re a demonologist who definitely has experience handling one of the most powerful religious relics rumored to exist,” she deadpanned.
“I’m a demonologist who definitely has experience dealing with literal demons,” he shot back and came around the car to open her door. “Now tell me what happened.”
