“They’re good with the plan,” Diana said. “Mother made calls to the residents and they wanted to help. Many fled already, because a few demonshavepopped by, wreaking havoc. Not as many or as often as you’d guess, but often enough to spook some people. Actually, to hear Miss Iris tell it, the stronger greater demons and royals have been completely absent.”
“I wonder why they haven’t attacked the town?” Eva mused. “It clearly has a relationship with Spellcasters. Miss Iris’ father was even a headmaster.”
It was true, and Miss Iris’ café was a favorite pit stop for PIA agents—crooked or not.
Diana shrugged. “Apparently, the demons have been largely confined to the academy. Whatever the reason, we need to take advantage of that.” Her arms swung, hands clenched into tight fists, hinting that while the headmistress’ daughter was trying to play it cool, inside she was really pissed. “Word has it that at least half the town stayed behind.”
“If our fighters get there early will they be okay with people invading their town?” Hunter asked.
Diana nodded. “Mother has already mentioned that people will be arriving and will need spots to stay. Luckily, it’s such a tight-knit community that a lot of Wandstown residents have keys to their neighbors’ homes. If a home is empty, those who arrive early will use it until we join.”
I let out a long breath. Things were coming together, and my parents and other leaders were scheduled to arrive in early evening. I hoped they’d bring more good news. In the meantime, we’d spar, practice magic, and care for the ex-prisoners.
“You all saw the demons,” I began to broach the question that had been on my mind since the night in London. The one I hated considering, but couldn’t avoid any longer. “How many would you estimate there were?”
Hunter cleared his throat. “I can’t remember much of that night, aside from the fact I was nearly shitting myself the entire time.” His emerald gaze dropped to the ground, indicating that he didn’t like what he was about to say. “But if I had to guess, I would say a thousand demons flew out of the Hellgate. Maybe more.”
I closed my eyes briefly. It was more than I wanted to believe, but either way, we were outnumbered.Sooutnumbered.
“Okay,” I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt, while also changing the subject to something that didn’t make ice flow through my veins. “And we’ve been making sure everyone who joins knows the druid spells too, right? Even since we’ve been here?”
Diana nodded. “We haven’t kept any of that information secret. Witches practiced them in Faerie, and have been doing so here too. The information has been passed along to those we haven’t met too. The recruits joining us in Wandstown. Although, rumor has it that few people have had success with them.”
It figured. The druids were powerful; it made sense that not everyone could make their spells work. Still, disseminating the information was worth a shot.
We were about to turn onto a trail that led up the mountain a ways and then jogged parallel to the valley floor, when I caught a flash of movement in the woods.
“Hey there!” I called out, not wanting to startle the person when we appeared on the trail.
No one answered, although I thought I saw a flash of stark white run deeper into the forest, away from us.
My eyebrows furrowed as my hand fell to my demon dagger, nowadays always on my hip. “Did I just hallucinate, or did I really see someone?”
“I wasn’t really paying attention to the scenery,” Eva admitted.
“I didn’t see anything either,” Hunter said.
Diana gave me a concerned look. “When was the last time you slept, Dane? Did you get to nap at all when you were taking care of the prisoners?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t really rested since we arrived. I’ll try to squeeze in a nap so I’m fresh when Mom and Dad arrive. They’ll want a thorough debrief, and I need to be on my game.”
After three more claims that I’d spotted someone in the empty forest, Eva insisted that we cut our nature walk short and return to Nightdwellers so that I could lie down.
Since I felt like I was going a touch crazy, I didn’t argue.
Hours later, as the summer afternoon slipped gradually into evening, Eva woke me and told me that a runner had spotted choppers. It seemed that my parents had pulled a fewmorestrings to get additional rides into the mountains. This time there were ten aircraft, swelling our numbers greatly. The new arrivals should be here at any minute.
I rolled out of bed and stretched. My spine popped, all the way up to my neck. I sighed, feeling like a new woman.Eva had washed my clothes while I slept, and they were still warm from the dryer as I put them on. I glanced down at my all black outfit, chosen specifically for our prison infiltration, and loosed a breath. There was no longer any remnant of blood from the prison break or my caring for patients.
“Thanks for doing the wash,” I said. There had been so much going on that I hadn’t even thought about my appearance.
“I got you girl. Now come on. Let’s go meet the new arrivals.” She grabbed my hand, and I followed her through the castle.
When we made it to the front entrance, a small group had already gathered, including Diana, Alex, Hunter, and the Torna twins.
I sidled up to Alex, who gave me a squeeze. “Sleep well, sweets?”
“I feel much better. Ready to take on the world again.”
