The line had been tripped.
The hunters pulled weapons.
Josie, from above said, “Entrance.”
Lu drew her knives.
“Abbi,” I said.I pivoted and ran back to the garage, Lu on my heels.
Abbi stood in the back of the truck, her magic mortar and pestle in her hands, Lorde on guard next to her.
“Are you okay?”I asked, reaching over the side of the truck to touch her arm.
“Someone’s out there,” she said.
“Good evening, Gauges,” a male voice echoed through the garage, the halls, the rooms.“We need to talk.”
CHAPTERNINE
The alarm silenced, but everything was still bathed in red light.
“Who?” Lula mouthed.
Abbi tipped her head to the side, a motion so like a rabbit it would have been cute if the secret bolt hole—that no monster, god, or man could find—hadn’t just been found.
“Ricky?”Abbi asked.
I shook my head.Ricky was Lula’s, well, now also my, good friend.She was a Crossroads, a person who guarded a magical house near Route 66 where all manners of supernaturals could claim sanctuary.
But that was a male voice, not Ricky’s.
“I know you’re not alone,” the voice said.“I promise you, I am here to help you.”
I rolled my eyes.We’d heard that so many times, it was ridiculous.
“Wizard.”Pamela strode into the garage, a scrying crystal glowing in her hand.“Here, I’ll show you.”
She sprinkled what looked like sand over the crystal.
The glow caught the sand, growing flat and bright over the bowl until it was the size of a small movie screen.
A bird’s eye view appeared in the glow, angled from above looking down.It swooped then hovered in front of a man.
He was built strong, like a rugby player, his bare arms tattooed with overlapping designs which flowed and shifted across his skin.He wore a brown shirt, tan pants, and had a twig of a pecan tree tucked behind his ear.
His intensely green eyes were narrowed and every inch of him signaled high alert.
“Cardamom,” Lu said.
Even though the crystal’s view was a little foggy, she was right.It was Ricky’s half-dryad wizard boyfriend.
At least it appeared to be him.There was no reason for him to be in New Mexico, much less in the middle of nowhere.
“You know him?”Pamela asked.
“Ricky’s boyfriend,” Lu said.
“Ricky Vargas?”
