She shrugged and stared aimlessly out her window. “This is where I sense it.”
Silas scanned the horizon for anything unusual. They passed Monk’s Hill cemetery and Grateful’s house, continuing through the tiny town of Red Grove. Nothing. A few miles past Laina’s cabin, they were officially in the middle of nowhere.
“It’s here,” Nickelova said.
“Here? There’s nothing out here.” Jason pumped the breaks and scanned the area.
“It’s here. I can feel it.” Nickelova stared at the field on the side of the road. A few trees grew in the expanse of space, but nothing dense enough to hide Alex.
“Why would he even be out here?” Silas said. None of this made sense. “Is Alex invisible?”
“I don’t know if he’s invisible,” Nickelova snapped. “You ordered me to bring you to Alex by tracking the power of the amulet. I feel the amulet here, and Alex would never go anywhere without it. That’s all I know.”
Silas called Grateful.
Polina answered her phone. “It’s just me, Silas. Grateful is, uh—”
“You’ve got to be kidding me—”
“At the hospital with Rick, giving birth.”
“We can’t turn back, Polina. Alex has Laina.” Silas exchanged a worried glance with Jason.
“Relax. There’s no turning back. I can do this. I’m watching you in my magic mirror, and Logan is nearby.”
“Nickelova says Alex is here, but I see nothing.”
“I have a vision of you hugging Laina, but the image is fuzzy,” Polina said. “I think the dragon fae magic is interfering with my divination.”
“Well, there’s a whole lotta nothing out here. Unless Alex has made himself a cloak of invisibility,” Silas said.
“I can see it now. Laina is there, Silas. Somewhere. I’m sending Logan.”
“Not too close. I don’t want to scare him away.” Silas ended the call and climbed from the car, opening the back door for Nickelova. “You lead the way.”
Nickelova hesitated for a moment, scanning the field.
Silas exchanged glances with Jason.
“It’s this way.” She strode toward two trees in the distance, Silas and Jason following close behind.
“Why do I feel like she’s not telling us everything?” Jason said.
“Because she’s a tyrannical killer who almost ate your fiancée.”
“Yep. That’s why.”
Nickelova stopped short of the area between the two trees. “Why did you stop? Where’s Alex?” Silas demanded.
She raised one hand, a look of confusion on her face.
“Did you see that?” Jason asked.
“What?”
“The air near Nickelova’s hand kind of shimmered. I feel like I’ve seen this before.” Jason tipped his head to the side and squinted.
“I can feel it,” Nickelova said. She stepped forward and extended her arm. Her hand perforated the misty afternoon light and disappeared to the elbow.
