He steps forward and levels his eyes with me.Has he always smelled this good?“I swear to you, Luther.I have your back.”When he touches my shoulder, sparks go up and down my arm.
All too soon, I pull away and stride onward, leading him past the double doors to the lobby.“Good.Because I’m gonna be on you during this mission.”Shit, why did I say it like that?
“My kind of plan,” he replies softly.I can hear his smile even without looking at him, and dammit, I’m smiling, too.
It’s dusk by the time Max parks the rental car near the farmhouse.The journey to Quebec was instantaneous, but procuring a vehicle and driving all the way out to the middle of nowhere took some time.At least it’s not just Necia and me in the dead of night.
My gaze drifts to Taz only once in the side mirror as we get out of the car.He looks delectable in his blue-striped button-down shirt and black tie, but I need to focus.
Clearing my throat, I ask, “You have the binder’s jar?”
“Yup,” Necia replies, patting her trench coat pocket.
“There weren’t any reports of Other Side activity here,” Max remarks as we walk past the tall grass.
“That’s what they said last time.Now we have to always be ready,” I reply.
“We got four of us.We’ll be ready,” Taz says with surety.
“Gosh, I’m glad we’re back on a mission together.”Max beams at Taz and touches his shoulder.“Just like our school days.”
A tiny flare of annoyance blooms in my chest.Max is straight; they’re just buddies, and I don’t care that Taz is smiling at him.
“I’m only here to undo any hexes,” Taz says.
“And we should all be sharp.So let’s remain quiet so we can sneak up on whatever is here,” I say to the pair behind me.When I turn back around, Necia gives me an unimpressed look.My best friend can read me like a pamphlet, but I refuse to interpret what she’s implying.
That’s going into the bucket of denial marked “Taz makes me act weird.”
The massive white farmhouse is on the outskirts of a tiny village less than a kilometer away.Chief Tuttle reported it to be abandoned; all the more reason to dig into the dark magic being practiced here.We enter the massive barn, and my eyes have to squint to get used to the lack of natural light.
It’s quiet, but it seems a little too clean.
“Bonsoir!Il y a quelqu’un?”Max asks out loud.
“Hello.We’re with Canadian Intelligence,” Necia hollers.
No response, so I nod at the others.Wordlessly, we take out our flashlights.We observe hay and farm tools littered about, but most of the stalls look like they haven’t been touched in months.
“The ground,” I whisper.My four teammates bring their lights down to gaze at what I’m referring to.
“What?”Max asks quietly.
“If this place is abandoned…”
“Then why are there fresh boot tracks?”Necia asks, finishing my sentence.
My heart pounds in my throat, and I reach for my geo arcanum, hoping the others are ready for anything.When we turn a corner past a wooden partition, I freeze up.
Runes are painted all over the walls in what is presumably blood.And there’s a table in the center.My breath leaves my throat when I shine my flashlight on the wooden table.
A person is bound, gagged, and tied to it.
“It’s an altar,” I mutter.Necia and Max quickly move to untie the person as I survey the surroundings in horror.We studied violent rituals in school, but to see one in the modern day is unheard of.
“A sacrifice,” Taz says, staring up at the runes.
“But for what?”I murmur, next to him.
