We were loading into Lia's SUV when my phone buzzed with a text from Cami. "Emergency at the plantation. Something's wrong with the guardian spirits. They're going crazy."
"Change of plans," I announced, showing them the message. "We're all going back to Willowberry. Now."
The drive back felt like being in an Indy 500 race. I gripped the door handle as Lia took another turn a little too fast. My mind was spinning with everything. "Dea," I said, tilting my head to look at her. "Have there been more spirits hanging around Willowberry lately? Besides Mary Alice, I mean."
She had the ability to see ghosts that the rest of us couldn't. We'd made an unspoken agreement early on that she wouldn'ttell us exactly how many spirits called the plantation home. Not knowing the full extent of those who remained made it easier for Lia, Dre, and me to live there full-time.
The plantation's history was complicated. It was beautiful in some ways, and horrific in others. We knew there were souls who had never found peace. People who had suffered and died on that land through no choice of their own. We respected their presence, tried to honor their memory, but living day-to-day, knowing the exact number of those still trapped there would have been overwhelming.
Dea considered this, her brow furrowing. "There have been some newcomers, but not many. There are a few old plantation spirits who've always been around.”
"How many are we talking about total?" Kota asked.
"Maybe a dozen, give or take. They've been keeping to themselves. There weren't enough to cause any real problems." Dea paused, studying my face. "Why? What are you thinking?"
"Just trying to figure out if—" I started, but was cut off as we pulled into the parking lot.
Lia came to a screeching halt and threw the car in park. The plantation's usually peaceful grounds were in absolute chaos when we got out. There were dozens of spirits visible to all of us. They were flickering between trees like angry lightning bugs. They didn’t seem like the benevolent presences Dea had described. These spirits were agitated, aggressive, and very, very pissed off.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked Cami as we jogged toward the main house. She was beneath the portico with Cyran and about a half dozen of his relatives.
"It started about an hour ago," she explained. Her usual calm was cracking around the edges. "The spirits appeared, then became agitated, and finally downright hostile. They're not attacking anyone, but they're making it impossible for our gueststo sleep. Mary Alice is trying to calm them, but even she can't get through to them. There's something else. Look at the oak trees."
I followed her gaze, and my blood turned to ice water. The ancient oaks that had stood guard over Willowberry for centuries were changing. Their leaves were turning black, starting from the tips and spreading inward like some kind of supernatural blight.
It wasn't just the trees that caught my attention. The pixies that called the plantation home were in full panic mode. Talewen, Ceisella, Jalin, Adern, and Janoac were all flitting around furiously. Their tiny bodies left trails of sparkling pixie dust as they darted from tree to tree. Their normally cheerful chiming voices had turned into urgent, high-pitched squeaks as they worked their magic, desperately trying to combat whatever darkness was creeping through the oak's ancient bark.
Ceisella hovered near a particularly affected branch. Her hands glowed with silver light as she pressed them against the blackening leaves. They began turning green, but I felt the drain on her. Talewen and Jalin were working in tandem. They were weaving protective spells around the trunk of the largest oak. Their combined magic created ribbons of golden dust that seemed to slow the blight's progress. Adern and Janoac buzzed frantically around the canopy. Their tiny forms were barely visible except for the shimmering trails they left behind.
"The Collector's influence is spreading," I breathed, watching the pixies' desperate battle against the encroaching darkness. "It's reaching beyond the convergence points."
Even with all their magic, the pixies were fighting a losing battle. For every leaf they managed to restore, two more turned black. The sight of these usually carefree creatures working so frantically with their pixie dust falling like glitter tears made the threat feel more real than ever.
"How is that possible?" Kota demanded. "The wards should protect the property."
"Unless someone on the inside is weakening them," Lia said grimly. Just because three of Cyran’s relatives had fled earlier didn’t mean there weren’t more. "Or unless the Collector has grown strong enough to overcome them through sheer force."
“We have no idea what it’s capable of,” Kota pointed out.
Dea stepped toward the melee with her focus on the spirits. "It could be the ghosts. They aren't the same ones that were here before," she whispered.
"Do you think they were directed here by the Collector's power?" I asked.
"They could have been fleeing from it," she said, shuddering. "Either way, they're bringing whatever darkness they're carrying with them. That is what is damaging the trees."
I looked around at the gathered families. Their terror was strong enough to choke me, and I wasn’t an empath like Dea. They were clustered together, trying to get comfort from one another. These people had trusted us to protect them. And now even our safest sanctuary was being compromised. We needed to protect the plantation first. That would secure the wards.
"We need to protect the trees from the darkness and help the pixies," I said as I turned to Dea. "Can you try to cleanse the spirits of whatever darkness they're carrying?”
“Brilliant. That will keep the darkness from spreading,” Lia added.
Dre nodded and countered, “We also need to know if they're the Collector's minions or just innocent souls caught up in this mess. Either way, we can't have them causing problems at the plantation."
Dea nodded grimly. "I'll do what I can once we stabilize the trees."
Without another word, all six of us moved to the lawn next to the main house and formed a circle. We clasped hands. The familiar tingle as our magic began to sync up traveled through me, making me smile. The bond between us was unmatched and created a power few could combat. It was what had allowed us to stop Samedi.
"On three," Lia said quietly. "One... two... three!"
