Simon looked over his shoulder. Shanna tried a pale, apologetic smile.
“So, what can I book you for?”
Shanna shrugged at Simon’s uncertain look. If it’s been dry for two weeks, the temporary waterfalls would surely be gone. And there was no chance they’d be able to match the mountainside alone for the right place.
“Can we get thePride of MILF?” Chris said.
The counter attendant looked at the floor, holding back a smile.
“What?” Chris shrugged. “Look.”
The small fleet of tourist ships was visible through the all-glass wall; one had theORDpart of its name covered up by a column, forming a new one.
“Let me get back to you on that,” Simon said to the counter attendant, and the three of them stepped away, huddling around the seats in the middle of the building.
“Going out there doesn’t make much sense if we can’t even see the waterfall,” Simon said. “We’ll have to wait for rain.”
Shanna bit her lip. With her luck, Milford Sound might turn into a desert while she was here. And even though Simon said he wasn’t in a hurry and it didn’t matter if he returned home in a day or a week, she knew he was itching to get back, and she’d already delayed them for at least a day. It couldn’t be easy, knowing one of his best friends betrayed him, tried to kill him, and took over his company, and he was trapped on the other side of the world.
“Maybe I can bring rain,” she murmured, wringing her hands.
“What?” Simon and Chris said in unison.
“There are spells. For weather. But my previous attempts …” She hugged her middle. “Directing the forces of nature isn’t easy. And with my capabilities … oh, never mind.”
“Wait.” Simon touched her shoulder. “That’s a great idea.”
“Yeah, sounds dope,” Chris said. “What do we do?”
As different as Simon and Chris were from each other, currently, their faces mirrored equal fascination, making Shanna wish so badly she could deliver on her promise. “We’d need a secluded place outside where I can draw the grid. I have my kit in the car.”
“I’ll find the place for the ritual,” Chris said.
“We can go to the car,” Simon said, then added to Chris, “Meet us outside, by the lookout point?”
She nodded and scattered. Shanna watched her go, her chest contracting. Chris and Simon being so eager to help filled herwith indescribable happiness, a reassurance of support, but also with gut-wrenching nervousness. Why, oh why, did she offer this? She’d just failed spellcasting two days in a row, and now she intended to attempt a spell she couldn’t pull off even on her best day?
“Car?” Simon prompted.
“Just a second.” She walked outside to the harbor as he shadowed her. Beyond the boats opened a fantastic view of pointed, snow-capped mountains slicing the waters of the fjord, mingling their dark reflections with the reflections of the clear blue sky above. A triangle-shaped mountain rose in the center of her view, splitting the fjord in half, with one side continuing toward the open ocean and the other opening into a thick forest, with a glacier rising over it.
The view calmed her, but Shanna didn’t come outside only for it.
The first few groups of tourists were boarding boats; a smaller group was drifting toward the fjord in kayaks. “I’m sorry I’ll have to ruin it,” Shanna murmured.
Simon followed her around like a loyal puppy as she walked around the building. At the mouth of the river, away from the harbor, she captured fresh water in a bottle, and after seeing the blackboard-written breakfast menu at the restaurant, they kindly let her borrow a piece of chalk. Finally, they circled back to the car.
“A kit for Her Witchiness.” Simon reached into the trunk, handing her the bag with a little flourish.
Shanna accepted it with a nervous, paper-thin smile.
They reconvened with Chris, who led them to a spot she’d found in the woods. It was a short walk from the footpath alongside the harbor; a small clearing, with the trees around thick enough to block the sun.
“It’s perfect.” Shanna started collecting sticks, marking each with chalk and assembling the grid. Three smaller circles, connected by lines, forming a triangle; each line split in half, leading to a larger circle in the middle, where she’d put her focusing crystal and a bowl of herbs.
With that done, she paused on the edge of the clearing, observing her work.
Simon came up to her. “It looks good.”
