“Taranis,” Chris started with great zest. She closed her eyes. “May you shake the fjords like they’ve never been shaken before. And in the wise words of AC/DC, let it so happen all night long.” She opened one eye, squinting at Shanna. “They’re Australian. Close enough?”
A bit unorthodox, but given Shanna mixed her own practices, she had nothing to complain about. She smiled at Chris. “Perfect.”
Chris gave a few short claps. “And that’s for the thunder.”
“Now you,” Shanna said to Simon.
Simon closed his eyes as well. He let out a low, almost mournful whistle, running through the forest and rustling the trees. “Aurai. May you bring forward the wind to blow away our mistakes, our masks, our misconceptions, and leave only us.”
Shanna forgot where she was standing, her focus given solely to Simon. She’d expected him to go with something businesslike, perhaps try to negotiate with the nymph. Not something so … sincere.
He whistled again, then opened one eye. “Good?”
She smiled at him, holding back the burning in her eyes. It was beautiful. Now, for her part. And who better to choose than a local?
“Tangaroa,” she began. “Take the sea you reign over, and reflect it upon the sky, as it reflects upon the waters.” She took her bottle of water, positioned a flat, round stone at her feet, and let the water drip onto it; the tip-tap of the rain hopefully soon to come.
Afterward, she took a minute more to relax and meditate, clutching the crystal; the other two wordlessly followed her.No immediate change in the skies came, but Shanna felt a warmth from her connection to the crystal and her two witchy companions.
“Now what?” Chris asked once the ritual had drawn to a close, and they packed up their accessories.
“We wait,” Shanna said. “No change is immediate.”
“Sounds like lunch to me,” Chris said.
Simon looked at Shanna, raising en eyebrow. “I could go for a hot pie.” He headed after Chris.
“Hey!” Shanna checked one last time that the forest clearing had been left as found, and ran after him. “The butter chicken one is mine!”
The sun still shone as they got their orders in the restaurant, and what was initially meant to be a quick lunch—they were all eager to get on a boat and find the waterfall—turned into a very slow lunch, as no clouds appeared in the sky. They lazily strolled back to the harbor building, where they plopped down on a string of sofas and waited. Chris first got a brochure to read; then Shanna, then Simon, and an hour later, they’d circled through all of them. Three times.
“Aww, we could’ve flown back on a plane if we hadn’t brought the car here,” Shanna said, perusing a brochure offering scenic plane tours.
Simon stifled a yawn and leaned on the backrest of the sofa in search of the most comfortable position. Eventually, sleepiness overcame Shanna, too, and before she knew it, she was lying in his lap.
“Hey.” A shaking on her leg brought her back to consciousness. She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep, and she had no idea how much time had passed. The shaking came from Chris, and as Shanna stirred, the girl pointed to the glass wall. “Look.”
Beyond it, the bay of Milford Sound was shrouded in mist, ominous gray clouds lumbering above as sheets of rain pelted the building.
“You did it,” Chris said. “You totally ruined all of these guys’ afternoon. Nice.”
Shanna looked at Simon, whose hair was ruffled and his shirt crinkly, but he held her in a gaze full of happiness and admiration. “Confident, capable witch.”
It was probably her drowsiness, but gods, she wanted to smother him in kisses right now.
“Now to wait for the weather to clear and the ships to sail again.” Chris held up a brochure. “Anyone want to read about kayaking for the fourth time?”
In another hour, the thundering rain slowed down to a drizzle. Simon was about to secure them a spot on a boat when Chris said, “The note told you to go behind the waterfall, right?”
“Yes.” The question sparked curiosity in Shanna—and an immediate realization of their problem. “The boats don’t go directly to the waterfalls.”
“Close enough, maybe, but it’s not like we can jump down. Or even ask them to go close to aspecificwaterfall for us.”
Simon sat back down. “Then what?”
Chris waved with the kayaking brochure.
Simon’s face fell.
