Timber looked out the window, then at the laptop. Four views showed on the screen. An empty living room. Two outside views in the window, and a dark room.
“Nothing going on over there right now,” Seb said. “The young are napping.” He tapped the dark room. “Write yourobservations on the top of the hour, every hour. You only gotta worry if they do anything demonic.”
“And then what, I call you?”
Seb slapped a keyring on the table with a single key. “Key to the house. Notify Wade, then kill them both.”
Timber didn’t say anything. He picked the key up, then put it back down gently, then said. “Maybe I’ll wait for you.”
“Maybe you’ll doom everyone.”
“I gotta kill babies!?”
“Only if they do something, you know, use powers, or grow horns or tails, or speak in tongues.”
“Okay, okay,” Timber said. He sat down grumpily. “Hurry the fuck back.”
Sebastian left. He jogged to his own truck, which was parked several blocks away. He drove through town, heading west toward Trevor’s place, running over everything he knew about the witch in his mind.
He arrived, drove slowly up the driveway with his windows down, listening for any word from his wolf. Trevor’s house came into view, and he stared intently at it, checking each window in turn, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Sebastian parked in Trevor’s spot and got out of his truck, filtering the sounds and scents of VF. The house itself should be empty, but it seemed like a whole mess of people were out back. Sebastian went up the porch steps on high alert. The front door was unlocked, and he pushed it open, then closed and locked it behind him. He stood in the foyer for a few minutes, listening, assessing.
The witch had a presence for sure. It was light, and concentrated strangely, but definitely there.
Sebastian went to the back door and locked it, then pulled the drapes shut. He strode through the house, makingsure no people were inside and mentally marking off areas where the witch wasnot.
Within five minutes, he was back near the front door. He walked into the living room, eyes roaming over the coffee table, the couch, the TV, the rug. He sat on the couch, then he sat in another chair. He put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back like he was lounging, but really, he was examining the ceiling and the high corners. He dropped his feet back to the floor, then examined it. He lifted the rug. He went to the TV and ran his hands over it, then sat in each chair and love seat near it. He listened and he scented and he sensed, until he was absolutely certain of what he was perceiving.
Near the middle of the room, just above his head, he found what he was looking for: a spot of alive energy. He circled the spot slowly, reaching out with his mind. It was small, about the size of a toaster. The air in this spot shimmered and moved ever so slightly. Sebastian reached up and swiped a hand through it. His skin chilled until his bones ached. He dropped his hand, knowing he had found the nexus.
Sebastian stared at it. He walked under it. He walked around it, his mind focused and probing. He’d never dealt with this kind of situation before, but he was confident he could square it away. He knew enough about White and her operations and he’d had enough near-misses with her, that he knew her in some small way. It was clear to him that she was somehow able to hold this tiny energy-window open and hear through it, maybe see through it, which was some prime bullshit, in his opinion.
“Be-fucking-gone,” Sebastian barked at the spot, loud and quick and staccato.
Nothing happened. He may have heard wispy laughter from above his head.
Sebastian growled, then said, “Your invitation is withdrawn. You’re not welcome, so get the fuck out, witch.”
No response. The cube of cold energy remained. Sebastian paced around it, thinking about what he could do to get her to respond.
“You’re Boe’s sister, aren’t you?” he said slyly. There was no response.
“Which means you’remarked.”
Still no response.
Sebastian thought some more, then reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He opened it and dug into it, pulling out his most precious possession. It was a warped and worn coin that he’d carried with him since he was 12. He flipped the coin in the air, tossing it through the cold shimmering spot, then catching it in his hand. The shimmering spot seemed to quicken and solidify, then a flat POP sounded in the room and a note dropped to the floor.
Sebastian laughed quietly. He didn’t have to read the note to know what it said.
I want it.
“I know you do, witch. Get out.”
POP. Another note. Seb didn’t have to read this one either.
You’ll give it to me if I go?
