He searches my face for a long moment. Then exhales, loud and dramatic. "Fine. But if we get captured and tortured, I'm blaming you."
"Deal."
This time I take shotgun, Rowan and Orion wedged into the backseat. I hold the stone flat on my palm, watching the pointed end. "Straight. Keep going straight."
Asher backs us out of the driveway and follows my pointed finger. The stone stays locked on its target, and so do we. I can’t help but think that it’s both good and bad that I’m able to track him on the physical plane.
Yes, it’s good that I can use our connection and find him, but it means he’s a solid enough presence to be found.
We drive in silence. The streets feel too quiet. No joggers. No kids on bikes. Even the traffic lights seem dimmer, like the town's holding its breath.
"Turn left at the intersection."
Asher flicks on the turn signal. The stone shifts fractionally, correcting our course.
The tugging grows stronger. Each pulse thrums deeper, resonating in my bones. My chest feels tight—not from panic, but fromrecognition. Like my body knows what's coming before my brain catches up.
"Right here. The next right."
We turn onto a narrow road that curves past the old fairgrounds, and the air changes. It hangs heavy, closing in on us.
Then, the wind falls still.
Completely.
The trees stop moving. Leaves hang suspended. Even the truck's exhaust seems to curl and stall instead of drifting away.
"Okay, that's creepy," Rowan whispers.
My skin prickles. Demonic energy crawls over my arms, raising goosebumps. The bond thrums inside me, calling on the darkness I’ve locked away.
For a brief moment, I feel him—brutal and arrogant.
Tharuzel is no longer a shadow of darkness locked in a pocket realm. He exists in a state of flesh, bone, and hunger, confident he will break free of the outer ward at any time.
I gasp, backing away.
"Poppy?" Orion leans forward. "What just happened?"
I swallow against the metallic taste flooding my mouth.
“Asher, we’re too close. Take us back to the corner. Orion, drop a pin and call the Brigade.”
Asher shifts the truck into reverse and turns to look out the back window and back us up. The farther we get, the better Ifeel. Once we’re back at the corner, Asher pulls the truck onto the graveled shoulder and stops at the mouth of the access road. “Okay, P, what’s going on?”
“Tharuzel’s gained his physical form... and I think he’s about to break the outer ward."
"Shit," Asher breathes.
After another look, I realize exactly where we are.
The building, half-hidden behind a stand of skeletal trees, was shut down when I was a kid. Its brick walls are stained with decades of neglect. Its windows were long ago shattered and boarded up. The waterwheel sits frozen, wrapped in vines.
"He’s at the old mill," I whisper.
The stone’s pull is still insisting we move closer, so I end the spell. My hands tremble, my knuckles white around the chalk-dusted edges.
“Now what?” Asher asks.
