Please let it be alive and with mystaff.
Chapter 9
This timewe didn’t leave anyone behind. Not even Hemlock or Mittens. The two had become surprisingly fond of each other. Nadine said that while Logan and I had been shacked-up at the waterfall, Mittens had snuck into the house. They’d immediately taken to each other. Now Hemlock was growling at anyone who tried to touch Mittens and Mittens was stealing Hemlock’s food and massaging his back with her paws. They were like two dysfunctional peas in a pod. After that day he’d let me feed him from my hand, his entire demeanor changed. He was like a big teddy bear, letting Mittens boss him around. He even let Nadine take his staples out and didn’t growl once. He was family, and he knew we weren’t going to hurt him. It might have helped that we gave him fresh bacon every morning. Our group was comprised of twelve supernaturals and two furbabies.
Most of the pack was in the bus, while Eva, Logan, and I followed closely behind in my car with Hemlock and Mitsy. We were about thirty minutes away from Griddish’s house and Eva said she didn’t see any druids near it through her ball, but she also couldn’t see them anywhere, which might have meant they had caught on to her and were doing a blockingspell.
Logan was driving and Eva was in the back with Hemlock. I sat in the front seat stroking Mittens’ fur as she purred on mylap.
“Are you feeling better?” I asked Eva. Danny had treated her wounds, and she seemed to be healingnicely.
She nodded. “I’ll be fine, dear. Now, I didn’t gather everything from your coded messages, but the only reason I came back was because you alluded to having found another skyborn? Now that I have the Eye, I was going to start looking forthem.”
I froze. The book! I had forgotten in all of this drama the entire reason I had wanted my car back so desperately. I unclipped my seatbelt and crawled into the back between Eva andHemlock.
“My mother had a book. She said it was my destiny to continue on her work. She said a lot of things that sounded crazy at the time, but now I’m not sosure…”
Please let it behere.
I tossed aside my drawing pencils, my sleeping bag, and an old chipped coffee mug that was my mother’s favorite. When my fingers wrapped around the green leather, I nearlycried.
Bringing it to my nose, I inhaled. It smelled of leather and rosemary. My mother would pull herbs from the garden and not wash her hands. Everything she touched smelled of herbs and spices. Tears clouded my vision as I thought of her flowing red hair hunched over this book, writing in it. I thought it was a diary growing up, but then she told me it was an address book, one that must be protected. She was quirky; I let it slide, but now I thought it was a list of the remaining skyborn. It was just a gut feeling. Why else would my druid mother keep this list? I had noidea.
Eva helped move Hemlock’s big meaty body over to give me room to sit betweenthem.
After settling in the seat, I opened the book and stroked the pages. In alphabetical order, there were names and addresses. It looked like an ordinary address book … except for onething.
“You see that?” I pointed. Eva was examining the little number to the left of each address where my finger rested. One, two and some even saidthree.
“You think these are addresses of skyborn?” she remarked, soundingdoubtful.
I shrugged. “She spent hours with this book. Who puts numbers next to addresses? I think it’s the number of skyborn at eachaddress.”
Eva stroked her chin with the tip of her finger. “Youmightbe right. I could look with the Eye, but it would only show me the people there, it won’t tell me if they are skyborn. I’m assuming they will be in humanform.”
I frowned. “You don’t think my mom was helping the skyborn? She told me this book was of people like me. That I needed to continue herwork.”
Eva reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Sweetheart, I didn’t know your mother, but I just don’t want you to get your hopes up that she had this big purpose andthen…”
I nodded. “Be letdown…”
She gave me a sad smile. “I’ll tell you what … we’ll check out the elf’s house and then we’ll go to one of these addresses, meet the people and ask them how they knew yourmom.”
I brightened. “Okay,deal.”
Maybe I did just want my mom to have some big grand purpose. Maybe this was just an address book and in her dying, cancer-ridden state she was just talking crazy. Either way, I took comfort in the fact that she was a fire druid, not one of those evil druids who took orders from Ardan. That alone gave mehope.
“We’re here,” Logan announced as he turned the corner to where the elf’s home was. The big yellow bus parked right in front while we parked about five houses behind. I went to open the car door when Logan locked it quickly, trapping meinside.
“No. We’re going to wait here. Isaac will tell us if he finds anything,” Loganordered.
I met his eyes in the rearview mirror and gave him my best glare, then I turned to Eva. “Did he just tell meno?”
She grinned and with a wave of her hand the lock opened and she steppedout.
Logan groaned. “Eva!”
Eva helped me out and shut the door quickly behind me so that Hemlock and Mittens didn’t getout.
