I broke up their love-fest before it got too awkward. I was more than happy for Eva and Isaac to get together in that way, just not while I was sitting here watching it all go down like some creepy thirdwheel.
“Right.” Isaac grabbed the folded clothes and stood. “Let’s go to the nearest address in your mother’s book. On our way, you and Eva can look into thepast.”
I smiled, hopping off the tree and landing on my bare feet. “Sounds like aplan!”
I was feeling refreshed and invigorated from my little tree chill time. And more than ready to know the truth about mymother.
As we walked towards the bus I took time to notice the paintjob. Not bad. Boring as all hell in a muted tan with white cursive font, but I think that was thepoint.
Logan was standing near the bus door with a gun in hishand.
“Don’t shoot.” I put my hands up, one gripping the staff tightly, and he let out the breath he must have beenholding.
“You got it.” He eyed thestaff.
I nodded and we all loaded up into thebus.
“Griddish?” Logan asked, as the others peered at meexpectantly.
“Dead,” I said, with a croak. The last of the earth wand makers was dead. I’d counted him as a friend. A weird friend that was shady and grumpy, but a friendnonetheless.
Isaac picked up my mother’s leather notebook and flipped through it. Finally, he landed on anaddress.
“Let’s go see about these other skyborn,” Isaacdeclared.
I inhaled sharply; all of my Zen chi I’d gotten from the tree was gone. What if my mom was just some crazy chick obsessed with keeping her address book up todate?
Only one way to findout.
Chapter 11
Isaac estimatedit would be about an hour drive to the Louisiana address we had in my mom’s book. “Three,” the number beside it had read. Three skyborn? Three what? We would soon find out. I took the time to explain to everyone what Griddish had said about my mom. These were my friends now and I needed theirsupport.
“The freaking battle druid was your mother?” Sophie shrieked, before I couldfinish.
I rubbed my arms nervously. “Iguess?”
Sophie bowed before me theatrically and pretended to kiss myfeet.
I rolled myeyes.
“What do you know about the queen’s battle druid?” Logan asked her seriously. He didn’t seem confused, so he must know who the battle druidwas.
Sophie barked out a laugh. “Logan, please, you know I come from a long line of shifters whose sole purpose it is to protect skyborn. I’ve known about the battle druid since I could talk. She was the queen’s right-hand woman, hair the color of rubies, power unlike anyother.”
Nadine looked at me and shrugged as if to say she had no freaking clue.You and me too,sister.
“The rumor was that the queen loved her.” Danny’s gasp stopped Sophie’s words. “No! Not like lesbian love, but ya know, BFF love. But even though she loved her, she feared her, and so the queen did a spell that put a limit on the battle druid’s ability, so that she couldn’t take over thekingdom.”
Jesus. The second I thought that word my throat pinched in grief because Coop wasn’t here to make the sign of the cross. I missed that gentle giant. My mom would never take over a kingdom. She basically did arts and crafts with kids for a living. This was too much to take. I needed to know right now if Racine McCallister was mymom.
“Eva? Please. I need toknow…”
She nodded, coming over to sit with me, holding the Eye in herhand.
Danny’s eye widened. “Umm, what are youdoing?”
Eva began to circle her hand counter-clockwise over the orb. “We’re going back in time,dear.”
