“Yeah, me too,” Justin replied. “Thanks.”
Justin passed along the coordinates to Sheriff Armel. He felt himself falling into what he considered first-responder mode, locking down feelings and focusing on essential actions. There would be time to fall apart later.
He called Liam next.
“Wow, miss me already?” Liam joked when he answered.
“Scott’s plane went down,” Justin broke in. “Can any of your witchy connections help us find him?”
“Went down?” Liam repeated, suddenly serious. “What happened?”
“No idea. He texted me that they were going to crash, and the plane’s transponder verified that. We’ve got a locator beacon, but it’s a big area up there.” Justin knew Liam could hear the fear in his voice. “The sheriff is getting a search and rescue team together. At this point, I’ll take all the help we can get from any source.”
“Let me make some calls,” Liam replied. “I’m so sorry this happened. I hope he’s okay.”
“Yeah, me too,” Justin said. “Thanks.”
It only took fifteen minutes for Liam to call him back. “Justin, do you have anything that belongs to Scott? Amy Criswell is coming over to the library to do a reading on the crash, and she said that would help. She’s a powerful witch and very good at what she does,” Liam told him.
“I’ll be right over.” Justin glanced at his messages but had nothing new from the sheriff or anyone else about the search party, so he figured he had at least a little while to see what Liam’s friend might be able to read.
He looked around and grabbed a hoodie that Scott had left behind on his last visit. Justin buried his face in the soft material, picking up a hint of Scott’s aftershave that made his heart ache.
Justin flipped the sign in his window to “Closed” and locked up the office and his plane, then headed for the library. He managed to keep himself to a fast walk instead of a dead run.
We’ll find him. He’s got to be okay.He hung onto the glimmer of energy he sensed before, sending all the psychic mojo he possessed down that link to help Scott hang on.
Justin hadn’t been able to immediately place Amy when Liam mentioned her name, but he recognized her as soon as he got to the library. Fox Hollow was a small town, so even if he didn’t know everyone, permanent residents were bound to look familiar.
The witch had shoulder-length brown hair and looked to be in her late thirties. Her trim jacket and slacks suggested she had come from work.
“Justin, this is Amy, if you haven’t already met.” Liam brought them both into his office and closed the door. “Amy, this is Justin. His boyfriend Scott and two others were on the plane.”
“I brought this.” Justin held out Scott’s hoodie. “I hope it’s what you need.”
“That’s perfect,” she replied. “Something worn or kept close to the body, like a wallet, has the strongest resonance.”
They took seats around a small table in Liam’s office, and Liam let his assistant know not to disturb them.
“What do you want to know?” Amy asked Justin.
Justin felt his heart in his throat. “Is he alive? Where are they? Why did they crash?” He feared the answers even as he knew he couldn’t do without them. “Scott was with a pilot and a photographer. They were doing research for his work. It was only supposed to take a couple of hours.”
“Take hold.” Amy held out her hands to both men, with one wrist resting on Scott’s shirt. “Close your eyes, and picture Scott. Send me energy drawing on your love and friendship. Don’t say anything. I’ll tell you what I see.”
Justin closed his eyes and forced himself not to jiggle in his chair. He thought about Scott, seeing him clearly in his mind, hearing his voice, remembering the smell of his hair and the taste of his lips.
He drew on his feelings, how it felt to hold Scott in his arms and the way his heart fluttered when they first admitted to being in love. Justin replayed their most recent conversation, doing his best to recall every word. He added the impressions of Scott’s emotions and energy he had picked up from his gift, hoping they would help Amy narrow her reading.
“It wasn’t an accident,” Amy said in a quiet, dreamy tone. “Something hit the plane. They went down hard. Blood and death. Only one survived. But…not as a human.”
“Coyote,” Justin murmured. “Scott is a coyote shifter.” His heart pounded, torn between relief and fear and hope.
“He’s in danger,” Amy continued. “Enemies are nearby.”
“How do we find him?” Justin asked.
“Follow the smoke. The plane burned.”
