“Told you she was gonna cry,” Cliff grumbled with a manner of begrudging fondness that only he could achieve.
Still, he didn’t whisk me off when I hugged the side of his neck. His thumbs brushed my wings affectionately before he blew out the candle. “Dig in before the snow gets to it.”
They led me to a cluster of rocks near the edge of the overhang that offered a perfect view of the landscape. The boys settled in, sharing a thermos of whiskey and taking small pieces of the cupcake I couldn’t hope to finish.
Even as the sweetness of the treat filled me with warmth, the energy shifted in the air as we beheld the view. Looking west meant looking toward an ever-uncertain juncture. Tomorrow, we’d try our luck with tracking down Aelthorin, though it was far from our first attempt.
Once again, I pictured Mother pressing the old map into my hands. I had revisited the memory hundreds of times to assuage myself, unable to shake the fire in her gaze on the night of my banishment. I’d never seen that look on her. She wasn’t simply guessing about Aelthorin’s existence and safety. She wouldn’tlieand send her child toward nothing.
The silence was broken by Cliff’s phone chiming in his pocket. He ignored the sound until it buzzed a second time. And athird.
“Can’t believe we even have signal out here…” Cliff trailed off as he caught sight of the alerts populating his screen.
“Cliff?” Jon studied his face.
“It… It’s Tammy,” Cliff said slowly, like he couldn’t believe it himself. “Shit.”
Jon checked his own phone as though expecting to find a twin message waiting. Nothing. He leaned over to read Cliff’s screen, and I wheeled around in the air to do the same over their shoulders. There was no contact name associated with the message, but that wasn’t surprising; Jon had told me how paranoid Tammy and other hunters were when it came to cycling through burner phones numerous times a year.
I thought we had things under control, but I may need my boys for this one. Things are getting damn dicey. Get here, and find Eros. —Coach
“Coach?” I asked.
“That’s what we called her when she was training us up,” Cliff murmured.
I frowned at the message, then at the boys’ grave expressions. “Is that as bad as it looks?”
“For her, yeah,” Jon said. “Tammy’s been hunting for like twenty-five years—way before she started training us. She’s a fucking veteran.”
I’d only seen a few pictures of their former mentor: early fifties, deep brown skin, and dark hair usually pulled off her face. After warning Jon and Cliff about the bizarre witchcraft and gem-like occurrences plaguing cities in this mountain range, she’d fallen out of touch again. The news reports about the strange activity had dwindled to nothing, and we’d assumed the matter was handled.
Perhaps the fact that I could still sense a gemstone in the area was more of an omen than I gave it credit for.
Something tugged uncertainly at the back of my mind. All of this felt like gazing into a dark hallway andknowingthat someone was standing at the other end, but being unable to see them.
Cliff tapped out an urgent response.Address? Coordinates?
The minutes we waited for her response were filled with a silence that had teeth. Then, his phone chimed.
Aspen. 1189 Ponderosa Avenue. How soon can you get here?
The three of us exchanged a tense look before Cliff responded.
Looks like we’re two hours out. How’s the weather?
“The weather?” I asked in bewilderment. “She’s in danger, why the hell does that matter?”
“It’s a code phrase,” he said. “Been using it for years. If one of us compromised, it’s a way to nail down the severity. ‘No clouds’ means we can take it easy. Whereas ‘stormy skies’ is more likefucking step on it.”
Tammy texted back a single word.
Hurry.
2
Jon
“Careful on the turns,” Cliff snapped.
