keeper, even if that hearth-keeper had a mother lion's ferociousness when it came to protecting her child. And, to be honest, I had no idea what, besides shifting into a massive bird, Mateo's skills were.
Weighing everything, it made sense to leave Bubbe with them. Heading back to Illinois, we had three warriors, two hearth-keepers, a son, and Mel, who while classified as an artisan I knew had strong warrior and priestess skills too. It was a strange group, but one I trusted for the job-even Jack.
Oh, and we also brought the dogs. Bubbe had insisted.
We pulled into Jack's driveway around nine thirty.
There was nothing left of the cabin, at least nothing that could be used as shelter, but with access to the safe camp through the woods, it seemed like a good place to set as our base of operation.
We did, however, need some shelter besides our cars if we were going to stay here for long. And, since we had to assume no one at the safe camp was on our side, we needed a place we could stay hidden as much as possible.
Jack suggested we check his neighbors. Apparently one of the reasons he liked the location was that his closest neighbor, the man we'd seen getting his mail, spent most of the summer in northern Wisconsin and most of the winter in Texas. Remembering the camping trailer I'd seen parked in the drive during my last visit, I sent Lao and Tess to check out the house.
They were back in under ten minutes with good news.
'Looks like they've cleared out. Water and electricity are on, but the fridge is empty.' Lao placed her hands on her hips and rocked back on her heels. 'There's phone service too, if we want to use it. Long distance would show on their bill.'
'Is there a computer?' Mel asked.
Lao nodded. 'Don't know much about 'em, but one's there.'
Happy with the news, we hid our vehicles inside the neighbor's detached three-car garage and moved ourselves into their house.
It was small, two bedrooms and two baths with a wide back porch that looked out over the woods. The furnishings were nice. There were redwood lawn chairs and two rockers on the back porch-a hot tub too. Seemed like a place you would go on vacation to, not from.
But we weren't on vacation.
There was a fence also, a partial one that shielded most of the property from anyone who casually approached from the main road and a deep freeze filled with what appeared to be venison in the garage.
After we'd walked around the house and the property one more time to make sure no one was home and there was no sign that anyone had been hired to watch the place, we met in the small living room.
We quickly decided our best course of action. We would send Mel's mother Cleo to the camp. Between her and Mel, Cleo was less likely to be known to anyone at the house. Also, she would blend in more easily. Besides, I could tell the idea of trying to blend gave my friend twitches, and I didn't need Mel's true personality and thoughts on all things Amazon coming out.
So Cleo would arrive in the stolen car, claiming to be arriving early for the fair. Bern, Lao, and Tess would stay hidden for now at the house.
Mel, Jack, and I would approach through the woods.
We had no set goal at the moment, except to see what was going on and to check for some sign my high council contact had been near.
We agreed to meet in three hours at the obelisk. It would be afternoon by then, not a time any Amazons should be worshipping the goddess.
Assuming they still worshipped Artemis.
If they didn't? Well, I had no idea when, where, or how they might choose to worship. We might be walking into a crowd of goddess worshipers I had no chance of recognizing.
I didn't dwell on the possibility too much.
I took another nap instead. Bern was on watch, and I needed to be at my best. I knew whatever happened, I wasn't going to be welcomed back at camp with open arms.
I had to be prepared to fight.
As we walked through the woods, my body tensed. I felt like a stranger here, walking a path I'd traveled daily for over a decade.
I resented the high council and whomever the Amazons were who had drifted for making me an outsider. I even, if I was honest, resented the safe camp members who hadn't questioned this false high council's orders. But that was unfair. I had followed their orders blindly too. . or tried to. . would have if Jack and Mateo hadn't jumped in to stop me.
How could I be angry at others for doing what I had done myself?
My place here, however, my goal, was to prove I wasn't an outsider, that my view of what the Amazons were and should be was the best one. If I had a high-council member by my side who knew the council had split and that some had even left Artemis, I could convince the others at the camp that the high council who had ordered my dismissal wasn't valid.
From there we could tell others, expose the false Amazons among us and keep them from burrowing deeper into our hearts.
I had brought my staff with me. Shifting it a bit in my hands calmed me. I longed to stretch and run through a few exercises to relieve even more of the built-up tension, but there hadn't been time. The nap had felt more important.
Jack walked directly behind me wearing only pants-no shirt or shoes. I assumed he wanted to be free to shift without having to worry about escaping his clothes, but I hadn't asked. Mel was behind him, no weapons, but armed with her magic.
As we approached the obelisk, I heard a voice. It was female and familiar but I couldn't place it. She seemed to be singing.
Motioning for Jack and Mel to stay hidden, I stepped into the clearing.
A woman stood in front of the obelisk. Her back was to me, but based on her height and impressive physique, it was easy to guess she was an Amazon. The sword shoved into the ground not far away added weight to my guess.
The sun shone down brightly, glistened off her shoulder-length hair. She wore no adornment that I could see except a wide leather wristband. It was only a few shades darker than her skin, which visible in athletic shorts and tank, was tanned. She looked like someone who worked outside during the day. . like a hearth-keeper. . or a warrior.
The sword made me guess the latter.
My missing high-council contact was a warrior.
'Kale?' I offered, my voice low so I wouldn't startle her.
Her shoulders pulled back and her head tilted. She turned slowly. As she did, she dropped something. . a metal flask. The lid had been off, and clear liquid spilled onto the ground.
She was facing me now. I'd never met Kale, but she was much as I'd imagined her. Fierce, strong, and in control.
She stared at me for a moment, her eyes narrowing. Then she glanced down at her hand and I saw what she held. . a gun, black, square and ugly, just like the ones the birders had held.
The gun began to rise.
A hand hit me square in the back and I flew forward, just as the bullet zipped through the space where I had stood.
'Shit.' Mel leaped toward me, pulling in a breath as she did.
My staff perpendicular to my body, I log-rolled across the ground out of her reach.
Kale had seen me, shot at me.
I wouldn't let Mel take a bullet meant for me.
I'd lost my mother. I would not lose Mel.
Three feet and I ran out of cleared space. I folded my body forward and somersaulted to a stand. As my feet hit the ground, I broke into a run. My staff dug into the earth and I vaulted, my feet aimed at Kale's head.
She turned again and my gaze locked onto the gun-once again pointed at me. Better me than Mel.
