Rafe’s frown turned into a tight-lipped glare. “That’s enough out of you today, Beast.”
Beast continued to growl in his throat, but didn’t raise any other objections.
“Rafe, you know, if he will come to you when you use that card, perhaps you could arrange an ambush back at the cabin and take Rowle down,” Cris suggested.
Rafe stared at her for a second and then shook his head. “I’m sure he would come in expecting a trap. No, I’ve decided we’re going to him. Do you still have that needle?”
Cris looked disappointed, but without comment, she opened her purse. “Yes, give me a second.”
Rafe held out his hand toward me and then turned his glare on me when I hesitated. Reluctantly, I took his hand and we meshed. He tried to hide his thoughts from me, but that was near impossible when we were meshed. I could tell he was worried that he might be doing something stupid and risking all of our lives, which made me a little more comfortable with his decision. If he weren’t worried about it then I would think he was crazy. I tried to relax and not think about Loki’s talisman. I didn’t want Rafe to order me not to use it. As long as he hadn’t expressly forbidden it, I could probably get away with summoning the god without totally pissing Rafe off.
Instead, I gave Rafe a reluctant smile. “I’m with you, Boss, no matter what course you decide. You know that.”
He nodded slowly and some of the tension eased out of his body.
Cris didn’t approach and Rafe didn’t wait for her to mesh with us. Instead, he held out his hand and she pricked his index finger with the needle. Boy, she must have been distressed about his decision, because I could feel the pain when she jabbed him. It was far more than just a pinprick.
Rafe managed not to flinch, but I could feel his surprise at her hostility.
He cast the spell from memory and the blood welling from his fingertip smoked and vanished. The spell completed and a second later, a glowing arrow appeared above us. It spun around for a few seconds and then pointed north.
“Okay, we have our direction. Mount up,” Rafe said and dropped out of our mesh.
I went to Maia and swung up onto her shoulders while Rafe got on Beast. When he lowered a hand to Cris, she stared at it for a second and then looked away.
“Cris,” Rafe groaned. “Come on, I can’t leave you here. The weather could break before we get back and you aren’t dressed for a storm.”
Cris stared off to the northwest at the approaching clouds. She turned to eye Rafe. “Maybe you should just open a portal back to your cabin and I’ll wait for you there.”
“We’ve already determined that you’ll be safer with us than at the cabin alone,” Rafe said.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I want to see you die.”
“I don’t plan on dying today,” Rafe said.
“None of us plans on dying, but it still happens.”
“Cris, you just got through saying that you would go with us. What’s changed your mind?”
“I just have had more time to think about it. Rafe, you may be able to survive a fight with Rowle again, but there’s no guarantee. Even with Tess and me with you, I’m not sure you’ll be able to beat him.”
“But we’re not going in to fight him. I’ve made that clear.”
“Just because you’re going in with an olive branch, it doesn’t mean that he will accept it. He must know that you still haven’t recovered from that booby trap. It’ll only give him an incentive to attack you while you aren’t at your best.”
“Cris, damnit, just give me your hand.”
“Rafe, you know I love you, but you can’t order me around,” Cris said.
Rafe turned to face me. “Can you talk some sense into her?”
I frowned and met Cris’s eyes. She seemed resolute in her decision, but Rafe was right about her being safer with us. “Cris, you know what happened at your house and at the cabin. If anyone shows up at Joe’s cabin when we aren’t there…” I hesitated when I saw my words weren’t working on her. “Cris, as I understand it, you are a powerful Wiccan. If you want to make sure Rafe and I aren’t killed, then you should come with us. We could use the extra firepower until Rafe is back to full strength.”
Rafe frowned at my words and I thought he was going to make one of his usual damn cocky boast, but before he could say anything, Cris spoke, “You’re right. I may not be in the class of Abigail or you two, but I might make the difference if it comes to a fight. Give me your hand, Rafe.”
Rafe tried to hide his surprise, but I could see it and I’m sure Cris noticed. Rafe lowered his hand again and when Cris clasped his forearm, he swung her onto Beast’s shoulders behind him.
“Okay, Beast, let’s go,” Rafe said.
Beast took off with Maia and me following closely.
Rafe’s glowing arrow flew on, staying a few yards in front of him.
We climbed until we were a couple hundred feet above the trees and flew toward the approaching clouds.
About twenty minutes later, the arrow changed to point at a downward angle and Beast began to descend. I triggered my enhanced senses tat and peered into the distance. Ahead of us, a large structure appeared on a hilltop. Getting nearer, I saw that the structure was a log home made of immense logs. A green metal roof almost hid the structure in the trees. A long gravel drive led up to the home from somewhere off to the east. We were approaching the side of the house and
