The mirror snapped off, dangling limply from its base.
I took a deep breath. “You were saying?”
“I’ve still got one wing mirror.” She smiled, hauling the poor car into fourth as she barreled down the road. “Nobody needs more than one.”
“The manufacturers, that driver, and I would all beg to differ.” I slammed into the car door as Boudicca gestured right and Charlotte took it without even braking. Forget the car surviving, I wasn’t convinced I would. I could see the headlines now: two young women, a sack of bones, and three pixies crash into a field of sheep. No survivors.
Charlotte chuckled. “Relax, Persie. I know what I’m doing. I’ll get us there.”
“In one piece?” I shot back.
“Not guaranteed, but you’ll be mostly intact, unlike Mr. Bonejangles over there.” She nodded to the sack, and I screamed.
“Watch the road!”
Her eyes flitted back. “Sorry. I forget how tricky these country lanes can be. Pretty though, in the daytime, and especially in the summer. If Victoria lets you stay, you should head out and take a walk sometime. It’s good to get out of the Institute for a bit, whenever you can.”
“If?” What was that supposed to mean? I’d explained everything with the pixies. Surely, she didn’t think I’d get booted out once the truth was revealed.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Okay, so the pixies didn’t kidnap anyone. We were wrong about that, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods.” A half-smile lifted the corner of her lips. “One of those little schmucks definitely screwed with my hair dryer, and I want revenge. Half a ton of talc puffed out of it this morning, and I had to take another shower to get it out. And I definitely saw one of the little buggers in my room.”
I heard a snort from the backseat and turned to find the she-pixie grinning mischievously at the other pixie. I thought it best not to point out the culprit to Charlotte, not when we were so close to so many obstacles she could smash us into.
“Would you have my back, if Victoria wanted me gone?” I knew I might not like the answer, but I felt the frost thawing between us.
She tilted her head thoughtfully. “If you get me a new hair dryer, sure.”
“Was that a joke?” I laughed, relaxing slightly.
“Do you know what, I think it was.” Charlotte smirked, the two of us settling into an amicable silence as she continued to put my life and limb at risk, following Boudicca’s rudimentary GPS.
About ten minutes of white-knuckle driving later, we sped past a signpost that read: Killeany. A small fishing village appeared below us, a few orange lights burning in the darkness. But Boudicca didn’t want us to go down there. Instead, she led us around the village and up to a sparse promontory that overlooked the sea, which lay eerily flat and calm tonight, reflecting the moon above. Long grass susurrated in the icy wind, shrouding the bases of what appeared to be… headstones.
They protruded like watchmen, or chess pieces waiting to be moved, adorned with plain crosses, circular crosses, and no crosses at all. And in the center stood the pointed bookends of what might once have been a chapel, or a church.
“Is this it?” I looked to Boudicca, and she nodded.
Charlotte parked the car, and we got out. The sound of the sea whispered upward, giving the impression of murmuring ghosts. The shadows had a mind of their own, my heart pounding with every movement in the corner of my eye. It was easy to feel as though you were being watched here, with so many tombstones to hide behind. However, the only things chasing us were far behind, though catching up with every wasted second.
“Where’s Lorelei’s grave?” I urged, grabbing the sack of bones. At that moment, floating lights appeared on the horizon, gaining ground. We were fresh out of time.
Boudicca roused herself from her grief and fluttered off through the tombstones. I raced after her, wishing I’d brought the spade from St. Finnean’s. I just hoped it wouldn’t matter how closely the bones were buried to one another, as long as they were close enough. Besides, I had Charlotte with me this time. Maybe she could turn into an aardvark and help me out.
Tripping and stumbling over the stubs of ancient headstones, I chased Boudicca to the ruins of the church. She paused, hovering for a moment, as if trying to sense the right direction. And she’d need to be our eyes, because these headstones no longer bore any names at all.
She shot forward, landing in front of a small, curved stone tucked right up against the ruined wall of the church, then stamping her foot and pointing enthusiastically. I guessed she’d found the right spot, and not a moment too soon. The Wisps had arrived, but they seemed to have changed their tactics. No, it was more than that. They seemed to have learned from the pixies. Instead of surging forward to launch a direct assault, they spread out in a square around the graveyard. Shimmering feelers of gaseous light stretched between the orbs, until they were all connected. I felt the pulse of their power throbbing through the air, making my head ache and raising the hairs on the back of my neck. The scent of ozone overwhelmed my senses, stinging my nostrils.
“Get down!” Charlotte jumped on me, sending the two of us crashing into the dirt as the Wisps pummeled their unified energy into the center of the graveyard. As it collided in a deafening crash, a pillar of fire shot upward. In a scene that defied belief, I watched as brooding, indigo storm clouds charged in, conjured out of nowhere. A roll of terrifying thunder cracked, heralding the imminent tempest. Not a moment later,
