At that moment, Garret came barreling back through the undergrowth. As soon as he laid eyes on them, he let out a long, rumbling groan and shifted back. “Seriously?” he said. “What’s the holdup.”
“He’s in love with Holly.” Johnny gestured to Keller.
“So is he.”
“No, shit.” Garret rolled his eyes. “I’m in love with her, too. She’s the maiden, and she’s amazing. We’re supposed to fall in love with her. It’s literally written in the goddamn stars!”
“You too?” Keller blinked.
“Yes. We’re the firstborns of the Silver Spruce Bear Clan. She’s our maiden. She’s not your maiden,” he jabbed a finger at Johnny, then pointed to Keller, “or yours. Ours. Our one job is to care for her as she decides who will carry her child. It’s not complicated.”
“It’s extremely complicated.”
“Maybe looking beyond yourself and your desires is complicated for you,” Garret said pointedly, “but you’re going to have to get past that real fucking fast. We’re here for Holly. She’s not here for us. She’s here to do her job, and we need to help her make that happen. If we don’t get our shit together right now, we won’t have to worry about who she likes best. She’ll be gone. Do you want that to happen?”
The very thought was like a knife through Keller’s heart. Of course, that wasn’t what he wanted.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Garret said when no one answered. “It’s time to put the egos away and do what’s best for her. I found a campsite and some blood. No scent.”
“You what?” Johnny snapped. “Why did it take you so long to tell us?”
“Does the term whiny pissbaby mean anything to you?” Garret said.
Johnny went still and quiet. Then, he burst out laughing. “Okay, okay.” He laughed. “I get your point.” He turned to Keller. “You’re not selfish,” he said. “You just don’t know how to be in a situation like this. Neither do I. Garret is somehow making a hell of a lot of sense. This isn’t about us at all. It’s about Holly. It’s always been her.”
“You’re right.” Keller nodded. “You’re not selfish, either. I’m sorry for being a dick. I’m just...scared for her. I’m scared for us.”
“That’s really sweet and all,” Garret said. “But that campsite isn’t getting any fresher.”
“What do you mean the camp had no scent?”
“I mean exactly that. I think whoever is hiding out in the woods has a way to conceal scents in an unnatural way.”
Both Keller and Garret looked at Johnny.
“Oh hell,” Johnny groaned. “I’m going to have to talk to the witches, aren’t I?”
“Just remember, it’s for Holly.” Keller clapped Johnny on the back before shifting once more. Now that they were working as a team again, things would be easier. He just hoped it would be enough.
CHAPTER 30 - Holly
Fang and the other man, who no one seemed to know the name of, led Loch and Holly to the mouth of a cave. Beside the gaping opening, there was an old wooden sign. There were remnants of paint on the sign but not enough to read what it once said.
“This is one of the Silver Mines, isn’t it?” she asked no one in particular.
“Reading up on the town history, are you?” Fang said. “It won’t do you much good.”
Oh, but it did. Holly tried not to smile. If this were one of the old Silver Mines, then she was still in Silver Spruce territory. That might not make rescue come any quicker, but at least she knew where she was. Relatively speaking.
As she was dragged into the mine, she pictured the territory map on the wall of Pearl’s study. She hadn’t studied it as carefully as she should have, but her eyes often wandered to it when she needed a reprieve from reading. She concentrated hard, trying to conjure the image of the map.
She envisioned the frame on the wall, the way the family trees were painted around it. She imagined the yellowed paper—a testament to its age. What if the map wasn’t accurate?
Look north, a sweet voice whispered.
“What?” Holly looked around, wondering where that voice could’ve come from. It definitely didn’t come from any of her travel companions, if she could even call them that. Captors or kidnappers worked better.
She glanced at Loch from the corner of her eye. Two kidnappers and whatever the hell Loch was. She was still undecided, though she was not inclined to think of him favorably right now. That bloody nose looked terribly painful, though. It might be broken. She couldn’t do anything about that, but still, she felt bad.
“What?” Fang snapped back. Definitely not the voice she heard.
“I thought I heard something.” Maybe she’d finally lost her mind. Maybe Holly had lost her mind weeks ago and this was just an elaborately constructed fantasy realm she’d retreated into. Maybe she was in a coma. The voice she heard could’ve been a nurse trying to wake her.
Oddly enough, these alternate theories weren’t making her feel any better.
Imagine the map, the voice came again. It was coming from inside her head. Oh God, she really was insane, wasn’t she? Still, it wasn’t like she had anything else to do. She’d rather be thinking of something else than worrying about where Fang was taking her.
She did as the voice instructed. She pictured the map in the study.
Look north. She focused on the mental image of the northern part of the map. She saw three symbols for mines with elaborate sketches around them. That’s where she was. She was north of the house. Good to know if she ever made it out of here.
Thank you, concerning voice in my head, Holly thought.
I’m not a voice. I am the maiden.
Holly stopped dead in her tracks. The rope between her and the mystery sidekick went
