“Fine,” Johnny groaned. “I want to find a way through the barrier, but I don’t want anyone coming with me.”
“Why?” she asked, unblinking.
“An explanation wasn’t part of the deal.”
“I’m making it part of the deal.”
“This is why no one likes witches,” Johnny muttered.
“We both know that’s not true. Tell the truth before I banish you from the den.”
“All right.” Johnny put his hands up. “Golden Oak is a hotbed for dark shifter activity. Holly is in there with the man who orchestrated the battle at the silver mine. Loch’s already been imprisoned by that man. He shouldn’t have to risk going through that again. Keller? I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but something is wrong. Until I know what it is, I don’t want him at risk. Garret’s mother and sister live in town. If something happened to him, it would break them.”
“What about the shifter witch?”
“Elise? As helpful as she’s been, she’s Trevor’s sister. I don’t want to be in a situation where she could stab me in the back.”
“If you go in alone, you won’t have to worry about the others.” Edwina nodded. “I understand that.”
“So, will you help?”
“I will do the best I can, but I make no promises.”
“Thank you. What do I need?”
“Sit.” Edwina pointed to the couch. “Don’t move until I get back.”
Johnny did as he was told. Nearly an hour passed before Edwina reappeared. In her hand, she carried a vial filled with murky white liquid.
“What’s this?”
“Bottled death,” she replied.
Johnny scooted away from her. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t be such a baby. It doesn’t kill you.”
“Forgive me for making the assumption that bottled death has something to do with death!”
“Just don’t drink the whole bottle at once, and you’ll be fine.” Edwina shrugged.
Johnny waited, mouth agape, for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. “I’m going to need a little more instruction than that. What does this do? If I’m not supposed to drink the whole bottle, how much do I drink?”
“Remember when I said no promises?” Edwina said. “This is the no promises part. A sip of this potion will disguise all signs of life for a short while. I can’t give you an exact time frame. I’m only guessing this will work because spells are put on the living, not the dead. If we trick the spell into thinking you’re dead, it’ll stop working.”
Johnny examined the vial. “And it definitely won’t kill me?”
“It probably won’t kill you.”
“What if I need more than this?”
“I used all of my supplies to make it. It’s all you get.”
It wasn’t much. Half a water bottle’s worth, if that.
“This is the part where you say thank you,” Edwina prompted.
“Thank you. I owe you a favor.”
“You owe me several favors. I’m going to collect them all eventually. Now, do what you do best.”
“Which is what?”
“Charge off dramatically like a dark hero.”
“Oh.” Johnny laughed. “Yeah, I suppose I do that a lot.”
“Get.”
“Right. Thanks again!”
Johnny tucked the vial into his back and exited the den. Once outside, he removed his clothes, packed them carefully around the vial, and shifted into bear form.
With the bag clenched gently between his teeth, he ran through the forest. He ran right up to the porch before shifting back and tugging on his clothing.
Just before he walked in the door, Garret burst out. “Keller?” Disappointment crossed his face when he saw Johnny. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Nice to see you too, buddy.” Johnny clapped Garret on the shoulder.
“Have you seen Keller?” Garret asked.
“Not since this morning.”
“Me either.” Garret eyed Johnny. “Where have you been?”
“I went to the witches,” he said. “I wanted to get any last-minute advice on the barrier. I got nothing.”
“Shame.” Garret frowned. “Help me look for Keller? I’ve been worried about the bastard ever since he had a raw fish off the skillet.”
“His obsession with taking walks in the woods is getting a little weird. All we do is take walks in the woods. Getting to our trucks in the driveway can be considered a walk in the woods.”
“He’s been weird since the battle,” Garret said. “I don’t remember seeing him at all after we arrived.”
“Me either, but I wasn’t paying close attention,” Johnny admitted. “It was a terrible night. Maybe he saw something he’d rather forget and it’s fucking with his head.”
“That’s probably all it is,” Garret agreed. “The sun’s going down. If we don’t find him soon, we won’t get to the barrier before nightfall. It’s hard enough to find at high noon.”
“Maybe we should wait until morning,” Johnny suggested.
Garret looked at him like he’d suggested kicking a puppy.
“I don’t want to!” Johnny insisted. “But Holly didn’t sound like she was in distress last time we talked to her. Something might be seriously wrong with Keller.”
“I don’t like this.” Garret ran a hand through his russet hair. “How much more crap are we going to be expected to handle?”
“A lot,” Johnny said. “A lot of crap. Better brace yourself.”
“Thanks for the shite pep talk.” Garret chuckled.
“If there’s one thing you can count on me for, it’s a shite pep talk.” Johnny grinned.
Elise jogged up the driveway, looking worried.
“No sign of him,” she called to Garret. “Is Loch back?”
“Not yet.”
“We can’t wait any longer,” Elise insisted.
“Why don’t we look for him while we go to the barrier?” Johnny suggested. “Last time I was out there, I found him near Golden Oak. There’s a good chance he’s back there again.”
Garret looked at Elise. “He’s got a point.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Let’s get Loch and go. I need to talk to my brother.”
“Got a secret plot to work out?” Johnny jested.
Elise rolled her eyes. “I miss my only family. Sue me.”
“You’re
