“Yes, but speed is of the essence here. We have no idea how these things communicate, and whether the one we haven’t snared will be able to free the one we have.”
“He helped set that snare, remember. He might be needed to unravel it.”
I swore softly. “I’d forgotten about that bit.”
“I’ll go ring him now. That way, you can pick him up after Ashworth.” She hesitated. “What about Aiden?”
“He can’t do anything up there.” Nothing other than become a target for the free Empusae if she was around the area. “I’ll ring him once we’re up there and have dealt with the problem.”
“Be careful.”
I nodded, swept my purse off the counter, and ran out the back door. It only took me a few minutes to get across to Ashworth’s, and he wasn’t waiting alone. Eli was with him.
“Have you called Monty?” Ashworth said as they both climbed inside.
“Belle has.” I took off. The tires squealed, the sound echoing across the otherwise silent night. “How are we going to proceed?”
“There’s no ‘we’ in this,” Eli said. “You and I are going to stay back and—”
“These things are powerful,” I cut in. “It may just take the four of us to deal with them.”
“Perhaps,” Ashworth said. “But unless we’ve managed to snare both, that still leaves one free to attack. You and Eli are the backup team. If the other bitch does come at us, it’s up to you two to deal with her.”
I wasn’t entirely sure ‘dealing’ with her would be an option given she’d no doubt be winged and also well aware that she was dealing with witches. And if she was capable of minor magic, then it was more than possible she’d conceal her presence until it was absolutely too late to do anything to counter her attack.
But I kept my fears to myself and concentrated on getting to Monty’s as fast as possible. He was hobbling out his front door just as we pulled up. Eli flung the rear door open and then slid across to the other side of the seat.
“Where’s your crutches?” I said as Monty climbed inside and slammed the door shut.
“They’re too damn awkward in the bush. I’m better off without them.”
“If you fall over, none of us are stopping to pick you up,” Ashworth grumbled.
“I’m not going to fall over. I wouldn’t give you the pleasure of seeing me do that, old man.”
“One more ‘old man’ comment, and I really will clip you over the ear.”
“As will I,” Eli said, amusement evident in his voice. “Especially given I’m the oldest here.”
“Yeah, but you don’t look it. Ashworth is all weather-beaten and wrinkly.”
Their banter continued. I let it roll over me and drove on, pushing the SUV to its limits in an effort to get to the area that held the tree cave as fast as possible.
When we could take the SUV no further, we continued on foot. Monty managed to both keep up and not fall over, and we made good time through the trees. But we were not alone in the forest. My watcher was out there, in the distance, tracking our progress.
Vita.
It had to be. It certainly couldn’t be the tracer—not when the presence was ahead rather than behind. It made me hope that if we had caught one of the Empusae, it wasn’t the elder one. Belle wasn’t here, and the last thing we needed or wanted was to piss off our magic-capable White Lady by depriving her of the kill she’d waited centuries for.
We reached the clearing. Shadows wrapped the semicircular mound of rocks and dirt that supported the tree cave, and there was no immediate sense that anything or anyone lay within it.
Nothing except the smell.
It was ten times stronger now than it had been the first time we’d been here, and it was so damn putrid I started to gag.
“Fuck,” Eli whispered, a hand over his nose. “Why did no one warn me these things smell like—”
“Meat left too long in the sun and cheap, cheap perfume.” Monty hobbled past Eli. “Shame your partner didn’t think to bring nose plugs, like some of the smarter portions of this outfit did.”