Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,39

the SUV rather than the Suzi. I had no idea where Katie’s information would lead me, and given how bad some of the tracks were around the reservation, it was better not only to have all-wheel-drive capacity but also decent ground clearance. Belle had keys to my car if she needed to go anywhere, so it wasn’t really a problem.

I reversed out and sped across to Monty’s. As he came out his front door, I jumped out and ran around to the passenger side. I couldn’t drive and interpret Katie’s information at the same time.

“Which way?” Monty slung on the seat belt. “Straight ahead, or a U-turn?”

“U-turn. It’s over Campbell’s Creek way.”

He threw the SUV into gear and took off. “Which is a long way from the motocross site.”

I glanced at him. “If we are dealing with a ghoulie, it’s not going to be restricted to a certain area.”

“But what if we’re dealing with a mutation? It would want to keep under cover, surely, and there’s a whole lot of farmland and housing estates between the motocross area and Campbell’s Creek.”

“Which could be crossed easily enough in the dark. Remember, this thing moves with unnatural speed, so it’s unlikely to be spotted by most of those in the area.”

He grunted. Whether that meant he agreed or not, I couldn’t say. “I don’t suppose the wild magic gave any clarity on what it might be?”

I hesitated. “Whatever it is, it’s not natural.”

“That’s not exactly helpful.”

“It does erase the possibility of it being a compromised werewolf.”

He glanced at me, eyebrow raised. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“Because faulty DNA or not, they’d still register as a werewolf.”

“I doubt the wild magic is sentient enough to recognize the difference.” He glanced at me. “Unless, of course, there’s more to the sentience than what you’ve been saying.”

A smile twitched my lips. “Would I keep such a secret from you?”

“Very definitely.”

I laughed. “Well, in some respects, you’re not wrong. But the only secrets I keep are not mine to share.”

“A statement that leaves me with so many questions.”

“As soon as we get clearance, I’ll tell you.”

“And how will you get clearance?”

“Another of those secrets I can’t say.”

I couldn’t see the eye roll, but I had no doubt it happened. “I take it Belle knows all?”

I gave him the “don’t be dumb” look. “She’s my familiar. It’s rather hard to keep secrets from her.”

Though I certainly had, more than a few times.

“That statement makes me almost glad my familiar is a cat,” he commented. “At the very least, he has no interest in my thoughts, and there’s no messy emotions to deal with.”

“There may be no emotions,” I agreed dryly. “But there is a whole lot of attitude and spite.”

“Which is a statement that applies to cats in general, rather than those who are familiars.”

“I’ve met other cat familiars. I’m thinking the attitude and spite are just Eamon’s particular gifts.”

He laughed. “That could also be true.”

I smiled and directed him left onto Fryer’s Road. As we sped on, the urgency pulsing through the thread of wild magic around my wrist increased. We were running out of time.

I bit back the urge to tell Monty to floor it. The lack of streetlights, the increasing thickness of the scrub, and the fact that roos were plentiful in this area made our current speed dangerous enough. There was a good reason many local cars and SUVs had bull bars installed—hitting a roo, especially one of the big buggers, could write a vehicle off. And that was the last thing we—or the two men we were trying to save—needed right now.

It draws close came Katie’s comment.

Define close.

Five minutes, if that.

Five minutes at least gave us time. I leaned forward, peering into the darkness to the right of the high beams. After a moment, I spotted it—a driveway.

“There,” I said, pointing. “Left there.”

Monty swung into the drive. Mud sprayed all around us, momentarily blocking my vision. “A little more warning next time would be handy.”

“Sorry.” Though I wasn’t.

The dirt road ran around the top of a large dam, then curved to the left. The headlights pinned a long, farmhouse-style redbrick house and the white Mercedes sitting out the front. Sensor lights came on as we pulled to a halt next to the Merc, spotlighting us in brightness but throwing everything else into deeper darkness.

I grabbed my pack, jumped out of the car, and slammed the door shut. The sound echoed loudly in the night, and the curtains twitched, revealing a