Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,27

but—” he paused, glancing at Curikan. “I can’t talk about this part in front of you, and even Raven doesn’t even fully know about our plans because there’s a need for absolute secrecy. However, if what we’re planning fails, then we may well have to pull back.”

My stomach churned. “You mean, leave the world to Typhon?”

“If we can’t defeat him, we’ll have to regroup and make other plans and we couldn’t do that if we’re constantly running to put out fires. And there’s no way we’d leave the members of the Wild Hunt to take their chances here. I know that Mielikki’s Arrow is also making plans to withdraw to Kalevala if need be, and Diana’s Hounds, to Olympus. Odin’s Chase would withdraw to Asgard and so on. We’ve been networking as much as possible.” He shrugged. “So much is up in the air.”

Curikan frowned. “Typhon is really so powerful?”

I nodded. “He was—is—a Titan. They preceded the gods, remember. They gave birth to the gods.” Pausing, I pulled a throw off the back of the sofa and wrapped myself in it. “I still think you should move here.”

“I’ll think about it,” Curikan said, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Good. I don’t want to be worrying about trying to find you over there.”

Curikan nodded. “Given how dangerous times are becoming, I’ll decide sooner than later. I promise, I’ll give your idea some thought. Meanwhile, I may ask your mother to go home and pack my things for me. She’s efficient and will know what to keep and what to get rid of. If I move to Y’Bain, I’ll contact the bank, get my money transferred to jewels or gold, and then cross over to Annwn from here.”

I paled. “You can’t carry that much on you. I’ll ask Herne if he can take your money to a safe place in Cernunnos’s palace.”

“I’ll need some of it in order to buy supplies, though I suppose I can buy axes and nails and all I need to build a house here and have it transferred over. Do you think Herne would have the time to assist me in making such a huge move?” He shook his head. “I don’t want to impose on his time.”

“I can ask, though I’m not happy about the thought.” I jumped as a sudden gust of wind hit the side of the house, and the rain started to pour. It was raining so heavily I could see the heavy drops splatter against the windowpane. That was an actual phenomenon in the Pacific Northwest, and anybody who lived in western Washington would immediately know what you meant when you said it was raining sideways.

I draped the throw around my shoulders and walked over to the window, staring out into the darkness. The night felt alive, and active, and my alarms were whispering that there were things out there in the dark that were waiting for us—dragons and ghosts and all sorts of beasties. For the first time in a while, I closed the curtains to shut out the night.

Chapter Six

The next morning, I fed the ferrets and cleaned their cages. Curikan helped me. I explained what had happened with them.

“You say they’re under a curse?” he said, staring at Elise.

“Yes, and it’s one that I can’t seem to break. If I can break it, they’ll be free to move on. But I have no idea what kind of curse it was that locked them up in the tree to begin with, and then my own magic just made things go awry.”

“I’ll do some research for you. Maybe I can find something you missed.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed me on the top of my head. “Have I told you how proud I am of you? You’ve made a life for yourself here. You have friends, love, good work. All that anyone could ask for.”

My heart welled up. I wanted to make him proud, wanted to make him feel like I was doing my best. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“We need to get moving if we’re going to make it there by ten,” Kipa said, peeking in the room. “I’ve fed Raj and made us breakfast to go. Curikan, would you mind loading the dishwasher? I left your breakfast on the counter where Raj can’t get to it. Otherwise, you’d probably have to forage.”

Curikan laughed. “No problem. That’s one thing I’d miss over in Annwn. Technology like dishwashers and washing machines. But magic is plentiful enough that I’m