Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,34
didn’t just run off. She looked like she wanted to, but…” I paused. “So, can you feel anything amiss?”
He frowned, closing his eyes as he stopped dead center in the middle of the fairway. “Well, now that you mention it, I do sense a lot of nervous energy. And it’s not just the bustle of the crowd. Maybe we should talk to Rain?”
“That’s what I was thinking. You order our lunch and I’ll go find her.” I handed Llew fifteen dollars. “That should cover two corn dogs, onion rings, and a caramel apple.”
As Llew stepped up to the booth, I looked around, trying to spot Rain. The pie-eating contest was going on, and Marigold was in charge of that. Finally, I saw Rain sitting at a picnic table, staring at a sandwich as though she was trying to decipher what it was. I hurried over to her.
“Hey, Rain, can Llewellyn and I talk to you for a moment?”
I must have startled her because she jumped.
“Raven? I didn’t see you there.” She glanced around, scanning the crowd. “I seem to be free right now, so sure. Where’s Llew?”
“Getting our lunch. Why don’t you come over to our booth? Bring your sandwich and we can all eat together while we talk.”
She gathered up her plate and slung a tote bag over her shoulder, following me back to the booth. Where Marigold was tall, thin and blond, Rain was short with silver hair caught back in a long ponytail. It was obviously dyed—she wasn’t old enough for a full head of silver, and it had purple highlights that made it shine in a mesmerizing way. Rain was sturdy, and she wore a tank top with a flannel work shirt thrown over the top, and a pair of cargo pants.
We arrived at the booth and Llew pulled up a chair for her. We gathered around a folding table in back of the sales table. Llew had bought me two corndogs, two caramel apples, and a side of onion rings.
“Whoever makes these dogs knows what they’re doing,” I said, biting into one.
“That’s Wanda. She also won the blue ribbon for the best peach pie four years running at the Puyallup Fair. She’s selling them over in the main bakery area, with the profits going to the Eastside Women’s Shelter.” Rain bit into her sandwich.
“Does she own a bakery?” Llew asked.
“Nope. Every year, people wait for the fairs to start—that’s the only time she sells them.” Rain paused, then said, “All right, Raven, you said you wanted to talk to me? What’s up? Is there something wrong with the booth?”
I hesitated, glancing around. “Well, no. But…there’s no subtle way to ask this, but have you noticed any weird shit happening on your farm?”
Rain paused, staring at me for a moment before slowly setting her sandwich down. “What kind of weird shit? Have you been talking to Dray?”
I didn’t want to rat out Dray, so I just shrugged. “I’ve been sensing something amiss ever since last night when I first arrived. There have been several things that have been ringing my alarm bells. I honestly don’t know what to do. This isn’t my farm, but there’s danger here. And today, in the corn maze, Evie and I got lost. There was something following us there and whatever it is, it’s not friendly. I sent Kipa in to check on it.”
Rain paled. She stared at her plate for a moment. “All right. Truth? I’ve heard things when I’ve been out in the fields… I don’t know how to describe it other than I always feel like I’m being watched. I’ve stopped doing any rituals except protection spells. We don’t even celebrate the holidays quite like we used to. Oh, Yule is fine, and Ostara, and obviously Mabon—it’s a fun harvest festival. But last year we barely even gave lip service to Samhain. It felt too dangerous.”
“How so?” Llew asked.
Rain lowered her voice. “I played sick, to be honest. It felt dangerous to be calling up the spirits, so I faked a migraine. Since it’s not wise to practice magic when you’re sick, we called it off and the kids just watched movies.”
For a pagan to be so nervous that they’d play sick on a major holiday told me that Rain knew full well there was something going on.
“Have you talked to Marigold about it?” I asked.
Rain reluctantly shook her head. When she spoke, hesitation filled her voice. “No, actually. I’ve tried a few times, but…”