Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,82
back in a ponytail. She wore a sword draped around her waist, as well. “Your father called me and asked if I could go with you, since he can’t.” She strode over and eyed me up and down. “Well, you look fairly well protected, except for your thighs. But you should be all right.”
I pointed to her sword. “Is that—”
“Blessed by the Morrígan, yes. It’s got a wicked sting.” She laughed and the feral side of her rose to the top. My mother was a Bean Sidhe from hell when she wanted to be, and when she fought, she fought to win.
Grateful she was coming with us, I gave her a hug. “Thank you. We can use all the help we can get.”
“I have another advantage. My shriek can momentarily disrupt the wights and make them visible on the physical plane—not for long, but long enough to get an idea of where they are. So, are we ready?”
Kipa’s face crinkled into a smile. “Good to have you aboard, Phasmoria.”
She glanced from him to me, then back to him. “If my daughter needs me, I’ll always do my best to help her out. Let’s go. You drive, Wolf.”
I knelt to hug Raj good-bye. “Raven will be home after a while. She needs to take care of a bad man. Raj will behave while she’s gone and listen to Curikan?”
Raj nodded. “Raven be careful. Raj needs Raven.”
“Raven promises she’ll be as careful as she can. Raven will always do her best to come home to Raj.”
After kissing him on the forehead, I turned to Curikan, who held out his arms. I hugged him tight, whispering, “Watch over Raj for me while I’m gone.”
“Always, my daughter. Always.”
I tossed Kipa my keys and we headed out to the car. As we pulled out of the driveway, it occurred to me that we really were an odd little family.
The drive to the farm was quiet. My mother, who could be the loudest woman on the planet, stared out of the window, silent. I tried to focus on the order of events, but my thoughts kept returning to Elzabeth and how much I wanted to see her brought to justice. Kipa kept his eyes on the road, breathing softly.
We arrived at the farm at six-thirty, to find Herne and Ember already there. Viktor was with them. As we piled out of the car, Kipa stepped to the side and let out a loud whistle to summon his guards. I was never sure how he managed to specify how many he was summoning, but the sounds of his whistles were often different, and I realized he was communicating through them.
Phasmoria and I headed over to where Herne, Ember, and Viktor were standing. Both Herne and Viktor were geared up in leather jackets, jeans, and shit-stomping boots. Ember hugged me, and they all nodded to my mother.
“Well, let’s hope we can put this mess to rest tonight,” Herne said. “Phasmoria, I’m grateful you’re joining us.”
“If I can possibly manage it, I’ll always be here to help protect my daughter. Given what she’s told me about this case, it sounds like a certain earth witch needs her ass kicked.”
“About Elzabeth,” Herne said. “I put in a call to some friends back east and they’re checking into what they can do about her. I also contacted the magic guild she’s associated with and dumped the whole case on them. They don’t take to their members practicing sacrificial magic or harming others unless it’s in self-defense, and they told me they’ll be taking care of matters. They have ways of worming the truth out of their members.” He paused as Kipa came running with a massive number of guards. At least one hundred men stood behind the Wolf Lord.
“Where are the crystals? My men will begin seeding the land,” Kipa said.
Herne motioned to several massive buckets by his SUV. “There. They can be spread up to five yards apart and still work. They’re small but my mother charged them so they’ll be more than adequate.”
Kipa turned and spoke to his men in Finnish. A moment later, they swarmed around him, heading over to the buckets of crystals. Herne hurried over and spoke to them, pointing to various buckets and waving in different directions. After a few moments, Kipa’s guards swept them up, spreading out in pairs. They vanished in all directions, running so fast they were blurs in the approaching dusk.
I turned to Herne as he returned. “So we wait, where?”