Bone Dry_ A Soul Shamans Novel - Cady Vance Page 0,88
cult had a bad vibe.” She glanced at me, and then at Nathan again. “He okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve told him all about shamans.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I’ve come into my Intuition lately.”
I stared hard at her, at her skinny frame and youthful face. She had to be younger than me. “Already?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m only fifteen, but I’ve already got it. And I’ve barely touched shaman magic.” She lowered her voice and glanced behind her at the empty hallway. “My parents don’t want me touching it at all, but I experimented, you know?”
“I totally understand,” I said with a sad smile. “Same thing. And I’ve got it, too.”
“Isn’t it weird?” she asked. “It’s like spiders are crawling all over me when it happens. And the headache sucks.”
“Yeah,” I said, hating to change the subject back to Tyler, but I needed to find out what I could. “So, can you tell me anything?”
She sighed and nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. Her eyes darted up to the ceiling, and then back to my face.
She drummed her fingers again and jiggled her foot. “I didn’t tell his mom about anything because he asked me not to, but if you think he’s in real trouble…”
“We think he’s gotten into something dangerous,” Nathan said.
“He’s right,” I said, trying not to picture Tyler’s dead eyes. “There’s something really bad about that cult.”
“Are you going to do something about it?” Audrey asked. “No offense, but what’s a regular guy going to do against a psycho shaman?”
“I’m no regular guy,” Nathan said in a half-serious tone.
Audrey raised her eyebrows and looked hard at him again, like she was reading his soul. When she finally pulled her eyes away, she nodded and leaned back into the chair. “No, a regular guy wouldn’t be dumb enough to get involved in this, even if he was lovestruck.”
My entire face turned the color of Nathan’s red polo. “Anyway, we’re going to find the guy responsible for all of this and stop him. Or try to anyway. We don’t have a solid plan yet.”
Or any plan.
“I don’t know much about shamanism.” She picked up a guitar pick and flicked it against the couch like it was the most natural action in the world. “My parents don’t practice and neither do my grandparents. None of them know anyone either. They’re real weird about it. I think they're scared of spirits.”
All my hopeful breath whooshed out of me. Another dead end. I tried not to let Audrey see how disappointed her words made me, but I didn’t think there was any way to hide the pain I felt. I needed something. Anything. Mom needed it.
“But I know where Tyler went when he joined the cult,” she said. I looked up sharply, sucking back in the hope. “He told me where the headquarters were. I tried going by there several times to talk to him, but they wouldn’t let me in to see him. It was like…a dorm or something. They were really weird about security.”
I leaned forward, finding my second wind, ignoring the hunger pains in my stomach and the spots dancing in my eyes. I was so close. I could feel it. Something inside of me knew that if I went to this cult place, I’d find the shaman who attacked my mom.
CHAPTER 29
Where is it?” Nathan asked when I didn’t respond. I was too busy clutching his hand with such raw hope, I couldn’t force my brain to form words.
“I’ll tell you guys where the building is if you promise you’ll let me know if you find anything. I’ve gotta warn you though. They probably won't let you in to talk to anyone.”
“I know a spell. It’ll get me in,” I managed to say over the roar in my ears and the jackhammer of a heart in my ribcage. We were another step closer. Maybe this step would actually be the one to save Mom.
“A spell?” Her eyes lit up. “Nevermind. I don’t want to know. But before you go, do either of you want a sandwich or something while I print out directions? Someone’s stomach sounds like a tow truck.” That would definitely be mine.
“That’d be awesome,” Nathan said. I agreed when another hunger pang lurched inside my belly, although a part of me just wanted to run, run, run.
A moment later, Audrey strolled into the room balancing a couple of Cokes and two paper plates that held the biggest turkey sandwiches I’d ever seen.