up the slug.
She rolled the piece of metal between her fingertips and then deposited it in Elise’s palm. When Wyatt looked into Elise’s hand, he found himself studying a squashed, misshapen object the size of a small coin.
Without a word, Holly headed back up the path toward the truck leaving the astounded friends staring at each other. Elise glanced up at Wyatt, and her countenance said it all. Audrey shot Holly in the head, but the bullet didn’t puncture Holly’s skull. What did that mean?
Elise nodded toward the trees. “Let’s get out of here. The Dryad isn’t here anyway.”
“Neither is Johnny,” Susanna replied. “He’s at Lake Peltier.”
Garret rounded on her. “Are you sure? Are the others there?”
“It’s hard to tell.” The three witches surveyed the swimming hole. “The Dryad isn’t there, either.”
“Finding them won’t help us, then.” He shouldered his weapon and barged after Holly. “She’s the one we have to find, not them.”
Elise put her things back in her pack. Wyatt hurried after Holly and found her rummaging in the cab. She took out one of Garret’s hunting jackets and draped it around her bare shoulders, but that left her legs uncovered.
He squinted at her on the side. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t look at him. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“Um…because you just got shot, and the bullet bounced off your fucking forehead—that’s why. Did you get shot twice? Where did the second bullet hit you?”
“Just forget it. I’m fine.” She looked up at him once and then strode to the truck bed. She climbed into it and sat down, clutching the jacket over her chest. She folded her legs under her and gazed off into nothing.
Wyatt glanced around to find the others advancing up the road. Elise and Garret overheard the exchange, but the witches showed no sign of being aware of it. Elise’s features trembled with suppressed distress. Garret regarded Holly with a strange expression on his face.
Elise shook herself and pushed past Wyatt. She climbed into the bed and took the spot closest to Holly. The witches returned to their corner. That left Wyatt with the front seat next to Garret.
He sat down and shut the cab door. Garret got behind the wheel. He started the motor and drove back to the house. Wyatt didn’t look behind him once.
CHAPTER TEN—ELISE
Elise came downstairs to find Garret in full chef mode in the kitchen. He moved from one pot to another, doing a close impression of Gordon Ramsey on a bad day.
Elise scanned the living room. The three witches and Wyatt sat around the couches and love seat. Wyatt studied the maps while Susanna sewed a button on somebody’s shirt. Hattie occupied the armchair reading a book just like a regular person.
“Where’s Holly?” Elise asked.
“Sulking,” Garret grumbled. He whisked something in a saucepan. Elise didn’t try to identify it from here.
“What does that mean?” Elise asked.
Wyatt pointed his chin toward the open double doors leading outside. “She left a few hours ago. She didn’t say where she was going, and she hasn’t come back.”
Elise raised her eyebrows. “A few hours ago? It’s pitch dark out there, and she’s almost eight months pregnant. She could be anywhere. She could be dead.”
“She’ll be fine, Elise,” Edwina replied. “She just needs some time to herself. That’s all.”
“And that’s your professional opinion, is it, Professor Freud? You might be ten times the witch I am, but you’ll excuse me if I don’t take your recommendation. Holly is my friend, and if something is bothering her, I won’t leave her to deal with it on her own.”
Elise dashed out the door into the night. Garret called after her, “Just leave it alone. You won’t find her in this dark.”
Elise didn’t stop, but once she got off the porch, she realized he was right. Beyond the rim of light coming from the living room, the forest fell into dense shadow. Not only that, but Holly was a bear shifter now. If she didn’t want to be found, she could hear and smell Elise coming a mile off. Elise wouldn’t get anywhere near her.
Elise could use magic to locate Holly, but something told her she wouldn’t have to. She knew her friend. Holly didn’t go into the woods to get away from people. Holly didn’t do that. In all the months Elise had known Holly, Holly never once ran off to get away from her friends.
Elise wandered a few feet into the woods, but after only a couple of steps, something drew her toward the