hill off the beaten track, grabbed some spare clothes out of a bag in the back, and walked us down to a wide stream with quickly moving water. Once there, he dropped the pile of clothes on the sandy bank, as though we’d gone frolicking as polar bear and gargoyle.
“This is going to take a bit of trust.” He handed me a small vial filled with clear liquid. “I’m going to need you to drink that.” He held up a similar vial. “I will, too. It’s not a date rape drug, I promise. It’ll mask our scent and tracks. It’ll make us invisible to anyone trying to follow, just like what that deer shifter used. One of the things he used, anyway.”
“Are you challenging me to a battle of wits?” I asked, holding up my vial and looking at his. “Do I take what I am given, or do I trade it for yours…”
The grin intensified. “Careful here. It is never wise to go against a Sicilian when death is on the line.”
I laughed, delighted he’d caught the Princess Bride reference, and downed the contents of my vial. The liquid tasted fresh and sweet, not much more than a mouthful.
“Oops.” Austin pulled out the little stopper on his vial. “You chose wrong.” He winked. “Been nice knowing ya.”
“Meh.” I batted the air. “You always say that. I’m still here, aren’t I? Those dolls haven’t gotten me yet.”
Austin took my empty vial and pocketed them both. “Speaking of dolls.” He held up his hand to keep me put for a moment. I felt the liquid fizzing down my body. “Is Ulric putting those around the house, or is it Ivy House? Your mother was not amused at dinner yesterday. Clearly she’s not doing it.”
“Ivy House,” I said dryly. “I don’t know how to reel her in. She is endlessly delighted by the ways my parents try to rationalize her magic. They apparently think the secret doors Ivy House keeps popping open are plaster siding or something that is about to fall off.”
“Isn’t plaster siding for the outside of a house?”
“I think so, but my mom doesn’t know any better. They think the house is basically falling down around them. The dolls are a joke, the doors moving on their own are ghosts, the thumps are rats, and so on. I can tell the shifting mantelpiece carvings in the TV room are making my dad think he’s losing his mind. He seems to ignore the carvings half the time and stare at them with a scowl the other half, as though daring it to move. What he thinks about you changing I have no idea. It’s like he never saw it.”
Austin shook his head, directing us right, looking back to check that we weren’t leaving any tracks behind. “It’s beyond me why it was so easy to convince you, yet they refuse to believe what’s in front of their eyes.”
“Yeah, right?”
“I hate to hurry you, but I need to hurry you. This stuff isn’t that strong. I don’t have access to impressive mages. Yet. This elixir won’t last long.”
“Strike one…”
He directed me to a mine shaft that was so well hidden that there was no way I would’ve found it without him, the bushes and trees creating a natural blind. We gingerly sank into it, Austin going first to watch out for bugs and spiders (I’d insisted, threatening him with a second strike). Once in, he asked again if I trusted him.
I stared down at the rickety old metal cart on the rusted set of tracks, leading down into the blackness.
“I mean…I do, but that doesn’t exactly mean I want to get in this thing.”
He crawled in, facing the black maw. Only a slight diffusion of light made it through the natural canopy blocking off the entrance. Once there, he put out his hands for me.
“I’ve taken this ride many times before,” he said. “It’s an escape hatch, so to speak. If someone is following you, they won’t be able to follow us. Not quickly, anyway. Only a handful of people in the town know about it. I test it a couple of times a year to make sure it is still safe. It has not failed yet.”
“Not yet, huh?” I closed the distance slowly. “I’m not going to lie, man, this is not shaping up to be a great date. I’m not so into this idea.”
“Have faith.” He stretched his arms out toward me and wiggled his fingers.