thirty-something feet out. Less than a quarter of an acre of the pasture was infected with the death energies. There was no trail from the parking area to the pasture. How had death and decay gotten to the pasture and the house?
We had zigzagged around the entire farm, but I couldn’t figure out how the death and decay energies had gotten close to the barn or how they had reached the house. FireWind was going to be disappointed. Death and decay had seemingly popped into existence, infected a pasture, and reappeared inside the house.
It was also clear that unlike the energies inside the house, the ones in the pasture were decreasing.
Had the potted vampire tree, in its form of the Green Knight, zapped the death and decay out of existence in the land where I had been attacked? Was that what the lance had done when it passed me and hit the frozen glass flames behind?
Our three-person team was fast and efficient, and if Pacillo thought I was reading the land with my cell phone, which I carried each time, well, I wasn’t about to disabuse him of that notion. By three a.m. we were back at the barn. I was yawning and too sleepy to continue, so we said our good nights, and Pacillo turned on the security lights.
Occam and I walked back toward the car, stopping on the way when he touched my arm. “Lemme see.” When I didn’t understand, he said, “Your finger. Your hand. Lemme see.”
“Oh.” I curled my fingers protectively into a loose fist. I didn’t want to look.
“Does it still hurt?”
I nodded.
He held out his hand and I placed my hand into his. Uncurled my fingers. Occam turned on a small penlight and directed the narrow beam at my fingers. The index finger was white as bone, the skin dead. It was covered with pinholes, as if I’d stabbed it with needles. With his burn-scarred hand, Occam lifted the finger to his lips and kissed it. My heart melted. Before I could think it through, I pulled his hand to my own lips and placed a kiss on his knuckles. I felt him start in surprise, and saw a flash of his teeth in the shadows. He released my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I relaxed against him, feeling . . . cherished? Loved. Yes, that was it. Feeling loved. My entire heart melted, resting against my cat-man.
We were almost at the car when a light came on inside the house. Occam came to a stop and swiveled so I could see what he saw. “That’s a mite strange, don’t you think, Nell, sugar?” he said. “No cars in the yard. Officer Stanhope, you still on duty?” he asked without raising his voice.
“I’m here. The witches and the crime scene folks left while you were off working. No one has approached the house within my sight since you came through. Don’t mean someone didn’t get through another entrance, what with the lights off and the security system off-line for the witches and the techs. I’ll check it out.” Keys jangled and Stanhope appeared out of the dark. He was a tall man, wearing the uniform of Stella’s security company, a gun at his belt. Stanhope was fit and carried himself like former military.
“Want backup?” Occam asked.
“Never turn down backup, my man. Never turn it down.”
Stanhope opened the door and Occam followed him inside. I went on to the car and placed the potted tree in the milk carton in the passenger seat. Its roots were exposed and in need of fresh soil, but I didn’t travel with a bag of Soulwood soil. That was something I might need to remedy.
While I leaned against the car, I sent JoJo a text. Security system not show suspect entering house carrying trigger?
She texted back, System autostores and eventually rewrites itself. I’m trying to reconstruct old data from a saved version.
Good thing you’re our Diamond, I texted.
She didn’t reply. Jo had once been known as Diamond Drill, one of the top hackers in the world. She worked for us now.
Stanhope jogged from the house. “Kid got inside. He had a key, knew how to work the security system,” he called to me, irritation in his voice, “and didn’t mind crossing crime scene tape. Your partner says to go on in.”
Leaving the pot and the blanket, I entered the house empty-handed, to find Occam and a young man sitting at the big kitchen island. The