“You had to have set all this up a long time ago. The fracture pack coming down here months ago, my father following, the leader of the resistance pack meeting the priestess. All of it.”
She shrugged. “Some, and some I did not have anything to do with. Your birth triggered a path, and up until Lili, everything had stayed mostly on track. You had some ups and downs, but I did not need to interfere overly much. I knew it would be a hard road for you, and I was very sad about that, Chica, but I didn’t have to prod you much to stay on course.”
“What about the cemetery? How did we survive that?” I asked. “I tried to change the game by jumping on top of the mausoleum, but I hadn’t expected it to be that easy in the end.” If chopping off wendigo heads was considered easy.
“Enid made some grave mistakes”—she chuckled—“but you were shrewd, as I knew you would be.” Her face beamed with pride. “Your choice to stop running for nothing more than a brief second”—she snapped her fingers—“changed that outcome. You were right to stop. You listened to what your heart told you, even when your mind felt it was wrong. But Enid was greedy, and her true undoing was Kayla. She did not factor in the young girl’s stamina—or lack thereof. She chose the best necromancer in the country, but not the most experienced. That, coupled with your move, and you became the victor.”
Juanita flickered in front of me and the table began to fade.
She kept talking, but I couldn’t hear her. “No, wait!” I cried, feeling frantic, grabbing at the table. “We can’t be done yet! There’s so much more I need to ask you. What about Tally? Is she safe? What about my father and Danny and Naomi?”
Juanita’s visage cleared for a moment, but I knew we were out of time. “The great witch es safe but needs your help,” Juanita murmured. “Your path will become clear to you soon. Remember, you must do what needs to be done, no matter how difficult.”
“Are we going to meet again?” I asked quickly as the room around me dimmed and I heard a desperate roar.
Rourke was angry. I’m coming soon, I told him.
“No, Chica. Once you leave here, I must not interfere again. It’s the way it must be.” I could barely see her, but she reached for my hand again and stroked it. “You will be protected this night. Have no fear when you return. But when the dawn comes, you must make a critical decision and leave with all haste. Enid looks for you even now.”
“No, please, tell me what to do. What is the decision? I don’t want to screw this up!” I was bordering on manic, my hands scrabbling to hold on to her, but I couldn’t feel her in the physical sense any longer. “Juanita, give me something more than that. Help guide my next move. My mind feels divided. I want to go home and be with my Pack, close to my father. I want to help Tally. But my heart is telling me to do something else, to go help Kayla. To find her brother.”
The entire room took on a hazy white glow and I began to float backward toward the door against my will.
Juanita stood, her ceramic mug in her hands. She waved and blew me a kiss. “I will miss you, Chica. And I will grant your last wish. Find her brother, the one called Ajax. Do that and you are on your way to fulfilling your destiny.”
I blinked my eyes open.
29
“Hiya,” Marcy said, glancing down on me. My head was cradled in her lap. “Was it fun? I’ve heard of astral spells, but I’ve never known a witch who could successfully perform one. Did it feel like you were really there? Or was it all blinky and weird?”
I lifted my head and glanced around the room. “Where’s Rourke?” I needed to know that before I could answer her questions.
She paused, and then gave a dramatic sigh, looking resigned. “The boys had to escort him… outside. He was destroying too much stuff in here, so we all thought it might be better for him to take a tiny”—she inhaled—“time-out.”
I glanced around. The cabin was a wreck. Cushions were shredded, lamps overturned, walls punched in. “How’d they get him out there?” I asked, sitting up. That must have been a feat.
Marcy slid over on the sofa to give me some space. “Well,” she answered, setting a throw pillow into her lap, curling her legs under her, “it wasn’t easy, I can tell you that much. I had to spell him and the boys had to manhandle him out of here. He’s heavy, not to mention he’s one tough son-of-a-biggen, and when he’s pissed off he puts everyone in jeopardy. Once they got him out the door, Ray flew him someplace so he could… cool off. Like, literally cool down.”