A Witch's Path (21 page)

The barn ahead of us was a prime example; one corner was noticeably lower than the other. Between the gaps in the boards, and the tilt of the building, it looked ready to collapse. I wasn't sure they were paying me enough to set foot in that death trap.

My magic tugged at me, until I stopped, closed my eyes, and let a strand explore the barn. It raced back to me, having found hundreds of spells. My eyes popped open, in time for me to see Jacks scrabble through the gate and Nell vault it.
 

"No. Stop. Wait, there's something in there!" I shouted, taking off to the barn. I tried not to picture another Ty. I didn't have that in me today.
 

Something lit the inside of the building in a soft glow. I was hoping it was a light bulb.
 

Reaching the barn, I shimmied over the gate with ease. I may not be a farm girl, but I was a country girl. With both feet on the ground, I turned, wand at the ready.

Rather than danger, I found tables lining the walls and bins of old items here and there. Jacks was busy sniffing a pile of bones in the corner and Nell was examining the ones laid out on a table.
 

"Can you feel the spells?" I asked.

Jacks turned enough to bob his head.
 

"Yes, I haven't touched anything. Would you mind looking at this?"
 

I picked my way around tables and piles, until I reached her. Nell stepped back to give me better access.
 

The table had most of a skeleton of a deer neatly arranged. Along with the skeleton was knives, a watch, two plates, a teddy bear, and a few items I didn't recognize. I examined each object with my eyes before probing it with my magic. One of the knives had been driven into a bone. The knife had been spelled to be unbreakable, and the bone now shared that spell.
 

The next table had a complete skeleton, one of a rabbit. It didn't have household items attached to the bones. When I reached out to touch it, the rabbit twitched and started to move away. I drew my hand back to my chest and it settled down.
 

By the fourth table, I wasn't surprised to see parts of a skeleton twitch when I approached. Like the last three, the spells being incorporated into the skeleton were basic, attached to inconsequential items.

"Do you know what this is?" Nell asked.

"I know as much as anyone. I know what he was doing, though how and why are up for debate."

"And?" Nell prodded.

"We should talk to Hal. It will be easier to tell everyone at once. Jacks, come on, we need to find Hal." Jacks sniffed the bones one last time before following us.
 

The walk back to the house wasn't long enough for me to figure out how to break the news to Hal. There were limits to my abilities and what was in that barn was out of my league.
 

We found Hal sitting on the trunk of a cruiser drinking water.
 

"What did you find?" He asked.

"It could be worse," I said, trying to gauge his reaction. "There aren't any other creatures like Ty, but we did find fifteen partially reconstructed and animated creatures. There are a lot more bones in there, and piles of magical items, but few of those items are of any concern. I don't know if the person in the house was doing this, or if he had help, that's your job."

"Whoever did this was twisting and mixing basic spells with bones. From there they managed to reanimate skeletons. If I had to guess, I'd say the ones in there were test pieces and Ty was the masterpiece."

"What's the bad news?" he asked in a flat voice.

"I can't dispose of everything in there. I'm not willing to mess with the partially animated bones. The regular bones aren't my department, and there's simply too much magical junk for me to sift through and disenchant. If it was me, I'd send it through the crusher. Since you may have to keep this stuff for evidence, I'd hire a firm from Atlanta. Some of them specialize in this sort of thing. They can catalogue and dispose of it." There was nothing fun about telling someone bad news, especially a client who was paying for my abilities.
 

I couldn't even make the same arrangement I had with Union County. Their stuff was ready for disposal. This mess was going to end up as evidence in the investigation into how a T-Rex demolished half of a town.
 

"The captain won't be happy about this." Hal twisted the water bottle in his hands.
 

"The ATF and FBI have been itching to get in on this. Maybe we can shovel this mess into their lap," Nell offered.

Even Hal managed to laugh.

"Thanks for coming out, Michelle," Hal said.

"No problem. Sorry I couldn't be more help."

"I knew this could go poorly. All things considered, it's not a bad outcome. We don't have any more dinosaurs creating havoc, and we can invite the feds in to clean up this mess."

"Okay, if you're happy with it, then I've done my job."

"I don't know if happy is the right term, but it could've been a lot worse."

"Do you want me to look at anything else?"

"No, you've done your part. I'll have Grady drive you back to the office." Hal ambled off to find my driver.

I took his spot on the trunk, and tried to let my brain turn off. Thinking about this wasn't going to help. I did my part, and sometimes that's the best I could do.

*******

While Grady drove us back to town, I dug my phone out of my bag and sent a message to Cage, letting him know I would be at the tea shop in forty minutes. I had a message from Tiffany. She'd talked to Wells again and there hadn't been any progress in Amber's case. I thanked her for the update.
 

If I could figure out where Amber was being kept, I'd get her back. Of course, the police had to be thinking the same thing. They had questioned every person remotely related to the case and no one had useful information.
 

That was the problem, wasn't it? The police were asking questions. If I knew I'd be killed for sharing information, I'd be reluctant to talk. Police had procedures and documentation. At some point, the trail would point at the person with the loose lips.
 

I didn't have to play by those rules. If I was questioned, the answer would be simple enough. I used a spell to figure it out. If they were asked, either they hadn't talked to me, or I'd used a spell to force them to talk. It might not be witness protection, but it was a close second.
 

There was a cost. There was always a cost. I would betray the police I worked with, and their ideals. Those ideals weren't random; they were there to protect people and their rights. It wasn't a perfect system, but it was the best one we had. I knew they were doing everything they could to find Amber. Wells, Westmorland, Jones, Hall, and the rest were all good people. When witnesses didn't come forward, they got stuck. If I made a deal behind their back, I would be one of the reasons the system failed. I could lose my business and go to jail.
 

I could live with that, if Amber got a shot at living happily ever after.
 

"Michelle?"

Opening my eyes, I saw the sheriff's office. "Sorry about that, I zoned out."

"It's okay. Do you need help with your bags?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

Grady helped me stash the bags in my car. I pulled a small shoulder bag out of the trunk, and followed him to the locker room. After thanking him, I took a hot shower and changed clothes. After the second time I soaped and rinsed, I felt and smelled clean.

I pulled my wet hair back into a ponytail and headed out. Cage had promised me answers and I didn't want to be late.
 

In minutes I was heading into the street level portion of a two story building. The front had 'Gold Rush Tea' in gold letters and baskets of flowers hanging around the patio. The inside of the building had developed its personality over time. The wood floor was dark and smooth from years of foot traffic. There was a slight dip around the door. The walls were brick, with black and white pictures of miners. The tables and counter were honey colored and shiny.
 

At the counter, I ordered a tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwich, and a chai tea latte.
 

I was half way through my sandwich, and winning the battle against this morning's memories ruining my meal, when Cage walked in. He waved at me and went over to the counter. While he was waiting for his order, I got the rest of the food in my tummy, and shoved the bad images to a dark corner of my mind.

Cage came over with a bagel and large drink in his hands.
 

"Thanks for meeting me." I stood up and offered him my hand.

He set his things on the table and gently engulfed my hand in his. "It is my pleasure."
 

We settled into our seats and I started playing with my mug.
 

"Where would you like to start?" Cage asked.

I had so many questions. Between Elron and my parents, I had hints and partial facts, but it wasn't safe to ask him about that. He had mentioned things I didn't understand when he helped me neutralize Ty. "What is an Ieldra?"

He studied me as he finished chewing. "You don't know anything about clans, do you?"

I shook my head.
 

"Ah, we have a lot to talk about. The clan follows the leadership of their Elders. The elders are a group selected for their wisdom, power, and experience; whatever would make you pick a leader. Out of that group comes the clan leader, or Minister. An Ieldra is a witch born with a curved X as part of their clan scar. That scar marks them as powerful."

I gave up on finding out what being an Ieldra meant and followed the flow of information. This was the most information I'd gotten from a witch. "You said it's rare to be born with this mark. How rare is it? Can tattoos change outside of joining a new clan?"

Cage smiled. "You know which questions to ask. It is very rare to be born an Ieldra. No, to the best of my knowledge clan scars only change if you join a new clan."

I took a sip of my drink. That was good information, but it didn't apply to me. "What about the tattoo on my shoulder? What does it mean?"

His voice deepened. "When a witch is born with the tattoo of an Ieldra, it marks her or him. The way it was explained to me was that it's like a prophecy. You will do something that sets you apart. What that is varies. For some it is undertaking a great task, and others have changed the way we view magic."

All of that was fascinating, and something I needed to think about at length, he hadn't told me about my tattoo. "Is that what my tattoo means?" I had trouble referring to the mark on my shoulder as a clan scar. It was nearly identical to the tattoos humans and shifters were fond of, and I didn't have a clan.
 

Cage shrugged one of his shoulders, "Yours is different. I've never heard of one like it. You have the mark of an Ieldra, but it mixed with the symbols of your clans and I can't tell which clans."

"Why not?" I struggled to keep my voice pleasant. Cage was helping me, answering questions I didn't know to ask, but my hope for clarity and understanding was fading. Sure, I could get answers, but only ones that left me with more questions.
 

"Two clan symbols can mix in countless ways. Your scar is a mixture of three symbols with the Ieldra being the most prominent. I wish I could help."

"You've helped. You've told me more about clans in the past twenty minutes than I've learned my entire life. Thank you."

He smiled. "My pleasure. What else would you like to know?"

"You said being an Ieldra is like being part of a prophecy. Could you explain?" If my skin thought it had a say in my life, it was wrong. I would make my own choices, for better or worse.
 

"You're the first Ieldra I've met, so I'm telling you what I was told. Just as a witch is born with a clan scar, they can also be born with the mark of an Ieldra. It seems that babies acquire that scar the same way they acquire the clan scar, but that's poor information since no one knows how witches get a clan scar. Being marked an Ieldra does not give any indication about what you could do, only that you will do something extraordinary. As far as I'm concerned, you've already lived up to expectations. What you can do, how you cast spells, that's beyond compare."

"Great. I don't need my skin dictating my life."

Cage chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it. The events will come to pass, or pass you by."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't find out that you're supposed to do something amazing."

"No, but most Ieldra live long happy lives."

That sounded about as likely as a werehog growing wings, but I wasn't going to be rude to the guy who was helping me. "But I'm not part of a clan."

His eyebrows pulled together. "That I don't understand. You are marked as a member of two clans. How did you end up clan-less?"

"I was born without one. Mom wasn't a member of a clan, and I didn't have a father growing up." I left out the part about having a father now. It wasn't any of his business.
 

Cage shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you. I suspect your Mom still had ties to a clan, as did your father. Your mother's clan may come looking for you. If your mom had a tie with her clan when you were born, they may have felt your birth and the potential in you. The same goes for your father's clan."

I was pretty sure I was safe from Dad's clan. He knew exactly where to find me. Mom's clan was a different kettle of fish. My parents' warning stuck with me. "Would other clans come after me?"

"You make it sound like they would hunt you down. I doubt they would use force, but yes. Any clan who hears of your abilities may attempt to court you. Their ways of courting could be invasive. In spite of living in a modern era, some elders are very traditional, in the worst sense. They may invade your life, talk to your friends and family, and generally do their best to find out everything about you." Cage grumbled.