Hunter wrinkled his nose. “How can you drink that vile stuff?”
“It’s delicious. And nutritious.”
“You would think so,” he said darkly. He sighed. “I’m up against a brick wall, Morgan. Killian was here, and now he’s gone. I’ve been—what do they say? Not beating the bushes.”
“Pounding the pavement?” I suggested helpfully.
“Whatever. Not a trace of him anywhere. It’s almost as if he never existed.” Hunter ran himself a glass of water from the tap. “I didn’t imagine him, did I?”
“If you did, then we shared the same arrogant hallucination.”
A corner of Hunter’s mouth lifted. “You didn’t find him—attractive?”
“No,” I said, realizing with some surprise that I was being totally honest, not trying to save Hunter’s feelings. “I liked him. I thought he was fun. But he also seemed kind of stuck on himself.”
“Personally, I think he’s a pain, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth saving.”
“That’s big of you,” I teased, but the worried look in Hunter’s eyes scared me. “You think Amyranth has him already, don’t you?”
He didn’t reply, but his lips thinned.
“Look, why don’t we just put off the circle for a night?” I suggested. “We could all help you search for him.”
Hunter’s answer was swift and firm. “No. Especially now that we know Ciaran’s involved. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”
“Do you think he already knows about me? I mean, that Maeve and Angus had a daughter.”
Hunter looked absolutely miserable. “God, I hope not.”
I took some deep breaths and tried to fight off the feeling of dread.
I felt Hunter’s hand close around my wrist. “I’m going to leave soon. But first…come with me. Let’s just…be with each other for a little while.”
I nodded. We went into the guest bedroom and lay down on my narrow mattress. I let Hunter hold me loosely in his arms. I wanted to clasp him to me, to stave off all the desperation and fear charging through me. I wanted never to let him go.
“We can’t hold on to each other forever, you know,” he said, echoing my thoughts.
“Why not?” I asked. “Why can’t we just stay here and keep each other safe?”
He kissed the tip of my nose. “For one thing, I’m a Seeker. For another, none of us can guarantee another’s safety, much as we’d love to.” He kissed me again, this time on the mouth. I could feel his heart beating against mine. Someday, I thought, when all this is over, we’ll be able to be like this all the time. Warm, close together.
Someday.
By the time I’d changed, set out candles and salt, and purified the living room with the smoke of cedar and sage, Hunter was gone and everyone else had returned to the apartment.
Though Bree and Robbie seemed to be keeping their distance, Sky and Raven had come in together. Packages were put away. Plans for later that evening were discussed. When everyone had finally settled in, we gathered in the living room for our circle. It felt odd to be there without Jenna, Matt, Ethan, Sharon, and the other members of Kithic. I wondered briefly what they were doing back in Widow’s Vale.
Since Sky was the only initiated witch among us, she would lead the circle. But first, at Hunter’s request, I filled everyone in on the Killian situation.
“Let’s work a spell to lift obstacles and send power to Hunter,” Sky suggested.
We pushed the few pieces of furniture against the walls and rolled up the rug. Sky traced a wide circle with chalk on the wood floor. On each of the four compass points she placed one of the four elements: a small dish of water for water, a stick of incense for air, a crystal for earth, and a candle for fire. One by one, we entered the circle. Sky closed it behind us.
“We come together to honor the Goddess and the God,” she began. “We ask their help and guidance. May our magick be pure and strong, and may we use it to help those in need.”
We joined hands, each of us focusing on our breathing. Bree stood on one side of me, Robbie on the other. I opened my senses. I could feel the familiar presences of the others, feel their heartbeats. They were all precious to me, I realized. Even Raven. The circle bound us as allies in the fight against darkness.
Slowly we began to move deasil. I felt power moving through me. I drew energy up from the earth and down from the sky.
Sky had us visualize the rune Thorn, for overcoming adversity. Then she led us in a chant for lifting obstacles. The circle began to move faster. I could feel the energy humming, rising, flowing among us, getting stronger. Sky’s pale face was alight with the purity of the power she was channeling. She traced a sigil in the air, and I felt the power lift and rise above the circle.
“To Hunter,” she said.
Abruptly the air changed. The thrum of power was gone. Suddenly we seemed like a bunch of teenagers, standing around a New York City living room instead of the beings of power we’d been just moments before.
“Good work,” Sky said, sounding pleased. “Everyone, sit down for a moment. Ground yourselves.”
We all sat down on the floor.
“Something real happened there,” Robbie said.
Bree looked worried. “How do we know that energy went to Hunter and didn’t get picked up by the Woodbanes?”
“I bound it with a sigil of protection before I sent it out,” Sky answered.
“So now he should be able to find Killian?” Raven asked.
Sky shrugged her slender shoulders. “There are no guarantees, of course. Killian seems to have a gift for making himself scarce. But hopefully what we just did will make it a little easier for Hunter.” She glanced around at the circle. “We’d better clean up.”
For the next twenty minutes we cleaned up and debated what everyone was going to do with the rest of the evening. Raven wanted to go to another club—a normal, nonwitch one, this time—while Robbie wanted to hear some obscure band that was playing in Tribeca, and Bree wanted to go to a trendy pool hall down near Battery Park. I, of course, was wondering if Hunter was going to show up, but it seemed wimpy to say that aloud. And I was tired. Maybe it was the fight with Robbie or the circle, but I felt drained.
We were still trying to make a plan when the apartment door opened and Hunter walked in, one hand gripping Killian’s elbow. Killian looked sullen, and Hunter looked irritated. It was clear that Killian had not come of his own free will.
We must all have been staring openmouthed because Killian’s sullen expression turned to one of delight. He grinned and said, “I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?”
“Are you all right?” I asked, unable to reconcile his cheerful presence with the Killian of my vision.
“Tip-top,” Killian replied. “How about you, love?” He flicked his thumb at Hunter. “Must be rough, hanging out with Mr. Doom-and-Gloom here. Sucks the joy right out of life.”
“Shut up and sit down,” Hunter snapped.
Killian first helped himself to a soda from the fridge and then flopped onto the couch.
“He was in Chelsea,” Hunter said, “hiding out in an abandoned apartment building.”
“Who said anything about hiding?” Killian protested. “I just wanted some time by myself. No one asked you to come barging in, Seeker.”
“Would you rather your father found you first?” Hunter snapped.
Killian gave an overly casual shrug. “Why should I care if my father finds me? As long as he doesn’t try to send me to bed early.” He held up his hand as Hunter started to speak. “And please, don’t start up with that idiocy about him wanting to drain my power. I mean, honestly, where do you get all this? Is that what the council spends its time on—dreaming up daft conspiracy theories?”
I couldn’t make sense of it. Had my vision been all wrong? Or had Killian been held somewhere and escaped? Was Killian powerful enough to manipulate my scrying?
Hunter glanced at Bree. “Do you think your father would mind if Killian stayed the night?”
“I guess not,” Bree said, but she didn’t look happy about it.
“Right, then,” Hunter said. “He can sleep in the living room with me and Robbie.”