I was still half a block away, but I ducked into a cluster of trees and lifted the walkie-talkie. “Okay, it starts at the corner of Canyon and Carolus. Let me know when you’re in position.”
We had to time this really carefully, because if Jesse wasn’t in my radius, the spell would work on him and he’d stop the car, blowing the whole ruse with Astrid. At the same time, if I broke the spell too early and the Luparii were watching, they’d know I wasn’t in the car.
I continued up Canyon at a brisk walk, keeping an eye out for the Lexus. A couple of family-type SUVs went by, and then I saw it. From a distance, there was no reason to think the woman next to Jesse wearing my sunglasses wasn’t me. I was almost to the intersection, so I stopped, leaned against a tree, and closed my eyes, concentrating on the edges of my radius. When I was sure I was sort of holding the whole thing in my head at once, I thought as hard as I could: expand.
My eyes opened, and the Lexus sailed past the intersection, into Griffith Park. I sighed with relief, still holding my expanded radius. And I started to run.
Chapter 28
Jesse’s stomach was tying itself in knots. He wanted desperately to hurry, to rush in there and get his brother out, but he forced himself to drive slowly into the park. When they passed the intersection and the spell didn’t stop him, he sighed with relief.
“We’re in her aura,” Astrid said, shifting a little in her seat. It was less like she was uncomfortable and more like she’d just gotten comfortable. Jesse knew that werewolf magic was difficult: it sort of itched at their psyches. In theory, being near Scarlett was relaxing for them—but it never seemed to fully mellow Astrid. “How far can she make it go?”
“She doesn’t know,” Jesse admitted.
“Seriously?” Astrid was aghast. “How can she not know?”
“It’s hard to test, because it expands when she gets worked up about something, and most of the situations where she’s really needed to enlarge it are stressful,” he explained. “But she’s strong. She can do this.”
Astrid settled back in her seat, adjusting Scarlett’s black Ray-Bans on her nose. “I hope you’re right. We might not get another chance at these fuckers.”
Jesse was almost positive they were going to get another chance at the Luparii, if they survived this encounter, but he saw no reason to say that to Astrid.
“This is the lot,” he said, pulling over a little ways past the entrance.
“How far are the caves?” Astrid asked.
“Not that far. Just keep your head down. They’ll want to confirm it’s us, so they’ll wait until we’re close. Remember to go slow,” he couldn’t help adding. Astrid just grunted.
They got out and walked up to the trailhead. It was unmarked, but Jesse had taken his parents’ dog, Max, for a walk to the caves only a couple of months earlier, and he knew where they were going. They passed the small white gate meant to keep vehicles out, and the trail immediately widened, winding into the hills toward the canyon. It was at an incline, so anyone who wanted to take an alternate route to the caves would have to face a steep hill with very dense brush. Just looking at it made Jesse wince. He wondered for the first time if he and Astrid had the easier job.
They walked very slowly along the dirt road. Jesse scanned the hills that rose up all around them, trying to spot the glint of a gun or scope. There were just too many possible hiding spots. He’d put on his bulletproof vest, and Astrid was wearing one too, but there were weapons and ammunition that could pierce it. The whole thing made his skin itchy.
“Where is she?” Astrid muttered through her teeth. “I could walk faster than this on my hands.”
“Does Scarlett strike you as a really outdoorsy person?” Jesse said, in as low a voice as he could.
Astrid choked on a snort. “You think she’s stuck on a cactus?”
Just then the walkie-talkie stuffed in Jesse’s sock made a tiny blip. He bent down as if to tie his shoe, pressing the button with the side of his palm. “Go ahead.”
“You were right,” came Scarlett’s breathless voice. “One on the ground, probably Sabine, and three in the hills. I felt the twisted slumber break, so she’ll know ‘I’m’ close.”
Witches were the only species in the Old World that Scarlett could feel without them knowing—unless they were using their power in that moment. “We’ll hurry. Cue the others.”
Jesse straightened up, slipping the walkie-talkie into his left pants pocket, and they began walking again. He was careful to keep the same leisurely pace, in case they were being watched through a scope.
Astrid’s body sort of jerked for a moment, then she continued walking. “Back to werewolf?” Jesse murmured.
“Yes.”
Jesse carefully took hold of Astrid’s arm, ignoring her quiet growl of annoyance, and the two of them hurried ahead. Scarlett would be contacting her werewolf friend Marko, who was currently in human form. He was waiting up the path on the other side of the caves. And he wasn’t alone.
The wide path doglegged to the right, and suddenly the Batcave entrance was only forty feet away. The path continued to the left in an almost-circle around it, so the cave formation was right in the center. Killian stood at the mouth of the cave, wearing dark sunglasses and a sneer. Sabine was crouched behind him and to the side, but Jesse couldn’t see what she was focused on.
“Hey, Cruz,” Killian called. “Did you have a nice nap?”
Jesse felt a rush of anger. “Where’s my brother?” he yelled, stepping forward. He didn’t let go of Astrid’s arm.
Smirking, Killian took one step sideways, revealing Noah lying on the ground. Noah’s feet hadn’t been in the photo, but even from a distance, Jesse could see that one of his ankles was twisted to the side at a grotesque angle. Sabine crouched near his head with a look of irritation on her face. Scarlett had popped the spell. She said something to Killian, and his sneering lips turned down. “My wife says her access to magic is already back,” Killian called.
“Now?” Astrid muttered.
“Now.”
With Jesse’s body angled in front of her, Astrid reached into Jesse’s pants pocket, fumbled for the walkie-talkie, and pushed the button twice. Come on, Scarlett, Jesse thought. She was going to have to come close enough to see them so she could expand her radius exactly the right amount. If she overshot it, they were screwed.
“Your wife?” Jesse yelled to Killian. “That’s funny, I figured you guys for brother and sister. Then again, maybe we’re both right.”
Something flickered across Killian’s face, and Jesse realized he’d actually been close. Considering their moral flexibility, the Luparii probably wouldn’t be opposed to a little light inbreeding to keep up the strength of their magic. “What are you, cousins?” he called. “Second cousins?”
Killian stepped forward from the cave’s entrance and took his sunglasses off, his face clouded over with anger.
It was obviously some kind of signal, because less than a second later, Astrid was shot in the head.
Chapter 29
I was panting by the time I came in sight of the turn to the cave. Panting and filthy, with scratches all over my arms and God knew what foliage in my hair. My boots were ruined, and there was a deep scratch across my cheek that I was trying to pretend didn’t hurt and wouldn’t scar. I’d had to break through a lot of brush to figure out how many Luparii witches were waiting on the edge of the canyon without being seen by said witches. I do not recommend going off-road in Griffith Park.
I almost cried with relief when I got to walk on the path again. Then I got the two-beep signal on the walkie-talkie, and ran to the side of the canyon wall so I could peek around the dogleg at the cave entrance. Jesse and Astrid had their backs to me, but I could see a prone figure a little past them. Well, okay, I saw legs. Good enough for me.
I was already tired, hurt, and—oh yeah—pregnant, so I had to close my eyes and concentrate as I expanded my radius to engulf a werewolf, then a witch—and I stopped, holding it right there. This was more intricate and fussy than I was used to—generally I stuck to “expand” or “contract,” but I managed. Barely. I even opened my eyes so I could check on Jesse and Astrid again.