Page 54 of Shadow Dreaming

“You’re letting her come out, aren’t you?” he asked.

I knew what he was asking. “Yes. It’s time I married all parts of myself into one. Seton thinks so. And right now, I need her?—”

“Just watch your step,” Dante warned. “You know?—”

“I know what I am,” I said, glancing at him. “You don’t need to remind me. I live with a shadow over my shoulder every day. I live with a seething temper hiding just below the surface, and I live with the fear about what I might do if everything breaks out into the open. But right now, no matter what I do to them, it won’t be enough. I won’t rest until they’re dead to the world.”

Dante let out a long breath and sat back in his seat. “Just don’t become the thing you hate, Kyann. Even a category one hurricane can kill.”

“Funny you should mention storms,” I said. “Seton did too. Hurricanes, gales, windstorms…”

I wound around a curve on Golden Garden Drive NW, heading for the parking lot deep in the park. Orik had texted me where to meet him.

“She’d better be alive, or I’ll hunt Jiles down and feed him to a cougar, piece by piece.” I gripped the steering wheel, shaking.

“So, you think this was their plan all along?” Dante asked.

“I do. They know we’ve been on their tail. They want us to back off, so they found a way to send us a message. I’m afraid that they’re going to hurt Penn as the final blow.” I paused. “Duran. Do you think he threw Penn under the bus? Could he be working with Brim Fire, too?”

“Where is he right now?” Dante asked.

“I don’t know. We told him to stay home because we didn’t want to put him in danger going after her this morning. I watched him getting reamed by the queen?—”

“We’ll have to figure that out after we find Penn,” Dante said. “There’s the entrance of the parking lot.”

We pulled in and I eased into the spot next to Orik’s van. As we hopped out of the car, Orik was waiting by the back of the van.

“She stole Sophia’s car—it’s right over there,” he said, pointing.

There were several parking lots, but this one was in a clearing, in the center of the forested park. The park contained beach front, wetlands, playgrounds, hiking trails and other activities, and—as most areas around Western Washington—a tangle of undergrowth and trees.

“Where is she?” I asked as we hurried over to him.

Orik pulled out his phone and brought up the map of the park. “I saw her run up these stairs.” He tapped a place on the map. It was just up the road. “The stairs are a steep climb. She’s probably in the forest. I can’t imagine her running out into the neighborhoods above.”

“Did she say anything to you?”

He shook his head. “I think she’s still under the spell. Let’s get moving.”

“Where’s her car?” I glanced around the lot.

“I don’t know that, either.” Orik pressed his lips together and led us out onto the road, where we turned to the left and began the jog. Trees stretched tall overhead, bordering both sides of the road. About a hundred or so feet ahead, we came to a set of steep, narrow steps. The staircase led up to a neighborhood about three hundred feet above, with a switchback along the way. Steep, the staircase contained over 270 steps according to the map information. Rain made them slick, so one misstep could lead to a twisted ankle, or a dangerous fall.

“You’re sure she went up there?” I asked.

Orik nodded. “I saw her go. She may have gone off trail, into the woods. I don’t know why she would have gone all the way up to that neighborhood.”

“It wouldn’t make sense for her too.” We were about thirty steps up. “Dante, you check to the right, Orik, to the left. My sense is that she did go off trail.”

I wanted to jog up the steps as quickly as possible, but with one slip, I came down hard on my knee. I slowed my pace. “Guys, it’s super slick. Be cautious.”

We worked our way up through the drenching downpour. The rain stung against my skin, pelting down. Everything was soaked, every branch, every leaf, every tree, and the vibrant smell of petrichor filled the air. I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“Hey, look!” Orik pointed to the left, where we saw some freshly broken branches and what looked like imprints in the thick mulch covering the ground.

“Let’s go,” I said. Suddenly, I could feel her near. I knew Penn was in the woods. I leapt over the railing and began tracking her energy. Orik and Dante followed.

We pushed through the bushes. The light was wavering—it was nearly four-thirty, and we barely had another hour before the sunset. It was cold and getting colder, and Penn had been wearing a skirt and shirt.

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