Page 25 of Solstice

“Alice Redmond! It’s Kevin—he sneaked out with those boys.”

A chill rippled through his core, and he heard the wind all over again. “Do you think they’ve gone out on the lake again, Alice?”

“I don’t know.” The words emerged as sobs.

Then a man must have taken the phone from her hands, because his voice came on the line. “Chief? It’s Paul Redmond.”

“I’m here.”

The voice grew muffled. “Go finish getting dressed, hon,” he said. There was a pause before he came back on the line. “All right. Chief, the boy has been out on that lake at least twice before. I lectured him, I grounded him. But if he snuck out tonight, I can’t imagine another reason for it. Seems to me it’s the new big thrill for him and his friends.”

“I’m on it, Paul. Listen, meet me at the rec center, down on the shore. We’ll coordinate from there. I’ll call Phil and get him to open it up.”

“All right. I’ve already driven all over town, Jason. I’m worried.”

“We’ll find him,” Jason said, and even as he hung up the phone, he thought of one person. He thought of Dori.

Not just because she had a knack for finding missing people, either. But because…hell, this was the biggest crisis he’d faced as police chief. And he wanted her by his side, no matter how little sense that might make.

He punched in her number, then cradled the phone between his head and shoulder while pulling on his clothes.

But Dori’s phone rang and rang. He frowned, worried about her now, as well. Where the hell could she be at midnight with a storm brewing?

Chapter Seven

Dori had chosen just the right spot. A spot where the boulders and rocks formed a natural, three-sided barrier, halfway between her uncle’s place and the rec center farther down the beach. She knew this spot. Knew it well.

It was where she and Jason had shared that special night so long ago. And maybe that was part of the reason she’d chosen it tonight.

She’d set up her altar—a large flat-topped boulder—with care, but she hadn’t got overly fancy. This wasn’t about props. She didn’t need incense to represent Air, because she had the wind. It blew sharp and cold, but she’d bundled up. It would be fine. She didn’t need a cup to hold Water, because she had the lake right in front of her, choppy with whitecaps. She didn’t need salt to represent Earth, because she was surrounded by the boulders and rocks that were Earth itself. She didn’t need a representation of the Goddess, because a waxing, lopsided gibbous moon was up and bright in the sky, despite the dark clouds around it, gathering ever closer.

Fire—all she needed was Fire. And she had brought her special candle. The one the Crone-like Helen had given her, the one she’d said was imbued with a little magic.

Dori piled a few stones around the base of the candle holder to keep any wind from tipping it over. She lit the candle, and the glass globe kept it from blowing out. Then she sat quietly to meditate before it. She thought about this past year, all the things she had lost. And she thought about the things Helen had said to her. The inverted pentacle glowed before her mind’s eye. Spirit at the bottom, moving through the Underworld. She saw herself, making her way through a dark, shadowy place. She heard the old tales she had so often recited to rapt audiences standing in sacred circles—the tale of the Goddess’s descent into the Underworld, and how She was stopped at each of the seven gates and made to surrender one of Her prized possessions before she could pass. Her jewels, Her robes, Her crown—until there was nothing left.

And for the first time, Dori realized that was exactly what her own journey had been like. She had lost everything she thought was of value. Until she was left with—with just what Inanna had been left with in the legend. She was left with nothing but Her own true self. And that was all She had needed to emerge, triumphant, from the darkness.

For a long time, Dori sat there on the ground and worked through all those things in her mind.

The wind gusted harder. Dori opened her eyes. Her magic candle had blown out, despite the protective glass. A deeper darkness had settled over the night. The black clouds that had been threatening, blotted out the moon. In fact, the only light seemed to be coming from the rec center farther along the beach. The wind swept in from the lake, hitting her square in the face. “Damn, I so wanted to continue that meditation,” she muttered. “Maybe find out who my own true self really is.”

Headlights caught her attention, bouncing in her direction from the rec center. What was going on over there? There were several cars visible in the light that spilled from the building’s windows. Some of them were police cars.

She tucked her special candle and her lighter into her basket, left an offering of birdseed, then stepped out of her shelter of rocks, hugging her coat more tightly around her, and hurried toward the center. The approaching vehicle’s headlights hit her, blinded her, and then the vehicle pulled up beside her.

The passenger door opened, and when it did, the interior light came on and she saw Jason behind the wheel. “Get in,” he called. “We have a situation.”

She got into the car without pause and yanked the door shut. Jason immediately turned the car around and took it bouncing back over the beach. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Those damn kids have vanished again. There’s a boat missing from the launch down the beach, and a hell of a storm is rolling in.”

She closed her eyes. “Oh, no.”

“I was on my way to get you. Been trying to call, but—”

“I was outside.”

He peered at her as if she were insane.

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