Page 50 of Lunar Desires
We were approaching Coldharbour from the east, the A Road cutting through the woodland on the edge of the huge Woodside Industrial Estate.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked me.
I rubbed at my neck. “Yes.”
“You were using your power.”
I told him what I’d seen, disappointed in myself for not giving him anything new.
Because you’re worthless.
“Then it must be Uncle Johnathon playing some shitty trick,” Isaac said, still linked to Riley. “The fuckhead.”
Jonathon Aurora. Yes. Maybe I could find him.
Reactivating my power, I searched for the piece of shit, passing from earthly air to the bitter winds of another world quicker than expected, considering I’d been ready to face a wall of shadow magic hiding him.
My magical GPS found him in Faerie, inside a cottage in a frozen landscape somewhere in the far northern corners of the world, tucked away, curled up on a bed, breathing heavily.
The image wasn’t clear, and neither were the details on his exact location. Vague, mostly hidden from me.
I focused harder, pouring more energy into my magic, stepped out of the blurriness of the cottage into a freezing night.
Tree. Apple tree. Lots of apple trees. Orchard. Blue. Blue apples. Dappled in frost, mist licking at the base of their trunks. Snow covered the ground, indented with footprints heading in all directions.
Cold. Cold. Cold.
What is this place?I asked.
Somewhere far, far, far…my power answered.
Helpful.
There must have been some shadow magic at work here for the details not to start becoming more clear. I sensed a wrongness about the place. Not a falseness, but a darkness wreathed in secrets. A part of Faerie out of the norm, tucked away from prying eyes like mine.
Man, the cold reached me, getting into my bones, which shouldn’t be possible. My magic didn’t interact with the elements like this.
I shivered, putting everything into pinpointing this location.
Nothing. Only the blue apples of the orchard and the cold slap of the air in my face.
“I sense you there, intruder,” a voice spoke from behind me.
I turned, seeing nothing but mist creeping across the ground toward the dense forest ringing this area.
We were inside a huge clearing. I saw that now. A frozen pool sat beside the cottage, an equally frozen river snaking into the trees.
People didn’t tend to sense my scrying, let alone speak with me.
For the time being, I didn’t answer.
“I sense you, witch,” the woman’s voice added. Croaky, deep, unnerving enough to make me shudder. “I do not see, but I feel your prying magic.”
I remained silent.
“Scrying,” she said. “Scrying and poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” She cackled, the sound startling an owl in the orchard. The white bird took flight, heading for the forest.
Footsteps crunched in the snow, moving around me.
