Page 31 of Dragon's Midlife Secret Baby
“Yes, but you left us alone this time,” she pointed out. “You want to be the only one who rides into battle and makes the sacrifice, but who’s to say someone can’t fight for you, too? Things might’ve gone sideways, but that was all I was trying to do.”
“Good intentions haven’t gotten either one of us very far.” He swiped his hand over his forehead and turned away from the window. He’d been looking through it, but he hadn’t actually seen a thing on the other side of the glass. All he could do was think of Corbin.
A knock came on the door, followed by Maeve’s voice. “If you could come out here, we’re going to trysomething.”
Beck looked at Chelsea. She sat hunched on the bed, still clutching that bear to her chest. She looked cold, alone, and scared. It was exactly how he felt inside, but he didn’t know how to get her to understand that. Everything had gone wrong. There was a time he’d wanted nothing but her, nothing but to spend time with her and get to know her, to be with his mate. He still wanted that, but the chances of it happening felt like they were slipping further and further away.
They stepped out into the living room. Jace and Erin had arrived, and Beck gave a nod of acknowledgment to the man who’d first brought him there.
Maeve addressed the group. “We believe we know who took Corbin, so the next thing is to find out where they are. I’m going to do a finding spell, but of course, there’s no room for error. It’ll take all of us. Chelsea, is that Corbin’s bear?”
She nodded, sniffed, and handed it over.
“It would be better if I had something of Sol’s, as well, but this will have to do.”
Lucille cleared her throat. “Well, I might have snatched this from his house.” She produced a slim hardcover book from a tote bag that sat at her feet and handed it over.
“Petty theft?” A woman sitting next to her, whom Beck assumed must be her daughter, elbowed her.
“Hey, I’ve never seen an antique copy of Sir Walter Scott’sThe Lady of the Lakethat was in such pristine condition. I imagine a man like Sol only has it because it came with other works by Scott, likeHermeticaorLetters on Demonology and Witchcraft.”
“It doesn’t matter how or why we have it, only that we do.” Maeve moved to sit on the floor, putting the book and the teddy bear in front of her. “If someone would get the candles, please.”
Beck, feeling the brick wall of tension still up between himself and Chelsea, moved over toward Jace. He’d understood from Chelsea that though he’d married a witch, he wasn’t one himself. “What do we do?”
“Just stand back and let them do their thing,” he replied quietly. “If they need us, they’ll let us know.”
The women gathered in a circle. Maeve was touching the items. Chelsea sat next to her, her hand on her mother’s shoulder. Her other hand held Kristy’s, and so on around the circle until it came back to Maeve again. The candles burned brightly around them. Someone had laid a few crystals out, though Beck hadn’t even seen that happen.It was as though everyone else knew what was happening, and all he could do was stand back and watch.
He glanced at Chelsea, her eyes closed, her head bowed, tears dripping down her cheeks and into her lap. This was how she’d been feeling, closed off from any choices, helpless. He hated himself for getting angry with her. There was no telling if they’d ever be able to make their relationship right again. It was like the spell his captor had put on him had opened a chasm between them, and even his memories weren’t enough to build a bridge across it.
“Ancestors, guide us toward those whom we seek,” Maeve intoned. “Bring our family back together. We beseech you.”
The other women’s voices rose in a chorus around her as she repeated it several times, and then all fell silent. Beck could only hear the subtle hiss of the candle flames.
“I can feel Corbin’s spirit,” Maeve said after a moment, her brow wrinkling in concentration. “He’s unharmed. There’s a man with him.”
A frisson of energy ran up Beck’s spine. He wished he could leap into Maeve’s mind and see this all for himself. In the meantime, he swore he could feel the energy of the magic in the room.
“Is it Sol?” Chelsea asked.
“I’m not sure. He’s got some sort of energy block.” Maeve’s brows scrunched even harder.
“Let me try.” Lucille slid her hand down Maeve’s arm until she and her sister were both touching the old book. “Tall. Skinny. Even his face is too thin. Gray hair. Dark eyes. Mmm. And there’s that red pendant you were talking about.”
It couldn’t be. The energy zipping up and down Beck’s spine now turned into a gaping maw of despair inside him. He didn’t enjoy having certain memories back, and this was one of them. “With a little bump in his nose that twists it a little to the side,” he grated out.
Though Maeve stiffened for a moment, she didn’t reply to him. “We need a map.”
“I’m on it.” Jace strode into another room and returned with an old atlas. He laid the big book out on the floor in front of Maeve.
As the others kept their connection with her, she lifted her pendant over her head. It was the same one she’d hypnotized Beck with earlier, and now she held it aloft just over the map. It slowly began moving in lazy circles, wider and wider, and then narrowing. She continued to work it over the map, keeping the teddy bear and the book intouch with it.
“I don’t quite understand. It’s out in the water.”
Jace was watching intently. “Let me see if there’s a better map that might help. You need something more detailed. There are numerous little islands out there.” He flipped through the atlas and then set it down again.
Beck remembered Chelsea telling him that Jace was a ship captain of some sort. He was the most likely to know the area. Everyone here was a little different. They had their own strengths and weaknesses, and they all worked hard to hold each other up. It was no different than his clan in that sense.
