Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Only silence existed around us, though, interrupted by Austin’s steady breathing.
Those footsteps niggled at me, wandering closer, at the side of the yard and heading for the house.
Then a flash of understanding hit me. It wasn’t this house they were approaching.
Ivy House.
Slowly they moved, two people, clumsy and seemingly heavy of step. They weren’t shifters. Not decent shifters, at any rate. Maybe hikers, but why would they enter at the side of the yard and aim directly for the house? Hikers were usually lost in the back wood somewhere, ambling and taking in the surroundings.
Could be tourists, wanting to see the large, shadowy house.
I clued into the grounds at large, kind of a trip from so far away. The basajaunak wandered through the wood, some of them starting to move quickly toward the disturbance. Shadow leaked into the sky, Ivy House readying for action.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” I told her, monitoring the situation. “They could be just checking out the house.”
“Don’t you think I know what’s a threat and what’s benign?” she responded. “I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than you’ve been alive.”
She had a point.
The intruders started to zigzag now. The area they were walking through was mostly clear of trees, but they darted from one area of cover to the next, not wanting to be seen.
“There are different levels of threats, though,” I argued. “We don’t need to bury them in the yard if they are just trying to steal a TV or something.”
“Why not?”
I huffed as the basajaunak neared the area with incredible speed, clearly hidden from view because the people didn’t slow or freeze. They continued on to the area where the grass should start, no more cover unless they tried to work their way around. Which was exactly what they did. Within view of the house, they circled in, moving about ten feet away from the first basajaun, then past the next, having no idea how close to certain death they were.
They finally stalled near the back of the house, basajaunak all around them.
“Did the basajaunak just reveal themselves?” I asked Ivy House as I tried to push up to sitting.
Austin’s arms tightened around me and he nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. I ran a palm up his arm before sliding free, and he quickly came awake as I did so.
“What is it?” he asked, rubbing an eye.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand by the bed, only then realizing Cyra, Hollace, and Edgar were no longer on Ivy House grounds. This was the first time I’d mentally checked in. They were together, traveling fast, quite a distance from O’Briens. Given the direction they were headed, I had the distinct impression they were coming to us for the holidays after all.
“Someone’s sneaking onto Ivy House soil,” I answered Austin, trying to figure out what to do. “The basajaunak are all around, but none of them have phones. We need to remedy that. Cyra and the others are…coming here, it seems like? Or they’re on a car trip, at any rate.”
“The intruders are readying a spell of some sort,” Ivy House said, and I could feel her magic building.
“Crap,” I said, then relayed this to Austin.
“Tell her to take them out,” he said immediately, reaching for his phone. He would send people in to check it out. “If they were friendly, they’d have knocked on the door like anyone else.”
Of course, he was right.
I didn’t get the opportunity to give her the go-ahead.
The basajaunak rushed in, five of them at a time. The feet of the intruders left the ground. My phone rang a moment later, Cyra’s number.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Jessie, this is Her.” It sounded like the basandere who’d moved into my wood before the rest had followed. I felt her right next to what remained of the intruders.
“Hi. What’s going on?”
“Cyra gave me her phone in case something like this happened.”
“Where’d she go? Did she expect intruders? She hasn’t contacted me.”
“She did not tell us either of those things, just that we should let you know if anything seemed suspicious. Two men were just about to shoot a spell at Ivy House. We felt the alarm roll through Ivy House’s wood and figured we should stop them.”
“Are they still alive?”
“Yes, in case you wanted us to ask them questions. If not, we can kill them easily.”
“How much longer will you be?” Ivy House said, and I knew she was asking if this meant I’d cut my trip short.
I bent forward and cradled my forehead in my hand. “At least until the day after Christmas. I can leave early in the morning and skip the holiday party with my ex’s family. I’m sure my parents will thank me. Can we tie the mages up and keep them in the bowels of the house? Their magic won’t be an issue for you. The dolls can monitor them. The basajaunak can leave food.”