to brag about. But that doesn’t seem to matter too much.” I sighed. “I’ll tell you the details later. We’ve gotta go. If you think of anything, call me.”
“All right. Be careful, honey.”
“I will.”
“I love you,” she said.
“Love you back,” I replied, and made a kiss sound. “I’ll call again as soon as I can.”
I turned to Bryn, shaking my head as I ended the call. “Crux is loose, and she doesn’t know anything about the Scottish amber.” I gestured for Zach to join us. We filled him in and discussed what to do next.
Bryn suggested that we go to Scotland to look for the amber first, since we didn’t know how long we’d get stuck in the Never.
“We don’t even know where to start looking. And if Aunt Mel doesn’t know anything about it, then it must’ve been Momma. Doesn’t it make more sense to go to talk to Momma first?” I said.
Zach nodded his agreement.
“Plus, we have to meet up with Kismet in Ireland. I don’t want her hanging around waiting for us when Crux knows where she was headed and will probably try to track her down. He might force her to go back inside without us. Or worse, if he tries and she escapes, maybe she’ll just take off.”
Bryn’s frown deepened. “Andre’s at risk because he helped us. He accessed restricted information when we needed it. The Association says it will wait until we return to take action against him, but if we completely disappear, they might think we’ve gone underground. By all accounts, time moves differently in the Never. We might be inside for what seems a short time to us, while a lot more time is passing for the imprisoned people we care about.”
I sighed, chewing my lip. Bryn had a point. Edie had been a free-roaming ghost for years and years. And she’d always had a restless spirit. She wasn’t likely to stay locked up for long without trying to escape, or causing such a fuss that she got herself in more trouble.
“What if the reason the trained spies from the Association can’t find what they’re looking for is because Tammy Jo’s momma found it and took it with her when she went inside to see that guy?” Zach said.
Bryn and I exchanged looks, and Bryn nodded. “All right.” He glanced back at the building. “I hope they can hold on while we’re gone.”
We walked back to the van. The driver was a wiry man with sunken eyes, a crooked nose, and brackets around his mouth. They called those smile lines, but he didn’t look the type to have smiled too much in his life.
“Hey, there,” I said, putting out a hand. “I’m Tammy Jo Trask. From Texas. In America.”
The driver quirked a brow, but didn’t extend a hand.
“What’s your name?”
“You can call me
driver
.”
“No, I can’t. That’s, um, well, it seems a little rude, Mr. . . . ?”
The driver guy slid the back door open.
“Speaking of being a little rude,” I murmured.
He didn’t look like he cared about manners in the least. It’s a problem with the Conclave members, along with their tendency to shoot and bespell people.
“Thanks for the lift to headquarters from the airport. We can find our own ride from here on out,” I said, walking to the rear of the van. “Wanna open the back so we can get our suitcases?”
“I’m your driver. I’ll take you wherever you’d like to go.”
“We’re going back to the airport,” I said. “Did the WAM president tell you we’re on a mission?”
“Tamara,” Bryn warned.
“I’m not gonna say anything about the particulars,” I said.
“No,” the driver said.
“Well, we’ve got some business to take care of. And to begin with, we need to go back to the airport.”
The driver nodded. “Wherever you’d like to go,” he repeated.
None of us moved. I could tell by Zach’s stance and the feel of Bryn’s magic that they hesitated to get in, but it came back down to the same question we’d faced inside: Resist by starting a fight, or go along and hope for the
“All right. Be careful, honey.”
“I will.”
“I love you,” she said.
“Love you back,” I replied, and made a kiss sound. “I’ll call again as soon as I can.”
I turned to Bryn, shaking my head as I ended the call. “Crux is loose, and she doesn’t know anything about the Scottish amber.” I gestured for Zach to join us. We filled him in and discussed what to do next.
Bryn suggested that we go to Scotland to look for the amber first, since we didn’t know how long we’d get stuck in the Never.
“We don’t even know where to start looking. And if Aunt Mel doesn’t know anything about it, then it must’ve been Momma. Doesn’t it make more sense to go to talk to Momma first?” I said.
Zach nodded his agreement.
“Plus, we have to meet up with Kismet in Ireland. I don’t want her hanging around waiting for us when Crux knows where she was headed and will probably try to track her down. He might force her to go back inside without us. Or worse, if he tries and she escapes, maybe she’ll just take off.”
Bryn’s frown deepened. “Andre’s at risk because he helped us. He accessed restricted information when we needed it. The Association says it will wait until we return to take action against him, but if we completely disappear, they might think we’ve gone underground. By all accounts, time moves differently in the Never. We might be inside for what seems a short time to us, while a lot more time is passing for the imprisoned people we care about.”
I sighed, chewing my lip. Bryn had a point. Edie had been a free-roaming ghost for years and years. And she’d always had a restless spirit. She wasn’t likely to stay locked up for long without trying to escape, or causing such a fuss that she got herself in more trouble.
“What if the reason the trained spies from the Association can’t find what they’re looking for is because Tammy Jo’s momma found it and took it with her when she went inside to see that guy?” Zach said.
Bryn and I exchanged looks, and Bryn nodded. “All right.” He glanced back at the building. “I hope they can hold on while we’re gone.”
We walked back to the van. The driver was a wiry man with sunken eyes, a crooked nose, and brackets around his mouth. They called those smile lines, but he didn’t look the type to have smiled too much in his life.
“Hey, there,” I said, putting out a hand. “I’m Tammy Jo Trask. From Texas. In America.”
The driver quirked a brow, but didn’t extend a hand.
“What’s your name?”
“You can call me
driver
.”
“No, I can’t. That’s, um, well, it seems a little rude, Mr. . . . ?”
The driver guy slid the back door open.
“Speaking of being a little rude,” I murmured.
He didn’t look like he cared about manners in the least. It’s a problem with the Conclave members, along with their tendency to shoot and bespell people.
“Thanks for the lift to headquarters from the airport. We can find our own ride from here on out,” I said, walking to the rear of the van. “Wanna open the back so we can get our suitcases?”
“I’m your driver. I’ll take you wherever you’d like to go.”
“We’re going back to the airport,” I said. “Did the WAM president tell you we’re on a mission?”
“Tamara,” Bryn warned.
“I’m not gonna say anything about the particulars,” I said.
“No,” the driver said.
“Well, we’ve got some business to take care of. And to begin with, we need to go back to the airport.”
The driver nodded. “Wherever you’d like to go,” he repeated.
None of us moved. I could tell by Zach’s stance and the feel of Bryn’s magic that they hesitated to get in, but it came back down to the same question we’d faced inside: Resist by starting a fight, or go along and hope for the
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