What have I gotten myself into? she sighed, chewing on the inside of her lip.
Jace cleared his throat. “Since we have a long drive ahead of us, do you think maybe you could tell me more about your, uh…” He swallowed, not quite sure what to call it. Gift? Illness? Magical time traveling syndrome? “…ability?” he finally finished, feeling his cheeks grow hot. “I have to admit, I tried really hard to follow the conversation between you and your father last night, but I’m still pretty confused.”
“You and me both,” Lilah replied, a note of melancholy touching her voice. As she looked across the freeway at the snowy, wide open plains that seemed to stretch on forever, she did everything she could to blink away Willow’s sad, colorless eyes, which stared at her from the reflection in the window.
You and me both.
Chapter 19
The Shaman
An hour and a half later, after spending a good third of that window aimlessly driving back and forth inside the labyrinth of unmarked streets just outside of Bozeman, Lilah finally noticed the one landmark they’d been missing: a narrow side road that snaked across one of the many pine-covered hilltops, eventually connecting with the street below. There was no signage to indicate the turnoff from the main street, and the inconspicuous gravel road – which was clandestinely tucked between sprawls of drooping pines – was almost completely blanketed by fresh snow.
“This has to be it,” Jace said, gripping the wheel as the truck tires spun through the slush.
“I don’t understand why none of these streets have signs,” Lilah grumbled, clinging to the grab handle above her head with both hands.
“Or numbers.”
“If this road doesn’t lead to 291 Ashbury Lane, I give up.”
Jace glanced at the dashboard. “I don’t want you to have to give up, but I will have to head back into town if we don’t find this house soon,” he said, tapping the fuel gauge. “Otherwise we might be pushing the truck to the nearest gas station.”
“Look over there!” Lilah cried, pointing to a lopsided wooden sign that had been nailed to a dead tree on the side of the road. Its brown paint was cracked and peeling, but the numbers clearly read 291, with an arrow pointing up. “Judging by the muddy tire tracks heading in that direction, it looks like there’s a little dirt path. Just to the left of the sign,” she added.
“I won’t be able to take the truck on that,” Jace frowned. “It’s too narrow. And with all that snow and ice, I’m worried we might spin out… Are you okay to foot it up the hill?”
Lilah glanced at the new boots her father had gotten her for Christmas. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
A fresh wave of anxiety gripped her stomach as she regarded the snow-covered forest outside her window and wondered what exactly the thick copse of trees was hiding within. Don’t chicken out now, she admonished herself. You’ve already dragged him all this way.
Jace pulled onto the side of the muddy road, parking as close to the trees as he could without tipping the entire truck into the steep ditch that separated the forest from the makeshift gravel road.
“Here, come out on my side,” he said, offering his hand to Lilah once they’d parked.
She took it shyly as she crawled over the console, nimbly balancing on one knee as she reached behind her to grab her backpack from the seat. She tugged on it and frowned; one of the nylon straps had caught on the gearbox. As she yanked on the bag to shake it free, she lost her balance, spilling headfirst out of the cabin and right on top of Jace, who toppled backwards and into a tall heap of powdery snow.
“Oh god! I’m so sorry!” Lilah cried, trying to scramble to her feet. “Are you okay? Is your ankle okay?”
From beneath her, Jace was laughing. “There’s so much snow in my pants! I can’t feel my ass!”
Lilah burst out laughing as she tried to help him to his feet. But as she tugged, her boots slid out from under her legs and within moments, they were both on the ground again, covered in more snow than before. They lay side by side for a long moment, wheezing hysterically.
When she eventually hoisted herself on an elbow to try and sit up, Lilah found herself mere centimeters from Jace’s face. A dusting of snowflakes had covered his sandy blond hair, and his cheeks were red from laughter. As he grinned up at her, his blue eyes even more piercing than usual against the white snow, her laughter abruptly stopped.
Kiss him! a voice in her head shouted, startling her with its intensity.
Are you nuts? another voice shouted back. Don’t even think about it!
“Can I ask you something?” she blurted out.
Jace nodded. “Yeah, anything.”
“You and Benny’s sister—” she started, then snapped her mouth shut. The warring factions in her head were going crazy: Go ahead, ask him! No – you’ll ruin everything! As a result of that internal argument, a long pause dangled awkwardly in the frigid air between them.
What the hell is wrong with you? A third voice shouted. Don’t just stare at him like a goat!
Jace cleared his throat. “If you’re asking about Nikki, she’s just a friend. She and Benny live across the street from me and they’ve been giving me some, um… advice… recently.”
“Oh,” Lilah replied dumbly. As an elated shiver ran down her back, it suddenly occurred to her that they were still lying in the snow – which was starting to seep into the seat of her pants. She scrambled to her feet, dusting the snow from her backside. “Here, sorry, let me help you,” she said, extending a hand.
“Thanks,” he smiled, taking it. As soon as he stood up, she dropped his hand and shyly looked away.
“I’d better get my stuff,” she mumbled, walking over to the truck to gather her backpack from the front seat. When she slung it over her shoulder and turned around, Jace was standing in front of her. Their eyes locked as he started to say something, but a deep voice cut him off.
“Can I help you?”
The two of them jumped as a man appeared between the trees. He was middle-aged and slender, with long, gray-streaked hair that hung limply across his shoulders. Despite the chill, the man wore only a purple t-shirt, thin, khaki-colored harem pants, and, to Lilah’s surprise, no shoes. As he approached the truck where they stood, she watched, mesmerized, as he wiggled his bare toes in the freshly fallen snow.
“Coldness is but an earthly affliction,” he sniffed, following her gaze. “The spirit need not heed such corporeal ailments.”
Lilah let out a small gasp. “M-Mike Hastings?”
“That is my name, in this reincarnation, at least.” He clasped his hands together pleasantly. “Now then, I had a vision of two sets of callers today. Are you the malignant visitors or the benign ones?”
“B-Benign, I think,” Lilah replied, taking a step closer to Jace. He was gripping the open truck door as if he were thinking about leaping back inside.
“Yes, I should say so,” the shaman said, eyeing her up and down. “After all, you both seem substantial enough – much unlike the disgruntled spirit who made quite the racket last night… So, how might I be of assistance?”