After circling for another few minutes, Mo flew on to a nearby island and shifted shape as she neared the ground.
I landed beside her. “Why are we here?”
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up—that island is shielded, and I’ve not seen a spell like it before.”
I hadn’t even seen the damn shield. “Is it dangerous?”
“It doesn’t look like it, but I think I should—”
“No,” I cut in. “Definitely not.”
She gave me a long look. “Do not be daft, darling girl. If this is a trap, I’ll need you free to rescue me.”
I hesitated. It was a logical step, even if I hated the risk she was taking. “Squawk if it’s clear. Squawk louder if it’s not.”
Her answering smile suggested she’d be doing neither. We reclaimed our blackbird forms and flew back to the other island. While she arrowed down, I remained aloft, the wind under my wings, allowing me to circle without effort. She swooped across the treetops and then through the clearing. Nothing happened. After a few more passes, she landed at the base of a tree, regained human form, and motioned me down.
I followed her entry line and landed beside her. She knelt and pressed one hand into the soil. While she communed with the earth, I crossed my arms and studied the mound. It was an actual cave rather than something the demons had built to cover the existence of the gate. The entrance was low to the ground and little more than an open slash that was at best two feet high. Obviously, the demons who used this particular gate were on the small side.
The seven bodies were randomly placed in front of the entrance and, at least from this distance, there was no immediate indication of how they’d all died.
Mo rose and brushed dirt from her hand. “There’s definitely no life on the island, human or otherwise.”
“And is there a gate inside that cave?”
“Most likely, but it’s not something I can feel through the earth. Not unless Darksiders are coming out of it.”
I frowned. “But the gates exist in our world, so why can’t you feel them?”
“Because technically the gate sits in the gray, even if it is visible from both sides.”
“That makes no sense, given the Blackbirds and the witch councils are always spelling closed minor gates. They couldn’t do that if they were sitting in the gray.”
“You’re coming at the gates from a position of logic—”
“That,” I cut in, “is the first time anyone has ever implied logic is a bad thing.”
She half smiled. “Logic cannot be applied to the gates because their presence actually defies logic and the laws of existence as we know it.”
“Then how are we supposed to think of them?”
“As a protected tunnel through the gray. The structures we see are basically a boundary echo—one that prevents the unwary unwittingly getting sucked in.”
“Considerate of whatever causes these things to do that,” I said. “Is that why we can’t seem to permanently lock down the gates with magic?”
She nodded. “Elysian is our only means of locking down the gates, and even she does not provide a permanent closure. Time and whatever cosmic forces cause these things work against her.”
“Did any of the kings use Elysian in an attempt to shut the minor gates down?”
“The gates do not close easily or willingly, and the longer you remain in the gray, the greater the toll it takes on your body. It’s not possible to shut down the minor gates in bulk, and it’s not survivable to do them one at a time.” She rose and brushed the dirt off her fingers. “Let’s go check those bodies. But keep an eye out.”
I followed her across. The wind stirred around me but held no power and whispered no secrets. “Is the ability to hear the wind intermittent? Because I’m not getting anything from her at the moment.”
“We can switch it on and off,” she said. “It’d be pretty damn annoying if we couldn’t. But you’re untrained, so you pretty much have to be naked to make the connection.”
“That’s inconvenient.”
“And something of a safety measure. Hearing the wind and feeling the pulse and pain of the earth twenty-four-seven can easily drive you mad if you don’t have the means to switch it off.”
“Why would the earth be in pain?”
“Why would it not, given all that modern civilization does to it?”
“I guess I never thought about that.”
“Few do, even those whose element it is. That’s the problem.”
The first body we came to was that of a woman lying facedown. Her arms were underneath her, and her legs were splayed at odd angles from her body. She hadn’t fallen like that—someone had thrown her onto the ground like so much rubbish. But, broken limbs aside, there was no obvious indication of what had killed her.
Mo knelt and pressed her fingers to either side of the dead woman’s head. After a few seconds, she said, “Death occurred about two hours ago.”
“How was she killed?”
“Her throat was sliced open.”
“Not here, obviously.” If it had been, there would be evidence of blood spurts on the ground, either in front or to the side of her body. There was nothing.
Mo shifted her grip and gently turned the woman’s head. A soft gasp followed. “My god, it’s Elaine.”
I touched Mo’s shoulder lightly. “A friend?”
“A colleague of Barney’s. She’s a member of the Lincoln Witch Council.”
My gaze shot to the remaining six bodies. “You don’t think …?”
“God, I hope not.”
She thrust upright, stepped over Elaine’s body, then walked over to the next body and gently rolled him over. He had dark hair, cherub cheeks, and a look of horror forever etched onto his face. His throat had also been cut and, once again, there was an absence of blood on the ground around him.
“Joel Okoro, another council member.” She moved on, checking the remaining five bodies. “Damn it, they’ve killed them all.”
“How the hell did demons manage to catch seven council witches utterly unprepared?”
“They couldn’t. Not if they were all together, at least. But separately? Very possible, especially if they were hunted beyond the protections of their homes.”
“But we’re talking about council witches here—they’re elected into the position because of their knowledge and proficiency in their particular element or skill set.”
“Being the best doesn’t mean you can’t be caught unawares.” She grimaced. “We can both certainly attest to that.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I would hardly class me as being knowledgeable in anything right—”
I stopped abruptly and stared at the cave, unease prickling over my skin. There was no whisper of movement, no evidence of the magic that had led us here, and yet … something stirred deep within the darkness of that cave. Something foul.
“Mo,” I whispered.
She held up a finger and motioned me to the left edge of the cavern’s entrance. I flexed my fingers and wished I had Nex and Vita with me. I might not need them to use the inner lightning, but there was something very comforting about their weight in my hands.