The Grove

September 14 Part 1

"It's not your cause." She pulled away from him. "The Three. What secret?"

The skin in his armpits and lower back tingled as sweat formed. "You can read my mind?"

"Yes. I touched a God through Galeno last night. I'm still on fire."

"But you're here?"

"Yes."

"And you don't want to hurt anyone?"

"No..." Her casual smile stiffened. "What's our next move?"

Flipping through the names and phone numbers he received yesterday, Jonah asked, "Did you see what they wanted?"

"Not exactly, but Piah did not mean to kill her. She died in His hands and became poison. Gods need a living sacrifice. She was too weak to withstand His glory."

"I wish I had been there. How much meth did her parents do?"

Samantha frowned. "They were customers of my husband, but that was years before Anez was pregnant."

"We need more time to figure it out, and we need to keep Dayla out of the Grove longer than a day. Explain Erik's animosity for sorcery."

Samantha didn't answer. Sweat dampened her hairline and a growling laugh made his blood run cold. She laughed until she was red in the face and choking on saliva. Yet her blue eyes remained unmoved.

"What is it?" Jonah drew his arms back toward his core, afraid to touch her. "Sam?"

"The Keeper will be kept out of the Grove. I saw to that last night," she said.

Dayla

POISON!

Scores of large black bird silhouettes—eagles or maybe ravens—circled the Grove. Rain drops darkened and became blood. Ammon stood screaming over her, pointing toward a Nexus surrounded by rocks and sand. Blood. Rocks. I stopped him, but I didn't kill him!

Contrasting images, which Dayla could not understand, forced her awake. Oliver's side of the bed was empty. Her wounded hand pulsed in pain as she picked up her phone.

An eagle screeched, echoing its cry to another. She peered out the window, but except for the ghostly outline of nearby trees, she couldn't see through the thick mist.

She slipped on the articles of clothes left on the floor and threw a jacket over her mismatched clothes. She stepped outside and looked at the large tree. Two bald eagles fought viciously for a position overhead. Something was wrong, something big. Dayla inched forward, shielding her eyes against the dawn's diffused glare. "Oh my Goddess!"

Katie Yannick hung from a tree by a jute rope.

Dayla dashed back into the cabin, grabbed a kitchen knife, and cut her down. Katie's skin felt clammy and cold. Her flesh had purpled and her milky eyes stared toward the sky. Her throat was covered in bruises, scraped open by an eagle's talon.

The words: Unworthy Poison! was scrawled across the child's jacket in blood mixed with dirt.

"Oliver! Oliver! Oh my Goddess."

Remembering she was alone, she dialed his cell. "Oliver! I found Katie—hanging from a tree!" she screamed. "She isn't breathing."

"Call 911! I'm on my way." Without saying goodbye, Dayla disconnected and called 911.

Within minutes, Erik pulled up in the police car, lights blazing. Dayla raced toward him, pointing behind her. "I cut her down, but she's still not breathing! Help her!"