I stepped through the portal and on to the sand. The ocean's roar was deafening after the quiet evening in the grove. I moved away from the portal and crouched low in the underbrush of ferns and reeds that grew between the dead end road and the surf.
Liam stood off a little ways, looking disoriented. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to me. The last thing we needed was for someone to spot us before we even had a chance to get started.
The portal started closing, shrinking in on itself. At the last minute, Poe came flying through, circling in ever larger arcs.
"Okay, I didn't think that was actually possible." Avery took a deep breath, still looking wild. "What now?"
"Now," I said, "we go hunting. Can I see the letter again?"
She handed it to me as I dug out my phone and used the light from the screen to read the directions Avery's cousin listed in the letter. I glanced around in the darkness. The moon was already lower in the sky. We'd have to make this fast.
A large, fenced-in warehouse stood across the road. The metal siding tattooed in faded graffiti, and the windows were dark rows staring out at the sea. Poe had brought us almost exactly where we needed to be. I'd have to ask him how he'd managed that. I would have been too afraid of the Witches sensing the residual magic from the portal.
"Ok, seriously. What are we going to do now?" Liam asked.
I pointed at the warehouse. "We've got to get in there."
"Oh, well that's easy. Let's just walk in the front door." He gave me a dry look. "There are probably cameras everywhere. How are we going to manage that without getting caught?"
"Very carefully," I said absently, thinking as quickly as I could. "Do you remember that time in middle school? We were in the barn while you were practicing one of the script spells? Do you remember how you kept getting it wrong?"
"I don't see how that's relevant to the moment, Ezra."
"Think about it," I insisted. "Why did Dad come out and make you stop?"
He paused for a moment, but then answered, "Because it was messing with the electricity in the house. I kept blowing out the fuses." Liam turned back to the warehouse. "I don't know if I could replicate that. I can't even remember what I did wrong."
I adjusted my bag, stopping it from cutting into my neck. "You didn't ground it right and created a feedback loop."
Liam shared a look with Avery before she asked me, "How do you even remember that?"
"I was obsessed with Talent. You notice everything when you're obsessed." I glanced up, trying to find Poe against the inky black sky. "We should hurry, before we're seen. Can you do it?"
"I could try."
Liam's voice was uncharacteristically soft, and it didn't inspire the greatest confidence. I clamped a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's get closer before you do anything."
We crept through the tall grasses, to the road and the fence that lay just beyond. There was a gate where the road met the fence at the dead end, with a small, one-man guard house to go with it.
As quietly as we could, we moved keeping low. Liam was the first to reach the guard house. It was dark. He peered over the window ledge.
"It's empty," he whispered.
I moved past him and tried the door. It was unlocked, but the door itself stuck in the frame. I forced it as gently as I could, cringing at each noise it made as it came open.
Liam and I stepped inside. Avery stood at the door; there wasn't enough room for her.
"Try and get just the cameras?" I asked Liam.
"Right." He rubbed his hands together, as if trying to warm them. Liam closed his eyes and took a breath.
Stanwood Talent differed from the Reinhardts. Everything I did had an incantation, words that had to be said to make anything work. Liam stood quietly, his focus inward.
I knew exactly what he was thinking, feeling almost. He would concentrate first on finding the cold power, pulling it to the surface slowly, carefully. Then, once the Talent was ready, he would shape it, warping it to work the spell.
Liam opened his eyes. They were frosted over with Talent, showing nothing of his pupils or irises. Wisps of cold fog rose from his outstretched hands.
"There," Liam said, his eyes clearing. "I've no idea if-"
"It worked," Avery said, her head popping in the door frame.
I stepped outside next to her. "How do you know?"
She pointed to the top corner of the closest building, where a camera was mounted under a security flood light. It was smoking.
I glanced back at Liam. "Great work."
He sighed. "Let's get this done."
We slipped through the gap in the fence where the chain and padlock left enough room for a person to slip through.
The place was deserted. I expected guards at least, maybe witches hanging around. Were the Henderson's wrong? Was this just a normal warehouse?
Questions rattled around my mind as unease grew in the pit of my stomach.
I kept close to Avery, her presence steadying mine.
We ran across the open parking lot to the side of the closest warehouse. Dirty windows lined the wall in the shadows; there wasn't a door on this side.
I tried using the sleeve of my hoodie to clean a spot on the window to see through, but it didn't help. They were as dirty on the inside as on the outside, but I noticed it moved a little as I tried. I worked my fingers under the lip, and found it unlocked. I pulled it outward slowly, ducking under it to peek inside. There wasn't anyone in sight.
"What are those?" Avery asked. She and Liam looked
Inside, shadowed pallets of boxes towered, creating a mini city of cardboard surrounded by plastic wrap to kept them from toppling. Bundles of lumber were piled to the side.
"Only one way to find out." I climbed in carefully, aware of every tiny noise I made.
After I was in, I turned and helped Avery over the sill as Liam held the window.
We walked through rows of pallets and wood. Avery stopped every so often to check writing and labels on the boxes, comparing it to the letter using a little flashlight she'd dug out of her bag.
"It's all the same," she whispered after catching up with me. "Everything is here, the different types of wood, the oils and herbs. That's all of it, except the plants they mentioned."
"There was another warehouse."
Liam turned his own flashlight on us. "This isn't enough proof?"
I bit my lip. We were running out of time, but the more information we could get now the better prepared we'd be to tell the others.
"Let's take a quick look, and see if we can figure out what kind of plants they are. Then we'll go."
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I hate that I'm getting these sections up so slow! Life has a way of getting in my way. Leaking roof - in the house we're trying to move out of and sell. Lots of internet issues at the new place (which we've finally settled most of.) Now I'm sick with a summer cold, and all of this on top of being pregnant! So a huge thank you for all your comments and votes!! It seriously makes my day a bit brighter! - <3 J.D.