Fly by Midnight (8 page)

The door to the library creaked open and Vivi poked her head in. “What’s going on in here? It’s awfully quiet.”

“Hey, come on in. We could use the help. Honora’s on a new case, and we’re having a hard time finding anything out about the witching wall. Unfortunately, we’ve hit the wall literally, as far as ideas go.” Clover stood and stretched.

Vivi carried a decadent peanut butter pie mounded with whipped cream in her hands. “I brought sustenance. Maybe this will help. There’s nothing like a good dose of sugar to get your mind racing.”

“That looks like it could induce a sugar coma,” Honora said.

“Well, hello there, gorgeous.” Clover’s eyes widened.

“Are you talking to me or to the pie?” Vivi asked.

“Both,” Clover said with a wink, snatching the dessert and heading for the kitchen. The three sisters gathered around the table while Clover cut into the pie and served up generous portions on china plates.

“I’m stumped.” Honora turned to Vivi for help.

“Why don’t you review the facts and catch me up on the case?” Vivi suggested.

Honora spilled the details, lifting up her fork and pointing it at her sister as she continued her thought.

“What would you do if you wanted to invade Everland?” Vivi asked.

“I’d use the arch. It’s the one way through, the literal doorway to the Otherworld.”

“It’s also the obvious choice and the most guarded,” Clover said, playing devil’s advocate.

“True, but Vivi asked what I’d do. And I would kick down the front door. It’s bold and aggressive. If I were trying to infiltrate Everland, that’s where I’d go. It makes the most sense if the wall’s in danger. The arch is the weak link, and the one area that needs additional spellcraft reinforcement. I’d bet Rainer’s gone to reinforce the arch. But we’re still no closer to finding it.”

“Do you want my brutally honest opinion?” Vivi asked.

“Here it comes.” Clover put her plate in the sink.

“I hate to bring up a sore subject with you, but have you considered going through some of Mom’s old letters and stuff that she sent us over the years?” Vivi nailed Honora to the chair with her gaze. Her confidence had gone through the roof ever since she faced the truth about her
persuasion
a few months back, and now she seemed to relish getting others to face their own truths. “Mom’s the only witch we know who’s traveled through the wall. Her correspondence is the next logical place to look.”

Honora cleared her throat. “I know, but Mom never wrote a word about where she went or how she got there. Remember how infuriating it was to not know anything?” She sighed, realizing full well her sister was right, but hating to admit it.

Clover cleared Vivi’s plate and rinsed it off in the sink. “Vivi does have a point. We haven’t looked through Mom’s stuff for years. For all we know, there could be something useful, and face it, there’s nothing left in my library that’ll be any help. The old steamer trunk is your best bet.”

Honora took one last bite and chewed thoughtfully. She was trying to be less stubborn. Her spine stiffened. “You’re right. I’ll sift through the stuff and see if there’s a clue. Thanks, Vivi. That’s actually a really good idea.”

The three sisters headed up to Clover’s famous attic. Since she had the most space in her house, Clover became the official keeper of family treasures, and her attic was packed with boxes brimming with stuff from their childhood and beyond. Clover heaved the steamer trunk where she stored all the mementos their mother had sent them over the years, including a stack of letters, out from under a teetering pile of knitted throws. “Let’s get reading,” she said, and divvied up the letters.

After a few minutes of sitting in the cramped and dusty attic, the three sisters found themselves back around the kitchen table, sharing snips of news, laughing, and drinking tea. But so far they’d found no clues or hints about the Otherworld.

Finally, Honora found something in a journal entry from one of their mother’s field notebooks. “Shh. Listen. ‘Once through the gate, I removed my hat and gloves. It’s warmer here, unlike the cold Everland winter snow.’ That’s it!” Honora yelped. “The snow, the snow. Don’t you get it?” Excitement filled her.

Vivi snatched up the letter and read. “Cold, winter snow,” she repeated, and then a wide smile formed on her face. “I think you really found something.”

“That’s a great clue,” Clover said, sipping some tea. “Snow narrows down the location.”

Honora’s mind raced, her focus sharpened. “The gate through the wall must be in the North. Why else would she be wearing a hat and gloves? It’s not in the South. That’s for sure. Where else does it snow heavily?”

“We get snow in Willow Realm,” Vivi said. “Just not a ton.”

“If there was a station in Willow Realm, then I’d consider it, but there’s not. It has to be north.” Honora was practically giddy.

“It could be the East. It snows there, too,” Clover added.

“Yes, it could, but you said the warden of the East was the Sky Flyer, which literally implies the warden can fly, so the station is probably located at a higher elevation,” Honora said. “The arch has to be accessible, and high ground isn’t easy for travelers to reach.”

“True, unless you wanted to keep people out, and then it’s a great place,” Clover said, wiggling her eyebrows. “But I think you’re probably right.”

“I agree. It sounds like the North is your best bet.” Vivi smiled. “Mom would be so angry with herself if she knew she left a clue to the whereabouts of the arch.”

“Tell me about it. She probably didn’t even realize it. It’s taken hours of reading to find that tiny clue.” Honora swept the letters off the table, stacking them into a neat pile.

“The real question is—are you ready to meet the Woodsman?” Clover asked, and ushered them back to her library and collection of maps. “Most likely, the station is located in the forested areas of the North Woods.” Clover unrolled a huge parchment map onto the round wooden table in the center of the room. “The North Woods is an isolated place. The council leaves the territory mostly to itself. There are some settlements and a few towns, but only one major town called Rawlands. I imagine only the most resilient witches and wizards live in the North. It’s a place of wild earth magic.” Clover’s eyes went wide.

“Sounds rugged. This place gives new meaning to the idea of a skyscraper.” Honora examined the drawings of thick wooded forests with trees as big as houses. “I can do camping. They have flushing toilets up there, right?”

A litany of giggles flew out of Vivi’s mouth like a stream of bubbles. “Your high-heeled leather boots say otherwise. You’re a city witch, through and through.”

“Did I mention that the North Woods is cold, really, really cold?” Clover asked.

“Finding Jonathan Rainer is worth freezing my tush off,” Honora said. “I’ll be sure to wear some long underwear.”

The three sisters headed to the cozy fire Derek had lit in the big hearth in Clover’s living room and snuggled down on the overstuffed sofa to talk. A beautiful red fox with a bushy tail was curled up on a pillow in front of the hearth. Rusty was Clover’s familiar, and spent most days prowling the woods by her house, but in the winter he loved a toasty fire as much as the sisters did.

Clover sipped her wine. A stitch formed in her brow. “All kidding aside, I’m scared for you. Maybe you should go to the council and officially report Jonathan Rainer missing. You could turn in the Hexer who attacked you.”

Honora sunk into the sofa, her mind made up. “His wife already tried that. Plus, with Hex involved, I think the council already knows and doesn’t want me snooping around.”

“So why are you? You could bow out. Let the case go. Tell his wife what happened to you today. I’m sure she would understand,” Vivi said.

“I’m not a quitter. No way I’m backing down, especially now that Hex Division is against it. I’m more committed than ever.”

“You’re going to need more than the manual to find the Woodsman,” Clover said.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Honora said, going for her purse and digging out the cracked crystal ball that January had given her. She tossed the baseball-sized orb to Vivi. “Got any idea what this does?”

“Where did you get this? It’s a real beauty.” Vivi rolled the crystal ball around in her fingers. “I’ve only seen the one Scarlet has at her shop. They’re very rare.”

“Really? What exactly is it? And what’s it do?” Honora asked. Maybe it wasn’t a piece of junk after all.

“It’s called a blind eye, and it’s a tool used in prophecy.” Vivi smiled proudly. During the last couple of months, she’d been studying up on her divination skills since she began training with Honora’s old friend and sometimes nemesis Scarlet Card, who owned a fortune-telling shop in Willow Realm. The sisters had agreed Vivi would not attempt to use her
persuasion
of prophecy on them. “Not many seers have them anymore.” She tossed the crystal to Honora.

“
Blind eye
doesn’t sound like a good name for a soothsaying device, but many ancient oracles were physically blind but could see into the ether,” Clover said.

“That’s a nice history lesson, but what’s it do? Can it see the future?” Honora asked.

“No, not at all. That’s what makes it so rare,” Vivi said. “This crystal sees the present. It sees what’s right in front of you. The event or thing you are missing in your life.”

“Interesting.” Honora examined the ball with her new information.

“I’ll take it if you don’t want it,” Vivi said with an envious smirk.

“Well, I don’t know how much good it will do me on this case, but if it comes up bust, then you can have it.” Honora nudged her sister. “I’m sure you’ll have much better use for it than me.”

Even though it was well after Midnight, Honora stopped by the office on her way home to see what progress Sawyer had made that day and was shocked to find him still at his desk. His schedule was flexible, and he often came in later in the afternoon and worked late, but this was true dedication. She smiled. He was one of the most devoted and hardest-working wizards she’d ever met.

“What are you still doing here?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be home relaxing by now?”

“Hey. I could be asking you the same thing.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “I got caught up working on a few new spells for compiling data and lost track of time.” He shrugged. “What can I say? I love my job so it doesn’t feel like work.”

“You’re the best.” She winked. She filled him in on all the juicy details she’d discovered at Clover’s house. “What’d you find out today?”

“There’s no news back from the lab on the blood from your wand, so I got you a replacement.” He handed her a slim box with a new wand nestled inside.

“Thanks. You realize I’ll probably lose it, right?” For some reason, dropping wands from a high altitude was her specialty.

“Yes, you’ll notice it’s pretty generic. I know better than to shell out too much gold on a good one. Tomorrow I’ll pack up some gear and create an enchanted map for your travels north.”

“Perfect. I’ll need to know as much as I can about a town called Rawlands,” she said. “Looks like I’m going to the North Woods and hopefully meeting the mysterious guardian, the Woodsman.”

8

H
onora was up early. She slipped into a pair of gym shorts and a tank top and spelled the copper kettle to warm. Whenever she was this restless, she visited the gym and pummeled a heavy bag. Barnaby rested on his perch after a night of hunting. Honora had built him a tall tree-like structure out of wood that looked part owl habitat, part sculpture. Her familiar was a barred owl with beautiful full brown feathers flecked with white. His yellow beak was a sharp hook. His enchanting black eyes watched her from above like a guardian, making her feel like someone always had her back.

Years ago, Barnaby had landed on her window ledge with an injured wing during a nasty snowstorm. After scooping him off the ledge, Honora had kept him in a crate filled with old towels and shredded parchment and nursed the predatory guy back to health. Originally, she’d hoped to release Barnaby in the Meadowlands, so he could fly with his own kind in the wild, out in the country with wide-open skies and tall trees, but night after night he returned to her window, and no matter how many times she released him in the Meadowlands, he always came back to her city roost. She decided not to fight it and realized he’d chosen to be her familiar.

Barnaby had transitioned to city life by building a giant nest in an old brass cage in the rafters of her loft apartment. They’d grown close and had often flown side by side through the night skies. He cooed as she filled up his food and water dish, which were mostly just for snacking, since he preferred the city’s delectable rodent selection. Someone had to keep the mouse population under control, and he was a natural-born hunter.

Honora perched on her stool in the kitchen as she scanned the latest edition of
Witch World Daily
. After her eye-opening evening with her sisters, poring over ancient texts about Everland, the North Woods, and her mother’s journal and letters, Honora was more excited than ever to plow forward with her investigation. Her plan was to work out with Slader, then drop by the office that afternoon to check in with Sawyer, before heading north via the Silver Train.

Barnaby snapped his beak, his telltale warning, but there was no sign of trouble. Still, she leaned up and scanned her apartment, sending out her senses in all directions. Her nerves were on edge since the Hexer attack yesterday at January’s shop. At first she didn’t get any signs of magic. A pigeon must have gotten too close to his ledge. Barnaby didn’t like to share, especially with other feathered friends. But when he snapped his beak repeatedly, this time ruffling up his feathers, Honora jumped to her feet. That was no pigeon warning, and she knew enough to trust his keen hearing. A reflection in the window glimmered. It was similar to the disturbance she’d seen yesterday at Jane’s house.

Honora dove for her staff and gave the magical flickering a wide berth, preparing to go another round with the Hexer. The disturbance warped and bent the air on the stairwell to her bedroom loft. Then it disappeared. Honora waited and listened. She refused to follow the shiny flicker of light for fear of getting cornered.
Stay in the open
.

“I know you’re here,” Honora said, hoping to goad the wizard out of hiding. The disturbance was magical residue from a cloaking spell. Tough to master, especially in motion, the spell gave off a shimmer or refraction in the light when the witch moved. Anger rose in her. Breaking into her apartment had been a bad idea.

“Drop your cloak, you coward. Your spellcraft stinks.”

A chair moved. Honora spun around. The room grew quiet. Barnaby shifted on his perch. The curtain blew from the open window.

Honora breathed deeply. “Cowards always run and hide,” she said. “Come out, Hexer. Fight me to my face.”

Suddenly, Honora felt a shove from behind, and she pitched forward and tripped over the ottoman. A bark of laughter filled the room. Her head jerked toward the noise. Barnaby erupted in screeching sounds, rose from his perch, and dove at a spot a few feet from her. He reared up with talons extended. A scream replaced the laughter. The air was a swirl of motion and reflected light. The spell collapsed. A witch with a shoulder-length, jet-black bob huddled on the floor a few feet from Honora.

It was Jenny Liu. Her hands were raised above her head, and she swatted at the air like a scared child with her eyes pinched closed. “Call off your mad bird. Call him off!”

The witch was wearing a pink vinyl jumpsuit and white leather boots. She looked cute and tiny, like a harmless piece of candy, but Jenny was a tough PI who used her size to her advantage. Her
persuasion
was physical—strength, power, and flexibility. She’d been both a gymnast and martial arts champion at Haven Academy when they were young.

“Jenny! What the Hazel are you doing here?” Honora asked. She raised her arm, signaling to her owl. Barnaby pulled up and returned to his perch.

Jenny huffed. “Working. What do you think I’m doing?” The witch smoothed her hair and checked the condition of her suit.

“You broke into my apartment. That’s not working.” Honora crawled to her feet, pushing the ottoman out of her way.

“It is if surveying you gets me closer to my target.” She put both hands on her slim hips. Jenny Liu was a rival PI, and though they had been competing for clients for years, they’d never officially been at odds—until today. What was she thinking, breaking in and attacking Honora in her own apartment?

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on and who your mysterious target is? Because as you can see, it’s just me here,” Honora snapped, a look of disdain forming effortlessly on her face. Jenny better have a good excuse for the shove, or she was going to pay.

“Nice place. I hate that familiar of yours, but still, he’s a good watchdog.” Jenny made a slow arch of the room.

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but breaking into my home and shoving me was a mistake. Now you can tell me what this is about, or I can call the cops.”

“First off, you need to work on your sparring skills. You should have been ready for an attack from behind. Second, you aren’t going to call anyone. The last thing you want right now is to explain to “Detective Undress Me” why you’re still hot on the lookout for a certain missing wizard. I came to make a deal.”

“All this is about Rainer?” Honora snorted. She walked to the kitchen and tested the water in the kettle. Then something interesting occurred to her. “You were the investigator Jane fired, weren’t you?” Honora grinned.

Jenny’s shoulders sank, her smug attitude melting away. “No need to rub it in. I hit a wall and couldn’t get any leads. The wizard really covered his tracks. None of the locator spells I used worked.”

“Want a cup of tea?” It was time she and Jenny had a little heart-to-heart. Annoyance aside, Honora needed to find out what her rival knew about her client and why she was so interested in him.

“Sure. Sorry about the back kick,” Jenny said. “But we need to discuss the case. I’m prepared to go in on this job with you, though I’m the one doing all the work.” She slinked over and hopped up onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island.

“
You?
It looks like you’re just following me around.” Honora grabbed a couple of mugs and a canister of tea leaves off a shelf.

“Hardly. I know Jane has hired you. I also saw that pathetic attempt at casing the Rainers’ house. Not to mention you getting your scrawny butt kicked by that Hexer.” A self-satisfied smirk curled up Jenny’s lip and Honora cringed.
Talk about embarrassing.
The imp had been tailing her the whole time.

“I don’t want to discuss the Hexer scumbag. He caught me off guard.” Honora was still a little peeved. She sighed. “Jane’s an interesting client. I didn’t find anything majorly incriminating at her house to suggest there was a break-in or foul play.” She kept the blood collected off her wand a secret, for now.

“Luckily for you, I’m here to help.”

“Who says I need help? I’m doing fine on my own.”

Jenny opened a slim pouch attached to her belt and unwrapped a piece of parchment. “Oh, so then I guess you don’t want to see the incriminating evidence
I
found at the Rainer house long before you even got there.” She innocently batted her eyelashes.

Honora considered her options. Either she relented to hearing Jenny out, or they would play games all day. “Show me.”

Jenny revealed the mysterious contents of the parchment—a long, brown shard.

“What’s that hideous
thing
? And why does it smell?” Honora wrinkled up her nose at the curved, mottled talon.

“Well, it’s not from Everland, and it’s not witchy.” Jenny peered down at the
thing
resting on her hand.

“Looks like a fingernail or a claw of some kind. Where did you find it?”

“The Rainers’ master bathroom.” Jenny shrugged. “I’m very thorough. Unlike you, I didn’t lose my wand down the drain.”

“I didn’t have a lot of time. Plus, the rank smell was getting to me,” Honora said, pouring hot water over the tea leaves. “That was you in the yard? I knew I saw a disturbance.”

Jenny smiled. “Don’t feel bad for not detecting me. It’s a new cloaking and camouflage combination spell I’m working on. You didn’t even know I was there.”

Honora had to admit the talon was a good find. “What do you think it is? Could it be some kind of wild animal? Or creature?”

“Not sure. I’ve got a guy doing a little research.” Jenny returned the shard to a case on her belt. “Do you want to team up, share info? I know it’s not our style to work together, but I’m willing to team up with you on this case.”

“Why would I do that? Plus, I need the money. I’m not forking over half of my payment if I can work this case alone.”

“Come on. I just shared a prime piece of evidence. Now it’s your turn.” Jenny gave Honora a cocky grin. Her features were small and feline. “You need me.”

Honora snorted. “Tell me, why should I even trust you? You’ve been following me, broke into my apartment, and kicked me in the back. And now you’re gloating. The only reason you’re still here is because I want to know more about Jonathan Rainer.”

“You should trust me because we’re colleagues, and we went to school together. It’s not like we’re strangers. When did you get so sensitive? I’m just suggesting that between the two of us, we could make quick work of this case.” Clutching her cup, Jenny blew on the hot surface and took a sip of tea.

Honora tried to think of something completely harmless to share with Jenny that wouldn’t give her the upper hand. “Jonathan Rainer is working on a top-secret job with the council. And when I say top-secret, I mean of epic proportions. You should try there.”

“The council can’t find him, either. Why do you think the Hexer is following you?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“Do you know what he was working on for them?” Honora asked. She was beginning to think teaming up with Jenny might not be such a bad idea.

“No, I can’t get clearance.”

“I was wondering if any of the usual detection spells would help. I figured the cops tried them already.” Locator spells made finding someone pretty routine for a witch with magic-detection skills. Hiding took talent, cloaking was a tough spell to master, and any magical object that could hide a witch left an energy signature. Someone was using serious magic to keep Jonathan Rainer’s location a secret.

Jenny shook her head. “The wizard’s a ghost.”

Now
that
Honora could agree with. “Why are you still working on the case if you got canned? You don’t need to waste your time.”

“I’m still working it for the same reason you took it. Because it’s big. Huge, even. I think it could affect all of Everland, and I want to be a part of it. Plus, I didn’t deserve to get fired. I’m a good PI, and I’m going to prove it.”

Honora hated to admit it, but she could use the help, or at least another pair of eyes on this case, especially if she was headed north. Also, Jenny was seriously dedicated when it came to investigating. She never gave up, and she wasn’t going to let this case go. Honora really had no choice. “I’m not splitting the fee, so you’d be doing it for free.”

“I can live with that. But we share all information, and the credit when we blow this case wide open.” Jenny had confidence to spare. It was one of the things Honora liked about her. “Also, think of me as a silent partner, and don’t tell Jane.” She narrowed her gaze.

Like she would ever tell Jane. Honora wasn’t a total amateur. “Then we have a deal. I’m going out of town for a few days, and I suggest you don’t follow me unless you want to freeze your butt off in that pink suit. But I’m not
totally
against the two of us sharing some information.”

“So share.” Jenny gave her a victorious little smile.

Honora filled her in on what she’d learned so far. Then they agreed to continue working the case and stay in touch.

“I gotta go. Let me know when you get back. I want details on whatever you find.” Jenny strode across the room and took a diving leap out of the window. She landed on a hover bike that had been parked on the ledge of Honora’s building. She waved as she kick-started the bike and it roared to life with a burp of smoke and sparkle of magic. A high-pitched squeal and rumbling engine noise trailed off into the distance.

That bike has seen better days.

After the visit with Jenny, Honora headed to the gym to meet up with Slader.

They had a standing morning workout session, and she hoped he’d prepare her for the trip to the North Woods. He was already at the gym when she arrived. This wasn’t your typical gym. It was a place where witches and wizards learned and practiced combat magic. After what she’d seen in the manual, she knew the wardens were trained in the magical art of butt-kicking, which just happened to be one of her favorite sports. But she was also humble enough to know she needed survivalist training.