Windburn (The Elemental Series #4)(12)

We came to a stop at the edge of the Rim. Niah’s house was built into a redwood not unlike my previous home. Only instead of being fifty feet in the air as mine had been, the entrance to her home was on the ground. If I remembered correctly, she had a bear as a familiar that didn’t look a whole lot different than Karhu. Tangling with one bear was enough for me. I didn’t go to the door, but instead called out.

“Niah, are you here?”

There was silence for a moment, then the door swung open on well-greased hinges. Niah peered out, her long gray hair hanging in braids to either side of her face. “Larkspur?”

“Yes. I was hoping for some guidance.”

She peered at Cactus. “Why have you got a lizard with you?”

“This is my friend, Cactus. He’s a half-breed like me. He used to live here in the Rim as a child.”

She snorted. “Ain’t nobody like you, Lark. Come on in, bring your cat with you.”

“Your familiar won’t mind?”

That stopped her. “Why would my familiar mind yours?”

I closed the distance between us and held the edge of the door. “Vetch has been named the heir and has two of Father’s familiars. They attacked us.”

Niah gasped and put a hand to her throat. “Fool boy, what does he think he’s doing?”

“I think Cassava still has some hold on him.” I didn’t want to explain about Blackbird. We didn’t have time for a long story, and that was what Niah loved more than anything. Eating and storytelling.

The three of us stepped into her home. I had to blink several times to adjust to the dimmer light. The room cooked with heat from a fire roaring on one side of the room and a kettle squalling on the stove. Being late summer, it wasn’t exactly cold outside. Sweat popped out on my brow immediately.

More surprising than the fire was Griffin sitting in a chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. His dark eyes swept over me as he gave me a toothy grin reminiscent of his wolf form. “Larkspur, keeping out of trouble yet?”

“Not yet,” I muttered, as I took a seat. Niah brought me a mug of tea without asking and I let out sigh. This would not be a quick visit. I wasn’t sure if that pleased me. A part of me wanted to hurry, to find my father and bring him home to straighten out Vetch. The other part didn’t want to find him at all. With my father gone, though, we would have to battle Vetch, and I didn’t want to start a civil war. . . but that would settle things. I was not so sure my father would be able to rule if his mind was broken as badly as we thought.

Peta jumped onto my lap and curled up so her tail wrapped over her nose. “Griffin.” Her voice was muffled through her fur.

“Kitten. What are you doing here?” He leaned forward and ran a single finger down her spine. She shivered, but she wasn’t bothered by his touch, or I would have pushed his hand away.

Her green eyes blinked up at me, then back at Griffin. “Long story. Your consort said I was needed, so I am here.”

His eyebrows shot up. “With Larkspur? Shit, she must be in for a wild ride then, yeah?”

I lifted my tea and took a sip, choosing not to respond. Niah waved her hands, fluttering them like bird wings. “Not a word until the boy sits down. His red hair makes me nervous.” She winked to soften the words, though I felt a thin string of truth running through them.

The distrust between our families ran deep and long.

Cactus laughed and sat beside me. “Nah, I’m not really a redhead. This is a new shade of brown.”

She grinned at him, and the tension broke.

“Niah, I need to find a Tracker.” I spit the words out before we could get sidetracked again. Or maybe before I decided to sit there and let my father rot wherever he was. “Can you help me? Or you, Griffin, if she can’t?”

The two of them looked at each other.

“I don’t know if we should help her,” Niah said as if I wasn’t even there. “She’d be breaking the rules again and that’s going to catch up to her at some point. She hasn’t even drank half her tea and she’s demanding answers.”

“I know, yeah? Kids these days, always wanting an answer quick.” Griffin folded his hands on the table. “But what happens if we don’t help her? Viv is playing games again, and I don’t like it. The least we can do is throw our weight behind the player we want to succeed, yeah?”

I glanced at Cactus, who shrugged and mouthed “old people.”

Peta snickered, her tiny body shaking on my lap.

Forcing myself to sit and wait was, to say the least, difficult. Patience was something I was learning. Rushing into this journey would not help me find my father.

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.

“Where’s the best place to send them?” Niah asked.

Griffin gave a low grunt. “A Reader would be best, easier to find than a prickly Tracker, yeah? They move around like the wind.”

A teacup clinked as it was set down, the shifting of chairs and the succeeding creak of wood. Smoke from the fire tickled my nose and I breathed in, holding it in my lungs.

An irrational fear began in the soles of my feet that once I left the Rim this time, nothing would ever be the same in my life. That the things I saw through Spirit would be a sure thing. Yet another reason to take my time with this journey. To make sure I didn’t rush into anything I shouldn’t.