Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(71)

Beck summoned his magick and froze in place.

“Final piece of bad news,” Decker said calmly. “Our wekeyen right of passage started at midnight today. I guess someone in this room told Dad it was okay.”

“Oh, shit,” Beck muttered. “We can’t use magick.”

“Nope. We can’t use our magick again until we complete the rite. I swear, Beck, if Summer –”

“Don’t threaten me, Decker,” Beck said. “I couldn’t have known all this would happen. You couldn’t have either.”

“You could’ve asked me before volunteering us!”

“You could’ve not thrown yourself to the Darkness!”

“Oh, you’re going there?” Decker snarled. “Let’s talk about Dawn!”

Rarely did Beck want to fight. Normally, he preferred to be the peacemaker, the protector and the mediator. Tonight, though, he was too worried to back down.

“You know what, Decker?” he demanded. He approached his brother and shoved him. “You’re a selfish *! Morgan is out there, too, or do you give a shit that the girl I like is in danger?”

“The girl you like tried to kill you!”

“You have no –“

“If you’re finished discussing your plans.” The loud, calm voice of their grandfather caught both their attentions. “I’ve packed you snacks to take with you on your journey to the forest.” The family chef and favorite relative was a full head shorter than the twins, with dark skin and eyes. His hair was almost all white from age, and his double-elements lent his calming influence a two punch effect on those around him.

“Your father says you have to find your own food in the forest, but no one said anything about snacks,” he continued.

Beck mumbled an apology to him. He always felt like a five-year-old when Grandpa Louis looked at him like that.

Decker swept out of the room. Beck hugged the elderly man on his way out and then followed his brother. Decker was out the door by the time Beck grabbed the small cooler from the table.

“Bye, Mom! If Decker doesn’t kill me I’ll see you in a few days!” he called.

“Take your cell phone, son,” his mother replied.

Beck was about to retort that he didn’t think Native Americans had cell phones when they started the coming-of-age tradition hundreds of years ago. He thought better of it. Decker was already pissed, and his mother was right: Beck wasn’t going into the forest without a phone.

“Hey, wait!”

Beck turned, not expecting to hear the voice of a classmate in his parent’s cabin. Connor trotted out of the family room, looking distraught.

“What’re you doing here?” Beck asked.

“You said this was where Morgan would be,” Connor replied. “No one can find her. I thought she might be here or she might’ve told you where she was going.” He waited expectantly.

“Well, we might know where she is,” Beck started. “Decker and I are going to find out for sure.”

“I’m going with you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“My sister is out there somewhere, and you don’t think it’s a good idea? What’s going on?” Connor demanded. “Is she in danger?”

“Well, short version: the girl who tried to beat her up in the forest is working with my ex. We think Dawn snatched three girls,” Beck summarized. “Decker and I are going to look for her while on our rite of passage, which means we can’t use magick to find the girls.”

“Rite of passage,” Connor repeated and raised his eyebrows. “I can help you find my sister, can’t I?”

“Yeah. But if something bad happens, we can’t use our magick to help you.”

“I’m going,” Connor snapped and marched towards the front door.

Beck watched him. He was surrounded by angry people. At least when Morgan was pissed, she was beautiful and kissable.

Morgan would never hurt me. Disturbed, he trotted out the front door, snatching his jacket on the way.

“Hey, Decker,” he called. “Did you ask Dad if we could have our magick back, given the circumstances?”

“Of course I did. He said it was the elements that pulled our powers and the elements that will return them.”

“I’ve got mine,” Connor volunteered.

“Great. So you can make us icicles.”

“Don’t be an ass, Decker,” Beck replied, before the two broke out into an argument. He oriented himself quickly. Decker led them down the driveway from the cabin to the road that ran north around the lake and south to the town. They went north at the end of the drive. “We headed to the resort where I found Tanya?”

“You got a better idea?”

“I forgot how much easier you are to deal with when your girl is around,” Beck grunted.

They walked in tense silence for an hour, until the plowed part of the road ended. The abandoned resort where Beck discovered Tanya’s body was located on the near side of the lake. Snowplows didn’t remove snow past the residential area, which meant they faced a choice: march down the un-cleared road or cut through the forest.

“How far is it?” Connor asked.

“A couple of miles,” Beck answered. “I’m thinking forest. Decker?”