Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1)(90)
She looked from Baba to Liam. “I didn’t know what to do. I followed her to a cave, and when she dragged Petey in there, I wanted to follow, but something kept me from going in. I know it sounds crazy, but I tried and tried, and I just couldn’t get through!” The last bit was said in a rising wail.
Magic, Baba thought. And could see from Liam’s face that he’d realized it too.
Liam patted Penelope’s hand again. “It’s probably just as well,” he said. “That woman is more dangerous than you can imagine. But she’s not going to harm Petey. I’m not going to let her.”
Penelope nodded damply, and Baba said, “Can you lead us to where you saw her last?” Her heart raced at the thought of finally getting her hands on the woman who had caused her so much trouble. Visions of cracking bones and freely flowing blood filled her mind for one gleeful moment before she pulled herself back to the situation at hand. I am finally going to get to kick someone’s ass. About freaking time!
Liam and Baba followed Penelope’s car about a mile down a back road that led to a barely visible path into thick woods filled with pine and oak and a few spindly birches. The trail was too narrow for vehicles, so they left the cruiser and the Volvo by the side of the road. Birds chirped merrily as they passed by Maya’s car, already parked on the practically nonexistent verge. They glanced inside as they passed; the keys still dangled from the ignition, as clear a sign as any that Maya had no intention of coming back.
Baba spotted something long and shining on the driver’s seat and crowed with glee, sticking her hand inside the open window to pick it up. “How careless,” she said, giving Liam a grin that clearly baffled him. “This should come in handy.”
“It’s a hair,” he said. “It’s not even evidence of anything.”
She tucked her find carefully into one pants pocket and followed the others down the dusty trail. “You’ll see.”
Penelope led Liam and Baba to the dark, shadowy entrance of a cave so well hidden by prickly shrubs and spindly young saplings, it would have been almost impossible to spot if you didn’t already know of its existence. The opening seemed to shiver and twitch, radiating wrongness like a misplucked violin string.
Penelope nodded at the entrance, which was little more than a slit in the hillside, and said in a tremulous voice, arms wrapped around herself for comfort, “There. She took my son in there.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
BABA AND LIAM looked at the mouth of the cave, and then at each other. Baba felt a frisson of excitement—clearly, the door she’d been seeking lay within that cavern. Somewhere. But first they had to figure out a way to keep Penelope from insisting on accompanying them when they went in after her son. They couldn’t risk her following them into the Otherworld. Baba was going to be in enough trouble with the queen for bringing Liam through. And there was no telling what Otherworld creatures Maya might have lined up as a greeting committee on the other side.
“You should wait by the cars, Mrs. Callahan,” Liam said, echoing her thought. “That way, if there is a problem, you can radio for help.”
“Hmmm,” Baba said. “And I have some friends I can call in. They might come in handy if we run into trouble.”
“Friends?” Penelope said doubtfully. “Are you sure you can trust them? Peter always said he had half the town in his pocket.”
Baba snorted. “Not these guys. They’re not from around here. Besides, they’re not the ‘in someone’s pocket’ type.” She gave the woman what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, although from Penelope’s reaction, it might have shown a few too many teeth. “They may look a little rough around the edges, but they’re really . . . oh, hell, they’re rough around the edges. But they’re on our side; you can trust them.”
Penelope’s eyes opened wide. “You’re not talking about those three strange men who showed up recently, are you? Someone at Bertie’s told me they’d been seen all over town; one of them started a huge fight at The Roadhouse, and I heard that another one swept that shy Lindy Cornwall off her feet and had her walking around smiling like the cat that ate the canary. They’re friends of yours?”
Baba ducked her head, hiding a smile. “I’m afraid so. But don’t worry; they’re even better at cleaning up messes than they are at making them.”
Liam added, “I know you want to come with us, but it could be dangerous—you need to stay safe for your son’s sake. Please go back to the car and wait for us. If we’re not back in two hours, you can contact Nina and tell her where we went.”
“Well, okay,” Penelope said, casting a reluctant look at the entrance of the cave. “I trust you, Sheriff McClellan.” She turned to Liam and gave him a tearful hug. “Bring my son back to me, please.” She walked back down the path, head held high.
“That’s one tough lady,” Baba said with respect in her voice. “She’s holding it together under some pretty terrifying circumstances. And she ran Peter Callahan over with her car. You’ve got to like her for that, all by itself.” She grinned at Liam.
He shook his head. “You’re a scary woman, you know that?”
She gave him her who me? look, which earned her a dubious headshake in return.