yourself so hard,” Ben chided.
“We need to know where she is. I’ll be fine, I just need
something to eat before we leave,” Layla promised. She put the palm of her hand
on the carpet and broke the small circle she had cast. The power that had
hummed in the air shimmered then dissipated. Ben came forward and offered a
hand up.
“Will toast be enough, or do you want something more
substantial?”
“A couple of slices will be plenty,” she assured him. “I
think it’s more important we find her and try to get some information out of
her. Brit’s staying with another witch in a small cottage. There’s something
about this other witch, it’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue but
just not being able to quite say it. She’s a good friend of long standing, or a
sister, a cousin, her mom, something like that. There’s a similarity between
their magic that’s undeniable.”
They walked through to the kitchen where Ben placed some bread
into the toaster.
“Help yourself to some juice,” he indicated the fridge as he
switched on the kettle to boil and opened the cupboard to remove two travel
mugs.
They busied themselves with making toast and coffee. Layla
poured them both a small glass of juice, drinking hers quickly to get some
nourishment into her taxed system. The juice helped stem the worst of her
headache, though she knew she wouldn’t feel back to normal until after she’d
eaten and had a bit of a rest.
“Do you get the feeling there’s a lot more to this
conspiracy than just a network of data being leaked?” Ben asked. Layla nodded
as she spread butter on her toast.
“I do, yeah,” she agreed, glad they were thinking along the
same path. “They seem so organized it can’t be just a random collection of
people, I’ve been wondering if maybe they have an agenda we haven’t stumbled
across just yet. I’m hoping we can ask Brit about it.”
“I have a feeling we both have any number of questions for
Brit.” Ben poured strong coffee into both the traveling mugs. Layla took a bite
of her toast, chewing while she thought.
“You know what might be a good idea?” she suggested as Ben
quickly washed their glasses and cutlery. “Why don’t we watch the cottage for a
short time, say an hour or so. Brit’s so paranoid she probably has bunkered
down with her friend, especially if she feels safe there. If others are hanging
around we might be able to follow them also. The more we know about who is
involved the better we can understand their true purpose and the more
information we can gather from them.”
When Layla had finished her toast, she said, “Why don’t you
call Riley?” The food had given her some more energy. No longer feeling
drained, she thought she was more than up for some further investigating.
“It might be handy to have an extra set of eyes,” she
continued. “And I bet he’s hankering for a second shot at Brit. I can’t imagine
he’d be the sort of Tracker to lose the same target twice.”
“I’ll call him in the car,” Ben agreed. He took a sip of his
coffee and ate his toast in a few large bites. Layla picked his keys up off the
kitchen bench, tossing them into the air and caught them again.
“I’ll drive,” she grinned. Ben studied her for a moment,
then capitulated.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Thrilled, Layla followed him out to the car.
Chapter Four
“My money is on them being related.” Layla glanced from
Riley to Ben then back to the small cottage. Riley stared intently at the small
home, his eyes sparkling and small crackles of energy shooting from his
fingertips as he used his power to sense the essence of the two witches inside.
“It’s hard to be certain, that talisman is screwing up my
ability to sense their signatures. There are definite similarities between
them. Hell, if I’m really lucky I might be able to Track her again, though I
wouldn’t bet the house on it, that talisman is a powerful one.”
“Between the three of
“We need to know where she is. I’ll be fine, I just need
something to eat before we leave,” Layla promised. She put the palm of her hand
on the carpet and broke the small circle she had cast. The power that had
hummed in the air shimmered then dissipated. Ben came forward and offered a
hand up.
“Will toast be enough, or do you want something more
substantial?”
“A couple of slices will be plenty,” she assured him. “I
think it’s more important we find her and try to get some information out of
her. Brit’s staying with another witch in a small cottage. There’s something
about this other witch, it’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue but
just not being able to quite say it. She’s a good friend of long standing, or a
sister, a cousin, her mom, something like that. There’s a similarity between
their magic that’s undeniable.”
They walked through to the kitchen where Ben placed some bread
into the toaster.
“Help yourself to some juice,” he indicated the fridge as he
switched on the kettle to boil and opened the cupboard to remove two travel
mugs.
They busied themselves with making toast and coffee. Layla
poured them both a small glass of juice, drinking hers quickly to get some
nourishment into her taxed system. The juice helped stem the worst of her
headache, though she knew she wouldn’t feel back to normal until after she’d
eaten and had a bit of a rest.
“Do you get the feeling there’s a lot more to this
conspiracy than just a network of data being leaked?” Ben asked. Layla nodded
as she spread butter on her toast.
“I do, yeah,” she agreed, glad they were thinking along the
same path. “They seem so organized it can’t be just a random collection of
people, I’ve been wondering if maybe they have an agenda we haven’t stumbled
across just yet. I’m hoping we can ask Brit about it.”
“I have a feeling we both have any number of questions for
Brit.” Ben poured strong coffee into both the traveling mugs. Layla took a bite
of her toast, chewing while she thought.
“You know what might be a good idea?” she suggested as Ben
quickly washed their glasses and cutlery. “Why don’t we watch the cottage for a
short time, say an hour or so. Brit’s so paranoid she probably has bunkered
down with her friend, especially if she feels safe there. If others are hanging
around we might be able to follow them also. The more we know about who is
involved the better we can understand their true purpose and the more
information we can gather from them.”
When Layla had finished her toast, she said, “Why don’t you
call Riley?” The food had given her some more energy. No longer feeling
drained, she thought she was more than up for some further investigating.
“It might be handy to have an extra set of eyes,” she
continued. “And I bet he’s hankering for a second shot at Brit. I can’t imagine
he’d be the sort of Tracker to lose the same target twice.”
“I’ll call him in the car,” Ben agreed. He took a sip of his
coffee and ate his toast in a few large bites. Layla picked his keys up off the
kitchen bench, tossing them into the air and caught them again.
“I’ll drive,” she grinned. Ben studied her for a moment,
then capitulated.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Thrilled, Layla followed him out to the car.
Chapter Four
“My money is on them being related.” Layla glanced from
Riley to Ben then back to the small cottage. Riley stared intently at the small
home, his eyes sparkling and small crackles of energy shooting from his
fingertips as he used his power to sense the essence of the two witches inside.
“It’s hard to be certain, that talisman is screwing up my
ability to sense their signatures. There are definite similarities between
them. Hell, if I’m really lucky I might be able to Track her again, though I
wouldn’t bet the house on it, that talisman is a powerful one.”
“Between the three of
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