Spirit Formed, page 16
“How long have you been here?” Shasta asked. She still had her sword ready, not yet willing to trust Nissa. Someone was lying and stirring up trouble, and right now she wasn’t sure who.
“Five minutes?”
In terms of a standoff between the two sisters and the town, that was an eternity. Anything could have happened, and with every passing moment, there was a greater likelihood the townsfolk would capture Gwen and Shiloh. “Was Godric with them?”
Hands still in the air, Nissa shrugged awkwardly. “I didn’t see or hear him, but he could have been there.”
“You can lower your hands.” Cord set down his bow.
Nissa’s eyes darted between Cord and Shasta before she slowly lowered her hands. She wiped tears away from her eyes. “Will you help?”
“Yes.” Shasta dismissed her sword with a sigh. “Cord, I’ll dig out more trail rations.”
Cord nodded and eased around Nissa to get to the bathroom. Nissa stood there, her eyes going between Cord’s retreating back and Shasta. Figuring there wasn’t much she could do to make Nissa feel better at the moment, Shasta headed into the kitchen and found the container of rations. She poured a glass of water for each of them and set out two biscuits, breaking one of them in half before placing them on plates.
Nissa eased closer, shuffling from foot to foot. “So, when are you going to help?”
Shasta turned to her and raised a single eyebrow. She bit into the ration, slowly chewed, swallowed, and took a sip of water. “You may not be aware, but after visiting the farm this morning, we found Delilah running into town screaming that the deer had attacked her and Godric. We went through the woods until we found Godric and the herd. After sending him back to town, we killed the deer and came back here to recharge. We need food, and we need a moment to catch our breath.”
Nissa’s mouth formed a small O. “I didn’t realize.”
“Now you do.” Shasta chewed through another bite of their rations.
Cord came out of the bedroom and made a beeline for his rations. Shasta took her turn in the bathroom. On her way back to the main room, she snagged her phone. As she walked in, Cord was popping the last bit of his rations into his mouth. Shasta gulped down a little more water and pocketed several truth charms.
Cord’s eyes met hers. “Ready?”
“Ready.” Shasta nodded.
He turned to face Nissa. She stopped shifting her weight from foot to foot and looked at him with big wide eyes. Cord said firmly, “Stay behind us. We’ll do our best to protect you and help your sisters. But you have to promise you won’t go charging into a situation. We can’t protect you unless you listen to us.”
Nissa nodded vigorously.
“I need to hear you promise.” Cord kept staring at her.
Nissa squeezed her eyes shut a moment then opened them again. Tears pooling, she stared right back at him. “I promise to do as you say, stay behind you, and not endanger either of you.”
“Good.” Cord nodded curtly. “Let’s go.”
He led the way out the door, and Shasta paused long enough to be sure Nissa closed it behind him. Then they started running—at a brisk pace, but not so fast as to leave them breathless. Not sure when they would get a better opportunity, Shasta pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the company’s emergency line. Someone would pick up. That’s what she told herself as it rang a second and third time.
On the fourth ring, the mellow tenor drawled, “Hello, you’ve reached Oaks Consulting emergency line. What is your problem?”
Shasta cursed.
“Dear sister, is that you?” Her brother Victor’s voice was gently teasing. “What brings you to my phone today?”
“Can the act. We need a witch on this case immediately. As soon as somebody can get here.” She made the turn onto the path leading to the Tree Sisters Farm. “I’m not sure what Godric told the company, but this isn’t a rogue animal problem. They’ve been spelled, and I don’t have enough to combat all of it.”
“Got it.” He was all business now. “Are you in danger?”
“Don’t think so, but I gotta go rescue some of the villagers. Get a witch here.” Shasta was starting to hang up the phone as he warned her to be safe. She agreed to do their best, but it hadn’t been one of their better days. She slid the phone in her pocket as they passed Areena’s Rhododendrons.
A quick glance over her shoulder reassured Shasta that Nissa was still with them. Unfortunately, she could already see the mass of people ahead. Somehow, Delilah had gotten most of the town out here. Even Bliss and Mack were there, at the back of the crowd, though they didn’t seem to be participating.
Cord skidded to a halt. Shasta stopped beside him. True to her word, Nissa stayed behind them, though a bit off to the side so she could see what was happening. The elves hadn’t even heard them approach; their own shouts and singular focus were on the greenhouse. It wasn’t going to be an easy matter to get through to them. Especially not without harm coming to Gwen or Shiloh.
Cord cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “Silence!”
The back of the crowd quieted and turned toward them. Awareness rippled through the rest of the group that something had changed. The crowd moved, and Delilah pushed her way through until she was standing opposite Cord. She pointed behind her at the greenhouse. “Arrest them. They’re behind all of this. We found the deer in their barn.”
Shasta kept her hands down by her sides, ready to summon her sword if it was needed. “Now that’s odd. Because we were here this morning and not only were there no deer to be found, but all three of the sisters volunteered to answer all of our questions under the truth charm. They knew nothing of the deer.”
Cord crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you calling us liars?”
Delilah paused with her mouth open, clearly not sure what to say to that. Finally, she said, “You’re young, impressionable, and easily misled.”
“It doesn’t take hundreds or thousands of years to learn how to spot a liar,” Shasta said. “And we have truth charms. I am more than qualified for this job. As a representative of Oaks Consulting, I assure you that these sisters had nothing to do with the deer.” She bared her teeth in a feral smile. “You will release them. Then, we will talk rationally about who might be behind all of this. After all, the last time I saw you, Delilah, you were injured and very worried about your husband. What brought you here searching for the deer?”
Godric stepped out from behind Embath. “I figured it out. The only person we told about our trip to get mushrooms was her.” He pointed at Nissa.
“And that made you think the sisters had something to do with it?” Cord scoffed.
“Yes,” Delilah chimed in. “They’ve been at the edge of every one of these events. On the street, in their shop, but there’s always one of them missing. Who better to organize an attack than a group of three? It’s never odd for one of them to not be around, not with the two businesses. They always have the perfect excuse.”
“But there are quite a few business partners or couples who have the same excuses,” Shasta countered. “If you will relent, we’ll bring Shiloh and Gwen out and talk about this like civilized individuals.”
Godric stabbed his finger at the greenhouse. “They are responsible!”
“Give us proof,” Cord said firmly.
Delilah took a step forward, her eyes bright with anger. “The proof is in their barn.”
“No.” Shasta shook her head. “We didn’t tell the sisters we would visit this morning. They couldn’t have known, so they couldn’t have hidden the deer from us, and even if they had, that wouldn’t allow them to pass the truth spell. Give me real proof, not something that could have been planted.”
“Why won’t you listen to us?” Delilah pleaded.
Shasta squared her shoulders. “Because you’re acting like a mob. When I see reason, when I see sound judgment, then I’ll treat you like the adults you are.”
“You are but a child. You’re not qualified and simply do not understand these matters!” Godric yelled.
Shasta raised an eyebrow. Sure, she was young, especially by elven standards, but child seemed a bit much. “You hired us to do this job. Let us do it.”
“It’s been two weeks!” Ayla shouted from the crowd. “If you’re so good, why isn’t this already solved?”
Murmurs of agreement followed her challenge. Shasta bit the inside of her cheek, unsure if the truth, or the typical company line that these things take time, was the better option.
“Truthfully,” Cord said, staring at the crowd, “this town came to us with the problem of magically altered deer. The way it was put to us, they’d probably been changed in nature, and we simply needed to find them, neutralize them, and everything would be fine. But we got here, and there were no deer in the area. It took two weeks for one to show up. And you know what we found since then? They weren’t a natural phenomenon at all. The deer we killed didn’t walk themselves out of that barn. Someone took them. And based on our questioning, we’re certain neither the tree sisters nor Meron had anything to do with their disappearance. It was the first thing we checked this morning. So look around, the responsible party is one of you.”
Godric and Delilah didn’t move, but Cicada looked at her neighbor, as did Ayla and Embath. Bliss and Mack scooted to the side, leaning as far away from the group as they could manage. Meron was in the back of the crowd near Blass, his expression unreadable.
“We need to arrest the sisters,” Godric announced.
Shasta doubted that had been the original intent, but since he was communicating, she did her best to build on it. “If you will move away from the greenhouse, Cord and I will retrieve the sisters, and we can talk about this logically.”
Bliss and Mack very nearly ran sixty feet to the side. Meron and Wyrran were hot on their heels. Areena and Ashling weren’t much behind them. As the group shifted, Delilah and Godric moved just enough to stay with it.
When all of them were in one cluster, Cord motioned for Nissa to come up behind him. Shasta kept her hand loosely curled by her side in case things turned violent and she needed her sword. Together, with Nissa behind them, they carefully worked their way around the crowd to the greenhouse. This morning, the door and walls had been clear glass, but now a wall of leaves and vine pressed up against them.
Shasta tried the door, but it wouldn’t budge. She laid her hand against it. The other side was a mess of overexcited greenery, all of it growing as quickly as it could to encapsulate the center of the greenhouse.
“Let me,” Nissa whispered, and Shasta moved back. Nissa took her place and with one hand turned the knob while resting the other against the wood doorframe. She closed her eyes and a surge of elven power flowed out of her. The greenery parted, and the door swung open. Nissa hesitated at the threshold. “Gwen? Shiloh?”
“Are they gone?” One of the sisters said from inside.
“No, but Shasta and Cord are here. They got the crowd to back off so we can discuss this rationally.” Nissa paused. “Are you hurt?”
Shiloh and Gwen stepped into the light coming through the open door. They were a bit dirty and pale, but Shasta didn’t see any visible injuries. Gwen shook her head. “Tired. This wasn’t easy, even with the two of us.”
“You encased yourself inside? And it held out against other elves?” Cord asked.
Shiloh motioned inside the greenhouse. “These are our plants. They will not answer to others.”
Shasta worked to keep her face blank. In her experience, it wasn’t easy to make plants refuse the call of another elf, but the plant talk would have to wait. “I don’t know how patient that group is going to be. They were quite worked up when we arrived. Are you willing to go attempt negotiations? I can’t promise we’ll get the outcome you want.”
The three sisters looked at each other and nodded. Shiloh spoke for them. “This is our home. We’ll try to do this peacefully, and if we must, we’ll move and start again.”
Shasta hoped they understood the true gravity of the situation. Starting over might not be an option. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“We hope so too,” Nissa said softly. She pulled the door closed behind her sisters, and the vines dropped back into place. “We’re ready.”
Cord bowed his head and led them toward the other group. Shasta took up her position at the back, hoping it was an unnecessary precaution to guard them against an attack. They rounded the corner of the greenhouse and the whispers started. There were too many of them for Shasta to decipher, but in her experience, whispers weren’t a good sign.
Cord stopped the group thirty feet from the mob. “Shiloh, Gwen, Nissa, you have been accused of being the culprit behind the problems with the deer. What do you say?”
Gwen stepped in front of her sisters and glared at Delilah and Godric. “Lunacy and you know it. We had nothing to do with that. We’re as baffled as all of you as to how the deer ended up in our barn. Just this morning we gave statements to Cord and Shasta under the effect of truth charms. We were truthful, the charms reflected that—which we told you when you arrived. If you want to figure out who did this, look somewhere else. It wasn’t us.”
Shasta kept her eye on the crowd. Bliss and Mack edged away from the group again. If they could have teleported themselves away, Shasta was sure they would have. Meron seemed bored. Wyrran looked disgusted by the whole thing, but Cicada was watching with narrowed eyes as if she wasn’t sure what to think.
“Unless you can provide us a reason why the deer are in your possession, one backed by evidence, we’ll have to take you into custody,” Godric proclaimed, his eyes hard, the corners of his lips upturned.
“That’s absurd,” Shasta snapped. No matter what type of doubt Godric was trying to sew, she knew her charms, and she knew they worked. The tree sisters weren’t responsible for any of this. “No court in the country works that way. Get actual evidence and then we talk. Because from where I’m standing, this looks like a frame job.”
“I am the mayor.” Godric did everything but stand on his toes to make himself look taller. “They need to be held until we get to the bottom of this. If they are responsible, we can’t have them running around causing more trouble.”
“Couldn’t we simply watch them?” Wyrran asked. “Putting them in jail feels like you’re declaring their guilt. We don’t know that.”
Cicada countered before Godric could speak. “I would feel better knowing they were being held, as a precaution. That way if something else happens, we know it wasn’t them.”
“And how long would you hold them?” Cord’s voice carried across the distance, cutting off anything else Cicada might have said. “You have the luxury of thousands of years. How long do you hold them before deciding whether they were responsible? How long can someone wait to resume their activities?”
“What we need is for this to end!” Delilah shouted. “We’ve been hurt, attacked repeatedly, and this town can’t survive that. If holding them for a few days will simplify matters, then why shouldn’t we?”
“Because we’re part of this community, and we would never do anything to hurt it,” Nissa pleaded. “Yet for some reason, all of our time here and everything we’ve contributed has come down to deer appearing in our barn.”
“Then do this one more thing for the community,” Delilah said. “Agree to spend two days in holding. That’s all we’ll keep you. That will give us time to verify your innocence or guilt.”
Shasta wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth clamped shut. It was up to the sisters. If they wanted to take that offer they could. If they wanted to try and fight for something better, she’d support that decision too. But without a true fight, she wasn’t sure how they were getting out of this situation without the girls ending up spending some time behind bars. She and Cord were good, but they weren’t invincible.
Maybe she could offer one more option. “I have truth charms with me. Would you be willing to trust their statements if you witnessed it?”
Several people in the crowd, including Wyrran, Meron, Bliss, and Mack, nodded, but Shasta wasn’t sure that would be enough.
“Why would we trust your charms?” Godric sneered. “If they’d worked properly, we would know why the deer are here. I stand by my wife’s offer. Two days in custody while we sort this out.”
Shasta forced herself to remain silent. She didn’t want to exacerbate the situation and end up with the sisters having a last generous proposal, assuming they agreed to take it at all.
Shiloh leaned over and whispered to her sisters, “It might be for the best.”
Shasta couldn’t hear what else passed between them, but a moment later, Gwen stepped forward. “We agree, as long as it is only forty-eight hours and we are kept together.”
“Deal,” Delilah answered before anyone else had a chance. She held up three pairs of handcuffs.
Godric took them from her and marched across the empty space between the two groups. “Who first?”
It was all Shasta could do to keep her face blank. She didn’t like any of this, but she also didn’t know how to improve the situation. If only she was better with magic. If only—well right now was a long list of “if onlys.”
Shiloh offered her hands.
With more force than Shasta felt necessary, Godric clamped a cuff around one of Shiloh’s wrists before pulling her arm behind her back and securing the other wrist. When he finished with Shiloh, he looked at the other two. Gwen stepped forward, put her hands behind her back and turned. In a matter of seconds, she too was in handcuffs. Nissa, still shaking, did the same thing Gwen had done.
With all three sisters restrained, Godric turned back to the crowd. “After two days of terror, you can rest assured the perpetrators are in custody.”
From the way he finished the sentence, he clearly expected a cheer. Unfortunately, the anger of the crowded had faded, and the remaining zeal was dampened by the sight of their neighbors in handcuffs. Ayla wiped a tear from her face while Wyrran scowled. Meron’s head was bowed as if he was praying. Bliss and her husband were holding hands, both of them white-knuckled.
