59. Adrian
Adrian
A drian’s legs tingled as he crouched with his brother behind the woodpile. Prudence had set up a timer on her phone to make sure they did not miss the window that the conjunction and the solstice coincided, and she had propped her phone beside her as she gazed through the binoculars.
Alfie readjusted the position of the veiling stones that had been set up to shield them as the time ticked down.
The pang of nausea grew in his gut as he watched a large group of people assembled on the hill. The clock ticked down, so slowly it felt as though time were moving in reverse. They had some idea that there would be a gathering, but based on the shadows moving around in the clearing they were significantly outnumbered.
The shadows of two men stood at the top of the hill. Seth nudged him as the figures of two women appeared from the house. He could tell by her rigid steps that Cori was terrified as she walked up the hill. He glanced down again at the clock.
Five minutes .
Heat flushed his cheeks despite the cold air.
He was going to be sick.
One shadow clapped his hands and spoke. Four minutes. The air around Adrian thickened as each second that elapsed shaved off a piece of his patience. Fat flakes of snow flurried down around them.
Alfie looked back at him, compassion in his eyes. “Is that you, mate?” he asked, gesturing to the snow. Adrian nodded, the lump in his throat preventing him from articulating words. He expected Alfie to tell him to calm down, reel it in, but the Gray witch clapped him hard on the shoulder.
Two minutes . Prudence stood, her stance catlike and ready to strike as she handed the binoculars to Alfie.
Through the silence of the woods, he heard the deafening clang of metal followed by a terrified scream.
“Holy. Fuck.” Alfie sprang to his feet, shoving the binoculars in his bag.
Adrian’s eyes darted to the hill in a panic as he sensed Cori’s heart quickening, even from a distance. The snow was falling thickly around the clearing now, swirling in a frantic wind.
“Enzo just killed Calvin,” Prudence’s voice echoed urgently in his ear. “We have to move! Now! ”