Page 26

D estiny stood in a thicket of trees across the road from the driveway entrance to MacIntosh Hall, studying the layout, desperate for anything even remotely resembling a plan to pop into her head.

The house was massive, and though it might not qualify as a true castle, it was three stories of old stone, with an iron-railing-enclosed widow’s walk at the top. To Destiny, it looked like something creepy and haunted, right out of the 1800s.

A huge stone walkway snaked around the perimeter of the house, and the whole thing sat in what looked from the road like a park, with flowers and trees and huge bushes everywhere.

She could wait for Jesse to show up. In fact, that was probably the smart thing to do. Smart for her safety, maybe, but not smart for her sister’s well-being.

While she’d been watching, a car had pulled into the drive and a man had gotten out. Not just any man, but the one who’d taken her captive at the Farmers’ Market in Sedona.

He certainly didn’t seem any worse off for the gunshot wound in his arm.

Her stomach tightened as she realized why he wouldn’t. They had Leah. They would have forced her to heal his wounds.

Dammit! The idea that these creeps would put her sister through that kind of pain stoked her anger all over again.

No, she wasn’t waiting. She was going in there.

Walking up the drive and knocking on the front door to announce that she had come to rescue Leah was hardly the way to go. She needed something better than that.

The stone fence that surrounded the property was only a little more than waist high. Surely she could climb over and slip around back unnoticed, using the trees and foliage for cover. They obviously didn’t have guard dogs, since there was no gate at the driveway to keep them inside.

That was it, then. That was her plan. Maybe Jesse would show up in time to help and maybe not. But whatever happened, she wasn’t waiting any longer. She didn’t intend to give those monsters one more second with her sister.

She made her way back down the road, keeping to the cover of the trees, coming out into the open and crossing the road only after she’d gotten far enough away from the house she couldn’t see it clearly through the foliage.

Hoisting herself up to sit on the fence, she swung her feet over the top and dropped down to the other side, slipping behind the nearest tree, waiting for her clamoring heart to slow down.

She could do this. She could. There was no way she was letting the fear hold her back again. Not now. Not this close.

Again, staying to the cover of trees and bushes, she made her way to the back of the house, where she hit her first major snag.

While the front of the property reminded her of a park with its wealth of trees, bushes, and flowers, the back was more like a golf course or a football field. The open green space seemed to go on forever.

Again her heart began to pound, her lungs constricting as if a fat man sat on her chest.

“No.” She spoke aloud to assure herself this was real. “It doesn’t matter.” She simply needed to be more careful. More watchful.

Only one door in sight along the back, but lots of windows. Given time, and cover, perhaps she could find one unlocked.

Three tall, thin juniper-like trees stood clustered at each corner of the house, their branches perfectly shaped, joining to form a point reaching well above the first story. If she could make it to one of those, it would give her cover to decide on her next move.

Two deep breaths to prepare herself and she raced across the open lawn, squeezing behind the evergreens.

Eyes closed, she fought to catch her breath. When all this was over, she really needed to get on a regular exercise plan.

Opening her eyes, she found herself inches from one of the largest spiders she’d ever seen. Paralyzed, she watched as the beast sat there in its massive web, staring at her like she was lunch.

Stop it!

It’s just a bug. Okay, not really a bug, but a buglike thing. Squashable, like a bug. But she’d have to touch it, and there’s no way in hell she could bring herself to touch it. It would be better to have every one of the evil Faeries in that house come out and catch her than have that creature touch her skin.

Stop it!

Near hysteria over a spider? Focus. Leah was what was important, not this almost-insect.

But if she’d already found one spider in these trees…

“No!” she whispered under her breath. Keep going. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about anything but Leah.

Pressing her back against the wall, she bent her knees and slid down until she reached all fours, intending to crawl around the corner behind the cover of the trees. As she started forward, her knee scraped against a piece of metal protruding from the ground.

Examining it closely, she realized it wasn’t just a piece of metal. It was a handle. She brushed the layers of pine needles away to discover it was a handle attached to a wooden door in the earth.

Fully expecting it to be locked on the inside, she pulled up, shocked when the wood gave way and lifted, puffing a smell of musty air in its wake.

Although the branches of the trees prevented her from fully opening the door, the space was already wide enough for her to slip inside.

Once again her heart pounded, and she fought the urge to retch as she used her sleeve to wipe the spiderwebs from the opening. The black hole yawned before her like a wickedly toothless mouth, and she made her decision before she had time to scare herself out of going. Turning, she stuck her legs into the hole and slipped feetfirst down into the inky darkness.