Page 142 of Balance

Well, that made no sense.

“Where were you leading us then?” he asked, peering at me through his fingers.

“You said to head to the edge…” I stepped back, digging my toes into the dirt. “So I just went.”

“You wentwhere?” he asked again, voice cautious. “Where do youthinkwe are?” When I didn’t respond, he dropped his hand back to his side and continued, wary gaze still studying my face. “We’re here.”

That was nice and all, I guess. But where?

“Are you sure you don’t know what you’re doing?” There was an underlying thread of urgency and command in his question; which made absolutely no sense.

Was he trying to trick me?

I bit my lip, glancing at our surroundings. “We’re still in the middle of the woods,” I pointed out.

“We’re at the edge,” Miles answered, lips quirking once before he brushed past me, moving toward an old oak. “Even though Kathleen is gone, her barrier is still up. I can feel the residual magic.”

And now I had absolutely no idea what he was going on about. “Barrier?” I followed after him as he studied the ground while moving forward. But when he didn’t respond I fell silent—clearly, he was not very good at tracking.

Or walking through the woods without assistance. How had this man survived on his ‘pilgrimages’ in the past? Did he always leave a trail to follow?

Maybe he was away so often because half the time he couldn’t find his way home. Then, because of embarrassment, he claimed to be searching for spiritual enlightenment instead of just admitting the truth.

Titus would probably make fun of him if he knew. And for good reason too. This wasn’t very manly. This would be our secret.

I continued to follow Miles, sympathy washing over me as he stumbled forward through the brush. Just how many times did he die in our past lives because he was too stubborn to ask for directions?

Even at this moment, the man was about to walk directly into a creek and he had no idea.

Actually, I should probably warn him about that. He’d already hurt his leg. The last thing we needed was him tripping on a rock and breaking his ankle.

“Here.” He surprised me by actually steppingoverthe water, trotting on top of the moss-covered ground. He grinned at me, a curly lock of hair falling over his eyes as he gestured toward the two thickest trees. “She’s hidden one at the base, there.”

I edged around him, gingerly stepping across the creek and kneeling in front of the trunk. The moss had continued upward from the river, covering the entire area in a soft, sage blanket.

There was no need for him to explain further—the second I spotted the stones, I knew. Kathleen had been a crystal witch. Even if there were elements I didn’t understand, it was easy enough to put two and two together.

Besides, there was definitely something otherworldly about the small pile by my knees. My legs felt warm and my skin hummed, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. Without thinking, I reached forward, hovering over, but not touching, the four gems.

The first was as big as my palm and as dark as midnight. The second was white, silver, and thin—almost paper-like. The third was a brown and orange-speckled stone, which seemed to be an ordinary rock other than the extraordinarily smooth surface.

But then there was the last, which—even though it was the most unimpressive-looking of them all—seemed, somehow, much more significant. Which didn’t make sense, since it was only an ordinary gray stone.

I reached for it, the air pulsing under my fingers as any impulse to go after the other three faded away.

“Good call.” Miles gingerly dropped to his knees beside me. “That’s a sandstone; she probably found it from around here. Different crystals serve various purposes, like this one”—he picked up the black rock—“it’s obsidian. It protects against evil and negative energy; I’m not surprised it’s being used in a shielding spell. These other two—tiger’s eye and selenite—are helpful to the barrier, but unnecessary. The real power behind this shield comes from the sandstone. Anyone who found this might take one of the other three stones but would leave the sandstone behind.”

“They’ll take them because they’re shinier,” I added, recalling the original pull I had to do just that.

“Yes.” Miles shot me a strange look, his left brow lowering slightly as his voice dropped. “And fae like shiny objects.”

What was he getting at?

“They’re pretty!” I told him, my hackles rising. Should I be offended? “But I’m not stupid. I could feel the magic.”

“You couldfeelit?” Miles asked, his eyes widening. “You know what it feels like?”

My heart pounded, and I tore my gaze from his, staring at my knees as my pulse roared.