A Little Night Muse(55)

                “Toadstools?” Josh yanked on his clothes awkwardly with one                     hand. “Why do you keep talking about mushrooms?”

                “Every place, from desert to glacier, has some fungus, mold,                     lichen, or moss spore that will sprout into phae                     gateways. This circle led back to the phaedrealii.”

                “Why would she go back?” Josh scrabbled for a lost boot under                     the bed. She had lied about where he put the charms last night, so that he had                     inadvertently left a gap. That was the only way she could have sneaked out. “Why                     would she leave?” He hated the plaintive sound of his own voice.

                Vaile said flatly, “Because, like the imp, she came to betray                     us.”

                Grabbing his wayward boot, Josh rocked back on his heels. His                     gaze went to a strange lump next to the dresser. “So the mushroom ring is how                     you phae travel?”

                “Yes. The one here looks a couple days old. She must have sown                     it before you found her.” Vaile’s voice was grim. “I think she meant to bring                     our enemies through.”

                “But she didn’t.” Josh clung to that fact.

                “Or hasn’t yet. Stay in your valley, Josh. Get the wards and                     bring them in close and then don’t come over the ridge until daybreak.”

                Josh swallowed. “Will you and Imogene be all right?”

                “We can’t fight with iron, but we have other tricks.” Vaile’s                     voice softened. “I’m sorry the musetta played them                     on you.”

                After they disconnected, Josh stomped into his boots and then                     went to the living room to collect his pistol and a spear. He thrust one of the                     iron-bladed knives he had assembled into his belt loop. The decorative curlicue                     from the log rack wasn’t exactly sharp but it was pure iron, and the black                     spiral looked wicked as hell.

                Which was how he felt.

                As he passed his work table on the way back to the bedroom, a                     rainbow shimmer caught his eye. He paused to touch the gemstones, each one more                     precious than the last. At the center was the emerald. She had left him a small                     fortune. He could feed the cows on caviar and Champagne with the jewels she’d                     left behind.