The Omen of Stones by Casey L. Bond

Author:Casey L. Bond [Bond, Casey L.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: YA Fiction/Fantasy
Published: 2020-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

Sable

The wards around the town suddenly weakened and we entered the wood at night, walking until we came upon a sleepy town full of farmland and modest houses clustered together in the middle of town. While stars sparkled overhead, I drew on the energy from the moon, bright and full. I called to Fate and begged him for help. For him to keep River safe until we could find him. For him to lead us to our son.

Arron, Tauren, and I spread out and checked every barn stall, and as the townspeople slept, we slipped into their homes. In every room, in every shed and every nook and cranny, even the cellars, there was no trace of River anywhere. His scent was nowhere. River wasn’t here. My heart plummeted. I had such hope that someone here had been holding him, but the witch who made the wards wasn’t in the town. I would’ve been able to sense her.

“I found the witch’s house,” Tauren revealed, the black silken hand-fasting ribbon shining on his wrist as he raked his hand through his hair.

“You could’ve been killed!” Arron whispered angrily. “You should’ve come and gotten one of us.”

“For one, she could detect your magic in an instant. For another, I’m not helpless, Son of Night,” Tauren fumed. “And I’ve told you both before – I will find my son. If it means turning over every rock or climbing every mountain in The Wilds, I’ll find him.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. Tauren’s smooth, reassuring façade was cracking more every moment River was missing.

Arron apologized. “I was concerned for your safety, but you’re right. You aren’t helpless. And you can do things that Sable and I cannot.”

“Was the house empty?” I asked, trying to refocus their energy. We couldn’t lose that if we wanted to find our son.

“No one else was inside.”

Tauren had wandered into a powerful witch’s house, only to find the witch not at home. It couldn’t have been the woman sleeping in the back room. If anyone trespassed in a witch’s space, she would know it. Like an alarm, her magic would wake her.

Arron stared at the mountains looming over us.

“What is it?” I asked, squinting to see as he did. With his serpentine eyes, he always seemed to see more.

“There’s magic nearby – different from the wards around this town. And there are slivers of smoke rising from the mountain.”

“Could be fog,” Tauren suggested.

“It doesn’t behave as fog. Watch it.”

It was nearly imperceptible, but as we watched, small plumes became visible. At night, if you wanted to see stars, the trick was to avoid focusing on them. This smoky area, so high on the mountain, was no different.

A blood-red dawn seeped across the sky, filling me with fear.

Fate? Is this your warning? Please, lead me to him. Don’t let anything hurt him.

Tauren ignored the omen and focused on the smoke, barely visible in the blossoming daylight. “Let’s check there,” he suggested.

I wondered who would’ve taken River so far up

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