Loch

If he moved his hand even the slightest bit past the bars, the fairy-glass rope around his wrists would dig in.
“They get put to sleep.”

CHAPTER THREE—Johnny
“Just admit you can’t find the witches,” Keller groaned loudly enough to startle the birds from the canopy.
“I can find the damn witches,” Johnny muttered back. “Have you ever tracked a witch? Do you know how crafty they are?”
Neither Keller nor Garret said anything.
“Well?” Johnny pushed. “Any great witch trackers here who want to speak up? No? Then shut up and let me focus.”
“Focus on what?” Garret asked. “We’ve been searching the woods for a week, and we’re no closer to finding witches or Holly. We should go back to where she was taken and search the old-fashioned way.”
Johnny furrowed his brow. “You mean the human way?”
“We can get some of the folks in the town involved. We can search a huge area.”
“The townsfolk.” Johnny shook his head. “Tell me, Garret, how do we figure out which townsfolk want to help us in earnest and which ones are working with the bastards who took Holly?”
“There are good people in Silver Spruce. We can trust them to help, even if we don’t tell them about the whole shifter business.”
“We can’t get the humans involved in this,” Keller jumped in. “Some of them, we can trust but others? Half of them will quickly call in the TV crews for their fifteen minutes of fame. And the rest? Well, shifters aren’t the only ones who have ancient family ties around here. There are a fair number of humans who will gladly take up torches and pitchforks to hunt us for our pelts and intestines.”
“Only now, they have guns and night vision goggles,” Johnny pointed out. “As much as I’d like to think otherwise, we’re not invincible.” He surveyed the hulking Garret. “Well, maybe you are, but I don’t want to take that chance.”
“Then what do you propose we do?” Garret growled. “At this rate, we aren’t going to find Holly anytime soon. For all we know, she’s already—”
Johnny closed the distance between himself and Garret and gripped the collar of his shirt.
“Do not finish that sentence.”
The thought was enough to drive Johnny into a rage. Holly wasn’t dead. He would know if she was dead. He would just…know.
“Enough.” Johnny felt Keller’s hands on his shoulders, ready to yank him back. Johnny stepped away willingly. He released Garret, who looked at Johnny with a heavy, disappointed gaze.
“You’re an idiot if you think you’re the only one here who cares for her.” There was a sharp edge in his usually calm voice.
“Oh, I know I’m not the only one,” Johnny snapped. “I overheard you caring for her at the stones.”
“As if you didn’t jump on her the moment you had the chance. The living room reeked of your…activities.”
“Picking fights won’t help Holly, and it’ll only make you feel better for a few minutes.” Keller stepped between Johnny and Garret.
“Says the one who took Holly into the woods.” Johnny couldn’t stop the words from coming, even though he knew better. He didn’t want to anger or hurt his friends, his clan brothers, but his own anger overtook all logical thought. He hadn’t felt right since Holly was kidnapped. It was as if she took a vital part of him when she was abducted.
Getting her back was the only way to feel whole again.
“I only left her because I thought I had a chance of finding the ones who were after her.” Keller had explained himself a hundred times since the kidnapping.
Johnny accepted his explanation. He didn’t even blame Keller for what had happened. Not really. He would’ve done the same had he been the one out in the woods with Holly that day. “I know.”
“Let’s just keep moving, all right?” Keller pushed onward but didn’t walk very far. “To the witches, then?”
“The witches are our best option.” Johnny ran his hand through his hair. “We won’t find Holly without a powerful tracking spell.”
“Could they break the concealment spell the kidnappers carry with them?” Garret asked.
“I don’t think so.” Johnny shook his head. “We don’t have any clue what kind of concealment spell they’re using. It could be an amulet, a talisman, or just about anything. Witches are resourceful when it comes to crafting spells. The things they can do with pondwater will blow your mind.”
“If we ever find them. Let’s keep moving.” Keller jerked his chin toward Johnny. “Lead the way.”
Johnny moved to the head of the group. He gestured to the others to stay silent as they moved through the forest. Though the sun was still high in the sky, the forest appeared to grow darker. The natural sounds of chittering and scrambling made by forest creatures gradually stopped. When nothing could be heard, Johnny turned to Garret.
“Muster up a good old-fashioned grizzly roar, will ya?”
Garret nodded and sucked in a deep breath. He threw back his head and let out a roar so powerful, the ground shook beneath their feet. Birds flew from the canopy but only some.
Johnny looked to the trees and found only the ravens remained.
“We’re getting close,” he said. “Witches often keep ravens as familiars. They’re better suited to the woods than the typical black housecat.”
“Why didn’t they flee?” Garret rasped, out of breath. “That was fucking terrifying.”
“That should tell you something about the witches we’re tracking.”
The trio pressed on. Johnny tried not to let his nerves get to him. Witches were tricky and so good at weaving deals it was best to deal with them when there was a legal team present.
“What’s that?” Keller pointed at something scratched into a tree trunk. Johnny stepped forward to take a closer look.
“It’s a welcome sign.”
“Really?” Garret sounded relieved.
“No. Witches don’t typically carve their welcome mats into rotten trees