Page 65 of Oracles Always Win

Gagenodded and followed.Hiseyes darted from shadow to shadow as we walked toward the building, andIwas sure if he saw even the littlest thing out of place,Iwould be carted away through another magical doorway.

Aswe neared the building, a tight sensation squeezed my chest.Except…Itdidn’t seem like it was my own panic.Youcouldn’t feel someone else’s emotions, but as impossible as that sounded,Iswore it was likeIcould feelGage’sanxiety spike as we neared the bomb site.

Footstepspounded behind us, butIdidn’t stop.

“What’sgoing on?”Vandemanded.

“Jakewants to see the damage,”Gageexplained.

Iglanced at theChiefofPolice, ready to argue to be allowed to do this but, surprisingly, he wasn’t trying to stop us.That’swhenInoticedVanhadn’t come alone.Awhole group of people were following along like my personal posse.

Thefirst responders by the building motioned for us to stop, butVanhad a few quick words with them and they let us pass.

“Juststay by the trees,” one of the firefighters shouted.

Itmight have beenCarterJones, hidden behind all his protective gear.Icouldn’t be sure, butIrecalled hearing something aboutCarterbeing the fire captain or something like that.Hemust have joined the other first responders after he’d gone all shimmery and bear-like in the trees. “Andstay up wind.”

Aswe neared the inn,Iwas struck by how normal everything seemed.Well, except for the coating of ash and the smell of something burning.Itreminded me of a bonfire, except no one was reaching for marshmallows.

Thethick layer of ash muted all the normally bright colors in the landscape.Fromthe foliage to the vehicles in the parking lot, everything was dull and dusty looking.

Thepub, which was attached to the right side of the building, appeared unscathed.Ihoped it was in as good condition on the inside too.Prettymuch all my income came from the pub, so ifIstill had it,Icould still pay my bills.

“Coveryour nose and mouth,”Gagesaid.

Itugged the collar of myT-shirt over my nose.Yeah.Itwasn’t as effective as a proper mask, but it was better than nothing.Atleast a light breeze was blowing most of the residual smoke and ash away from us now.

Sofar, so good.Thefront of the building was mostly fine.Onlya few windows were broken.Theside of the inn was the same.Thenwe rounded the corner to the back.

Igaped at the huge crater in the middle of what had been the back patio just a few hours ago.Piecesof deck furniture were scattered all over the yard.Onechair was even hanging from the charred branch of an elm tree, at least twenty feet above the ground.Allthe windows on this side of the building had been shattered.Bitsof jagged glass hung in the sills like teeth in yawning mouths.Onlyblackened wooden posts and a few roof joists were still standing around what had once been the dining room.Thesiding, the insulation, and the windows were just gone.Inside, the furniture was barely recognizable as tables and chairs; they were just mangled bits of broken wood and upholstery.

We’dbeen gathering in there, in that exact spot, for the potluck.

Itwas a miracle any of us had survived.

“Thelast two blasts must have been worse,”Vanmuttered. “Therewasn’t this much damage after the first one.”

IfGagehadn’t gotten us out…

“Hey,” he whispered as his arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a tight hug. “I’vegot you.Everyoneis safe.It’sokay.It’sjust stuff.Nothingthat can’t be replaced.”

WhenhadIstarted shaking?

“Itlooks like the dining room was an addition,”Isaacsaid.Itwas odd to see the seemingly easygoing guy look so serious, but the way he assessed the damage made me think he understood what he was seeing.

“Yeah,”Haydenagreed. “Builtin the sixties,Ithink.”

“That’swhere most of the damage is.Shouldbe straightforward to fix.”

Haydennodded. “Theoriginal building was constructed during the pack wars over a hundred years ago.Theybuilt it to withstand a lot of abuse.Theaddition wouldn’t have been built to the same standard.”

Haydenknew a lot about the inn.Italmost sounded like he’d lived here once.Although, come to think of it, he always knew obscure facts aboutWillowLake.Whatkind of supernatural hadGagesaid he was again?Ishook my head.Icouldn’t remember, except that he was supernatural.

Likeme.

I’donly knownIwas magical for like five seconds and someone was already trying to kill me.Wasthis normal for supernatural beings?Ihoped not.

“Ibet the bombs were in that damn tunnel.”Vanstepped forward and gestured at the ground.Sureenough, the crater had an oblong sort of shape to it, which extended out a bit on either end.