He was glad for his foresight now. He didn't think it was coincidence that an elemental had shown up at a local inn, especially when it had done so during another fairy's stay. Magnus knew the visitation had something to do with his mother, though precisely what he couldn't guess.
Leave that be for now, he told himself, trying to push away his concerns. Titania would show her hand eventually, and when she did, he'd figure out what to do.
Sufficient unto the day were the challenges thereof. Magnus couldn't scry into Fairy from the human realm at all; the magical ethers here were too thick. He could, however, peer into any place on Earth. Right now, he needed to know Zoe's state of mind, to understand what she was choosing before he could do the same.
It was trite perhaps, but he'd found a crystal ball worked best. Rolling his favorite clear quartz sphere over the fingers of his right hand, he sank to his knees on the fluorite floor. Once there, he folded his feet flat, turned his toes slightly in, and sat on his heels. The flashlight he'd laid beside him, a heavy model used by spelunkers, shot a beam of light that broke into a thousand shards against the purple walls. It was the perfect atmosphere for allowing one's mind to drift, for allowing one's eyes to play tricks and see what wasn't there.
He cradled the scrying ball between his palms, letting its weight rest on his thighs. His breath fell without effort into a calm rhythm. Almost at once, a rush of energy streaked up his spine, and a tingling like a funnel made of static opened in his head. He let his focus soften as he gazed at the ball.
"I wish to see Zoe Clare," he told the Will-Be.
Figures moved inside his crystal. A cat carried in a handbag. A woman. A tall man with sun-streaked hair. Zoe and Alex were walking outside her gallery, down the touristy stretch of Canyon Way. They looked like people who knew and liked each other well. The swing of their legs matched as if timed by a metronome.
Hellfire, Magnus thought, which caused the images to waver. Knowing he couldn't afford to lose his concentration, he blew away his anger.
"I am willing to be shown," he insisted, though he knew he might not like what he saw.
Liking it didn't matter. One lesson he had accepted from his mother was that information helped a person set an effective course. If Magnus hoped to keep Zoe, he had to understand what he stood against.
Chapter Eleven
They took Alex's nice brown Audi to Fairy Creek Canyon, parking at the overlook where, for as long as Zoe could remember, high school kids had made out. Today, all the slots but theirs were empty, horny teenagers apparently having better things to do while the sun was up. A broad hiking trail led them down into another world. Alex followed Zoe, the emergency blanket from his trunk slung over one arm—protection against the poison ivy that was the bane of this lush, green place.
"God," he said as they descended into cool, moist air. "I forgot how beautiful this is."
Compared to the scrubby pine woods or desert that covered most of the land around town, Fairy Canyon was an exotic oasis. The creek that ran through it was fed by the local aquifer. It narrowed during the summer but did not dry up. As a result, oak grew here and cypress and maples that would turn to flame in October. Moss padded the ground like fairy stepping stones. Zoe had to remind herself this wasn't a romantic date. They'd come to see what readings she could get off the falls, to see if she could shed light on the mystery surrounding Alex's client's son.
The falls announced their nearness with the steady rushing sound they made plunging down the rocks. Fairy Falls was no Niagara, but for Arizona it was tall and wide, booming slightly over the hollows that undercut the striated red sandstone. A poison-green pool met the waters' misty culmination, the color the result of a vigorous algae content and a lot of silt being stirred up. Only the bravest souls swam here, because the pool was known to be home to snakes and leeches, and the rocks were slippery enough to defeat experienced hikers. The caves behind the water also remained unexplored, being prone to rockfalls. Fairy Falls was strictly for admiring by eye—not that this was a great hardship.
"Wow," Alex exclaimed as they emerged through the veil of trees for their first clear look. "You can see how rumors started that this was the spot to scope out fairies."
Zoe could see it, though she'd never met a fairy here herself. Despite her own flock not seeming to like the place, the effect of the sun slanting through the leaves to strike rainbows off the misting water was magical. Birds and insects set up a steady chatter among the trees, their pleasant noise underscoring the peaceful stillness that lay beneath. A heron stalked farther down the stream, partially hidden by the bank's tall reeds.
Good hunting, Zoe thought, wishing him a meal he liked—a nice plump lizard or a juicy frog.
Alex startled her by tugging at her hand. The warm length of his fingers inspired a shiver of déjà vu. She'd loved holding hands with him when they were dating. Walking down the halls at school. Feeling for a little while as if she fit in.
"Sit," he said. "I've got to enjoy this for a few minutes. I missed this nature stuff in Phoenix."
He'd spread the blanket on a grassy spot near the pool. Zoe set her purse beside it, which allowed Corky to bounce out like a jumping bean. Fortunately, she'd thought to buy him a teeny-tiny harness on her and Samuel's lunchtime shopping spree. Florabel had come to Petsmart as well, so perhaps there was a fairy romance in the offing. Zoe smiled as Corky chased a small white moth across the grass, losing his prize—and falling over—when he came to the end of his bright blue leash. Zoe was glad she'd already attached it to her purse handle, and gladder still that the purse was too heavy for the kitten to pull.
"Corky's fine," Alex said, tugging her hand again.
With a trepidation she couldn't avoid, Zoe accepted his help to sit, careful to smooth her skirt beneath her before she did. Alex's hand held on to hers a moment longer than it had to, seeming to pull away reluctantly. Heat slid through her, uninvited but unstoppable. Disconcerted, she pressed her lips together and looked at the falls.
She was here to work, and so was he. He had a boyfriend, and so did—well, she really didn't, but that was beside the point. Determined to do what she'd come here for, she blew out her breath and closed her eyes, trying to sense any remnants of supernatural events. She cast her memory back to how the falls had looked that night five years ago. Only the top of the canyon had been visible from her house. The colored spheres had danced in and out of the chasm, flirting with the stars. They must have been huge for her to see at that distance, maybe as big as cars.