Free The Summoning (Custodes Noctis) by Muffy Morrigan Page A

stop it.”
    “Yes. Where are you?”
    “Heading east on I-90. I don’t know… I…”
    “Rob…” Galen stopped, realizing with sudden clarity why he’d been attacked. How could he let his brother know? “I’ve got coffee.”
    “You… It better be… Quad… Gal…” And the connection broke.
    “You’ve got coffee? Where?” Flash said, glancing over at him. “I want coffee.”
    “ You know why you were attacked?”
    “Yes,” Galen said excitedly. “I do.”
    “Want to tell the rest of the class?” Flash muttered as he ran the car onto the shoulder to pass a slow-moving convoy.
    “Thanks to your map, I know where Rob’s going.”
    “What?”
    “Yeah, here.” Galen pointed to the spot where the tiny gray road ended and felt a small burst of red-hot pain in his head. Whether or not the Ancient One had meant to, it had just confirmed the location. “That’s where we’re going.”
    “You’re just lucky this thing has four-wheel drive,” Flash grumbled.
    “How long will it take?”
    Flash grinned. “If you keep your eyes closed, not long at all.” He laughed and floored it.

Seven
     
    Galen
     
     
    They had been on the road for nearly two hours, the forested Cascades giving way to the open plains of Eastern Washington. In the distance Galen could finally see the haze marking the Columbia River Gorge. The fields were flecked with the first ridges of lava. As they got closer to Vantage, he could feel a soft tug, something pulling him away from the freeway and pointing them towards the huge basalt cliffs along the gorge. The Columbia River snaked through the valley, a deep blue, reflecting the color of the sky. The wind whipped the SUV as they crossed the bridge at Vantage.
    Galen had been studiously ignoring the speedometer since Cle Elum, when he’d made the mistake of looking over and seeing it hovering around ninety-five. Once they were past Ellensburg, he knew Flash had sped up even more, and by the time they reached the long downgrade to the river, he guessed they were easily going faster than a hundred. They turned right when they reached the east side of the bridge and started heading downriver. The massive hills rose around them like castles, the lava buttresses hanging out over the road.
    Small roads led off into the hills, some of them were marked, most weren’t. Galen checked the map again. “Slow down.”
    “What?”
    “Our turn is coming up, if I’m right. We need to go about seven tenths of a mile past the next marker.”
    “Okay.” Flash slowed the car to thirty, his eyes moving between the road and the odometer. “This is seven.”
    “There’s the road,” Galen said, pointing to a tiny track to their left.
    Flash turned onto the road. About a quarter of a mile up, there was a cattle grate and a gate marking the boundary of public lands. Galen got out and opened the gate. He could smell dust on the air, a car had passed through not long before, the scent was still sharp in the hot sun. Getting back in, he smiled. “I think we aren’t as far behind as I thought we were.”
    “I got us here fast,” Flash boasted.
    “And Rob was probably trying to fight as much as he could.”
    “ Dor!” Dera cried. “Open the door!”
    Galen did as he was told, and before he even spotted the other raven, the bird was swooping into the car. “Are you okay?”
    “ I am. We have to hurry! How did you find us?” Dor asked, looking at the three of them.
    “He used my map,” Flash said smugly.
    “How far is it?”
    “ I don’t know, I flew,” Dor said.
    “Not very helpful, you know,” Flash muttered and started up the road at a speed that had the tires sliding on the rocks. “Fucking washboard road. That’s what happens when idiots who shouldn’t be driving out here try driving out here.” He had his hands on the wheel and Galen could see his knuckles were white.
    “Idiots like you?” Galen joked. He knew Flash was afraid. That was one of the things he admired most