Crescent Legacy Nicole Taylor (top young adult novels .TXT) 📖

the manufactured glow of the Topaz service station. Beyond that, the landscape melted into milky whiteness. It was all a little creepy if you asked me.

“Still got to keep busy,” Mairead added.

“If you say so.”

“Where are you goin’ anyway?” she asked, still lingering behind me.

I couldn’t really tell her I was going on a mission to find and possibly punish some really bad witches, so I gave her a smartass comment instead.

“You’re letting out all the warm air,” I replied. “I pay for that, you know.”

“Buy me a present, okay?” she retorted with a humph before retreating inside.

The door slammed closed, the sound strangely muffled by the dense fog.

A pair of headlights broke their way through the mist, and a little red car came into view. It hurtled down the road, through the red traffic light, screeched around the hawthorn, and came to a sudden stop beside me. The door flung open, and Boone got out.

“It’s a miracle,” I declared as he rounded the bonnet and stood beside me. “How did you convince Sean?”

“Don’t ask,” Boone drawled, his accent sounding thicker than usual. “I’m goin’ to pay for it for a while.”

“Your torment is greatly appreciated.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” he asked, handing me the keys.

I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I know a few more things now. It’s not like the thing with the craglorn.”

Boone grimaced and pulled me in for a hug. “No, it’s not. It’s worse.”

“Stop fretting like an old woman,” I complained. “I’ll let you know when I’m on the way home.”

He smiled and kissed me on the lips.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“What’s what for?”

“That cheeky smile.”

“I like it when you call Derrydun home.”

“Don’t make me feel better. This is going to be hard enough as it is.”

“There’s goin’ to be a lot of difficult decisions in the future,” Boone said. “But I know you’ll make the right one.”

“I suppose.” Taking the keys, I kissed him on the lips.

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I said, spreading my arms out wide. “I’m a badass, remember?”

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I hooked up my mobile phone onto the dashboard and plugged in the address on Google Maps. I gave Boone one last wave as I started up Sean’s Toyota Corolla and tore off down the road. The sooner I was there, the sooner I could be on my way back.

It wasn’t long before the little car broke through the low-lying mist. Derrydun sat in a hollow, so while the world went on in the sunshine, the weather clung to the little valley like glue.

Following the directions the robotic voice spat out at me, I turned onto a highway, and then a smaller road before it narrowed into an alarmingly small stretch that had me on edge. There wasn’t much room for oncoming traffic to pass. If I edged a little too far to the side, I would write off Sean’s car, and then I would be in the cac big time. At least nothing was coming the other way.

I spoke too soon.

Rounding a bend, I yelped as I saw a giant truck hurtling toward me. My eyes widened and a cold sweat prickled across my forehead. I wasn’t going to make it!

I let out a wail as the lorry blasted its horn, passing by so close I could almost smell the driver’s armpits. It receded into the distance, leaving me shaken.

“Where the hell are you taking me?” I screamed at the map. “This place is a deathtrap!”

The little red car coasted, and finally, the road opened up, giving me some breathing space. I knew this place was absolutely bonkers, but driving in this country was like performing a death-defying stunt. All that was missing were the pyrotechnics.

Ahead, a brown and white sign appeared on the side of the road. It read, Failte go Co. na Gaillimhe. Welcome to County Galway. At least I was almost there.

At least… It was becoming my favorite sentence add-on lately. At least, like it could be worse. Well, it could be, but I didn’t like having to choose the lesser of two evils. I would rather not choose at all, to be honest.

The countryside flashed by, morphing into small villages, then back to wide open greenery before the outer limits of the city of Galway began to take hold. I knew the town sat on the coast, but I wouldn’t have time to visit the seaside or do any souvenir shopping in the center. Cod and chips with a side of Guinness merchandise were not on today’s menu.

Bypassing the city center, the map took me across a river and into a more modern residential area. Twisting and turning through the warren of streets, I came to a stop down the street from the address Lucy had given on her resume. I turned off the engine and listened to it clicking as it cooled in the chilly autumn air.

Thanks to Google Street View, I recognized the house at the end of the street. It was white with a russet-colored roof and matching window shutters. A little beige car sat in the stubbly little driveway, and the garden was green and full of lush plants. It was all quaint and normal. Nothing sinister about it at all. I was half expecting a fence made of human skulls and a house comprised of gingerbread and icing.

I didn’t know how long I sat there stewing in my own juices. All I had to do was get out of the car, walk up to the front door, and knock. The bit that came after was the mystery. What was waiting for me on the other side? A full-on magical fistfight, or tea and scones?

What a metaphor! I knew another set of doors with exactly the same problem.

Movement caught my attention in the passenger side mirror, and I slid down in the seat. A girl was walking down the footpath, her head down. Earphones were stuck in her ears with the white cord trailing