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"She's about two miles in," Magdalene said, walking back to us.

"How do you know that?" Martin asked.

"The forest told me."

"You talked to the forest?" Fred asked. "Was it a spell?

Can I see how you did it?"

"Ahh, no." She grumbled something I couldn't make out. "Look, I'm really not suppose to talk about any of this with outsiders."

"I have already promised you we wont discuss it with anyone," Martin said.

That didn't make her feel any better, so I added, "It isn't like any of us can do it. Magic only works within it's own faction, right?"

Fred's enthusiasm died down a little. "Right."

She sighed. "It isn't magic, not like what you did before. It's just something we can do. We're the protectors of nature, so we can communicate with it to various degrees."

"Okay, so what can we expect from her?" I asked.

"I don't know for sure. She'll probably have some strawmen around for offense, but unless she knows we're coming, I don't see why she'd have anything else."

Marcus shook his head, but it was Zee who spoke. "What are strawmen?"

"They're construct, made from various piece of flora. They vary in complexity, from mindless stick figures to things that can pass for people if they have clothes on."

"Like those that shot at you."

"Yes, but they don't start that way. Those two had to have been with her for a long time. Strawmen start pretty simple, in body and mind. They get more complex the longer they exist." "You said they can pass for people?" Zee asked.

"Yes."

"Then this could explain how she's been able kidnap her victims without attracting too much attention."

"Then why did she tear down Milton's house?" Frank asked.

"She didn't have any other strawmen," I said. "The two that attacked Magdee in town were destroyed. One in the car crash, the other by her."

She nodded. "Like I said, it takes them years to get to that level, and they aren't easy to maintain. So yeah, those two might have been the only ones she had."

"Okay," Fred said, "So she isn't going to have much in the way of defenses."

"You're wrong," Marcus said.

"I thought you didn't know how magic worked," the lion said.

"This isn't about... magic. It's about psychology, which I know. The way those... strawmen work fits what I've pieced together of her personality. She is methodological, and patient. She picked her victims, then arranged for them to be kidnapped and taken to a secluded location. She had to arranged that location ahead of time, based on certain criteria that only she knows. It isn't just the need for a forest, there are a few of those closer to the city. She took the time to prepare it. What we found was complex, and I doubt it could be prepared in only a few hours."

Magdalene nodded her agreement.

"So she might have taken days to make sure everything is ready. Now, you said she sent those... strawmen after you, when was that?"

"A couple of days ago. Not long I got in. I was following a trace I'd picked up."

"Then she knows you're after her. She knows her... strawmen failed, because they weren't there to kidnap the young Santiago. She may think you still died, but she will prepare for you to come after her."

"She can't know I had a way to find her."

"It won't matter, she's going to have prepared for it, just in case." He pointed to the tree line. "If I understood this correctly, that is your domain and hers."

"More hers," Magdalene said. "Flora isn't my strength."

The red deer nodded. "Then we are going to have to be very careful. She might be aware of any out of place sounds. We are going to have to move carefully."

"She might be focused on her ceremony." She said.

"Mister Bodenman is still correct," Martin said. "We would use our magic to protect ourselves. We would lay down Phrases and sigils ahead of time. I don't know how your magic works, but it stands to reason she will do the same."

"Then we're going to have to be careful," I said. "Magdee, can we shoot her? Will bullets hurt her?"

"She's going to have bark, but that can only take so much damage."

"Bark?" Zee asked.

"If she's prepared for me, she's going to use the flora to form an armor around herself. We call that bark."

"Like the bark of a tree." He nodded.

"Tom, I'm going to need a gun," I said. "Something more recent than yours."

The badger smirked and dug through his trunk.

"Mister Malhotra, how much trouble will you make if I arm my friends?"

Zee threw his hands in the air. "I can't talk about any of this to anyone, so I can't to anything about it."

Martin nodded and Colby opened the trunk. He handed the lions a Sig 673 each, they pulled out the cartrige, checked it, put it back in, made sure the safety was on, then powered it.

I was happy to see the quick training me and Colby had put them through after Belize stuck. The armadillo handed a Glock 39 to Martin and then took out his own gun, a rebuilt Taurus M454.

Tom whistled. Colby grinned at him.

"Lets bring Reilly here and we can have a competition for who's over compensating the most," I muttered.

Colby unzipped, took out his soft cock and held his weapon next to it.

"Sure isn't him," Tom said.

"Put that away, Colby. Now isn't the time." The armadillo scuffed, but zipped himself up.

Zee was looking at us, mouth opened. I knew it wasn't in surprise at Colby's size, he'd seen it at the orgy.

The mule deer shook his head. "Don't you think this is an inappropriate time to show yourself to everyone?" "Nope," Colby replied.

Zee shook his head in disbelief.

"Hun?" Marcus said. "I need your weapon."

Zee looked at him for a moment, then nodded. He unclipped his holster and handed it to his husband.

I looked at Marcus.

"This isn't a FBI operation, we can't fire our service weapons. We'd have to account for the bullets."

Tom handed him two Colt 280s, and then one to me. I pulled out the cartridge, nineteen caseless rounds, put it back, made suer the safety was on, powered it and chambered the first round.

"Just how many guns do you have in there?" Marcus asked.

Tom smiled at him, but didn't say anything, closing the trunk.

With everyone ready, we headed into the woods, Magdalene in the lead.

* * * * *

We spread in a line, moving slowly. Marcus was the slowest among us, having to constantly watch to make sure his rack didn't hit a branch. Zee didn't have that problem as much, his rack being so much smaller.

We were careful not to make any noise, but the crunching of leaves and twigs underfoot sounded loud to me. I had no idea how far we were. Every so often Magdee would stop and lay a hand on a trunk, then start walking again.

I kept an eye out for anything that might look like a strawman, any set of branches arranged in bipedal form. Magdee had said that was the simplest form to make. A few time I though I'd seen one, but it was a trick of the light. As soon as I got closer they turned into unattached branches.

The trees cut down the light enough that I noticed the glow ahead of us before she had us stop. We were still too far to see anyone, but I thought I saw movement.

We huddled and Magdee made a point in the dirt, then traced a circle around it. Tom erased it, put the point back but made a half circle.

Marcus and Zee nodded their agreement.

We spread out and moved closer to what I thought was a clearing. I couldn't tell where the glow was coming from, but now I could see someone moving about.

When I got to the edge of the clearing, I could see her, although 'her' was a stretch. She was tall, close to six feet, bone thin. I couldn't tell what species she was, although he muzzle looked equine, maybe. The robe she wore looked to me made of birch.

She was walking around a large tree stump that served as an altar, and on top of which Luis was tied, unmoving. She was looking at the ground and whispering something. She didn't looked armed, but that meant little, she might be able to do what Magdee did.

It occurred to me we didn't discuss how we were going to proceed from here. Did Magdee need her alive? She hadn't mentioned that. I'd forgotten to ask.

I got the sense none of us knew what to do when Zee and

Marcus walked in the clearing in unison, guns held in both hands pointed at her. They'd waited until she was on the opposite side of the altar.

"Move away from the your man," Zee said. "You are under arrest. Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees."

I stepped into the clearing as she looked up. The others were only a step behind me. Her eyes might have grown wide as she looked us over, at the nine weapons pointed at her, but I couldn't be sure, she didn't seem to have any eyelids.

Her eyes fixed on Magdalene. "Sister?" The hag's voice was low and raw. "What are you doing here with them?"

"We're here to stop you."

"You can't stop me. I'm all that stands between us and oblivion."

"I can't let you keep killing."

"I'll stop. The others were mistakes, but this one, he's the right one." She took a step toward the altar. "Step away from the young man," Zee ordered.

She stopped and looked at him. I got a sense she was evaluating him, then she looked at all of us, sniffed the air.

"You brought me more of them? I won't need them. This one will do."

"You're not going to hurt him," Magdalene stated.

The hag smiled, and I heard her skin crack. "He is the weak, that will let me be strong again, so I can take Him on."

"If you touch him I will shoot you. I've been ordered to kill you, but I'd rather bring you back. Something's wrong with you."

"No, there is nothing wrong with me. But the time is nearly here. I can't let you distract me."

Things erupted from the ground under me, pushed my hand up and me back. the others yelled in surprise. I struck something and everything went dark.