The car ride to Nan’s party was boring and uneventful. Sara continually tried to console Mina about the loss of the Grimoire, but it didn’t help. Sara turned off the highway and drove their green four door Subaru wagon onto a barely visible dirt road.
“Are you sure these are the right directions?” she asked Mina.
Mina pulled out the wadded up notebook paper and checked it again for the eighth time. “Yes, we take the interstate southbound for thirty miles. Hang a right at Carl’s Junction and left at Anawatchie Road. Drive for four miles and take the first dirt path on your right. Cabin’s on the left.”
The dirt road narrowed even further down the hill, and they came to a sharp left turn followed by a metal bridge. One look told Mina that this road was barely wide enough for two cars side by side or a small Subaru. Sara wisely slowed their car, opened the window, and listened for the sound of oncoming cars before pushing on the gas and crossing the bridge at a faster pace than she would normally drive.
“Boy, I would not want to be driving this route during the winter,” Sara chuckled nervously.
“Well, you won’t have to because the cabin is closed during the winter.” Mina wasn’t in the most congenial of moods. In fact, she was downright sour. Haunted by Ever’s parting words, Mina found little rest or comfort without the Grimoire. Panicking, she had run back to the hospital, spoke to numerous nurses, doctors, staff, and dug through their lost and found; nothing. No one had seen her notebook.
Sara had tried to be comforting about the loss, but she was just as worried as her daughter. She made daily trips to the hospital looking for it. Finally, they both decided it must have been lost in the woods. There was no other explanation. Mina tried to remember the last time she had it, and all she could recall was that it was somewhere between the bear attack and the hospital. The signs were not good of her ever finding it.
The only solace she could remind herself of was that her Uncle Jack had never had the Grimoire and he had been successful at completing some of the Fae tales. So she would just have to be smarter and more resourceful than her Uncle Jack, who was dead. Yeah, Mina knew she was in serious trouble.
“I know you have a lot on your mind, sweetie,” Sara spoke softly to Mina. “But everything will be okay. It has to be.” She reached over carefully, keeping her eyes on the road, to brush her daughter’s soft brown hair.
What Sara didn’t understand was the real cause for Mina’s attitude. Even though they were in the car, being surrounded by woods on all sides, was really messing with Mina’s mind. She had a hard time breathing and focusing without having flashbacks to being abandoned in the woods. Luckily, the road widened again, and they could see a beautiful, crystal blue lake in the distance and a very large three story cedar house.
This wasn’t a small wooden cabin like Mina had pictured. It was a huge rustic hunting lodge in the middle of nowhere. Mina could see as they drove closer that they weren’t the first to arrive to the party. In fact, it looked like they were the last, as at least twenty cars could be seen parked along the driveway in the grass. Lots of her classmates already in swimsuits were diving off of a small wooden dock on the lake. Many were hanging out by a very classy stone fire pit; others played sand volleyball.
They passed a very familiar black SUV, and Mina felt her heart flutter in nervousness. Brody was already here. Mina did her best to compose herself and felt a little embarrassed to be dropped off at the party by her mom and little brother.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow evening. Be sure to have fun,” Sara called out as Mina closed the car door. She gripped her duffle bag with her extra clothes for the weekend thankful that no one else was spending the night. Her embarrassment became monumentally worse when Sara turned the car around and did their family tradition of saying goodbye by doing a double horn beep and wave.
When Mina’s family drove away and she could no longer see the taillights of her mom’s car, she finally gathered enough courage to make her way toward the nearest cluster of laughing students. Unfortunately, the closest groups of girls happened to include Savannah White and Priscilla Rose. Mina felt her hackles rise in annoyance when Savannah verbally made fun of her.
“Aw, how sweet, Grimey, that your mommy drove you here. Does she still make your bed and pack your lunch for you too?” Savannah laughed obnoxiously at her own joke. The queen of white blonde curls, though horrible, still looked amazing in red shorts and a white-striped distressed t-shirt and sandals.
“Uh, no, Savannah, she only drives me when the chauffeur has the day off,” Mina snapped back feeling surprised at her own outburst. But it wasn’t long before the group began firing other comments back. She gritted her teeth and kept walking, ignoring both Savannah and her groupies. But where else should she go? She saw Steve and Frank down by the lake trying to push each other in; the mock fight ended when both boys ended up in the lake. She supposed Nan had to be at the house, so she decided to start her search there.
The path to the house was marked with stone steps and lined with gardenias. A beautiful porch wrapped around the whole house offering rockers, benches, and the occasional swing. She decided to follow the porch around to the back of the house, where she found another outdoor seating area with blankets and an expensive outdoor fireplace. Mina was secretly envious, and she hadn’t even been inside yet. Entering through the back led Mina right to the heart of the house, the kitchen.
The kitchen had the latest state of the art appliances, granite marble countertops, three separate ovens, an indoor grill, and a huge island. Mina found Nan sitting on the island, talking animatedly to two students.
“Mina, good, you’re finally here. Look who came,” Nan motioned towards her company, and Mina stopped when she immediately recognized one of them. It was Brody with a girl. No, wait, that wasn’t a girl with short blonde hair. It was Valdemar, Brody’s cousin.
Both Brody and Valdemar turned to greet her. Brody quickly looked away, barely making eye contact. Valdemar walked over and gave Mina a warm welcome like they were long lost friends.
“Good to see you, Nina.” He opened his arms wide and pulled her into a quick and awkward hug.
“Good to see you again, Valdemar, and it’s Mina,” she corrected.
“That’s what I said, lass. You mustn’t have heard me right. And tonight, just call me Peter.” He backed up a step and leaned against the island pressing a shoulder accidentally against Nan. Her cheeks burned red, and her eyes flickered toward Valdemar/Peter and quickly away.
Brody nodded his head in greeting, meeting her eyes with the barest hint of question burning behind them. She knew without a doubt that he was going to approach her tonight and talk to her. She turned and looked over the table full of snacks and drinks; she had seen another table just like this filled with food outside as well. Nan’s mom and Dr. Martin really knew how to throw a party. Mina wondered briefly where they were until the roar of a boat engine revving to life drew her attention out the window toward the lake.
There Dr. Martin and Veronica could be seen taking a group of kids out onto the lake in his speed boat. She watched in fascination as the four teens, wearing bright orange life jackets, screamed in excitement when he steered to the middle of the lake and hit the throttle. They quickly became little bouncing balls of orange as they skittered across the lake at breakneck speed.