Somehow that thought failed to make me feel better.

“You will have to train her one way or another,” Curran said. “If you want her to hold her own.”

He was right. I knew he was right, but I still didn’t like it. “We’re about a hundred miles from Macon?”

He nodded. “Give or take.”

“She’ll be staying away from the ley line and she’s carrying wolfsbane.”

“Why?” Curran frowned.

“Because the last time she took off, Derek picked her up at a ley point and brought her here in a Pack Jeep. He even stopped to get her some fried chicken and ice cream. She had a great time, so I told her that if she pulled this stunt again, she wouldn’t get anywhere near the Keep. I would either come myself or send somebody who would find her and take her straight back to the school. No going to the Keep, no getting attention from me and Derek, no gossiping with Maddie, no passing go or collecting two hundred dollars. She wants to avoid being caught, so she’s walking home.”

Curran grinned. “She’s determined, I’ll give her that.”

“Could you send a tracker out there to watch over her but keep out of sight?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Let her walk. A hundred miles over rugged terrain, it will take her a couple of days.” When I was a kid, Voron, my stepfather, would drive me into the woods and drop me off with nothing but a canteen and a knife. Julie wasn’t me. But she was a smart kid, good on the street. I had no doubt she could make it to the Keep on her own. Still, better safe than sorry.

“Two birds with one stone: it’s a good punishment for running away and when she gets here and we let her stay, she’ll feel like she earned it.”