Chapter 11

Chapter

11

"Perhaps if we could have the air on?" Al mused from the back seat, and I met his pained expression through the rearview mirror before glancing at Ivy riding shotgun.

"We're almost there," I said, and Al made a rude noise. If I put the air on, Jenks would be cold. Same with opening the window. But when Al began to fuss with the driver-locked window switch, I compromised and cracked the windows, then turned up the heat.

Al made a neutral huff, and Ivy twitched in annoyance. It wasn't cool air the demon wanted but filtered or fresh. The anxious vampire was filling the car with the scent of sex and candy, her bloodred manicure making a steady, silent staccato on her knee as I drove a sedate thirty-five miles per hour through Cincy's night-emptied streets to Eden Park.

My long good-bye with Trent might have been a mistake as Jenks and I had returned home to find Al, Ivy, and Bis waiting for me, Al with a demon book in hand, Ivy with the couch covered in things from five years ago that I might need, and Bis tense and worried as he silently followed me around the church while I went over the last of the prep. Jenks, though, had been worse than all three of them combined, angry as Getty tearfully put layer after layer on him as he told me to shut up and go with it. It was too cold for him, especially with the blustery wind, but I couldn't stop him. The pixy still wasn't happy with me, currently sitting on Ivy's shoulder for warmth, bundled up so tightly that he could hardly fly.

I had decided to do the spell at Eden Park, not, as Al pointed out, because it would make it easy for Trent to attend my send-off but because the ley line there meant I wouldn't have to spend any time in reality before popping over to the ever-after. I could be home in an hour if all went well.

Please, God. Let this go well.

The scent of anxious vampire slowly dissipated in the odd mix of warm and cool air buffeting my face as I drove up the long drive to the overlook. My five-year-old underwear was riding up, and I squirmed, trying to get comfortable.

"Where did you get the ring?" Al asked suddenly, and I started, my gaze going to my new pinky ring snuggled up to the pearl ring, both glittering in the lot's lights.

"Trent. He thinks Newt might want it. It belonged to his mom." I paused. "She didn't get it from you, did she?"

"He gave you his mother's ring?" Worry pinched Al's expression.

"Relax, glitter poof," Jenks bad-mouthed. "It's on her pinky."

Al scowled, muttering, "Felicia Eloytrisk Cambri did not get it from me. What does it do?"

I slowed as we neared the overlook. "He doesn't know."

"You want to give Newt a ring whose magic is hidden?" Al blurted, and I winced, agreeing with him. But if it got me the mirror to free me from the coven, then it would be worth it. Probably.

Eden Park was empty, thanks to the early hour and the November chill. Three a.m. usually had witches in bed and the vampires at their local hot spot. I had my choice of parking, and yet my shoulders were tense as I pulled into a spot directly facing the Twin Lakes footbridge. "Bis, you want to do a perimeter?" I said before Jenks could volunteer.

"On it," the kid said, his red eyes glowing in the light from the dash as he hopped to first my shoulder, then the window, his cat-size body slipping through the crack like an octopus.

"Don't forget to check the bathrooms, pigeon spots!" Jenks shouted as the gargoyle launched himself and was gone.

Bis's silhouette cut a sharp shadow through the ambient light bouncing from the bottom of the low clouds as I turned the engine off. There'd been no sign of the coven when we'd left the church, not even Elyse's crow, but that was no guarantee that they weren't keeping tabs on me.

"Jenks is right. I don't like you going alone," Ivy said suddenly, and I forced a smile.

"I'll be fine." I pulled my bag from the back, narrowly missing smacking Al on the way.

"Why doesn't Al go with you?" she said as if he wasn't sitting there, and the demon made a tired exhale. "He'd be able to do magic five years ago."

"I can do magic now, vampire," Al grumbled.

"Because Al told me not to trust Hodin and I didn't listen," I said, guilt a soft twang.

Immediately Al opened his door and put one booted foot on the cold pavement. The night's chill rolled in as he got out and slammed the door shut. "I will assist your gargoyle in ascertaining that the area is clear," he said, voice muffled through the closed window.

"Thanks, Al."

But the demon was already walking away, his jauntily moving cane and his bearskin coat making him seem as if he'd stepped from the 1920s. Clearly unsettled, he went to the top of the bridge, placing his cane and hands atop the thick railing to stare over the shallow, man-made pond at the ducks sleeping at its center. Tension laced his stance, and worry. Thanks a lot, Ivy.

Perhaps I was being foolish risking my life to find a mirror to break Brad's curse. I had a feeling the only reason Al was helping was because it would also break the hold the coven was trying to put on me. Because if I didn't, I'd choose self-exile and there'd be nothing stopping Trent and me from making our relationship more…binding.

My gaze dropped to the two rings snuggled up to each other. Sighing, I worked them both off, not surprised when the pearl went black. Somewhere on the other side of the ley line, Trent's ring would have gone dark in response, but he was expecting it and wouldn't freak out. Brow furrowed, I dropped the pearl ring into the cup holder for when I returned, put the little ruby ring back on, and rolled up all the windows but for a crack for Jenks. I reached for the door to get out, hesitating when Ivy showed no sign of moving. Jenks looked miserable on her shoulder.

"I have to do this," I said, and Jenks scowled, not a flicker of pixy dust making it past his scarves and layers. "I'm going five years. No one is targeting me. Not even Al. If anyone sees me, all they will remember is a tall blonde once I get a glamour in place, Newt included."

Ivy cracked a smile. "You aren't that tall."

"You know what I mean." I gave her hand a quick squeeze over the console. "I'll be there an hour at the most. Al's line is like ten steps from the bridge, and from there, I shift to the ever-after. I bargain for the mirror. I come home. Al would stop me if he didn't think the time displacement curse will work."

"I'm not worried about the magic." Ivy stared out the front window, her expression utterly empty. "I'm worried about you. If you find yourself in trouble, come home, mirror or not. We can figure it out."

Jenks bobbed his head, clearly uncomfortable with his layers.

"Deal." But when I reached for the door handle again, Ivy touched my arm.

"Rachel…" She blinked fast, her ironclad control cracking. "We've been talking…"

I leaned across the space between us until our foreheads touched. I put a hand on her shoulder, a single finger curving around Jenks's back. "I will be careful," I whispered.

For a moment, no one moved, each of us worried about the same thing for different reasons. The delicious scent of vampire rose high in me, and pixy dust tingled at my fingers. Ivy's calm face held a ribbon of tension. In contrast, Jenks wore his mood on his sleeve, his eyes narrowed in frustration and his jaw clenched.

But there was nothing I could change, and so I got out.

Ivy was fast behind, a quiet murmur between her and Jenks as he shifted to wedge himself between her neck and coat. My breath steamed, and I tossed the keys over the car to her. She caught them in one hand as if expecting it, but the emptiness in her face tore at me. She had never liked the witchier aspects of me, and shifting through time was a big one.

"Oh, good. Kalamack made it," Al said sarcastically, his gaze on the ley line as Trent stepped out as if from nothing. His pace sure, the elf started our way, his slim outline marred by a full-length coat and scarf. The ley line was a wavering force behind him, and little rills of its energy spilled into me, making me jittery. I could do the charm anywhere, but having the line close was convenient.

Bis dropped to Trent's shoulder, and my adrenaline spiked. Everyone I loved was here.

"This is as far as Jenks and I go," Ivy said, and I pulled to a halt at the foot of the bridge.

"Okay." Loss spilled through me, and I hadn't even left yet. Al had already scoped out where I'd do the spell. The bridge supports rested on two squares of concrete. They were generally above water, and it was unlikely that anyone would be there at any given time. I could do the spell there and arrive in the past with no one the wiser.

Ivy's dark gaze flicked under the bridge. "We can see you from here, and it's only going to take a few seconds, right?"

"In theory." Though for me, it would be hours, best case. Worst case…I didn't want to think about the worst case. But for them? Yes. A moment.

I gave her another hug, ignoring Jenks's dramatic yelp as she gave me an unusually tight squeeze and then let go, head bowed. I felt as if I was leaving Cincinnati forever, and the odd thing was I'd never be leaving the city at all.

"Be right back, Jenks," I said, and he gave me a casual salute, most of him lost behind Ivy's collar.

My hand trailed from Ivy's shoulder as I turned away. The scent of unhappy vampire clung to me as I went to join Al at the top of the bridge. Head down, I hiked my shoulder bag higher. Inside it was just over a hundred bucks, all of it dated at least five years ago, my empty splat gun since the charms wouldn't make the trip, a wad of expired, paper-wrapped syringes to make more splat balls with, my new translocation stone on a length of black gold, an old phone of mine that didn't work anymore now but might in the past, its charger, and the spell book with the know-how to do the curse in case I lost my connection to the demon collective by going into the past and I had to twist the return curse from scratch. All my clothes were outdated and worn, but they were from five years ago and would last the trip.

"The far side of the bridge will put you closer to the ley line," Al said, and I nodded, my attention fixed on Trent as he closed the gap between us. Bis had left him to sit on Ivy's other shoulder, wings drooping. "Oh, for little green apples," the demon added when Trent took my hands and pulled me close. "Rachel, I will wait for you under the bridge."

"Thanks, Al," I said, and he brushed past us impatiently.

"Bis says that the park is empty but for one man in a taxi at the entrance having a smoke," Trent said. "I'll feel better once you get under the bridge and no one can see you."

"I'm not the one wanted for dealing in illicit genetic drugs," I said, trying to be funny, but my throat was tight and my gut hurt. "What do you think?" I added cheerfully, spreading my arms and doing a quick spin to show off my bejeweled jeans and matching jacket. "Retro."

Trent smiled and drew me back to him. "I always liked you in rhinestones."

"Yeah, but they don't belong on jeans," I said, my expression blanking as his smile vanished. His pearl ring was black, and a feeling of foreboding took me.

"Rachel," he started, and I shook my head.

"I have to do this." I pushed into motion, and he followed.

"Yes, but I don't know you five years ago," he cajoled.

"Hence the reason for going back that far," I said, head down as my worn boots found the dirt path to the bridge footings. "I'm a peon in the I.S., so if I run into anyone, nothing changes." I'd be a ghost. I couldn't contact anyone. Not Trent, not Ivy, not Jenks. No one at the I.S. or FIB. It had been a long time since I'd been on my own like this. Fortunately all the magic skills I'd gained between joining the I.S. and now would stick with me. At least that's what Al had promised.

Arms out for balance, I skidded down to the water, the worn path made by ducks and those wanting to feed them, but my steps faltered when Trent pulled me to a halt at the water's edge. Al made a muffled groan from under the bridge, frustrated.

"There has to be another way," Trent cajoled. "Maybe we can find a descendant of Atlantis and teach him or her how to make a mirror."

"Trent…" I took a slow breath. "This is it," I said, looking across the pond to where Ivy and Jenks waited. "I will be back in like five seconds."

His grip reluctantly fell away. There wasn't enough room for him under the bridge unless he wanted to stand in the calf-deep, duck-poop-green water.

"If you aren't, I'm coming after you," Trent said, and I leaned in, eyes closing as I gave him one last hug.

"Nothing will go wrong," I whispered, the scent of snickerdoodles and wine filling me. But I honestly couldn't say that for sure.

I gave him a kiss, long and lingering. Emotion tingled down to my toes, carried by my love and maybe a little ley line energy. "I have to do this," I said as I broke from him, my arms around his body holding him close. "I love you, but I need to fix what I did to Brad."

He exhaled, breath shaking. "I love you, too. Desperately," he said as he brought our clasped hands up between us. "I like who I am when I'm with you. Selfishly, please come back."

"Yes," Al interrupted with a caustic harrumph, "we all like who Trenton Aloysius has become. Let's get on with it before the moon crests and you are fighting nature itself."

My pulse quickened. It wasn't what I could do that would keep Newt from knocking me over the head and making me her familiar. It was what I knew. Resolute, I pulled my shoulder bag closer and picked my way to Al. I'd been down here lots of times to chase away the bridge trolls when I had worked for the I.S., not that I had ever had the heart to actually kick them out, but the area appeared empty. Either Sharps was gone or lurking in the deeper, warmer water.

"Circle," Al said tightly, the demon probably uncomfortable with his head brushing the underside of the bridge, but as I set my bag down to stick my finger, a bubbling froth rose up from the chattering water.

"Heyde-hey," a gurgling, wispy voice whispered, and I smiled, genuinely pleased as an ever-changing, water-covered face lifted from the green muck. One eye was a blind white from a past fight, telling me it was Sharps. The bridge troll had been in residence for as long as I could remember, and he pulled almost his entire upper torso from the polluted water, his blue limbs and algae-stained hair dripping. It was hard to say how big he actually was, as his size depended upon how much water he contained at any moment, but here, now, relaxed and not under threat, he was about six feet tall…and really skinny.

"Heyde-ho," I answered back. "Hi, Sharps. Glad to see you where you belong."

"Oh, for sweet everlasting banshee tears on a stick," Al complained. "Is there anyone else you need to say good-bye to?"

"I didn't recognize you in those old boots trip-trapping over my bridge," the troll said, a long purple-hued arm rising to pluck off a piece of concrete from under the bridge and eat it. It was no wonder the I.S. continually tried to drive them out, but I was of the opinion that everyone needed to be somewhere. "You need some help?" he asked.

"No. Just keep a lookout and let me know if the I.S. or coven shows up."

"I can do that." Sharps sank down, becoming a part of the water itself before flowing into the deeper pond. That he was watching was actually a relief. He had saved my butt in the past, giving me warning that could have made the difference between walking away from a conflict and being dropped by a spell before I had even known there was one.

Never ignore the chance to be nice, I thought as I nodded to Al that I was ready, and he smacked the hilt of a ceremonial knife into my palm.

"Circle," he prompted again, and I wiped my Jupiter finger clean against my old jacket. Crap on toast, the thing had a rhinestone pentagram on it. What had I been thinking?

The blade was so sharp, I hardly felt the cut, and I whispered a spell to keep the blood flowing until I had the admittedly big circle drawn. Chalk would have been easier, but blood was more secure, prudent in the current situation. Everything in the circle would move seamlessly through time. Five years of winter snow and spring flooding wouldn't wash it away.

Bis dropped down, uneasy as he landed on Trent's shoulder while I finished my circle and stood. The kid was clearly unhappy as he whispered in Trent's ear. Something was wrong.

"Don't stop," Trent said even as he turned to lurch up the embankment, Bis's wings wide behind his head for balance. "That guy moved and Bis lost him. I'm going to check it out." Trent hesitated. "See you in five minutes. Be safe, my love."

"Five minutes," I echoed. But a frown took me when I realized Ivy and Jenks, too, were gone. A trickle of unease tightened my spine. All that was left was tapping into the demon collective and reciting the words. Easy, I thought, not liking it. I'd be paying for this. I just hoped I had the street cred to cover it.

Nervous, I stepped into the circle and set my bag at my feet. I'd memorized the invocation, but I fumbled for the paper I'd written it down on.

"Rachel," Al said as I angled the paper to the chancy light. "I would not let you do this if I thought you didn't have a decent chance of surviving it."

"Surviving the curse or being five years in the past with no one watching my back?" I asked, and his brow scrunched in concern. I didn't see that very often, and it was worrisome.

"Stay clear of me," he continued, voice stern. "If we meet with your present abilities, I will try to take you as a familiar. Do not let Newt trick you."

I nodded as I remembered what he had been like before he had set aside his bitter hatred. Maybe not so much set aside, but replaced it with something he hadn't dared have for over two thousand years: hope.

"These are memory curses," he added as he dipped a hand into a pocket of his coat and withdrew three vials glinting with a hint of aura. "They were in Newt's things, so they will be as potent as they are old and will withstand the journey. Once the deal is struck and you have the mirror, use them on her so she doesn't remember you. She won't mind. She's already crazy from them."

I exhaled in relief. "Thanks," I said as I dropped them into my bag. I hadn't been eager to rely upon a purchased doppelganger disguise charm to hide my identity from an all-seeing demon. One problem solved.

"I know the temptation to warn yourself or Vivian concerning Lee's betrayal will be high, but don't." Again his brow furrowed, and I rubbed my thumb against my pricked finger, smearing the blood away. "Let the past be the past," he said cryptically. "Speak truth only to the dead."

Wise old man crap, I thought, nodding. Speak truth only to the dead. Sheesh.

"You have your return marker?" he added.

I took a stained redwood stirring rod from my pocket and broke it. The sharp snap jolted through me, and I had a flash of regret. It had been one of my dad's and was nearly a decade old if it was a day. Even now, he was helping me survive, and I tucked it into my jeans pocket as if it was gold.

"See you in a few," I said, and he started when I leaned out over my circle and gave him a hug. His grunt of surprise made me smile, and I let go when he patted my shoulder. Faint, so faint was the scent of burnt amber that I thought I might have imagined it.

"If you do not return, I will kill every single one of them. Children or not," he said.

"Al…"

"Go." Al took a symbolic step back. "Find your mirror. Find your way. And don't forget to register the curse to move through time, so no one else can do it."

It was sort of a "name it to bury it" kind of thing, and I nodded. Throat tight, I withdrew the coil of chain that was to be my outgoing marker. When it mended, I should be far enough in the past. Holding it in my palm, I again studied the Latin on the scrap of paper. My hands shook, and I flushed, embarrassed. It was bad enough I was going to bargain with Newt. That I had to go into the past to do it made it a hundred times worse.

I took a breath, catching it at the sudden frothing by my feet.

"Rachel…" Sharps foamed, and from the parking lot, Ivy shouted, angry.

"Rache!" Jenks zipped under the bridge. "Get out of here. It's the coven!"

I spun, shocked, when Bis's wings beat about my neck and the kid landed on my shoulder. "Elyse is here," he said as he grabbed Jenks before the clothes-laden, struggling pixy could hit the water.

Al's expression went ugly as he turned and strode up the embankment. "Find the mirror and get back here to help," he demanded, and then he was gone.

He wants me to leave? I started at a boom of light and sound, my lips parting when Trent tangled Elyse's feet in a spell and brought her down. The charm threw the park into short-lived relief, and my eyes narrowed as I spotted Laker running from tree to tree, trying to get closer. Son of a moss wipe. Laker had followed us here, then called the coven because there were too many magic users for him to handle.

"Bis, drop a rock on that guy with the stick. He's after Trent," I said even as Orion took Elyse's place, beating Trent into a grudging retreat with thrown spell after thrown spell.

"Got it." Tense, the gargoyle held Jenks close and took to the air.

Ivy was struggling with Yaz and Adan. Al quickly joined her, joyfully bellowing obscenities as he doused the charm they had downed Ivy with. Wrathful, he stood over the shocked vampire and shouted ley line curses he couldn't invoke at the sky, scaring the youngest coven members into retreat.

"Do the curse, Rachel!" the demon demanded, magnificent as he swung his cane in threat at the two coven members to hit their incoming spells as if they were baseballs. "Go!"

It was hard, but if I did this right, I'd return in time to do some good. Breathless, I checked to make sure I was within my circle. Rhombus, I thought, and a molecule-thin barrier stronger than the universe flickered into existence. Damn it, Elyse. There's a difference between giving me an impossible task, and giving me an impossible task and then trying to stop me.

"Morgan!" Elyse exclaimed, and I spun at the rattle of rocks and dirt as she slid down the embankment, eager for a fight. "You will desist all magic and put yourself under the coven's immediate control. I will not allow you to flee into a ley line."

I cringed as Trent shouted something and a boom shook the ground, wrinkling the smooth water. "Sorry. Gotta go."

She couldn't stop me. I was in a circle. The sooner I was gone, the sooner I'd be back, and I fumbled for the paper. My eyes closed as I sent my mind into the demon collective. A little ripple of presence caressed my soul, and my mind expanded as little whispers of conversation intruded into my psyche. If I was quiet, no one would know I was even here.

"I said stop!" Elyse shouted.

A thump rattled my circle, and I winced as one, then a second demon within the collective took notice of the raw power flickering through me. Sorry. Got an issue here, I muttered as I eased my grip on the collective and opened my eyes. Purple and red energy skated over my circle, foreign and unwelcome. It was Elyse's spell, but I had drawn a blood circle, and anything she could throw at it would only make it stronger.

"You overstepped yourself," I said, a feeling of pride taking me as I saw Ivy and Trent on one side of me, Al on the other. They were keeping the rest of the coven at bay. And Elyse? Elyse didn't have a chance breaking my circle alone.

"You will cease!" Elyse's black hair rose as she pulled deeper on the ley line, little rills of purple aura sparking from the tips. Smug, I shook my head and closed my eyes, sending my awareness deep into the demon collective once more. A smile found me, growing as I sensed the spells, curses, and charms that the demons had stockpiled through the ages, curses of war, spells of deceit, magic created by demons long dead. I could use them—provided I paid for them.

"Ab aeterno," I said to pull the right curse into me. I shuddered as everything in the circle suddenly made a little hiccup. It meant from outside time itself, and it felt as if I was now moving in tandem with but apart from reality. The line I was holding glowed brighter, as if there were now two of them. I opened my eyes, jerking when Elyse slammed a roundhouse kick into my protection bubble.

"I never understood why Vivian trusted you," the young woman said bitterly. "You are a demon trickster."

"I'm not trying to escape. I'm trying to find a friggin' mirror!" I said.

Behind her, Al had fallen to one knee, almost in the water, with a hand outstretched as he shook his head, warning the rest off. The remnants of a preprepared spell flickered about his fingers, dying quickly. Bis was on his shoulder, wings spread and hissing at Adan. Sharps rose up, bellowing as he sucked in enough water to become the size of an elephant. Cowed, Adan retreated. Crap on toast. I have to get out of here so I can get back.

"Obtineo et teneo," I said, my anxiety growing. With a sudden pop, the power in the line doubled, a dizzy, heady mix. To obtain and keep: it was the spell to spindle my life's energy as I moved backward through time, and I had to dovetail it into the first spell so they would work together, or I'd never have enough energy to make the return trip.

"I will have you out of that circle!" Elyse shouted as she held her singed hand close.

"Iuncta iuvant," I said to bind the two curses—and my conviction that this was going to work grew as I felt the two curses twine about each other, little rills of energy knotting them together like twisted wool.

Elyse had given up trying to take my circle. Bowed almost double, she dragged a knife across the worn cement to make a second circle outside my first. My breath caught as Bis pinwheeled to evade Elyse's crow. Jenks was in his arms, and torn, I looked at my friends fighting to give me this chance. I had sworn I would never let anyone pay for my chances again.

"Rachel, go!" Al shouted, utterly magnificent as he threw another earth charm and Bis barrel-rolled himself and Jenks to safety. "Return to end this!"

He was right, and feeling ill, I turned my attention inward to finish twining the spells and make a new one. A curious prickling was rippling over my skin, and my circle had begun to pulse.

It's Elyse, I thought as I saw her within her invoked circle, nesting outside of mine. What the hell was she trying to do?

"You will not run away this time," she said as our eyes met, and then her hand touched my circle's surface and pushed.

"Be right back." Head bowed, I dropped my mind into the collective. "Respice in icta oculi," I whispered.

And the spell invoked.