Chapter 9

Chapter

9

The incongruity of Celtic bagpipes and drums playing "Sabotage" was an odd, wild, and decidedly stirring mix. But the modern beat blended into the ancient sound perfectly, and I tapped in time as I slid a wad of hangers down the rack with a rasp. Second-Hand Charm organized their clothes by color, not size, which worked surprisingly well, and I quickly sorted through the black tees to find something without sequins.

"Hey, Rache?" Jenks said, his wings clattering in the chill of the place. "Check this out."

He had alighted on a rack of red shirts and blouses. Beyond him, Trent stood in the men's area, one foot up as he held the bottom of a shiny dance shoe to the bottom of his boot. He had insisted on coming, and I had agreed, but only after I used the transposition stone to make him into Ivy. Which, now that I thought about it, might account for the odd looks he had been getting, and a smile quirked my lips as I closed the gap between me and Jenks.

"Whatcha got?" I said as I fingered the vibrant red short-sleeved shirt. It had a flattering V-neck, but I hesitated at the sequins making a surprisingly subtle pattern of a happy monkey on the sleeve.

"It's a Simation," he said, flitting over the monkey-adorned tag at the neck. "Witchwear bought them out seven years ago and they changed labels. It will last the trip."

Still not sure, I held it up to myself, and he nodded his approval. "How on earth did you find it?"

"It smells old."

My motion to drape it over my arm slowed. I can wear something with sequins for a day, I thought as I looked for the jeans. Trent had moved into the toddler area, a studious, wistful look on his face as he held up a jumper. The man does like to shop…

Smirking, I turned away. He hadn't been shopping since going into hiding last month. Never in a million years would anyone expect to find him here, at a secondhand store. My smile faltered. It was sort of my fault.

"Is that all you need? A shirt and pair of jeans?" Jenks asked.

The jeans were by the registers, and I pushed into motion. "I have socks and underwear old enough." Both of which either fell down or rode up because of elastic issues. I should have thrown them out, but you never know. "I have a jacket that old, too. I'm good." Not the one Elyse had torn but another, still serviceable even if it had a rhinestone pentagram on the back.

I checked on Trent before following the pixy's low-dusting trail weaving through the displays to the jeans. He had scoped out the entire store in the first three minutes we'd been here, and whereas I was concerned about the slight chill, Jenks obviously wasn't.

"Thanks, Jenks," I said as I settled in and began to dig through the stacks of folded jeans, only to hesitate when my phone hummed. My gaze shot across the store to Trent, but it clearly wasn't him, and I pulled my phone out, glanced at it, and hit the accept icon.

"Hi, Mom. Everything okay?"

Jenks's wings rasped as he eavesdropped, and I put her on speaker.

"I heard an undead passed at Piscary's," my mom said, her voice intent and anxious. "I wanted to make sure it wasn't Ivy's girlfriend."

Immediately I relaxed and Jenks darted to the other side of the table, his curiosity satisfied. "Oh! No. She's fine. I would have called you, but I didn't think it would make the national news." I lifted a pair of bejeweled jeans to check for size against my hips. "Constance was making an example out of someone." These look familiar… I thought as I ran a thumb over a missing stone. Flushed, I put them back on the table. I had too much bling as it was.

"I was worried," my mom continued. "They only said it was an undead vampire, and I couldn't find anything more online. I'm glad you're both okay."

Both, I mused, remembering Ivy's expression when she cremated Brice. "She's fine. I'm fine," I said, then mouthed to Jenks, "You want to talk to her?" to which the pixy violently shook his head, sparkles falling from him like rain.

"You sound tired. Are you getting enough sleep?"

I stared pointedly at Jenks, and the pixy laughed at me. Fine. "Hey, Mom, I want to talk to you, but I'm sort of in the middle of something. Can I call you in about half an hour?"

"Oh, no need," she said. "I simply wanted to check on Ivy." She went silent for a moment, then added, "Where on earth are you? I haven't heard ‘The Sound of Silence' done in bagpipes since…You're at Second-Hand Charm? Rachel, you haven't been shunned again, have you? Do you need money? I can wire you—"

"Mom. No." Embarrassed, I glanced around the store, glad no one but Jenks was in earshot. Trent, though, was coming my way, a pair of shoes and two little-girl outfits in his basket. "I haven't been shunned, and I don't need money." Not yet anyway. I'm cleaning out my closet and am dropping some things off."

"Cleaning your closet?" my mom said in disbelief, and then, voice laced with pity, "Oh, honey…were you cursed again?"

Cleaning my closet? I thought, wincing. Yeah, that was hard to believe. "I was not cursed," I said, uncomfortable, as Jenks darted off to meet Trent halfway. "I'm prepping to go into the past, and I need clothes from the era or I'll show up naked."

My mom was silent for a telling heartbeat. "I think I'll tell Donald that you got cursed again; otherwise neither one of us will be able to sleep tonight."

I picked up the phone and took her off speaker. "Mom, it's okay," I said softly, but I knew I must have looked sick when I met Trent's worried gaze and he settled in beside me. "I'm joking. I'm shopping for something Trent wouldn't be caught dead in so we can go out to a movie or something." I put my phone to my leg to block the mic. "Say something to her," I whispered to Trent, and the man shook his head, eyes wide in alarm.

"I'm so proud of you," came distantly from my phone, almost unheard. "Don't give those coven bitches anything. How far are you going into the past?"

Sighing, I put the phone to my ear. "Five years," I said, wondering where Jenks had gotten to. "It's safer if I'm not on anyone's radar." Meaning Al, Trent, the I.S. hit squad. Vince's Were pack from Mackinaw. Though it might be nice to drop in on Nick and smack him up a little.

"Good." Her voice was heavy with pride. "Call me when you get back, mmmm? Don't make me worry."

I exhaled. My mom was a little unbalanced from what she had dealt with in her life, but on the rare occasion, that worked for me. "Okay," I whispered. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too. Be careful."

"I will." But my mom had disconnected, and I tucked my phone in my pocket. A thin trail of cold-blue pixy dust sifted down from the front window, worrying me.

"Your mother is amazing," Trent said as I turned back to the table, digging down through the folded jeans to find my size. Everything had artful rips and tears…which meant they were expensive, not old, and I glanced at the bejeweled pair of tens I'd probably left in a donation dumpster six years ago. "I found something for the girls," he added as he lifted his basket. "And a pair of shoes I don't need."

"Can't ever have too many shoes." Frustrated, I moved a stack. Everything was made to look old. I was going to show up naked. I knew it.

"Hey, guys?" Jenks's short stop before us sent a wave of dust over us. "We got an issue."

My heart gave a hard pound. "What is it?"

"Laker." Jenks landed on the bejeweled jeans. "He's in the parking lot."

"The bounty hunter?" I glanced at Trent. "How is he following us?"

Trent put my red shirt into his basket. "Maybe he tagged your car?"

"We parked three blocks from here," I protested, then ducked down below the table when the tall human pushed open the door and a fanfare of bugles sounded. "Jenks, is there another way out of here?"

"Yeah, but it's an alley, and I don't like it." He rose up, wings rasping. "Hang on. Let me get a squint at what he's doing."

"Jenks?" Trent whispered, and a hint of energy fizzed between us as he began to pull on the nearest ley line, slow and easy, filling his chi and making my skin tingle.

"Yep, it's Laker." Jenks stood on a stack of jeans, hands on his hips. "He's talking to the woman at the register. Showing her his phone…" His wings stilled as his dust shifted to a bright silver. "She's pointing to the kids' section. Tink's a Disney whore. She outed us."

Trent grimaced. "We can fight our way out," he said, sounding eager for it.

"I'd rather not." I glanced at the basket, uncomfortable. We needed to pay for this stuff, bare minimum.

Jenks dropped down to put our eyes on the same level. "No pixy in their right mind would be out here this time of year. He knows me. I'll lure him away from the door. Give you enough time to slip out the front."

But it was too cold for him to catch up if we went far, and a flash of anxiety furrowed my brow. We would all leave together, or none of us.

"Okay. You distract him." I pulled the bejeweled jeans out from under him and dropped them into Trent's basket. I was pretty sure they were mine, which would put them old enough. I'd gotten them when I'd been interning with Ivy. "Trent and I will stay low until he takes the bait, and we will meet you outside the door. From there we go to the car. Together."

"You both should walk out of here," Trent said. "I'm the one he wants."

"All or none, cookie man," Jenks said, and then he darted off, flying no more than two inches above the floor like a deadly shadow.

All or none, I thought, feeling a pang of belonging and gratitude. It hadn't been that long ago that Jenks would have cut Trent's Achilles tendons if I had asked him to. "It's too cold for him," I whispered, worried as Trent and I hid behind an endcap. "Even in here."

"Disguising me as Ivy might not have been the best idea," Trent whispered, then motioned me to stay put as he cautiously peeked around the endcap.

"Yeah, maybe." Crouched beside him, I renewed my grip on the ley lines, and with a whispered " Finis ," the glamour broke, little shimmers of light cascading over him. Trent seemed to shudder, and though he had never looked anything like himself to me, now everyone could see him as himself.

Jenks swore colorfully from the far end of the store, calling for me, and Trent's lips quirked. "Laker heard that. Let's go."

Trent's fingers found mine, drawing me to my feet and pulling me into motion as a thrill coursed through me. Pace fast, he strode to the register, smiling grandly as he line jumped to the front. The woman manning it glanced up, then did a double take, her lips parting when she recognized Trent.

"Put the change in the animal rescue jar," he said to the woman as he dropped two fifties on the counter and pulled me past her.

"Th-thank you!" the woman called, then added an irate, "Hey! You can't take the basket!"

I cringed. Laker might not have heard the "Thank you," but her shrill demand to leave the basket must have carried.

"Heads up!" Jenks shrilled, and I jerked from Trent, energy whooshing through me like liquid flame as I pulled on the ley line and turned.

Laker stood atop a table of puzzles at the back of the store, one hand gripping an amulet, the other wielding a staff. Energy rippled down the length of wood, and I shoved Trent toward the door when the wizard shouted a word of Latin and a spell shot from the end as if it was a gun.

"Rhombus!" I exclaimed, taking Trent, Jenks, and a rack of glassware into my protective circle. Laker's spell hit it…and a silent boom of sound reverberated out. Clothes blew into the air and people screamed. I dropped my circle even before the rack of clothes hit the floor.

Trent stood beside me, eyes bright with anticipation. "Out. Now," I said, and he shook his head, a wisp of pearly magic spiraling up over him as he faced Laker. "Get him out of here, Jenks!"

The pixy dropped down, his dust a brilliant gold in excitement. "Let's go, cookie man. And don't forget Rachel's stuff."

"All or none," Trent echoed, and I grimaced. I couldn't have it both ways.

"Okay, but don't destroy the store. My mom used to shop here," I said as the businessman fragmented away to leave only the elven warlord, seldom seen but always there. That veneer was paper-thin, and I stifled a shiver, liking it. Liking it a lot.

Thinking we had given up, Laker jumped from the table and started over, a second amulet in his hand as a purple glow began gathering along his stick. "Trent Kalamack, I am authorized to detain and bring you in for—"

"Entrono voulden!" Trent shouted, and I shuddered as his spell rippled over me like the touch of a lover, sparking with a sensation of silk.

Laker yelped, the glow on his staff vanishing as a protection circle snapped around him. Trent's spell hit a display to send a tornado of clothes to smother the man.

"Move!"

"Wait, my stuff!" I shouted, snagging the basket when Trent grabbed my arm and ran for the door. Jenks flew vanguard, and we burst from the store as the woman at the register began a shrill harangue.

"Stop him!" I heard faintly, and then we were gone, my boots hammering a thundering cadence up my spine.

"Jenks?" I called, relieved when the rasp of pixy wings became a cold spot on my neck. "Okay. Car. Let's get out of here."

"I got this." Trent took the basket, and our pace slowed as he shot a quick glance behind us. "You should have your hands free in case he follows." He winced. "You're a better street fighter than me."

"Thanks." What he meant was I was better at minimizing innocent bystander collateral damage. The street, though, was almost empty, dusky in the early evening. "He's not following."

"That's 'cause he knows what's good for him," Jenks said as we slowed at the car, and I froze when the lethal-detection charm hanging on my bag flashed a warning red.

"Stop!" I yanked Trent back as he reached for the door. "He spelled it." Son of a moss wipe…

Trent's gaze went from my car to me and then over my shoulder to the street. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "That's what wizards do. Less confrontation, more pregame. All he needed was to flush us out. Get us reacting. That's why he's not following us." Thank the Goddess that I had a death threat on me once, or I'd never have had the detecting charm to begin with.

"What a weenie," Jenks said, and I grimaced, wondering where the nearest bus stop was. At least they'd pick me up now. You Nair a guy once on the bus…

"We taking a ley line home?" Jenks asked, and Trent's focus blurred.

"There's one three blocks that way."

A feeling of being watched stole over me. "Let's go," I said as I scanned the street, my eyes widening when Laker stumbled out of the store, still shedding clothes. The woman from the register was with him, yelling loudly as she gathered what she could.

"Go!" I pushed Trent into motion, glancing back when Laker shouted at us.

"Kalamack!" the wizard demanded, shoving the woman off him as he bolted for us.

My skin was tingling as Trent ran beside me, the two of us meeting the pavement as one. I loved working with him, and I fought with the inane desire to take his hand in mine, even as we ran.

"Don't stop," Trent said as we turned the corner and he slid to a halt and pulled more heavily on the nearing line. "Ta na shay, juncta in uno!" he shouted, and my knees almost buckled as the nearby line pulsed with energy, racing through both of us when he gave it direction and aimed it squarely at the determined human.

Laker skidded to a stop, fumbling with his amulets as Trent's spell slammed into him and froze him to the ground.

Trent grabbed my hand and pulled me into a run. Wild magic pressed into me, tingling and suggestive. "The line…" I started. It had to be close. That last spell was like…wow.

"He broke it!" Jenks shrilled from behind my ear, his grip cold as he held on for dear life. "Rache, he's searching his pockets."

"He's free?" Trent said, clearly annoyed. "That should have held him for at least five minutes."

"Rache!" Jenks warned, and my hand slipped from Trent's. We weren't going to make it. We had to make a stand.

"Knock it off, or I will put you down!" I shouted, and Laker pinwheeled to a halt. He was half a block away from us, and we were half a block to the ley line.

"Go," I said softly, and Trent settled in more deeply beside me. "Trent, the line is like right there," I protested, and he shook his head as magic wreathed his hands.

"I'm just doing my job," the man said, winded. "Go ahead and spell me. The coven would love an excuse to bring you in, too, Morgan."

I pulled heavier on the line, my aura flashing into the visual range. The line was too far away to simply step into. I could feel it humming through me, though. Laker could probably see it.

"Rache, he's stalling for time," Jenks said. "Hit him with something and run."

"He's trying to figure out which amulet to use," Trent said. "He can't get both of us."

"He's not getting either of us." I ground my soles into the pavement. "Laker?" I said, stiffening as the man gripped an amulet like a grenade. "Don't make me do this."

But he did, and as he pulled the pin on the ley line amulet, I tugged on the ley line and let it fill me. "Quod periit, periit!" I shouted, and Laker squealed like a baby as every last strand of his hair fell out. It was the same thing I'd done to get me kicked off Cincinnati's bus line, but this time, I'd meant to do it.

"Move!" I gave Trent a shove and started running. Once the shock wore off, he'd be really pissed.

"Oh, he didn't like that," Jenks said, and I ran. The line was just ahead, and Laker was still standing there, horrified.

"Rachel, that was—" Trent said.

"A nonlethal joke spell," I finished. "You only do six months' community service for it."

"Even when helping a wanted felon escape?"

I grinned at Trent as we slid into the ley line. "You aren't a felon. You haven't been tried yet."

The hum of the line's unbridled energy lit through me like home given a sound. "Thanks for a great night out," Trent said, and I grinned, standing almost on tiptoe to give him a kiss.

"You're welcome. But I'm coming with you." Trent's eyes went wide, and I added, "If that's okay?"

"Yo!" Jenks tugged on my ear, bringing me back to the present. "Whatever you're going to do, do it. He's staggering this way."

Trent's arm slipped around me. "I'd like that."

Together we turned to Laker, the man tired, beaten, angry…and bald.

"Morgan," he panted, glaring in hatred at me, and I gave him a bunny-eared kiss-kiss.

Shifting my aura, I felt reality dissolve, the cityscape blurring into nothing and the sound of autumn insects growing loud.

We were there.