I put my forearms on the counter and loomed over him. Seriously. Wine and salt?
Eyeing me, he stood, walking over and making a big show of smelling it. Yeah, he finally said, and my heart gave a thump. Once you get past the meadow.
Thanks, I said, and he went back to his dinner, his attitude cautious. Wine and salt . . . Motions slow, I set the hair aside and dropped one strand into the cooled liquid before adding the egg white and the fairy dust. All that was left was my blood to kindle it. I was afraid to try. It might not work, and it wasnt as if I could do the demon equivalent anymore.
My gaze dropped to the counter, as if I could see through it to the shelf where I kept my demon books next to my missing scrying mirror. Id lost it and never replaced it since I didnt need the interdimensional chat charm if I was playing dead to the demons.
Thats when it clicked.
Scrying mirror. Someone was trying to make a scrying mirror into a calling glyph. But to do that, theyd need demon blood.
Shit.
I gripped the counter, feeling my face go cold and wavering, as if Id moved too quickly. Thats what HAPA was doing. This wasnt merely a scare tactic and hate crime. They were trying to duplicate demon blood in order to perform curses. The mutilated corpses the I.S. had found were their attempts to turn a witch into a demon.
Oh my God . . . I whispered, and Ivy and Glenn both looked up, their expressions holding curiosity as well as banked heat. HAPA wanted a little magic of its own, and since demons were considered tools, they didnt have a problem using demon magic.
You want to share with the class, Rache? Jenks said, and I tried to find my voice.
The blood analysis, I said softly, holding the counter to keep from swaying. Ivy, what does it say about the magic-enzyme levels?
Ivy shifted a few inches from Glenn as she reached for it, crossing her knees as she rocked back in the chair. Blood composition in all the victims show elevated levels, progressively worse with each victim. She slowly blinked, her eyes going blacker as she sensed my dread. Is that important?
I nodded. If they started from someone with naturally high levels of those enzymes, everything would go faster. Does it say if they are carriers for the Rosewood syndrome?
Jenks made a high-pitched noise, and Ivy shook her head, her lower lip between her teeth as she double-checked. You think . . . she said, her words trailing off as I nodded.
Rosewood syndrome. I wasnt a carrier. I was a survivor. I had twice the enzymes they were playing with now. Crap on toast.
Glenns chair creaked as he leaned back, concern pinching his usually smooth brow. Arent you he started.
Rache! Jenks shrilled, darting into the air to leave a puddle of yellow dust that dripped over the edge of the counter and to the floor. You cant take this run! I dont care if you said you would. Theyre calling you out. They want your blood! If they get it, theyre going to have what they need and . . . Crap, Rache! What are we going to do?
My grip on the counter tightened until my knuckles were white. My head was bowed, and I could see the little spell pot with its uninvoked potion. You think you could check and see if the victims had a history of Rosewood syndrome in their families, Glenn? I finally said.
Ivy stood, and I tried to shove my unease aside so I could get on with what I had to do, but I knew, given her expression of concern, I must look sick.
Ivy stood, and I tried to shove my unease aside so I could get on with what I had to do, but I knew, given her expression of concern, I must look sick.
Glenn too had stood, and he was taking a slim cell phone from his belt. Ill get that started right now, he said. Excuse me a moment. Punching numbers, he stepped across the hall and flicked on the light in the back living room, several pixy kids going with him.
Jenks landed on my shoulder, the cold draft from his wings making me shiver. Everyone knows youre a demon.
True, I said sourly as I smacked my empty amulets around, arranging them on the counter in a straight row. But if they wanted me, they wouldve taken me by now. Bodyguard or not, I added. Besides, I have a vested interest in seeing that this gets done right, I said as I carefully mixed the wet ingredients with the dry and poured the finished, but not invoked, brew onto the seven discs. It soaked in without a hint of redwood scent, but then, there wouldnt be any until they were invoked.
Damn it, what if they did try to snatch me? I didnt want to have to take the bracelet off, and I looked at it, around my wrist like a security band. I did not want Al to know I was alive. Hed risked everything he had to keep me alive, and in return Id broken the ever-after, dropped a demon psychopath into his living room, and saved the elves from extinction after the demons had been trying to exterminate them for five thousand years. Al was broke and trying to pay for everything Id done. Not only would he be pissed if he found out I was alive, but hed make me leave reality forever. I had nothing with which to bargain this time. Id never see Ivy or Jenks or my mom again.
I looked up at the silence. Ivy had her arms over her middle as she stood with the counter between us. Jenks is right. It wouldnt hurt you to sit this one out.
Frowning, I jabbed my finger with a finger stick, massaging three drops of blood onto one of the finished amulets. Trying not to look like I was, I breathed deep for the telltale scent of redwood, but there was nothing. It just smelled like wet wood. Damn it, either Id done them wrong or my blood was too far from the witch norm to invoke it.
In a pique of bad temper, I threw the now-contaminated charm into my salt vat, sending a splash of water up to spot the cabinets. Id have to ask someone else to invoke the rest.
Jenks landed close, his expression as worried as Ivys. Glenn wont mind handling this on his own.
Im not sitting this out, I said dully, wiping the tiny spot of blood from my finger into nothing. The I.S. will pin it on me if the FIB doesnt catch them.
No they wont, Jenks whined, but hed seen the bag with my hair in it, too.
Its a demonic crime, I said, head down. Im a demon. Perfect fit. Why blame a hate group they dont want to admit is still active when they can blame me? I looked up, seeing Ivy frowning. No offense to Glenn, but the FIB cant bring in a magic-using human or HAPA without help, and the I.S. would rather have me take the blame than admit HAPA even exists.
True, Ivy said, Glenns muted conversation sounding loud from the other room.
I can find them without much risk, I said, looking down for something to do. If theyd really wanted me, they wouldve taken me already. I think theyre scared. I brought my head up and gestured flamboyantly in the air. Look who theyve snatched. Teenagers, a businessman, and some college kid. None of them had a lick of real magic.
Yeah, but your magic sucks right now, Jenks said, glancing at the vat of dissolution saltwater, and Ivy frowned at him to shut up. From the living room, Glenns voice continued.
I moved the empty potion bowl into the sink and closed my eyes. If I didnt find these jokers, they were going to keep killing innocents by twisting them into that goat thing. Is that what Al really is?
Rachel?
My eyes opened, and I remembered Algaliarept sitting at a table, his skin almost black and a fuzz of red fur on him as he tried to remember what he used to look like.
I took a deep breath and let it out. The worry in Ivys and Jenkss eyes shook me, and I forced myself to smile. Yeah, I mean, yes, I said softly. Im okay. We have to find them. Fast. Ill be careful in the meantime. Its time for Wayde to earn his keep.
You got that right. Jenks dropped down to the finished amulets, easily handling a wooden-nickel-size disk of wood and stacking it on the next. Who you going to get to invoke these little babies?
I turned my back on them as I untied my apron and hung it up. I dont know. Maybe walkie-talkie man has a witch for a secretary. Neither one of them said anything, but Ivy was frowning when I turned back. I didnt trust the undead vampire, either. Now that Keasley is gone, the only witch I know who isnt in jail, dead, or on the West Coast is Marshal. You want me to call him?
Not really, she said softly, then shifted to make room for Glenn, coming back in. He was smiling, but it wasnt a happy expression.
Ill have an answer for you about the medical records in an hour, he said, taking a slice of pizza and dropping it on his plate. Whatd I miss?
Jenkss wings clattered. Rache overcompensating for you two lovebirds cooing in the corner by going through her little black book.
My brow furrowed. I am not! I said, and Glenn and Ivy put space between themselves without a word. Im not trusting the I.S. to invoke them. Marshal is the only witch I know well enough to ask to do this for me, I said as I moved the dirty spelling equipment to the sink. You could have these invoked before the next shift, or you can wait until the I.S. gets around to it. Whats your choice, Glenn? I wasnt looking to rekindle anything between Marshal and me. But now that I wasnt shunned, it was a real possibility.
Even as the idea appeared, I dismissed it. Id been in trouble, and Marshal had left. I didnt blame him. Dating a shunned witch would get you shunned in turn. Id told him I had control of the situation. Hed believed me. I hadnt and things had gone wrong. He had left. No hard feelings on either side. But to go back now? No. I didnt blame him, but he had left.
Jenks hovered before me as I rinsed out the pot, a devilish smile on his sharply angular features. The chrysalis that Al had given me last New Years lay behind him on the sill, safe under an overturned brandy sifter. Methinks she doth protest too much, he said, and I threatened to squirt him.
Knock it off, I said as I dunked the rinsed pot in the dissolution vat to get rid of any lingering charm. Im good with Ivy dating Glenn, biting Glenn, whatever with Glenn.
And Daryl? the pixy needled me. You good with Daryl, Rache?
I stiffened, and from behind me, Ivy said, Wheres the glue? And your cat, Jenks?