I imagined the top of Raynor’s head exploding. It was an excellent visual.
I smiled. “Laugh all you want, but the truth is, if you hadn’t been such a dick, this might have been all over. But, you, being a major dick, you just let the EAM take the book. Now we are all going to die.”
Raynor gave me a forced smile. “The Council’s cleanup crew are on the way. Take my advice and leave. You don’t want to be here when they arrive.”
“Why? Are they going to bleach me to death?” I imagined kicking him in the face. “I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m not leaving until you give me some straight answers.” I doubted he was going to, but it was worth a shot. The witch had discovered where the EAM group had been hiding. I needed to know how he’d figured it out.
I rubbed my temples. The throbbing headache was my body’s way of telling me I was pushing it too hard, too fast.
Vince sat on a chair, nursing his ego at being stunned by a witch and having missed the battle. Naomi had tightened her belt around her thigh to stop the bleeding in her leg. She was pale. She’d lost a lot of blood, and if they didn’t get her the help she needed soon, she wasn’t going to make it.
Liam stood next to her with his hands at his sides, his fingers twitching in anticipation. He looked like he wanted to fight one of the witches. I liked this guy.
I squinted as the pain now throbbed behind my eyebrows and my eyes. “How did you find this place?” An anti-pain sigil would do the trick, but I didn’t want Raynor and the other witches see that I was in pain and weak. Most of them were beaten up and bleeding, and none of them took the time to fix their wounds. I would do the same.
Raynor looked at me, his face a mask. “I’m not sharing any information with a nonmember of the Court.”
My blood boiled like a hot cauldron. “The book. How did you know where to find it?”
The big witch shrugged. “You’re wasting your breath. I don’t know anything about a book.”
“Enough with the lies!” I shouted and stomped my feet on the hard floor. Yes, I was being a little dramatic. But the end of the world nearing would do that to a person. “I know about the Magicae Lucis,” I said, seeing the surprise in the rising of his brows telling me he knew about the book all along. “Yeah. That’s right. I also know that the EAM gang are planning to work a spell to remove all magic. If we die,” I said, pointing a finger in his face, “that’s on you. I should fry your ass now for what you did.”
Raynor’s face darkened, and I swear he grew a few inches taller and wider. “I don’t know how you found out about the book, but you’d better keep your little witch’s mouth shut about it if you know what’s good for you.”
His beetle hissed at me. “Keep your mouth shut,” said Malark, his eyes gleaming with blue demonic energy.
“Shut up, you little scarab,” I snarled.
“I’m a beetle,” corrected the familiar.
“Not to me.” I glared at Raynor. “Why should I keep my mouth shut?” I challenged. “You don’t want the world to know how you screwed up? How you had the book and let it get away? Because maybe then you’d be the one without a job.”
Raynor’s eyes narrowed. The dim light of the room cast dark shadows over his face, deepening the lines around his eyes and mouth. “You got fired because you couldn’t handle a Rift. You let in hundreds of demons upon our city.”
So, that’s what this was about. “I can handle a Rift and a few demons. I don’t know of any witch that can handle six opening at the same time. Can you?” He didn’t answer and I looked to his crew of witches. “Any of you? No. Because that’s insane. Right?” I paced the room. “You want to know what’s even more insane? The EAM. While they’re working that spell that ‘doesn’t exist’ from the book ‘you don’t know anything about’… they’re weakening the Veil. The idiots are burning holes through the Veil and letting demons in. And I don’t even think they know they’re doing it. But it’s happening. And it’s only going to get worse.”
There. I let this new information sink in. The other witches looked at me like I was insane. Two even laughed at me.
“The Veil is dying,” I told Raynor. “It’s going to collapse. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Did you hear that?” said one of the male witches. He was the smallest of Raynor’s crew, but still very large, and his stomach bulged as if it contained a basketball. “I know you said she was a bit off. But, listen to her. She’s crazy.”
A bit off? I wasn’t off at all. I was a hundred percent right. I might have had my doubts before, but now I knew there was a connection between the Rifts and the EAM group working the spell.
“What are you cooking up there in your cauldron?” Laughed the same witch. He put his fingers together in a “smoking weed” gesture and proceeded to act it out. He shook his head and muttered something beneath his breath, which made the other two witches laugh harder.
Swell. Just great. We were surrounded by dead bodies and these three were throwing a douche party.
“That’s because she’s been getting advice from that one,” said the other, taller witch with a large nose and weak chin, gesturing toward Faris.
“What was that?” Faris vaulted back toward us from the spot I’d no idea he’d disappeared to. His eyes gleamed with mischief.
Oh. Boy.
Weak-chin witch met Faris’s stare with his own. “I said—”
“I heard what you said, you Harry Potter wannabe,” said Faris, eyeing the three witches as though he was choosing which one of them he was about to pound with his demon magic. Faris tutted. “And here I thought witches were the smarter of the half-breed races. Did you fall into a cauldron when you were a baby? Did mama witch hit you too hard on the head with her broom?”
Weak-chin lost his smile. “You don’t scare me, demon. I could kill you with just a snap of my fingers.”
Faris shook his body. “Ooooh. I’m shaking in my thousand-dollar pants. See? This is me shaking, in case you missed it.”
It was really hard not to laugh. I was so tired, I was afraid I might just start laughing, though it wouldn’t look good. That would make me look crazy. “Faris. Drop it. He’s not worth it,” I said instead, trying to rid the nervous giggles from me.
The mid-demon beamed. “But I’ve only just started with the Three Stooges. The last time I had a witch brawl, it was me with four voluptuous witches—best brawl ever. There was a whip cream fight pit, loaded with strawberries and those blackberries I love.”
I smiled at the disgust on the witches’ faces at the idea of a mid-demon having a foursome with their own. It was a glorious sight to behold.
“You can play with the witches next time. Promise,” I told the mid-demon. “Right now, we have bigger problems.”
Faris pouted. “Too bad. I was just about to tell them how I hook up with their mothers once a month.”
I looked at Raynor. The witch was stiff and quiet, his eyes hard and his face set in concentration. Even Malark was unmoving, resting on his master’s shoulder like a big, ugly, brooch. I saw him make the connection. I saw him connect the dots. Saw a bit of fear when he realized what I was saying was true. I despised him, but he could be useful. He did have a reputation of being a very capable witch and had proved it tonight by finding the EAM’s hiding place.
“Samantha’s right,” said Logan, breaking the uncomfortable and thick silence. He stood as tall as Raynor, just not as thick. However, Logan had infinitely more confidence, raw knowledge, and strength. “The Veil is magical. Celestial magic. I didn’t think it was possible, but after seeing it with my own eyes,” he added. “It’s not going to hold. And when it falls… thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of demons will have free rein over this world. We won’t be able to stop them. If the spell doesn’t kill you, the demons will. You can count on that.”
Raynor shot Faris a look, his eyes accusing.
Faris gave a puzzled look. “Don’t look at me, big guy. I’m not involved in this. I happen to li
ke things just the way they are. I’m not about to give away my weekly sponge bathing with my witches,” he added with a wink.
Cauldron help us all.
A moan came from behind us. Naomi’s face was pale with pain and her eyes hot with fever. It worried me.
“I need to get Naomi out of here,” said Logan, worry etched into his handsome face, tugging my heart. I could see he was torn. Part of him wanted to stay with me, but the other part knew he couldn’t. Naomi was his responsibility. If she died, it would be his fault. That guilt would eat at him for the rest of his life.
“Go. I’ll be fine. I’ve got this,” I said, looking at Raynor and the other witches. I saw their grave expressions filled by witch confidence. “Faris is with me. They’d be stupid to try anything.”
“Yes,” said the mid-demon, making a show of his demonic magic that had suddenly materialized as black fire dancing around his palms. “I dare ‘ya, bitches.”
Logan opened his mouth as if to say something to me, but then he turned and walked over to Naomi. I couldn’t help my surprise as he picked up the smaller female easily, cradled her in his arms more gently than a man his size ought to have been capable, and walked out. Could it be possible he was even sexier to me after that?
I watched until both Liam and Vince disappeared behind the door and turned back to face the witches.
Raynor said nothing for a long while. “What do you want from me?” he asked and slipped his hands in his front pockets. The gesture was causal, one that I’d never seen him do before. At that, the other witches looked like he’d just taken away their magic wands. Boo-hoo. Was I finally reaching into that thick skull of his?
Now we were getting somewhere. “Tell me how you found this place,” I asked. If he had a way to track the book, I wanted to know.
Malark clicked his mandibles at me, and for a moment I thought Raynor wouldn’t talk.
“Irva told me,” answered the big witch. “I came as soon as I got word.”
“How did she know?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. And that’s the truth.”
I believed him. “Don’t you find it strange that she did know?” I said, seeing the frown on his face. “She knew where it was. How?”
“A tracking spell,” said Faris reading my mind.
Yeah I’d thought of that too. “I have a feeling this Irva knows a lot more about the book than she’s letting on. She’s not telling you the whole truth.”
“Why would she?” said Raynor with a defensive edge, though I could see a glint of frustration in his eyes and the crease of his brow.
“Because they’re still covering their asses about having this book in the first place. She’s feeding you little bits, hoping you’ll find the book without having to reveal too much. If it weren’t so time-sensitive, maybe that would have been fine. But we’ve got hours before these idiots finish the spell and break the last seal. If you have a way to make her talk, do it.”
His eyes widened. He was starting to believe me.
Raynor’s pale eyes fixed on me. “What are you going to do?”
I let out a sigh. “I’m going to try and find the book myself. If we’re both looking for it, we have a better chance of finding it. Strength in numbers and all that. Right?”
“Give me your phone,” said the big witch, his hand out.
“Why?”
“Just give it.”
I pulled out my phone and gave it to Raynor. I watched him as his fingers moved across the screen, typing something.
He gave me back my phone. “That’s my phone number. Call me if you find anything or if you need my help. I’ll do the same on my end.”
Now that was surprising. “Okay. I will.”
The big witch looked around the room and then settled his eyes on me again. “You better go before the cleanup crew gets here. Irva will be with them. She might arrest you,” he added with a smile.
Right. “Come on, Faris,” I said, turning and picking my way through the debris toward the exit. “Raynor,” I called and turned around. “If you find the book before me, make sure you burn it. Nothing else matters. Burn it.” It didn’t matter who found it first. What mattered was that we destroyed it.
Raynor nodded. So did Malark. “I will.”
I stared at the big witch for a second and then turned around and stepped out. To save the world, I was going to have to work with someone I hated.
But the funny thing was, I wasn’t so sure I hated him. Not anymore.
CHAPTER 21
I awoke to the gentle touch of someone shaking me. “What?” I grumbled, my voice harsh and my mouth pasty.
Faris stood next to my working table, a cup of a steaming something in his hands. “You’re snoring. And I can see a bit of drool on your chin.”
Great. I sat up in my chair and wiped my chin. Yup. There was drool. I was a drooling Dark witch. “How long was I out?” I wiped my eyes, trying to rid the blur from my vision.
“Three hours.”
I let out a moan and rubbed my lower back. Muscles I didn’t even know existed ached. I eyed the steaming mug in his hand suspiciously. If that was another one of my grandfather’s healing mud-teas, I was going to hurl.
“You should lie down in your bed for a little while. It has to be more comfortable than that hard-wood chair.”
“No.” I stood up and stretched. “I’ve slept enough.” Not really. But there was a world I needed to save, and an evil magical book I needed to burn. My life sucked. If I survived the “end of days,” I was booking a trip to Maui for three months.
“Did Logan call?” I asked, reaching for my phone next to a stack of papers on my worktable. I swiped the screen. No calls.
“I didn’t hear your phone ring.” Faris set the mug on the table. “Did you find out anything from your research.” He picked up my book called How to Pimp Your Voodoo Doll and began to flip through it, eyebrows high on his forehead.
I set my phone back down. “No. I’ve been racking my brain over this, trying to find ways to do a locator spell or tracking spell without an actual piece of the book.”
“And?”
“And nothing,” I answered frustrated. Part of me wanted to pull out my hair. “I’d been at it for hours, and it was always the same. It’s clear. For a locator spell to work, I need a tangible piece of the book. That’s how it works. I can find a missing kid, usually with something as simple as one of the kid’s clothes, a toy, something that has the kid’s DNA on it. I can even track a kid by using one of the parents’ blood, if nothing else. But this… this is a book. It’s not alive. If I can’t have a physical part of the book, I need something else. Something linked to it. For it to work, I need something that ties with it.”
“Like what?”
“Like a torn-off piece of paper from the book. A portion of the leather cover, or even the thread used to bind the pages. Without them, it’s useless. I can’t conjure a part of the book out of thin air.” This was not going well. Panic slid through me as I realized we were running out of time, and I was nowhere closer to finding the book.
The house seemed suddenly very quiet. “Where’s my grandfather?”
Faris flipped another page in the book. “Out with Charlotte. He left a few hours ago. Said he was going to ask some of the ‘old ones’ about the book.” The mid-demon gave a snort. “He should be asking himself.”
“This is bad, Faris.” I wished the mid-demon would start taking this seriously. I knew what he was going to lose if the last seal broke.
Faris snapped the book shut. “I know.” Deep concern appeared on his face.
“Did you speak to Cassandra?”
He nodded and looked away from me, his fingers picking at the edge of my table. “I called her earlier. We talked for a while… just talked. I told her I would see her soon.” The muscles in his jaw tensed, and his posture was stiff with emotions. I knew this was killing him, and I knew he couldn’t tell her the truth. It would only make her panic. Peo
ple did crazy things when they believed the end of the world was coming. Better to keep it under wraps, for now.
From what I knew of the mid-demon, he was all or nothing. If he loved you, his love would be fierce and everlasting. Cassandra was lucky to have a great-great-grandfather like Faris.
Dread was heavy on me, like a boulder in the pit of my stomach. “I hope Raynor has better luck. The witch is a jerk, but if anyone can find the EAM gang and destroy the book, he can.”
I knew without a doubt that the Gray Council was working a tracking spell on the book. Irva no less. It explained how Raynor ended up in Hell’s Kitchen. And yet, he only appeared at Lars’s apartment after I’d called it in. It could mean Irva or whoever was working the spell wasn’t very good at it, or that they didn’t have a good grasp on magic. It was also plausible that whatever link they had that tied them to the book was very weak.
I walked over to my grandfather’s bookcase. “There’s got to be something in here. Maybe I’ve missed something. Maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong.”
“What about asking that old aunt of yours, Elanora,” said Faris. “I don’t want to have to see her naked again, but I’m willing to sacrifice a few haunted images if she knows something.”
I pulled out a tome called How to Train Your Familiar, Volume 3. “It’s Evanora. And, no. She would have told me if she knew how to track the book.” I traced my fingers over the spine. I should have read this book a while ago.
“Seems like you’re running out of ideas,” said the mid-demon, eyeing the book I was holding with a fearful expression.
I set the book back on the shelf before it gave Faris a heart attack. “I’m not sure what to do,” I said, hating the hint of desperation in my voice. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to look for. If I can’t track it… then what? What else is there?”
“You have to try harder,” said a familiar voice.
I whirled around and glared at Logan. “Did you just say try harder?” Was he for real?
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