Where the hell are you going?” Jax said as he fell into step beside Alana on the sidewalk outside their apartment.

She tried to ignore him, but he loomed over her, his tense lethal energy enough to suffocate any nearby non-magic users.

“To get my sister back.” Alana snapped, and gave him a sidelong glare. His long black duster flowed behind him like he was god damn superman or something. What was it with magic wielders and their flare for dramatics? Yes, Alana was technically one herself, but she’d never identified with them. Since she never was accepted, she now flat out refused to fit in.

She tugged her backpack further over her shoulder, gripping the strap as though it would disappear. She’d gather as many elixirs and defensive objects as she could, including a blessed blade. She’d never battled a Warlock like Damon—not in all her time working for the TBH. Sure, she’d bested him years ago in the tombs, but that was a matter of favorable circumstances and sheer luck.

Now, he had the upper hand.

“You’re rushing into action based on emotion, not logic. It’s an inevitable way to get yourself killed—or worse.”

“Don’t act like you care about what happens to either of us.” Alana turned the next corner, heading South and out of the Loop. Her goal was to reach the empty building near the water’s edge. Two blocks. That’s all she needed to cross, then she’d have enough privacy to rift and follow Damon.

Why couldn’t she just do it at the apartment? Simply put, the kind of Rift she was about to open, was unfamiliar. She have to recreate the source. It was both volatile and dangerous. Alana wouldn’t risk something coming through and attacking any innocents that happened to be nearby.

The red line shrieked past them, barreling down the track as the hum of the expressway buzzed in the background. He left his trail purposefully. Let it linger long enough to ensure she could catch its source and follow. That didn’t bode well. He wanted her to come after him which meant he could have all sorts of bad things waiting for her when she crossed. But she also knew he wanted the orb she stole from him.

He had no idea it had been sitting in plain sight. Disguised as a simple vase in her sisters’ bathroom. Now, it sat wrapped in a hand towel in her bag. It was dangerous to give it to him, but even more dangerous not to. Not when he had Taylor.

“Dammit, Alana.” Jax jerked her arm until she was spun in a 180, facing him. “Listen to me.”

“What? What could you possibly have to say right now that I would want to hear?”

Hi magnetic eyes held her captive, “I didn’t have a choice. Not then. Not now.”

She leaned back, trying to put more space between them, “What are you talking about?”

Jax released her arm and rolled up the sleeve of his jacket, revealing a Sigil[VK1] on his right forearm. “You were Sealed ?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Alana snapped her mouth into a tight line. If he was Sealed, that mean that the actions he’d committed weren’t wholly of his own making. Still, she didn’t want to believe him. It was so much easier, less complicated, when he was her enemy. Then she could convince herself that the things he evoked in her, were dangerous.

“So, you are working for him?”

“No.” He slowly unfurled his jacket again to cover his arm. “The limit of his Seal is varied, it would take me time to explain it.”

“Even if you succeed in following him, as he clearly wants you to, you’re going in blind. He will have Shades ready, and maybe worse creatures. He’s not going to let you come in fully ready to battle him. He will want you weakened.”

“If you want to talk, keep walking.” Alana hurried back into the pace she had been moving at earlier. A second later, Jax was back at her side. “You really think I am going to trust you now? Even with that,” She nudged to his arm, “You’re a threat.”

“I’ve gotten around it before, I’m getting around it even now as we speak.”

They paused to let two cars pass, when the road was clear again they sprinted to the other side of the street. She could see the front of the abandoned industrial warehouse just up the block. “That doesn’t change the facts. You’re compromised.”

Jax said, “What other choice do you have?”

When they finally reached the worn down, graffiti covered exterior, Alana stopped, “What are you suggesting?”

“You’re probably not gonna like it.”

She frowned, “That’s reassuring.”

Voices sounded up ahead and a group of teens were riding down the sidewalk on skateboards.

“Let’s get inside, then we’ll talk.” He stretched his arm out, indicating she should lead the way.

Alana used her cells flashlight app and climbed through the three-foot-wide opening in the cement wall. She slipped in, legs first and jumped. She landed on a pile of empty glass bottles and beer cans. Dust scattered in the air around her and she covered her mouth and squinted her eyes. Seconds later, a large thud sounded behind her as Jax jumped down.

She kept going, further in until she was certain that no one had—or would be—anywhere near them. Finally satisfied, she circled on Jax. He stood only a foot behind her and she practically ran into his chest. He smelled like smoke and whiskey and just being this close to him again reminded her of the odd comfort she felt in his arms.

But Alana didn’t do heroes. She was the hero.

She dropped down to her knees and zipped open her backpack, “Alright,” she said as she pulled out the first two elixirs, “What’s your plan?”

He looked down on her, “We need to disarm him. Make him confident and at ease. He’s more vulnerable that way.”

“And what’s your point?”

He crossed his arms and smirked, “We need bait.”

“He already has my sister and he wants me to follow him. That much is obvious. ” Alana hunched back onto the heel of her boots, “What else could he want?”

“You.”

“Me?” Alana tapped her chest.

“Yes.”

“Explain?”

Jax crouched down beside her and the proximity made Alana want to pull back. But if she did, he would know how he affected her.

“If I bring you in, bound and at his mercy, he won’t need to sick his minions on you. You can be walked right into his lair, unharmed.”

“And why would he believe you would do that?”

“He doesn’t know we are allies.”

“Are we?”

Jax’s brows threaded together in annoyance. “I thought that was clear.”

Alana released the backpack and stood, “I did too, until you screwed me, not once but twice when Damon was within my reach.”

“I protected you.”

“Me? Or your interests.”

“You.” He growled.

They stared at one another, anger radiating in the black shadows that surrounded them. “You set up the Ring, recreate his location, and then we go through, with you as my prisoner.”

“What?” Alana laughed, “Like bound and gagged?”

Jax didn’t move, maybe he didn’t even breathe, his gaze deadly serious. “Yes.”

“You’re talking about a lot more than trust. My sister’s life is on the line here too. Not just mine.” She slipped a band from her wrist and tied her hair into a high ponytail, “How do I know you won’t betray me?”

“You’re just going to have to trust me.”

With no other choice, Alana was forced to place her shaky faith in Jax’s hands. “If you betray me, I’ll kill you. Make no mistake.”

For the first time since he’d shown up, A smile lifted Jax’s cheek. “I wouldn’t expect any less.”

With most Rifts, Alana only needed to see it once, and then she could recreate the source, almost like recalling a key code and follow through. But Damon’s potent magic was on a whole other level. Complicated and Unpredictable. To be certain she’d end up at her desired destination and not some shadowy void, she had to be precise.

Alana took out chalk and began marking the ground beneath her. She stared with the edges and worked her way in, making sure her symbol were correct. She grabbed the two beakers of elixir and uncorked the tops, she took a sip of each, letting the ethereal essence open her mind and connect her to Damon’s Rift source.

She sat in the center and kneeled, “Once I access his rift and open it, you can bind me. But not before.” She took a slow breath and closed her eyes, readying herself for the dark magic that would likely slam into her the moment she reached out.

“Understood.”

Alana peeked open one eye, “You need to come in here with me.”

She watched Jax step over her lines, making sure not to disturb the magic she’d inscribed on the floor. The center circle was barely large enough for the two of them, forcing Jax to press his legs wide, and situating Alana between his thighs.

She waited until he stilled before she closed both eyes again and let her Gale magic reach out. Death and desolation hit her first, causing a thin layer of sweat to break out on her brow. She continued on, calling out with her magic for a good ten minutes before she opened her eyes. The beginnings of a Rift formed in the empty air beside them. A small, pea sized hole appeared in the air, a blue-black electrical tinge pulsed from inside of it as the first trails of Damon’s necromancy swirled out.

When she looked at Jax only feet from her, the breath caught in her throat. Intense admiration and something unknown, lingered in his gaze.

“You can bind me now.” She lifted her hands, palms up between them. As he conjured a set of binds, and began to wrap them around her first hand, she jerked, “Just don’t make me regret this decision, Jax.”

He gently wrapped the black leather in a knotting pattern, weaving the pieces in and over one another. The final tug was tight, and she tensed at the motion.

“You see this small end right here?” He asked, pointing toward a cut of the leather, no larger than a half-inch. “When the time is right, grab this with your pinky and tug. It’s the loophole in the knot. It’s weak spot.”

Alana nodded. Seconds later, cracks spread like shattering glass as the Rift opened for them. The scent of charred ashes and incense wafted into the abandoned building. Alana grabbed her backpack and rose to her feet as Jax did the same beside her. She gripped the straps of her bag and faced the Rift, waiting for the moment when limited access would be available.

“Remember, Alana. You’re supposed to be my prisoner.”

Bound and at the Mercy of not one warlock, but two, Alana jumped, praying she’d made the right choice.