Ever After

Chapter Six



Ray fussed, threatening to cry as I inexpertly fumbled at the straps to buckle her into the car seat the nice-looking guy in Trent's garage helped me move into my little Cooper. "Don't start with me," I warned her, my unfamiliar tone catching her attention and distracting her. It might have been Jenks making faces at her from the rearview mirror, though, and I backed out of the car, blowing a strand of hair out of my eyes.



It was nearing three, I smelled like horse, and I had a cranky toddler who refused to go down for her nap. And it wasn't as if I hadn't tried. Trent's secretary had gotten me back to Trent's apartments to wait for him, but that had been four books, two songs, and three hours ago. Watching TV with Jenks had only made being stuck at Trent's big empty apartments worse. That line hiccup I'd felt wasn't just out at Trent's place, but everywhere, the entire United States and off continent, too. The lines were fine now, but the media was scrambling, interviewing specialists and wackos with little signs saying the end was near.



Jenks gave me a thumbs-up from inside the car, and I sighed. Diaper bag, extra food, change of clothes, blanket from her crib, and three stuffed animals she had pointed to when I asked her which ones she wanted. Yep, I had it all. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate camping out at Trent's apartments, watching his big-screen TV and raiding his fridge for fresh fruit and pudding, but I had stuff to do, stuff that I could get done while Ray napped. And boy, did she need to nap.



A sneeze shook me as I shut the door. My brow furrowed. If it followed the emerging pattern, I'd sneeze again in about ten minutes. Al was trying to get a hold of me, and my scrying mirror was across town in the Hollows. I'd tried stepping into the line that bisected Trent's estate and contacting him that way, but Al hadn't showed and I hadn't lingered since the lines felt sour somehow. I hoped it was only the uncomfortable state of the lines that he wanted to discuss, but I had a bad feeling it was more, and my eyes flicked to Ray in her car seat as I got in.



Jenks eyed me suspiciously as I settled myself, wiping my nose with a tissue I took out of my shoulder bag. "Bless you," he said sourly. "That's like, what, the twentieth one?"



"I lost count." Smiling at Ray, who was making s-s-s-s-s noises to get Jenks's attention, I headed for the bright square of light and out of Trent's underground garage. Worry flitted through me that I was taking Ray off the grounds, but Trent hadn't told me I couldn't.



Jenks went drowsy in the new sun, and I slowly wove my way past the employee parking lots and low buildings to the gatehouse. It was up about half a mile, and Ray was well on her way to snoozeville, too, when I came around a bend and slowed.



Trent had modified his gatehouse twice since I'd known him, once when I had blown through the simple metal bar on my way out, and again when Ivy had tossed me over his new wall when I was in a hurry to leave and he had wanted me to stay. The modest, one-story building was now a two-story edifice that straddled the road, officers on both sides to monitor traffic leaving as well as coming in. Parking lots were available on either side of the highly landscaped wall, the bushes trying to hide how tall and thick it was. It wasn't the five I.S. vehicles parked just this side of the bar that made me take my foot off the gas and coast in-it was the three news vans just past the gate.



Crap on toast, that hadn't taken long.



My sigh roused Jenks, and he whistled, bringing Ray's eyes open for a brief moment. I'd known the I.S. was out here, having seen the fax of the warrant sent to Trent's living room when they'd arrived. The I.S. I could handle. The news vans were another story.



"You think they saw you?" Jenks asked as I pulled into the parking lot.



"Probably. But I'm leaving with Trent's kid. I probably have to sign something," I said as I leaned to undo her buckle and pull the whining, tired girl to me. Leaving her in the car was not an option.



Both Ray and I sneezed on Jenks's dust as he shot out before us, and I took a clean breath as I stood beside the car, baby on my hip and blinking in the wind and sun. An anxious, nervous man in Trent's security uniform was gesturing for me at a glass door, and I headed for him, my bag over one shoulder, Ray gripping the other. Sure enough, a reporter on the other side of the gate shouted my name. I'd been spotted. Swell.



"Ms. Morgan, I'm glad you stopped," the man said as I came in and set Ray on the counter. Three walls were entirely glass, and it was like being in a fish tank. There was new activity among the press gathered, waiting for any tidbit the I.S. might let fall. Vultures, they were vultures. "We weren't aware you were going to take Ray off the grounds."



"Why?" Jenks asked snidely, giving the three other guards fits as he flew behind the counter and inspected the views from the security cameras. "You think you can stop her?"



"Well, actually . . ." the man hedged, and I took a pen away from Ray before she stuck it in her mouth and gave her from my purse a harmless charm that would straighten hair.



"Look, you," I said, a finger pointed, and I swear, Ray tried to mimic me, charm between her swollen gums like a teething ring. "Trent asked me to watch her, and I need to get home."



From behind the counter, a big fat guy in a uniform turned, his chair on casters. "Frank, she's on the list. Quit razzing her."



My eyebrows rose, my good mood returning. I was on the list. How about that? And then I sneezed, feeling a faint itch of a ley line pull attached to it.



"Bless you," Jenks said, and I swear, Ray echoed him, way off on the actual word but spot on as far as rhythm. Her little-girl voice was sweet, and charmed, I tickled her under her chin to make her squirm.



"Ma'am . . ." My smile vanished, and the man's became nervous. "Uh, you're on the list, but I need to see a photo ID and get a phone number we can reach you at, and we need to know where you're going, and when you expect to be back."



Oh. That was all right then, and I swung my bag up beside Ray, pawing through it with one hand as the other hovered over Ray's back in case she decided to move. The clatter drew Ray's attention, and she watched with a serious expression, not reaching for anything as I sifted past the splat gun, lethal charm detector, two sets of cuffs, handful of zip strips, breath mints, phone, and whatnot for my wallet.



"Thank you," he said as he took it to run it through their machine. It apparently liked what it found since he gave it back. Behind him, the news crew was setting up tripods and long-range cameras.



"I'm taking her to my church," I said as wrote down my cell number and I shoved everything away, Jenks laughing at the expression on the other officers' faces at the cuffs and charms. "I'll have her there until Trent picks her up or we run out of diapers."



"Thank you," the anxious guy said, and I swung my bag up onto my shoulder. Jenks hovered beside me, and together we looked at the newspeople, hanging around in the hopes of a scrap of anything. I slid Ray onto my hip, motions slow.



"Think if I give them something they won't follow me?" I muttered, and Jenks snorted.



"Doubt it."



I doubted it too, but I headed for the door. If I kept my windows up, I could at least ignore them. Trent wouldn't be pleased about any photos they took of Ray, but it couldn't be helped.



The sun and wind hit me anew as I went outside. Jenks was close, and my steps were fast as I headed for the car. Shouts and calls for my attention got loud as I opened the door. If you follow me home, I swear I'll let the pixies play in your electronic equipment!



"Ms. Morgan! Is it true that Mr. Kalamack has been flown to the hospital and is in intensive care! Ms. Morgan!"



My back was to them, and Jenks, currently perched on the roof, winced. "It's not going to look good if you don't answer," he said, his eyes going to Ray and back to me.



"Ms. Morgan! Have you taken custody of his children because he's unconscious? Where is Ms. Dulciate? Has she been injured as well?"



I sighed, then shifted Ray higher. She wasn't fussy, happily gumming the charm. It wouldn't hurt to quash a few rumors before they got started.



The security people on both sides of the road were standing at their big plate-glass windows, watching. I'd get no help from them, and although Trent probably wouldn't thank me for putting Ray in front of the cameras, I'd found out the hard way if you didn't give the press something to chew on, they invented things that sold more papers than the truth.



"Ms. Morgan!" a woman shouted, and I turned, holding my hair to my head so the wind wouldn't catch it. I must look a sight, but at least I wasn't limping, beaten up, or bandaged.



The news crews had a spasm of delight as I let the car door shut and paced across the road to the gate they were clustered behind. Jenks hung back as the still photographers snapped their pictures and big guys with video cameras on their shoulders shoved for the best angle. They were all shouting for my attention. Jenks took refuge on my shoulder, and Ray hid her face, scared. My protective nature rose up from a tiny seed of maternal instinct I didn't even know I had, and I shushed her, rocking as I stood in the road, three feet back from the gate.



"You," I said to a woman in a white dress suit, her short hair hardly moving in the stiff wind. "Didn't I knock you down once outside of the mall?"



The woman grinned as her peers chuckled at her expense. "That was me, Ms. Morgan. Trent Kalamack was seen being transported to the hospital by helicopter, and unless I'm mistaken, that is his daughter. Something happened to the ley lines this afternoon, and the I.S. is on-site. Can you comment?"



From my shoulder, Jenks sighed. "You sure you want to do this?"



No, I didn't want to do this, but I wanted them following me home even less. "Trent Kalamack escorted one of his employees to the hospital after an accident that occurred while riding this morning," I said, smug when the woman shifted her gaze to her truth amulet ring, a nice steady green. They weren't legal in this situation, but hard to prove. "Mr. Kalamack didn't sustain any injuries, and I'm waiting for news just as you are."



"But the I.S.-" the woman blurted as a follow-up, and the rising questions subsided. "Were the ley lines damaged in the accident?"



"No," I said shortly. "I felt the lines sour well after the incident. The I.S. is here because the wounds his employee sustained are similar to those a demon might inflict." The noise rose, and I put up a hand, guessing their next question and wanting to answer it my way instead of needing to work around that truth amulet. "As you can tell, the sun is up, so logic says the I.S. is taking the opportunity to be nosy while Trent is away."



They liked that, scribbling on tablets or talking into their recorders.



"Ms. Morgan!" a man from the back shouted, his hand raised. "As Cincinnati's only day-walking demon, have you been questioned in the incident?"



"Told you this was a bad idea . . ." Jenks muttered, and I forced my smile to widen. A sneeze shook me, and Ray patted my shoulder.



"I wasn't an eyewitness to the incident," I said truthfully, "but I did blow up a couple of trees so the medical copter could land." I looked at the I.S. vehicles dramatically. "I'm sure they will blame me for something," I added, getting the expected laughs. This wasn't so bad. Making deals with demons had given me practice.



"Do you have an explanation as to what happened to the ley line?" a man in a sports coat asked, holding his mic out over the gate.



"No. I'm on my way home to talk to Al, actually, and find out if the demons know what happened," I said, then sneezed again. They were coming faster, and nervously I patted Ray on her back as she said "bless you" in a garbled baby talk. "So if there are no more questions?" I said into the suddenly awkward silence.



I took a step backward, and like lions on prey, they pounced. "Is that Ray? Can we have a picture? Are you taking her home? Where is Lucy? What has the I.S. learned so far?"



Jenks was laughing, and I reluctantly turned back around. I scanned the yammering reporters, finding one I recognized. "Mark," I said, and they all shut up. "You know I can't divulge what the I.S. finds, and besides, I've only seen the search warrant."



"Why are you taking Ray? Can we have a picture? Was Ms. Dulciate injured in the accident as well?"



I had three to choose from, and I took a step back. "Ms. Dulciate is currently occupied with Lucy. You can understand taking care of two little girls, twins, almost, is enough to drive anyone to distraction. I need to go. It's nap time."



"Ms. Morgan. A photo, please. Ms. Morgan!"



Ray was clutching my neck, scared. They'd already snapped pictures of Ray, so that boat had sailed, spent a week at the island, and returned to port for more tourists, but I didn't want Ray's fear to be what they walked away from here with. "A picture?" I taunted, and they clamored for one. "Maybe if you would all shut up for a moment!" I exclaimed. "You're yammering so loud that you would scare a third-grade teacher. Okay?"



They didn't know what to think about that, but they did quiet down, and sure enough, drawn by the sudden silence, Ray pushed herself from my front and turned, her big green eyes wide and looking sweet in the little pink-and-white dress I'd put her in to nap in.



I smiled at the adoring faces of the women as the cameras clicked. I'd give Ceri and Quen one thing-they could make very pretty babies.



But then my smile faded as I noticed a big black car that screamed money driving slowly up to the gate. It was Trent. I knew it. And here I was, showing off Ray like a prize.



"Now you're in for it," Jenks said, darting off my shoulder and making Ray jerk as she watched his angling flight to the black car.



"Okay, that's enough," I said, hoping that Jenks would put in a good word in for me. I waved cheerfully at the last shouted question as I added, "I gotta go. And if anyone shows up on my doorstep, I will file harassment charges . . . after I let the pixies into your vans. You got it?"



But they weren't listening, having figured out Trent was in the car as well. Head down, I hustled back to my car as they fell on his like zombies. If I could give him Ray right now, I could be home in thirty minutes and the press probably wouldn't follow.



Sneezing, I wondered if I could make it in twenty if someone from the I.S. ran vanguard.



A man from the gatehouse came out, waving everyone back, shouting that Mr. Kalamack would make a statement in an hour, and that they were welcome to wait at the gatehouse pressroom if they liked. In pairs and groups, they parted, and the black car moved slowly through the gate and turned into the parking lot where I waited.



Nervous, I leaned against my car, pointing Trent's car out to Ray and telling her that one of her daddies was in it. She was still gumming that charm when the car pulled to a halt two spots down. Immediately a back door opened, Trent not waiting for the driver to get it for him. Jenks darted out, shedding encouraging silver sparkles, but Trent was a great deal slower, moving as if he was in pain. Upon closer inspection, I decided he was just tired, his jeans creased and the sleeves of his riding shirt rolled up. There was a tuft of cotton and a Band-Aid inside his elbow, and I wondered if he'd given blood.



Squinting at the sun, he crossed the warm pavement, his hands outstretched for Ray. The little girl had begun to wiggle when she'd caught sight of him, and the smile that came over Trent caught in my heart. It didn't matter if this child was not his blood-she was his child. And Quen's, and Ceri's.



My smile faded. I had to fix this.



"Ray," he breathed, and suddenly I felt her absence keenly as he took her. "Your daddy is going to be okay, I think." His eyes rose to mine. "We got him there in time. Ten more minutes and they might not have been able to stop the cascading reaction." He blinked fast, then looked away. "That's twice you've saved Quen's life. Thank you."



I shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable. "I'm sorry this happened."



"Me too."



Our eyes met for a long, silent moment. Ray jumped and wiggled as Jenks's dust sifted over her, and I flushed when Trent noticed what she was gumming, her little fingers gripping the charm so hard they were white. I sneezed, and I shook my head at Trent's unspoken question.



"Ah, I'm sorry about this," I said as the driver of his car began to move the car seat to the black Jag. "I hate coming home to find reporters in my driveway. I hadn't heard from you and I need to talk to Al. That's why I'm sneezing. Ray wouldn't go down for her nap, and I figured she'd fall asleep in the car." I hesitated. "You look tired."



"I napped during some of the tests," he said, and I wondered at the incongruity of us standing in the sun and talking as other people moved Ray's things to his car. "I didn't want to leave until he was stable. They got his aura to stop cycling, but they don't know why he won't regain consciousness. Thank you for handling the press. One of the guards relayed what you said. You did pretty well."



My eyes dropped at his wry smile. "I've been dodging them the last couple of years. I know how much you have to give them for them to leave you alone."



Ray had fallen against him, her head tucked under his chin as she started to drift asleep, her eyes never leaving me. "Oh God," Jenks said from my shoulder, and her eyelids flickered. "Here come the vampires."



Sure enough, coming up the road on a golf cart were four I.S. officers. The grit ground under Trent's heel as he spun slowly to watch as they parked beside their cars and the one in the dress suit angled toward us.



It was Nina, or Felix, maybe. I could tell by the grace and slightly pained motion of the living vampire as she crossed the lot. The sun normally didn't bother living vampires, but Nina was channeling Felix by the looks of it.



Trent seemed to shed his fatigue like an old shirt, but I could see it in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "They had a warrant," I explained, and he bobbed his head in acceptance. "The I.S. in your backyard is another thing I don't like coming home to. They've been on the grounds for the last couple of hours, but your security tells me they've been escorting them the entire time so they wouldn't wander. The hospital called them, probably."



"Thank you," he murmured, gently patting Ray as the tallish Hispanic woman in the black dress suit put a hand up to ask us to wait. "You did exactly what Qu- What should have been done."



I quashed the feeling of hurt. "I used to work for them. I know your rights."



"Trenton!" the woman boomed out, her voice too expansive and masculine for her slight frame. Clearly Felix was in her again, and I worried about her. It wasn't uncommon for the undead to use their "children" as moving walkie-talkies, but it was unusual that Felix kept doing it. But who tells an undead no?



"Good to see you again," Trent said, shaking the woman's hand with an expansive motion that he usually only used with men. "How much longer until you are off my property?"



The vampire smiled, setting a finger aside her nose in a gesture I hadn't seen anyone under the age of fifty use. "Rachel, is Ivy back from Arizona yet?"



"No." I shook Nina's hand, struggling with my desire to wipe it off. Her fingers had been cool and dry, but the man animating her bothered me. "Was it a demon attack?"



"It would be a lot easier to tell if you hadn't exploded three trees over the entire crime site." Nina squinted uncomfortably. "Can we move this inside?"



"No," I said again, shifting my bag up higher on my shoulder. "Can I leave, or do you want something?"



Jenks's wings shifted against my neck in warning. Okay, it wasn't smart to antagonize a vampire, especially a dead one, but Ray wasn't the only one tired here.



"I need a statement, if you would please. Before you leave."



I sneezed, my entire body contracting and the noise making Ray crack her eyes. Al was getting impatient. "I'm kind of busy right now."



"Then you shouldn't have obliterated the evidence," Felix said, Nina's beautiful white teeth bared at me in a threat thinly disguised as a smile.



"Oh. My. God," Jenks said, safely parked on my shoulder but his dust shifting a bright red. "Rache, they think you did it. Do you really believe the crap that is coming out of your mouth," the pixy added as Nina reflectively steepled her fingers as I'd seen older men do, "or do you just make shit up to see how stupid people might think you are?"



I knew I was filling the air with my anger, a close second to a vampire's favorite smell after fear. The wind helped, but by Nina's smirk I knew that she was picking up on some of it.



"You are a demon," Nina said, making Jenks's wings seem to hum in anger. "And yes, this has all the markings of a demon attack. It occurred in the daylight, meaning you are the only one who could accomplish it."



"That's dumber than Tink's dildo!" Jenks exclaimed, and I raised a hand to keep him from flying at her; the vampire might be quick enough to catch him. I doubted Felix truly believed I'd done this, or he would've had a dozen other magic users out here to bring me in. Unless he knew even that wouldn't be enough, and I'd been moved to the level of a banshee where they'd just kill me outright with a sniper's spell. Grea-a-a-at.



"Then there is option number two," Nina said brightly as I fumed, and she turned to include Trent. "Do you wish to start an investigation on the Withons?"



"Ellasbeth didn't do this." Trent's voice was soft because of Ray, but it had the sureness of wind and water. Slumped against him, Ray slept, at peace at last. Nina tilted her head as if unsure, and I agreed with Felix. Ellasbeth's family was one of the wealthiest on the West Coast. She had motive, opportunity, and the clout to buy a demon attack. I wished it was her. It would make my life easier. But with Nick involved . . .



Nina eyed Trent, a cruel twist to her lips. "Isn't that what you did to her? Steal her child?" she said as she held her hair against a gust of wind. "What's good for the goose, eh?"



Jenks's wings clattered, tickling my neck, and Trent frowned, letting a hint of his anger show. Beyond the gates, the press teams were coiling cords and packing away lights, but their long-range cameras were reading lips. "Ellasbeth did not arrange this," Trent said shortly, his back to them. "I stole Lucy with my own efforts under an arranged tradition older than your species, vampire. If Ellasbeth had come here and taken Lucy by herself, then I'd be angry for having allowed it. I wouldn't deserve her. But this wasn't Ellasbeth."



Nina swung back to me. "Which brings us back to you, Rachel."



Exasperated, I dropped back to my car, sneezing and trying not to look pensive. "Just because a demon can't come to reality doesn't mean that his influence ends at the ley lines. I saw Nick Sparagmos leaving the hospital in a hurry yesterday amid that media circus you instigated. I did some asking around and found out he belongs to Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru. Ku'Sox could have done this through Nick."



Not easily, but he could have.



"And why didn't you say anything earlier?" Nina almost purred, making me think Felix had known about it all along. Damn it, I hated when I fell into their mind games.



"Because up until today, Nick was stealing thriving Rosewood syndrome babies, not Trent's family."



Nina squinted, her guile replaced with a frown. "You think the two crimes are linked?"



I nodded, pulling my jacket tighter around my shoulders to make Jenks take to the air. Just as well since I sneezed again. Both the pixy and Trent eyed me in concern. "There's no way in the two worlds that you'll find him. You want his phone number? That's all I got, and it's probably not going to work anymore." I dug in my bag for a tissue. If I didn't get to my scrying mirror soon, Al was going to be pissed.



Nina's eyes narrowed. "I do not like you withholding information, Rachel Morgan."



I leaned forward to get into her face, emboldened by the news crews watching. "Then maybe you should stop accusing me of everything. I didn't have any evidence, and one thing I've learned is no one acts on what I believe, only what I can prove."



"I would," Trent said, and I smiled at him with a wash of gratitude. Jenks had moved himself to his shoulder, and he looked different with a baby on one side, a pixy on the other.



"I'm going to hold you to that," I said softly, and Nina's stance became antagonistic.



"I want a statement," she insisted.



"Am I a suspect?"



Nina sighed dramatically. "No-o-o-o."



"A person of interest?" I pushed, and she rolled her head on her shoulders as if stretching into a new skin and finding it unpleasant.



"No, not really," she said flatly.



"Then you can wait until I can come in tomorrow and give you a statement. Right now I have to talk to Al and find out what happened to the ley lines this afternoon. Okay? I'll even tell you what he said. Deal?"



Nina glared, brown eyes becoming black. I held her gaze, my heart hammering as I saw past the woman to the ugly old vampire speaking through her. Frightening ideas churned in him, whispers showing and vanishing like bursting bubbles of oil. He was old, maybe too old to adapt to the reality of demons among us and to make decisions to ease the coming chaos. His attention bore into me, and I took it without flinching. Would he accept me and the possible demon baggage I might bring to reality, or forever keep me in the "them" category? The second choice was familiar, comfortable, but it would lead to their damnation. I thought he was smart enough to see it. The question was, could he sell it to those who looked to him?



"Very well. Tomorrow," the vampire finally said, and I exhaled as our eye contact broke, trying to make it inaudible but knowing that Nina could sense my relief easier than she could feel the wind in her hair. I hadn't gotten the full acceptance that I wanted, but rather a cautious maybe. It was enough for now. "Still, it would be easier if you hadn't obliterated evidence of the attack," she grumped.



"I was trying to save Quen's life," I said darkly. The news crews were finally going into the gatehouse pressroom. Soon as they left, I'd head home. "You did a moulage, right?" I couldn't see the imprint left by strong emotions, but vampires, whether they be living or dead, could. If Ivy was here, she could tell me, but she wasn't. I had an uncomfortable thought that she'd much rather be helping Glenn than our investigative firm.



Nina sniffed, clearly uncomfortable in the sun, but I leaned back against my car, enjoying the stored heat it was giving off. "Most has already evaporated with the sun," Nina said. "The evaluation is still being scored, but even though neither I nor Nina is rated for the courts it's obvious that there was violence, determination, frustration, and panic in large amounts. Mostly violence between two people."



"Gee, you think?" Jenks smart-mouthed. "You come up with that all on your own?"



Quen and Ku'Sox, I thought, seeing frustration cross Trent's face.



"It seems," Nina said, idly looking at her perfect nails, "as if Ceri did nothing. Perhaps she was knocked out or protecting the baby."



Trent turned away, the rims of his ears red in the sun. Jenks had taken wing, hovering protectively. Seeing it, Nina smiled like a cat who'd cornered a mouse. "I sensed three, maybe four auras present, but only Quen and one other were active. I'd be comfortable guessing that there was one person who abducted Ceri and Lucy, someone proficient in magic. Quen fought him or her, realized he couldn't overcome them, and the two females were taken."



How can she just stand there and say it? I thought, my frustration bubbling up. Lucy and Ceri were gone! Quen was possibly dying, having tried to save them. Trent . . .



I glanced at him, wishing he didn't have to deal with this. Demons sucked.



Nina was silent, reading the emotions as neither one of us said anything. Ray was slumped against Trent's shoulder, Jenks a silent presence of support I didn't understand. It was obvious that Trent had never admitted to himself how much Ceri and Lucy had come to mean to him. He might not even know it now, so wrought with the pressure of dealing with the present that he couldn't see clearly. He was suffering, though. He had no one. I didn't think he realized it yet-he wasn't angry enough. I could feel his realization coming. Maybe in a day. Maybe two.



Trent had always seemed to be alone, but he'd always had his assistant, Jonathan, as well as Quen. Then Ceri. Even Ellasbeth, though that hadn't turned out very well apart from Lucy. And now even Lucy was gone. Soon he would understand that the demons had taken everything but a child who would remind him of what he lost. Things would get ugly then as the worst parts of Trent warred with the best.



A chill went through me, and Nina looked at me in question, her eyes dilating in the strong sun as I shivered. Trent had power on multiple levels and he wasn't averse to using it. I didn't know which side of him would win. I'd seen both. There was little I could do. Except perhaps be there so he didn't feel so alone.



"Then you have nothing more to add?" Nina asked, her voice oily as she soaked in my sudden fear.



"No."



"I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel," she said, and I looked at her outstretched hand, refusing to take it. She might kiss it or something. "Trenton." Nina hesitated, inclined her head, and then spun slowly. Trent shifted to me slightly, and we watched her walk to the cars. You could tell when Felix left her: her head came up and she breathed as if coming out from a hole. As she paced faster, her heels clicked on the pavement until she got in a car.



Arms still over my chest, I watched her slowly pivot the big car back onto the road, headed for the gatehouse. I'd stopped sneezing. That was good, right? "She thinks I'm not telling her everything," I said, and Trent's shoulders slumped.



"Are you?"



I touched Ray's hair, smiling faintly. She hadn't let go of that amulet, and it was still in her tight little grip even as she slept. "I don't know. It's ingrained not to tell the I.S. squat."



I opened my car door to leave, and Trent lingered, Ray in his arms and the sun glowing on him. "Felix is teetering on insanity," he said, eyes concerned as he watched Nina's car go through the gate. "You'll be okay tonight?"



"Sure, unless they decide to blame it on me." I got in, finding my keys in my bag. Sitting there, I looked up at him. "It would be easier if Ellasbeth planned it," I said, wanting to believe that. I didn't like the woman, and by Jenks's scoff as he darted in to sit on the rearview mirror, I knew he didn't hold any love for her, either.



"I called her from the hospital," Trent said, a surprising tone of compassion in his voice. "She seemed shocked, and she doesn't lie that well. Even if it were ten against one, Quen wouldn't have-" His voice broke, and I felt a surge of pity when his jaw clenched and released. "He would have prevailed."



"I'm sorry."



His breath coming in was shaky, but it smoothed out when he exhaled. "Me too."



My chest hurt, and I watched him hold Ray. I knew he loved her, but the feeling that he had failed Lucy must be overwhelming. He had risked his life to find Lucy and bring her home, promised that she would be safe with him. "You're a good father," I said suddenly, and his lips parted. "No one can stop a demon when they make half an effort."



"You can," he said quickly, and Jenks made a pained sound from the rearview mirror.



The self-recrimination in Trent's voice made me feel worse. "True, but I'm a demon."



Trent blinked with a sudden thought. His shoulders eased, and the horrid tightness to his jaw let up. "You are, aren't you?" he said, as if I'd given him something new to consider, a fragment of knowledge that he could use as he began scheming, looking for a way to fix this.



"What?" I said, hoping he'd tell me what my words had sparked, but he shook his head.



"Nothing. Ellasbeth has promised to take Lucy from me, even if I can get her back. She's already filing papers."



I wondered why he was telling me this, even as my heart went out to him. "You will get her back. Ceri too." But I didn't promise it.



Still between me and my car door, he swallowed hard. I wanted to reach out to touch him, but didn't know how he'd take it. Putting the key in the ignition, I sneezed. Then I sneezed again, jerking so hard my forehead almost hit the dash. Scared, I looked at Jenks. His eyes were wide. Shit. I'd waited too long to get to my scrying mirror.



"Bless you," Trent said dully, not paying attention. My eyes widened, and I sneezed again. Mouth dry, I grasped his free wrist.



"Trent. I'm sorry," I said, knowing I couldn't stop this. He was going to lose me, too.



He stared at my hand, and then his eyes widened as I sneezed again. "No . . ."



I let go of him, sitting in my car afraid to move. I wanted to run, but I couldn't outdistance the summons. "I'm being summoned," I said, turning away to sneeze again. A nauseating, pulling sensation had started. It was soft right now, but if I didn't submit, it would grow until I had no choice. For a second, I panicked, thinking it might be Ku'Sox, but Al was the only one in the ever-after who knew my summoning name. And Nick.



The panic returned.



"Nick knows your summoning name!" Jenks shouted as he figured it out, too. "Rachel, fight it!"



But there was nothing I could do, and I shook my head, trying not to show my fear. I didn't have a choice. I had to go. At least the news crew couldn't see me. "I'm sorry," I said again, wincing. "This might be okay. I'll do what I can." I looked at Jenks. His face was white. "Give me an hour, then summon me back."



"No." The snarl of denial had come from Trent, and I gasped as he knelt and grasped my wrist. My head snapped up as the interdimensional pulling sensation vanished. Sitting in my car, I stared at Trent, shocked as the world seemed to revolve and settle. The tips of his hair were floating. As time seemed to stand still, Jenks began to softly swear.



Trent had stopped the summons? I hadn't known he could do that. I mean, I knew he could channel a crapload of ever-after, but this? This was incredible!



"Not you too," he said fiercely, and I smiled, grateful even as a sudden pain lanced through my head.



Trent cried out, and his hold on me vanished. Like the shocking snap of a rubber band breaking, the parking lot and my car vanished; Trent's aghast face was the last thing that I saw, Ray's startled cry the last thing I heard.