“Well?” I said in expectation, and we stared at Hodin, Bis’s tail tightly wrapped around my arm. “You dragged me here. You have some responsibility to get me back. Either you throw us all there, or spot me. You might want to scare Zack into keeping his mouth shut before we go, though. I’m not responsible for anything he says.”
Hodin’s eyes narrowed, but when Bis began an odd, angry whine, the demon relented. “Fine. If only to see if you can manage it, I will spot your jump.” He eyed Bis. “You can handle her if she gets it wrong?” he asked, and Bis nodded.
“She won’t get it wrong,” Bis said, tail tightening on me, and I felt a flush of gratitude.
“Jump?” Zack squeaked, his face pale as he backed up. “Like through the ley lines?”
Hodin’s smile would’ve scared Buddha, it was so evil. “If you breathe a word about me, I will pull your insides out through your eye sockets. Quiver in fear if you understand me.”
“Ah . . .” Zack continued backing away.
Excitement tingled through me, but maybe it was just the singing of the lines leaking past the barrier in my thoughts. I squared my shoulders, satisfied that Zack wouldn’t run and Hodin wouldn’t really hurt him. “Ready, Bis?” I said, and when his grip on my shoulder tightened, I exhaled, willing myself into the nearest ley line.
It was almost absurdly easy, and a thrill spilled through both of us as Bis tweaked my memory of the line and I adjusted my aura to match it more deeply. The faint whine of discord vanished to be replaced by the warm swirl of everything. It was like being energy itself, and I set my thoughts on Trent.
More of this, Bis nudged into my thoughts, and with a chime that rang through me like sunshine, I felt my aura expression shift. It wasn’t the deeper soul adjustment that Hodin had done, but a surface expression to make my outer aura mimic Trent’s. It would draw me to him, and it was far more complex a pattern than the one needed to be pulled into a line.
I’d never be able to do this on my own, which was probably why the demons had engineered the gargoyles in the first place. Thank you, Bis, I thought, feeling a proud, rock-grinding chuckle in return.
And then we were there, or here, and my feet stood on the tile of the small dining area between the kitchen and Trent’s living room.
Trent was in the kitchen, a smudge of flour on his apron with the tractors on it that I’d given him as a joke. The scent of chocolate was heavy in the air. He made brownies? I thought, and then he looked up, his expression brightening with love. My heart clenched. “You jumped!” he said, gaze going from my new spelling robe to Zack, popping in to hit the floor at my feet. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
I nodded, suddenly self-conscious about the fancy robe. “Zack, you okay?” I said, ducking when Bis launched himself to that plate of cooling brownies. “Stand up so you can meet Trent.”
But when I reached to help him, Zack gasped, backing away to almost scoot himself down the stairs in fear. “Zack?” I said, and then I spun to Trent at his cry of heartache and fear.
“What?” I said as I saw Bis beside Trent, both staring at me in horror.
“Mystics,” Bis whispered, and I felt myself pale. “They recognized you, Rachel.”
CHAPTER
17
Trent sprang into movement, but I was scared. “No, no, no!” I exclaimed as my fingers began to tingle and a whisper of a presence grew in my mind. “Not again. I can’t do this again!”
“Sit.” Trent yanked Zack up from the stairwell before he fell down it, almost shoving the kid onto the couch in the lowered pit of the living room. “Rachel, call that demon!”
The ring. My hand shook, tiny bells ringing as I looked at it, and then I panicked as I saw the haze of silver dripping from my fingertips. There were so many mystics that I could see them. Enough had recognized me as I traveled the lines, and I had landed in Trent’s living room trailing a living magic. Worse, they were probably spreading the news, gathering more, telling them they had found the next “becoming.” If I couldn’t stop this, the Goddess would track me down and kill me, because if she didn’t, the mystics looking