We’d gone over and over this—the best way to get back. The Planeswalkers were waking up and beginning their journeys, but they couldn’t pay us back with a trip. They were obligated by the Hell plane to take a soul for the cost of the ride. None of us were willing to do that. We’d thought about asking around, trying to find someone who knew where a door was. Again, it would take time, time we didn’t have.
So we would have to take the risky way. We would have to use the door Myrddin had provided.
I was worried. According to our calculations no more than a few days could have passed, but my children were there and they would be vulnerable to Myrddin. I couldn’t waste time. Summer said the portal was still open. She could feel it specifically because it wasn’t meant to be there. She could feel the abnormality in the system.
It was our best bet to get back to Earth quickly.
But I didn’t want to leave her. Not when I’d just gotten her back.
I hugged her, breathing her in and trying to memorize everything I could about the first child of mine. It could be years before I saw her again. I would have another sibling for her by the time I held her once more.
“I love you,” I whispered. “Never forget it. No matter how far away I seem, I am with you.”
She was crying when she pulled away. “Me, too, Momma. This time with you…I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Tell Lee and Rhys and Evan that I love them.”
“They will be thrilled to find out their sister is a goddess of the outer planes.” Dev sighed as he hugged her. “Blessings on you, daughter. Until we meet again.”
“I love you, Papa.” She wiped her eyes and then simply walked into Daniel’s arms and hugged him tight.
How hard was this on my Danny? She was literally a piece of his soul and he had to say good-bye. He whispered something to her, something that had her nodding and promising she wouldn’t forget.
Kelsey walked up with Dean beside her. She’d spent much of the night in a room with her young charge, going over and over the book she’d been willing to stay behind for.
She had it in her hand as though she didn’t want to let go of it. She tucked it under her arm when she approached Marcus. She stopped in front of him. “I can’t believe I’m saying good-bye to you.”
Marcus gave her a warm smile. “Not forever. When the queen returns, I expect you to bring your family, too. I eagerly await meeting your children, Kelsey. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
Kelsey hugged him and when she stepped back, it was obvious she was trying not to cry. She sucked it up and nodded. “All right, so the plan is Summer uses her power to open the painting portal thing and that will put us right back where we came in. The king here can fly again so he launches us through and voila, we’re right back in his office where hopefully the wizard doesn’t immediately murder us.”
“Kelsey, we have to go back the way we came. We don’t have another choice.” She’d already argued this point.
“I know.” She pulled her backpack off and shoved the book inside. “The good news is I think this sucker will work on any plane.” She had a sonic pistol in her hand. “Taggart has no idea I took it. He was pretty freaked out by the flowers.”
Dev held up a hand. “I might have stolen one, too.”
It was good to know thievery was still our hobby. And really, I should have thought about it. “Well, at least we’ll have weapons if we need them.”
“There’s one more thing we should talk about before we go,” Kelsey said. “It’s about the prophecy, about Dean’s prophecy. I studied it last night. It looks like Myrddin’s scheme might end up working.”
“What do you mean?” Danny’s face went grim.
“I don’t know if I’m reading it right or not.” Kelsey settled her pack on her shoulder. “I’ll know more when I can have the academics go over it, but best I can tell it wasn’t that two beings in the universe could kill Myrddin. It was that they had to work together to kill him. It will take their unique powers to kill the wizard, and the way it talks…it makes