The Hollow Page 0,110
thumbs-up or -down, it's not on you. You're just the messenger."
"Understand if it goes wrong, it could go seriously and violently wrong."
"If it goes right," Fox reminded Cybil, "it's a step toward saving lives. Toward ending this."
"More likely we'll lose a little blood and not a damn thing will change. Any way you look at it, it's a long shot," Gage added. "I like a long shot. I'm in."
"Anyone not?" Quinn scanned the room. "That's a big go."
"Let's get started."
"Not so fast, big guy," Cybil said to Gage. "While the ritual's pretty straightforward, there are details and procedure. It requires the six of us-boy-girl, boy-girl-like any good dinner party, in the standard ritual circle. On the ritual ground at the Pagan Stone. Cal, I don't suppose you have the knife you used before?"
"My Boy Scout knife? Sure I do."
"Sure he does." Charmed, Quinn leaned over to kiss his cheek.
"We'll need that. I have a list of what we'll need. And we'll work out the wording of the incantation. We have to wait for the night of the full moon, and begin in the half hour before midnight, finish before the half hour after."
"Oh, for Christ's sake."
"Ritual requires ritual," she snapped at Gage. "And respect, and a hell of a lot of faith. The full moon gives us light, literally and magickally. The half hour before midnight is the time of good, and the half hour after, evil. That's the time, that's the place, and that's our best shot of making it work. Think of it as stacking the odds in our favor. We've got two weeks to fine-tune it, work out the kinks-or to call off the whole deal and go to St. Barts. Meanwhile..." She looked into her empty glass. "I'm out of wine."
As the discussion started immediately, Gage slipped off to follow Cybil into the kitchen. "What's got you spooked?"
"Oh, I don't know." She poured herself a generous glass of cabernet. "Must be the death and damnation."
"You don't spook easy, so spill."
She took a small sip as she turned to him. "You're not the only one who gets previews of coming attractions."
"What did you see this time?"
"I saw my best friend die, and the death of the woman I've come to love and respect. I saw the men who love them die trying to save them. I saw your death in blood and fire. And I lived. Why is that worse? That I saw everyone die, and I lived."
"Sounds more like nerves and guilt than a premonition."
"I don't do guilty, as a rule. On the plus side, in my dream it worked. I saw the bloodstone whole, resting on the Pagan Stone under the light of the full moon. And for a moment, it was brighter than the sun."
She took a long, quiet breath. "I don't want to walk out of the clearing alone, so do me a favor. Don't die."
"I'll see what I can do."
Chapter Nineteen
OUTSIDE, UNDER THE DIM LIGHT OF THE WAXING moon, Layla kissed Fox good night. And that brush of lips slid into a second, soft and seductive as the night air. "I just think I need to stay here tonight." But she melted into him for another. "Cybil's edgy, Quinn's distracted. And they've been poking at each other. They need a referee."
"I could stay." Gently, he grazed his teeth over her bottom lip. "Back you up."
"Then I'd be distracted. I'm already distracted." With a little groan, she eased away. "Besides, I have a feeling you'll be going to Cal's. The three of you are going to want to talk this over."
"It's a lot." He ran his hands down her arms. "You're up for it."
"That wasn't a question."
"No. I could see it. I can see it now."
Very little could have pleased her more than that single, almost casual, vote of confidence. "Time to take the next step. And by the way, I need tomorrow off."
"Okay."
"Just okay?" She shook her head. "No what for, or who the hell's going to run the office?"
"Three or four times a year-that was the limit-we could take a day off school. We just said, I don't want to go to school tomorrow, and that was okay. Never had to fake sick or sneak a hook day in. I figure the same applies to work."
She leaned into him, arms around his waist, hands linked together. "I've got a terrific boss. He even sends his parents in to check on me when he's out of the office."
Fox winced. "I may