Page 10 of Demon's Bluff
Again, the beauty of the ever-after hit me, and I leaned into Trent until our shoulders bumped. It was probably the only place that the girls could run free like this, seeing as the ever-after was out of reach now unless you were an elf or a demon. And whereas the demons might enjoy making my life hell, they’d been giving me some slack lately. A thank-you, perhaps, or some respect after I had convinced them to bounce the witches’ exile curse back onto its makers. It was the witches who had suffered, not the demons. All because, in their fear, the witches had broken the most important rule: first, do no harm.
“Rachel?” Trent lifted my hand and gave it a kiss. “I’ve said it before, but the ever-after…is amazing.”
I swished my free hand among the grassy seed heads. My pearl pinky ring glinted, shining from its mate on Trent’s hand being so close. “Thanks. I think most of it was from Bis. I never would have put in mountains like that.”
An odd look of longing settled on Trent. “When Al has an afternoon, I’d like him to come to the stables. If he wants a semi-wild herd, he would probably appreciate choosing the lead stallion.”
My smile was unstoppable. I hadn’t known the demon’s love of horses until recently. Perhaps it would bring the elves and the demons closer. God knew they needed something to fix the cracks as big as a canyon. “I think he’d like that,” I said, my gaze rising to find the girls. Lucy was pulling a flower apart, singing at the top of her lungs, oblivious that she was re-creating a scene that had played out over the millennium, if not the exact words.
“Spelling on a Mon-day! Time is washed and hung. Little girls are run-ning. All work done. Black pot in the sun. Sparkle magic lady. Run, run, run!”
“Little girls are coming,” Ray corrected her, but Lucy had thrown away the denuded flower head and was chasing a dragonfly.
It was a little piece of heaven, and I sighed as my head flopped onto Trent’s shoulder. I loved him, I loved my life—even if it was a little wonky at the moment.
And then my smile faltered as I remembered the corpse I had cremated to stall a murder investigation. Not to mention the illicit magic book Elyse wanted to see—the one that could land me in Alcatraz.
“Little girls are coming,” Ray said, red-faced as she stood before her more vocal sister.
“Running,” Lucy demanded.
“Coming!” Ray shouted.
“Running!”
I gasped, reaching out when Lucy shoved Ray down, the little girl landing with a thump on her butt amid the tall grass, her green eyes wrathful as they found her sister.
“Wait.” Trent pulled me to a halt, focus intent. The girls had spells at their fingertips, thanks to Al. They were growing up elven, and the world would never be the same.
“Sparkle lady saidcoming!” Ray shrilled from the ground. “Say ‘I’m sorry’!”
Lucy made a face, then relented. “I’m sorry,” she said as she helped Ray up and gave her a hug that almost sent them down again. “Sparkle lady said running.”
“Nu-uh.” Ray gave Lucy a flower, then the two of them ran off together.
Grinning, I gave Trent a little punch on his arm. “I’m impressed. You let them handle it.”
Trent exhaled, his gaze fixed on them as they ran to the ley line. “It’s harder than it looks,” he admitted.
“No, you’re wearing how hard it is all over your face. Who is sparkle lady?”
“I have no idea.” His shoulders lifted and fell. “The host of a kids’ show? They’ve been singing it since coming back from Ellasbeth’s last week.”
“Mmmm.” I relaxed against him, feeling good about myself and whereI was. The line was right there, but it was hard to leave. He had a long ride back with Tulpa and Red, and then he would be alone again. It was a blessing, I suppose, that he had an entire reality to escape to if he needed. “It’s Saturday,” I reminded him, and he turned to get the girls’ bags. “Any plans?”
“I’m thinking…getting dressed up this evening, an overpriced dinner, mingling, then checking out the renovations at the new apartment.” His shoulders slumped.
“Sure.” I tugged him close in a sideways hug. “What will you really be doing?”
His gaze went to Lucy and Ray, both standing in the ley line and giggling as their hair rose in the magic’s static. “Probably puttering about in my mom’s old office behind the fireplace. I’m going through her books, winnowing out which ones need to go into the vault and which I can donate to the university.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Sure, for the first fourteen hours,” he grumped, then smiled when Lucy ran to us.
“Aunt Rachel? I picked you a flower,” she said as she jammed the broken black-eyed Susan into my grip. Mystics from the line sparked between us, and I felt my own hair lift.
“Thank you!” I enthused, but she was already gone.