Page 108 of Demon's Bluff

Newt smirked. “Might be difficult if you’re in my larder.”

I shrugged. “It’s already done.” And it was, or it would be. Tonight would be the first city powers meeting that I called. Al would try to choke the death out of Piscary. I would circle him to save the undead vampire,banishing Al and finding out too late that I was trying to gain protection from the very undead vampire who had sent Kisten to die.A lie learned too late.

My throat closed at the memory. I had thought Kisten was gone. Jenks and Ivy, too. Despondent and seeing no way out, I would take the focus into myself to keep Piscary and Trent from getting it. The Hail Mary spell would all but drive me insane until it was removed. Jaw clenched, I shoved the remembered heartache away.

Newt was looking at me when my eyes opened from their slow, strength-gathering blink. “You moved through time using a curse developed to gauge abnormalities in the ley lines. Brilliant. How is it you are smart enough to do that and still be so blind about an Atlantean mirror?”

I licked my lips, angry at how badly things had spiraled out of control. “Don’t trust Minias. I’ll give you that for free.”

With a little huff, the demon shook her hand and a sparkling of energy filled it. “That I already know. I remember you now. I remember everything. The deal is off.”

“What? Hey!” I jumped, startled when Newt flung out a hand and a black haze sifted through my aura like cold snow.“Rhombus!”I exclaimed, but nothing happened. The line was gone. It just wasn’t there. That fast, I was helpless before her.

I was an idiot, playing with gods, trusting that I knew what I was doing.

“No!” Elyse shrieked, that same black haze sticking to her as she stumbled back, terrified as she hit the wall, helpless.

“You can’t call off a deal after you get what you want!” I exclaimed, and Newt stood before us both, a ribbon of black playing through her fingers like a little snake, the tail of which wound around both Elyse and me.

“We both got what we wanted,” she said. “You are just too stupid to see it. You, coven witch, I will entertain first.”

“Newt, don’t do this!” I cried out, and then I gasped as Newt shoved me into a line, and from there, a little tiny hole.

Chapter

26

I scrambled for balance asI slid across a polished floor in the absolute dark, jerking when I hit something that fell with a harsh clatter. Effectively blind, I reached for a ley line, elated when I realized she had lifted her block.

“Lenio cinis,”I whispered as I wondered why, and faintly glowing light blossomed off the floor of the cell. And it was a cell: low ceiling, flat floor, no windows or doors, only fifteen feet across, maybe. The walls themselves were curved, making it look as if I was sitting inside a hollow doughnut, the ceiling of which was just over my head.

My shoulder bag had not made the trip, and I had a moment of frantic panic as I patted my pockets to make sure I still had my dad’s broken stirring rod. It was still there, and I exhaled in relief. Everything else could be replaced, and I slowly sat where I was and rubbed my elbow. It was obviously Newt’s oubliette, the “little forgotten space” where she stuffed people until she remembered them—if she remembered them. And from the pile of purple and green silk still sheltering the bones and hair that I’d fallen into, I clearly wasn’t the first.

“Hey, hi,” I whispered, not as horrified as I should be at the skeleton curled up at the base of a wall. “Sorry about running into you, Fred,” I said, naming my cellmate.

My expression pinched as I realized this was probably the oubliettethat Nick would die in. Maybe I’d still be here when Nick showed up. I could throttle the neck of my onetime boyfriend myself.

But no. Al had discovered Nick’s body. He would have told me if I had been there beside him. I think. Maybe not. Just two spell-robed mummies in the desert.

Frustrated, I eased myself into a more comfortable position, smacking the dust off my bejeweled jeans as I stole little glimpses of my cellmate. My breathing was the only sound. It was warm, almost stuffy, but a hint of burnt amber and dust led me to think there was an air vent somewhere.

“I am so sorry, Elyse,” I whispered, imagining what was going on in Newt’s chambers right about now. The proud woman wouldn’t submit, and Newt would run a ley line through her as punishment, trying to quash the woman’s will and strengthen her carrying capacity at the same time. It hurt. Al had done the same thing to me until I had learned how to spindle line energy in my head and throw it right back at him. Ah, good times.

I’d told her I could keep her safe, and my pride and overconfidence had bitten both of us on our collective asses. Even if I could return myself and Elyse to reality, she’d never trust me. None of the coven would. And if I kept making such stellar mistakes, perhaps they shouldn’t.

“Knock it off, Rachel,” I said as I gathered myself and stood. I was in a box. I’d been in a box before. If air was coming in, there was a way out—robed skeleton aside.

The ceiling was only a few feet over my head, and I reached up to touch it to make sure it was real. The stone was warm under my fingertips. Perhaps I was closer to the surface than I had first thought. I had access to a line. I wasn’t helpless. The air was coming from somewhere. “Hang on, Elyse. I’m coming.”

Slowly I began to pull the ley line energy into me, gathering it, spindling it into a wad. Scintillating, it pooled in my chi, and I raised my hands over my head, forcing the energy into my palms until they glowed an unreal gold and red, ribbons of smutty black tracing through them. I was going to bust out of here right now. Newt could make a new oubliette for Nick.

“Celero dilatare!”I shouted, forcing a small bubble of air to expand.

It hit the ceiling and rebounded, smacking into me with the force of a train.

I hit the stone wall, arms and legs askew. Groaning, I slid to the floor, a hand clenched to my shoulder. My light had gone out, and I willed it back into existence. “Ow,” I whispered as I sat up, that pile of bones and silk clattering with my movement. It had been pushed into the wall with me, and I felt a twinge of guilt. Whoever it had been, they probably hadn’t deserved being left here to die of dehydration.

“Sorry,” I said, an inane feeling of companionship welling up as I scooted away. My head hurt, and I held it as I willed the room to stop spinning. Regret tightened my chest, and I dropped my forehead to my knees. Elyse was right. It had been stupid thinking I could waltz into the ever-after and make a deal with Newt. Trent might have killed me for trying to steal from him, but he would’ve given me a sporting chance. Newt was erratic and unpredictable. She moved on instinct, and I had stomped all over hers. I’d been so intent on proving to Elyse that I knew what I was doing, I proved to her I didn’t—even if she hadn’t been making the situation any easier.