Page 115 of Demon's Bluff
“She didn’t.”
I stared at Elyse, shocked. “How—” I started, and the young woman smirked.
“I said I’d be her willing slave if she wouldn’t hurt me. But she’d have to win a bet first.”
I closed my mouth, more than a little impressed. “Damn, girl. That was a good deal.”
Elyse’s smile faltered. “Thanks, but I don’t think she would have agreed to it if she had thought she’d have to live up to it. You got out of the oubliette. No one has ever done that.”
Go away,I thought at the dagger, shocked when it actually vanished. “Well, don’t sell yourself short.” I hiked my bag higher. “If you hadn’t made that bet, she would have snared me as soon as she broke my circle.” I squinted at the moon, placing myself. “You saved both of us. I thought I had this, and I didn’t. Thank you.”
Smirking, Elyse linked an arm in mine, shocking the peas out of me. “Biting off more than you can chew shouldn’t be a reason for a lifetime of servitude.”
“You say that now.” I glanced over my shoulder before I started forward, squinting in the dark and the gritty wind. “You could have lost everything.”
Her arm slipped from me. “Yeah, well, I thought it was a good bet. You said you wouldn’t leave me, and you didn’t.” She dropped her head, focused on the slippers Newt had put her in, the red dust looking black in the dim light. “Hey, about the mirror…”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Good feeling gone, I stomped to the ley line. I wasn’t familiar with this one and had no idea where it was going to come out in reality. It didn’t exist in the future, meaning it had been made by a demon long dead, the line lost when the ever-after collapsed and was never reinstated.
“Then let’s talk about Vivian,” she said, and my lips parted in surprise. “I know now why she trusted you.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and mistrusting this, I eyed her. “Yeah?”
“Rachel, you are a good person.”
My breath left me in a sigh. Crap on toast, I was tired. “Good never got anyone anywhere.”
“When we get home, I won’t be advocating that you be sent to Alcatraz.”
“Yeah, you said that before,” I muttered.
“The mirror wasn’t the problem,” she said, her young face and authentic demon robes making her seem naive. “Brad’s curse wasn’t the issue.”
“Again, really bad timing on your part,” I grumped as I stomped forward.
Elyse pulled me to a halt, mere steps from the ley line glowing in the dark, little trills of energy hissing about. “Will you listen? I’m going to make the argument to the coven that you cursed Brad by accident as you claim. God knows that you went to every length possible to secure his cure. You tried, Rachel, more than anyone has a right to expect.”
My stomach hurt. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate. “Okay. Great. But your threat of Alcatraz is not why I’m here. I need to uncurse Brad, and as much as I appreciate your trust, the rest of your club is convinced I’m demon slime.”
“Perhaps, but it takes a unanimous vote to put someone into Alcatraz.”
I laughed bitterly and started for the ley line. “Right. If you go to them with that, they will kick you out and replace you with someone who will vote the way they want.” Mother pus bucket. Elyse trusted me, and I was still going to end up hiding in the ever-after. I knew it.
Elyse frowned as she followed. “They wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t be so sure.” I stepped into the line, shivering at the sudden rush. I was ticked at her, at Newt, at the world. “I’m sorry about everything. I really thought I could outwit Newt.”
“Rachel…” Elyse’s eyes pinched in heartache as she stepped in beside me, shuddering when she found her place in the energy flow. “Brad’s curse was an accident. You tried to make amends. Don’t do it again. I’m not going to force you into anything.”
“That simple, eh?” Hesitating, I immersed myself in the ley line andmatched my aura to it. With a roaring rush, the energy stretching between our world and the ever-after ripped through me. Past the white noise, a chime rose, pure and heartrending. It was a reflection of the soul of whatever demon had made it, and this, more than anything else, was why I worked so damned hard to bring them back to reality. Theydidevil, but they werenotevil. They were angry and had been for a very long time. So long that they thought that’s all they were.
But I knew better.
My heart beat once, and I let go of the half-twist I’d put my aura in, stumbling as the ley line spat me out. The influx of energy vanished into memory, replaced by the shushing of distant traffic and the scent of wet cement.Downtown,I mused as I peered out of the alley, placing myself. The street was empty. It was too late for the light-challenged night walkers to be out, and too early for the human rush hour.
Too bad this line doesn’t exist anymore,I thought, giving Elyse a sidelong glance as she stepped from the ribbonlike haze of energy. Exhaling loudly, she gazed up at the tall black buildings to either side of us. Immediately she took her hat off and reached to unfasten her robe. It was a good idea. We already smelled like demons. No need to look like them.
“Vivian tried to tell me, but I didn’t believe her,” Elyse said softly.