Page 121 of Demon's Bluff

“I’ve got this!” Elyse shouted as she knelt in the truck bed.

“No, no, no, no!” I shouted, then winced when she screamed something and the truck seemed to shiver. Power exploded from her palms, andI yelped, hands clenched on the wheel when the truck was shoved forward. Through the mirror, I watched the buildings crack as a huge ball of force slammed into them, windows breaking and entire walls dented inward to show a perfect arc of a circle.

We bounced out onto the street. Behind us, Scott slowly got up, a hand to his head.

“I don’t remember that happening two years ago!” I shouted over the wind. A sick feeling had settled in my gut to spin in mad circles.

Elyse dragged herself to the little window between us, one hand on the side of the truck, one hand supporting a cawing, excited crow. “Maybe they blame it on your demon,” she said as she wedged herself by the window and tried to soothe the bird.

Maybe…

“Hey, ah, it’s only twenty-five through here,” she said, so I took my foot off the gas to slow down. Though to be honest, people weaving in and out like it was the Indy 500 was pretty normal for Cincy.

“Sorry.” I flicked my gaze from her to the road and back again. She was tired but elated. Kind of like me when I had survived something stupid.And this is better than Trent how?

The sirens were two streets off, but they were also two streets too close, and I fumbled for Newt’s charm.A priori,I thought, looking through the stone at a passing pickup truck, shiny in the early morning light.A posterior,I thought, scanning what I could of the truck we were in. Blowing through the hole, I felt ley line energy tingle through me as I finished the curse with a shakyOmnia mutantur.

Relief was heady when a haze of energy tingled over the truck and lifted my hair. The engine hiccuped, then roared on as we merged onto the expressway. I glanced behind us, breathing again at the absence of blue and gold lights.

That was close. Too close.Ivy, I will never laugh at your plans again.

“Who’s a good crow? You are!” Elyse crooned as she soothed the bird. “And here I thought you had shacked up with a lady crow while I was at camp. You were here, helping me.”

I took a breath to protest, then let it out. Maybe shehadbeen here. How was I supposed to ever know? “Hey, um. I appreciate that Slick helped us back there, but can you make him leave?” I asked, having to nearly shout it.

Her fingers stroking her bird slowed. A heady fondness found her face as she used her feet to wedge herself in place and pet the crow into a blissful state. “I doubt it.”

My grip on the wheel tightened. “Can you at least not pull on a line through him?”

Elyse shrugged, her attention going everywhere but to me. “As long as we stay aboveground. You think we could pull over so I can come up front? I don’t think they’re following us.”

“I can do you one better.” I flicked the turn signal on and took the next exit. “Burger Daddy. My treat.” I didn’t have much money left, but I probably had enough.

Elyse glanced at the body slumped between us, half on the floor. “What about him?”

I could hear her better now that we had slowed, and the air shook in my lungs as I took a moment to pull my bag onto the seat when I halted at a stop sign. “He’ll be okay. He’s already dead, and if I don’t eat something soon, I’m going to join him.”

She laughed as I eased forward, my eyes on the gaudy sign two blocks up with an unusual fierceness. All that was left was reinstating that ancient ley line charm.

Damn. I think we had done it.

Chapter

29

Unfortunately Burger Daddy had beenclosed due to Al having busted a main water line two days ago. Waffle House, though, was open, working under a limited menu. Elyse’s bird and I were at a corner table, the original pattern in the Formica long since rubbed into a haze of bleach and time. The sun was well up, and traffic was surprisingly busy, seeing as only a few nights ago Al had been terrorizing Cincy’s citizens. A sense of anticipation, of a long-held breath, seemed to hang over the city now that the demon had been exiled in the ever-after and Piscary had been announced as twice dead, leaving a power vacuum that Rynn Cormel was slated to fill.How bad,I wondered,could it be if Waffle House was still open?

Our borrowed, glamoured truck was outside. Johnny was in the back seat, covered in a tarp. Even if he was spotted, it was unlikely that anyone would say anything. Not in the Hollows.

Elyse had gone to the eat-at bar to order for us since they were low on staff, the last of our dwindling funds in her hand. My shoulders slumped as I sighed, and the crow beside me cocked his head, his sharp attention on the stone around my neck. “Mine,” I said, and the crow chortled, bobbing in place like a mad thing. He clearly knew what “mine” meant, and he clearly wanted it anyway.

Waffle House,I mused as I glanced over the all-but-unoccupied restaurant. It had been packed when we had gotten here, but now there wasonly the old couple in the corner nursing their single coffees and the guy swabbing the floor.

Wincing, I pulled my bag closer to hide it, my eyes watering at the faint but persistent scent of burnt amber. “Hey, Slick,” I said, and the bird shifted his attention from Elyse to me. “Can birds smell?”

Again the crow chortled, bobbing his head dramatically.

“Sorry,” I added, and he side-walked to the other end of the table.