“I think it’s supposed to be a secret,” Paris offered ruefully.
“It’s a little late for that,” Zoe noted.
“Especially since our security proved to be so lax,” Cormack said.
“It’s not lax,” Aric countered. “My kid is just very, very good.”
Sami opened her mouth to say something — whether good or bad, I couldn’t say — but Zoe extended the same finger toward her child as before. “Zip it.”
“We’re sorry if we took you by surprise.” Aric looked legitimately sincere. “We didn’t mean to throw off your day. It’s just ... one of those things. We thought it might be best to take you by surprise in case there was something weird going on down here.”
The amusement returned to Cormack’s eyes. “What is it you thought we were doing?”
“Actually, we had no idea. We’ve seen some weird things, though.”
“I once knew a witch who tried to kill me in the backyard of a house that looked exactly like a vagina with frilly window coverings,” Zoe offered. “There are disturbing things around every corner.”
I almost choked as I tried to stifle my laughter. “A house that looked like a vagina?”
“It was totally eerie.”
“Well ... .” I tilted my head as a low murmur assailed my ears.
Zoe continued as if nothing had changed. “I also had this group of teenage witches who decided they wanted to steal a magic book from me. They made up stories in chat rooms, saying that if you said my name three times in a row I would appear like the freaking Candyman. Leslie of the Snotgrass.”
“Her last name was Snodgrass,” Aric corrected.
I barely registered what they were saying as a ripple ran up my spine. The murmuring continued, and I recognized where it was coming from. It was the gate. Something was moving on the other side.
“Can I speak now?” Sami asked out of nowhere.
“No,” Aric and Zoe answered at the same time.
“I would let you speak,” Cormack offered indulgently.
“Then I totally want to move in with you,” Sami groused.
“Oh, if only.” Cormack’s chuckle was full of delight. “I’m afraid my daughter would tear your hair out because she’s used to being queen of the castle.”
“In this case he’s talking about a literal castle, Sami,” Paris offered. “You should see the house he lives in. It has turrets and everything.”
“Oh, I definitely want to move in with you,” Sami supplied. “I want to do a little dance as I’m waving goodbye to my parents and everything. I’ve always wanted to live in a castle.”
“Don’t tease us,” Aric warned. “If you get our hopes up about moving out, we’ll be crushed when naked Sundays are off the table again.”
“Oh, you’re so gross!”
My heart skipped a beat when the gate sparked. It was happening. This time I was certain of it. There was something about to cross over from the other side. I opened my mouth to alert them but Oliver was already ahead of me.
“There’s a blip!” the vampire announced, his voice echoing throughout the chamber.
Zoe turned quickly, her eyes wide. “What does that mean?”
“Izzy?” Cormack started for me, but I knew he wouldn’t make it.
As if in slow motion, I turned away from the gate at the exact moment it flashed. It wasn’t a man who appeared on this side, however. It wasn’t Emmet Grimlock returning to his family. It was something else — a misshapen creature I recognized almost instantly.
“What the heck is that?” Aric barked, his fingers elongating into black claws.
Shifter, I reminded myself. He was paranormal, too. It wasn’t just his wife who could fight.
Speaking of his wife … . “Seriously,” Zoe echoed. “What is that?”
“Revenant,” Oliver replied. “It’s a revenant.”
My hands exploded into red flames as I lifted them, ready to unleash my magic. Before I could release a torrent of hellfire on the creature, purple flames flew from behind me and hit the creature dead center in the chest. I watched in dumbfounded fascination as the revenant absorbed the magic and remained standing.
I figured the magic wasn’t enough to bring the creature down and prepared to add my own firepower into the mix. Then the revenant made an odd face, tilting its head at an extreme angle and then exploding like a shrapnel bomb.
My mouth dropped open when I felt pieces of the revenant hit me, closing my eyes because I didn’t want to see the aftermath. That didn’t mean I couldn’t feel the bits of charred flesh and blood smacking against my face.
From somewhere behind me, Zoe let loose a screech. “Sami!”
“What?” the teenager challenged from her spot next to Paris. “I saved you. How can you possibly be mad about this?”
Given the fact that Zoe was covered in viscous goo — just like everybody else in the room except Sami and Paris — I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
“I’m totally going to take your phone away,” Zoe hissed. “No more internet for you.”
“Oh, but this isn’t my fault!” Sami’s complaint ended on a wail. “How come everything gets blamed on me?”
Three
Aric, Zoe, and Sami were still in the gate room when I exited the bathroom. It took longer than I anticipated to remove the revenant goo and I was still convinced that I had some in my ear. For her part, Sami seemed perfectly okay with what she’d done ... even though the expressions on her parents’ faces said otherwise.
“It was a monster,” the teenager persisted, folding her arms across her chest defiantly. “We’re supposed to fight monsters.”
“You didn’t know it was a monster,” Zoe countered. “For all you know, it could’ve been an angel. That’s the gate that leads to the other side. I bet there are angels over there.”
Sami hesitated and then looked to me for confirmation. “Are there angels over
