“Sweetheart, everything’s scaring me right now, and somehow, I’m still alive.” The housekeeper pulled Cheyenne into a fierce hug, then released her and swallowed thickly. “Take a look for yourself. I have no idea what to make of this, but maybe the three of you can put your heads together and figure something out. Is this everyone?”
“For now.” Corian nodded and stepped over to the unconscious Bianca, lying on the right side of the bed. “May I?”
“I should hope so.” Eleanor’s voice rose in volume and shrillness. “Otherwise, what would be the point?”
“It’s okay.” Cheyenne set a hand on the housekeeper’s shoulder as Corian approached her mom. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Oh, look at me.” Eleanor clasped her trembling hands together and clenched them hard. “Like a scared little girl.”
“You’re not running away screaming,” Ember added. “That gets you serious points.”
The woman chuckled weakly.
“Cheyenne.” Corian turned from Bianca’s side and nodded for the halfling to join him. “You need to see this.”
Shit. Cheyenne and Ember exchanged tense glances, then the halfling joined Corian at the bedside. “Do you know what’s happening?”
“Well, why don’t you tell me what it looks like?” He peeled back the top layer of the bedspread and the neckline of Bianca’s nightshirt.
Cheyenne grimaced. “Looks exactly like I expected, honestly. Only I didn’t think the O’gúl runes showing up on my mom’s skin would have a cattle-brand effect.”
Eleanor gasped behind her and covered her mouth with both hands.
“Sorry, Eleanor. I’m processing.”
The woman staggered back, reaching blindly behind her until she lowered herself into a satin-striped armchair the same color as the bedspread.
Ember joined the other magicals at the bedside and bit her lip as she studied the raw, blazing red runes growing darker and more pronounced across Bianca’s flesh. “So, what does this mean?”
Corian tapped his lips with his thumb and forefinger. “If I had to guess, I’d say—”
“Shit. What’s happening? Mom?” Cheyenne grabbed Bianca’s hand as the woman seized on the mattress. The halfling pressed her mom’s shoulders and collarbone down lightly, then grabbed her arm again and looked at Corian with frightened eyes. “Fix this!”
“I don’t—”
Ember shoved him aside and took his place beside the bed before pressing both hands on Bianca’s chest. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and focused as much of her healing magic as she could into Bianca Summerlin’s being.
Cheyenne’s mom jerked again, her head twitching from side to side, and small choking sounds spilling from her parted lips. Ember frowned and pressed harder against the woman’s chest before snatching her hands back with a hiss. “Ow!”
“What?” Cheyenne leaned over her mom. “Em, please start talking.”
“The invisible hot iron is apparently contagious.” Ember opened her hands to reveal fresh O’gúleesh symbols burned into her palms, but they faded within seconds. “But they only stick to her.”
“Wait.” Cheyenne peeled her mom’s silk nightshirt farther down along her collarbone and almost couldn’t find her breath. “Oh, fuck.”
Corian saw the new symbol appearing swiftly below Bianca’s collarbone. The four-pointed star magically branded into the woman’s flesh was streaked with black instead of red.
“Why is the Verdys bloodline’s symbol showing up on my mom’s body, Corian?”
“It’s another message, kid.”
“Meaning what?”
The nightstalker’s silver eyes darted over Bianca’s body. “We have to move. It has to be now.”
“Now is not the time for fucking riddles!” Cheyenne’s eyes flared with purple light as the Nimlothar seed bound to her lent its power to her fury.
He glanced quickly at her and bowed his head. “If you want to save your mother, Cheyenne, you’re making the crossing again. Now.”
“As in, the crossing straight into Hangivol?”
“The very one. Our two-week timeline has been shortened by a bit more than half. Let’s go.” Corian turned to summon a new portal.
“Shit.”
Ember smoothed the hair away from Bianca’s sweat-slickened forehead and closed her eyes again. “At least let me help her settle. Just a little peace and calm, right?”
“Yeah, Em.” Cheyenne looked at Eleanor, who leaned forward in the armchair with her fingers steepled against her lips. “Thanks.”
Golden light bloomed under Ember’s hand and seeped into and around Bianca’s face. The woman’s furrowed eyebrows and tightly clenched jaw relaxed, and her residual trembling ceased. “There you go.”
Ember stepped away from the bed, and Cheyenne grabbed her mom’s hand before leaning over the unconscious woman. She kissed Bianca’s cheek and whispered in her ear, “I’m gonna fix this, Mom. I promise. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
“We need to go now.” Corian said it firmly, but he dipped his head and took a sharp breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I get it.” Cheyenne squeezed her mom’s hand a final time, then let her go and turned to the others. “Eleanor—”
“I’m not going anywhere.” The housekeeper shooed them off with both hands. “You have a job to do, sweetheart, and so do I. You’re not the only one who prides herself on not giving up.”
Cheyenne tried to smile, felt the grimace on her lips instead, and gave up. “We’ll be back soon. Couple days at the most.”
“And after that,” Corian added, “you should see a marked improvement. Take care.” He gestured at the newly opened portal.
The halfling looked over her shoulder to see Eleanor approaching Bianca’s bedside again, then she stepped through the shimmering window of light into Persh’al’s warehouse.
“You okay?” Ember muttered.
“Yeah, Em. I’m just wondering if we’re even ready for this.”
Corian shot her a sharp look. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about missing one of your classes.”
“Fuck my classes. This is my mom. I’m talking about us. The terms for Ba’rael. Everything we thought we still had ten days to prepare for.”
“I can tell you Venga has been very helpful.” Corian peered around the main room of the warehouse as small lights clicked on in corners and over makeshift beds. “Trust me, kid. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”
“Anyone wanna explain why the hell you’re throwing a party at two-thirty in the fell-damn morning?” Lumil grumbled, pushing out of a sleeping bag beneath Persh’al’s
