“It’s an OPA thing,” Lisbeth sassed Ford. “You boys wouldn’t understand.”
Ford popped her on the butt, and she swallowed a yelp, her eyes bright with laughter.
Midas palmed Ford’s shoulder. “This isn’t the time or place for…that.”
“Have you seen Hadley’s neck?” He cocked an eyebrow. “It looks like a swarm of pixies took turns throat-punching her.”
“We need to focus now.” Reaching up, I found tender skin already healing. “We can all make out later.”
An awkward silence ensued, during which I replayed my words then debated shutting my head in the car door. Never let it be said I lost my ability to make things weird in the face of danger. “Um.”
The others stared at me as if I had sprouted three heads and two of them were arguing. In German.
“I’ll go in first.” I summoned Ambrose, eager to escape, and he coiled around my shoulders. “Clear the way and all that.”
Midas let me get a head start before falling in behind me, with Lisbeth and then Ford on his heels.
Careful to keep my voice low, I checked with my shadow. “Do you sense anything?”
Ambrose shook his head then zoomed ahead to search for magical remnants.
The uneven terrain made my ankle twinge, but I wasn’t complaining. I was too grateful for the mobility. I still had trouble framing why Ambrose had given up his stores to spare me from pain and a few weeks in a cast. I would have to look into that, but it could wait.
Within seconds, Ambrose sharpened his form to an arrow he shot through my temple.
Apparently, his altruism had its limits.
Hissing through my teeth, I sorted through the information he’d collected for me.
There were wards here, concentric ones, which the coven favored in my experience. Powerful ones too. That didn’t mean we had cornered our prey. The coven tended to keep their properties defended with active wards whether they were home or not, but I had yet to crack a ward that didn’t yield some fruit.
The outermost ward tingled over my skin as I walked through it, its subtle push telling me I should go. It would be effective on humans or the unwary, but I expected it, and I didn’t let it bother me.
The second ring gave me a harder nudge back than I anticipated, and the warning jumped to a higher threat level than usual so early on. That was both promising and annoying.
The third ring smacked me in the face, and my ears popped when I bulled my way through it.
The fourth struck fast, right on three’s heels, almost knocking me unconscious when I blundered into it.
“I can’t get past this alone,” I told Ambrose. “I need your help.”
Puffing out his chest, the shadow snapped out a crisp salute then began searching for the anchor.
While he scoured the areas I couldn’t access, I glanced over my shoulder to find the others trapped in the second ward ring, unable to get closer until it fell. All my backup was yards away, and it might as well have been miles for their inability to reach me.
A sizzling jolt struck me in the chest, and I blamed Ambrose until the quiet in my head convinced me he wasn’t at fault. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t see him anywhere. And as the throb eased, I couldn’t feel him either.
That was…not good.
“Ambrose?” I pressed my hands against the barrier in front of me. “Ambrose?”
A wisp of blackness hissed and crackled as it passed through the ward in front of me to stand by my side.
“Can you bring it down?” My darker half didn’t look so hot. “Or do we need a Plan B?”
The shadow rallied and pointed a finger at a glass Coke bottle positioned near the employee entrance but shook his head, indicating he couldn’t reach it to devour it.
What he had done for me when I needed it most gave me an idea.
Probably a very bad one.
“Take from me.” I ignored the tremble in my voice. “Get to that anchor and destroy it.”
The bond between us had never flowed only one way. That had been the greatest danger of it, that he could feed on me, weaken me, and take over my body. But I had gained enough experience that—with help from Linus’s tattooed bindings—I could prevent Ambrose from siphoning off me.
This was the first time I’d offered myself to him freely, and it was frankly terrifying, but he could return the favor after he finished devouring the anchor. The same couldn’t be said if he took from Midas or Ford, and Lisbeth’s humanity made her an impossible food source.
“We’re in this together, right?” I extended my olive branch with care. “I’m trusting you here.”
The shadow reached a tentative hand toward me and stroked my hair. The sensation was peculiar, like a shiver traipsing down my spine or walking through a cobweb. I couldn’t feel him, but I wilted slowly like an ice cream cake left too long in the sun until I puddled on the concrete.
I don’t think I fell, exactly, or maybe I did, and I just couldn’t feel it.
That…also couldn’t be good.
As darkness closed in, I swore I heard voices screaming my name, but I’d probably left the TV on again.
Midas and I really ought to invest in a new couch. This one was hard, the material was rough, and it stank. Its warranty was still in effect. Maybe we could get the manufacturer to send us a replacement. That would be nice.
The sluggish beat of my heart filled my ears with strange music, blotting out the distant cries, and I decided I would take a nap even if the couch wasn’t as comfy as the futon or the bed. I would sleep anywhere as long as Midas…
…was with me.
Eighteen
Oxygen stabbed my chest with the sharpness of a dagger, and I screamed into consciousness.
“You have nothing to fear.”
Gulping huge breaths, I got my lungs going again, and then I attempted to
