Crystal laughed bitterly. “Oh, so he fires lasers from his eyes now?”
Pierce frowned. “It’s true. I don’t see why that’s so funny.”
“Enough,” Mr. Wrinkles said, springing to his feet. “There is much that we can discuss elsewhere. Lightning doesn’t strike twice, they say, but those angels surely will return in time.”
“Whatever else this creature is, it is no fool,” Dantaleon said. “We must get moving. But where?”
“I can’t believe this,” Crystal said. “You people come traipsing in here, eat my food, and everything just goes all to hell, and you can’t even be bothered to apologize? To help me fix things so this place doesn’t come down all around me?”
“We’re sorry,” Pierce said, very earnestly, I thought. “But you shouldn’t stay here. You should go. Back to your family, maybe?”
The next time Crystal spoke, the building trembled. “Why do you think I’m here in the first place?” Her hands shook. “There’s no one for me.” She rubbed at her eyes angrily, fixing me with a terrifying glare. “You all owe me now,” she snarled. “I don’t care if I’m getting anything out of this pointless bargain. I’m coming with you.”
“Okay,” I said. “You can come.” I raised my hands in a soothing gesture, but also readying myself to cast a shielding spell just in case. I was wary of how her mere voice had created such an eerie effect on the old building. She was either more powerful than she was letting on, or more powerful than she knew. “The question is where?”
Mr. Wrinkles crossed the floor, his tail in the air, then leapt smoothly up onto the sill of the ruined kitchen window, staring out past shards of frosted broken glass. “Quilliam’s usefulness is limited by the fact that he has no access to his collection. In this bizarre chain of accomplices, the son of a demon prince is the weakest link. Pitiful. The wisest course of action for us is to head towards a font of magical power, something that can help restore his ailing abilities.” He looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with me. “I know a place.”
As hurtful as he’d been, I nodded, thoroughly aware that I was agreeing with the plans of a talking cat. I had so, so many questions, but he wasn’t wrong. Power was the priority. My batteries were flat. My only contribution to the battle with the angels was igniting Crystal’s gas, and that was already a stretch.
“The cat is no fool,” Dantaleon said, echoing his earlier sentiment, his voice laden with grudging respect, instead of the mockery I’d expected. “I scarcely believe that I am saying this, but we would be wise to follow his counsel.”
Crystal looked between us, still glaring. “At least we have a game plan. I’m going to pack, real quick. Don’t anybody think about leaving me behind. It won’t be hard to track you down.” She fished around in her blouse, pulling out two little plastic sachets. “Especially not with these.”
I blinked as I recognized locks of my own hair in one bag. The other, presumably, contained a sample of Pierce’s. “You wouldn’t dare.”
She raised her chin triumphantly. “Collected them while you were sleeping. For my own peace of mind. And I was right to do it, too.” She stuck one finger out in warning. “Stay. I won’t be long.”
Before I could even answer, she vanished, teleporting somewhere upstairs. Pierce looked up, as if trying to find her through the ceiling. He rubbed his elbows, shuddering faintly.
“She scares me.”
22
Crystal lived up to her promise. Not five minutes later, she was back downstairs, a leather satchel filled with her meager belongings strapped to her back. She gestured outside.
“Those suitcases of yours were definitely ruined in the fight. Soaked to worthlessness in ice water if not slashed to pieces outright. Don’t bother.” She flicked her hand at the kitchen, the cupboards flying open, styrofoam cups of instant noodles and canned goods with scruffy labels floating towards, then into her rucksack. She caught me staring, then rolled her eyes. “Dabbler, remember? Don’t act like it’s such a big deal.”
It was clear that she wouldn’t stop hating me, at least not for a while. I glowered at her, knowing full well that I was in no position to spit back something cutting, being the catalyst of her woe. Dantaleon, however, thought that it was a fine time to interject, floating creepily close to my left ear.
“You see?” he whispered, his voice like crackling parchment. “Even human witches can diversify their arcane arsenals. But sons of demon princes? Curious.”
“Neither the time nor place,” I growled. I thought I saw Crystal smirking to herself. I was fairly sure that the two of them exchanged knowing glances.
Pierce got down on his haunches, putting himself at eye level with Mr. Wrinkles on the sill. “So, where to, Wrinkles?”
The cat sniffed at the air, his tail as vertical as an exclamation point as he turned in place. “There,” he said, extending his paw vaguely in one direction. “Forty miles, give or take.”
“We’re not walking that,” Pierce said, shaking his head, exchanging a glance with me, silently imploring me to back him up.
“Of course not,” Mr. Wrinkles said, turning until he found Dantaleon. “The book can take us.”
“Preposterous,” Dantaleon huffed. “I do not take orders from lowly beasts.”
Mr. Wrinkles hissed, baring his fangs.
“D,” Pierce said. “Be reasonable. You can hover there the whole way and never get tired. We can’t walk that. We have limited food, not enough water as it is. As for money? ” He glanced hopefully over at Crystal.
“Hell no,” she said. “What little I have left is for me. You buttholes figure this one out.”
Dantaleon sighed. “If it will get everyone to shut up, then very well. But I must caution you. The battle with the
