Part Six

"Well, well, my itchy-witch. What have we here?"

I rolled my eyes, my back turned to Al. I would have done it even if he could see the gesture. He was my teacher now; he couldn't kill me, because Newt would kill him. Not, it suddenly occurred to me, the best insurance a girl could wish for. Newt's memory and sanity were both notoriously spotty.

I wrinkled my nose, as much from my less-than-pleasant thoughts as from the spell that I was attempting to stir. Attempting being the key word. I had followed all of the directions, Turn it, and it still wasn't coming out right. Resisting the urge to thrown down the spoon and stalk off, I bit my lip and tried to take a deep breath to calm down. It didn't really help.

I had thought that learning from Al would be exciting and different. I mean, it was demon magic and I was the first non-demon in a hundreds of years to be able to kindle it with my blood. It turned out that learning demon spells was just as boring and irritating as sitting in a college class room and learning them from a respected professor, with the added bonus of spending time in the ever-after.

There was no way I would have lasted this long here, sharing Al's rooms and learning from him, if I wasn't more scared of going home than I was of being here. Al could kill me. Hell, just spending some quality time outdoors on the surface could kill me if I spent enough time there, but that still terrified me less than the thought of going home. Home was Ivy - had been Ivy. Now Ivy owned my soul, and not in the pleasant, wonderful, made-for-romantic comedies way, but the "could control me for the rest of my life completely and utterly" way.

I bit my lip again. This time biting back the tears that threatened to well up in my eyes. I would not let Al see me cry. Would not.

"This spell doesn't work," I said peevishly, clanging the spoon against the edge of the pot to free it from the last few drops of the potion.

I pivoted in front of the stove (Yes, they had stoves in the ever-after. Cauldrons over an open fire were so last century) and glared at Al indignantly. He responded with a long-suffering sigh.

"It would work, if you prepared it properly." He tutted annoyingly, bringing his hands to his lips in a gesture of mock-surprise. "But perhaps something is distracting you?"

My fingers curled around the spoon in my hand, tightening until my knuckles went white from the pressure. The urge to throw it at Al was almost overwhelming. He knew what had happened and why I was here. He had forced me to tell him, before he agreed to let me stay.

Not that he had any objections to me being in the ever-after. Al was generally in favor of anything that put me more in his control, but he had also spent millennia conning witches, elves, human,s or anyone else who could manipulate ley line magic into becoming demon familiars. He had an unerring instinct for ferreting out information that people would prefer to hide, and using that knowledge against them. Now he had something else to hold over me. As if the secret of my blood wasn't enough.

Despite our new and somewhat more equal relationship, I'd never had any doubt that Al would use that information against me in a heartbeat if the need arose.

Still beggars couldn't be choosy, and for now things were going well enough.

"Maybe your crappy handwriting," I tossed the insult out without much feeling, but backed it up by crossing my arms defiantly over my chest, and nodding my head in the general direction of the instructions on the counter.

Al gasped and laid a hand over the crushed velvet of his suit where his heart should have been. That is, if demons had hearts.

"You wound me, Rachel."

He picked the up instructions from the counter, eyeglasses suddenly appearing on the bridge of his nose, giving him a professorly air. They weren't as dark as his usual sunglasses, but they still had a smoky tint that mostly hid the glare of his slitted, red eyes. I had gotten used to them - mostly - but they still creeped me out a little. I was glad that he seemed to prefer shades most of the time. The reading glasses, however, were pure Al. It wasn't like he needed them. Who had ever heard of a near-sighted demon?

He thumped the sheaf of papers decisively with one knuckle.

"Here's your problem, my dear." The endearment made me glare, but Al seemed not to notice as he peered at me over the top of his glasses. "You stirred it improperly."

I snagged the directions back from Al, and glanced over them quickly.

"I did not. I did exactly what they said. Two turns and then wait until it comes to a boil, then stir steadily for the next minute." My other hand unconsciously sketched the motions through the air.

Al's gloved hand fell on top of mine and dragged it in the opposite direction. I'm not sure what was more startling, Al touching me, or the fact that I've forgotten the obvious. This was demon magic; stirring widdershins was a must.

For a second, I thought I was going to throw up. Then I yanked my hand away and stumbled back against the counter. This went against everything I had ever been taught about magic, everything my father had spent long Sunday afternoons showing me. It wasn't that I hadn't known. I had, but I hadn't really known.

"I need some air."

Al tilted his head towards the window, looking out over the ever-after. He smiled and the icy fingers of something dangerous ran down my spine.

"Certainly. Looks like a lovely day out. There's not much burnt amber in the air today. You can almost see the sun, if you tilt you head and squint really hard."

Normally I would have tried to humor Al. This time I didn't even make an effort. I just walked outside. The air still made my skin crawl. My lips twisted into the bitter approximation of a smile as I remembered Ivy handing me Mr. Fish the first time I had gone with Al for a lesson. There had been no time to bring him with me, when I left the church.

Idly I wondered what had happened to him. He hadn't been a wishing fish, but he had been a hardy little guy. He had managed to stay alive through years with me. That was something, around me. Would Ivy be taking care of him now? Or was he lost, now, too? My fists clenched at my sides. I shoved them in the pockets of my hoodie and started walking again.

A slight breeze rifled through my hair, sending it dancing around my face unless I tilted my head just so. It made me feel defiant, walking with my face jutting up at the sky. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I could feel the sun's warmth on my face.

It just wasn't the same.

I opened my eyes and blinked against the blurriness in my vision. I tried to take a deep breath; it caught in the back of my throat and I coughed loudly. Why had I come out here? Because I didn't know what to do, and my first instinct when I wasn't sure what was happening was to do something. Anything. It was just that there were no running trails, or backyard gardens here where I could go to work through my frustrations.

It seemed like wherever I turned, I ran into another wall. Frustration was almost choking me - worse than the polluted air. I folded my arms over my chest and tried not to think about the person that I most wanted to talk about this with. Thinking about how wonderful and safe it felt to be wrapped in her arms was nothing but sticking a knife into my own heart.

Remembering rainy afternoons when neither of us had runs, spent curled up on the couch in the living room pretending to watch tv, but really unable to take our eyes and hands off each other was futile. I couldn't afford to think about the way Ivy had looked at me. The tenderness in her eyes was always my undoing, even more than when her arousal was clearly visible. She had a way of looking at me as if I weren't merely the center of her world, but the entire world.

It scared me and made me go weak in the knees. Wherever we were, that look made me pull her into my arms and hold her tightly against me. I had to breathe in her scent, and reassure myself that she was real and mine and never going anywhere. I had been alone for years and once I had found Ivy, I had never wanted to be alone again.

It had never occurred to me, when she was holding me so tightly in her arms, and I was surrounded by her warmth, that we could hurt each other this badly. I ached to be back with her. It was more than a feeling or an emotion. It was a physical sensation, like an earache or throbbing muscles.

My breath caught again. There was nothing holding me here. I had spent so many twenty-four hour periods with Al by now that if I left, I would be caught up on our bargain regarding the time I spent learning from him, for years. With all of that intensive practice, I had managed to master jumping ley lines much faster than anyone had expected, myself included. I could tap a line right now. There was a wide, deep, incredibly powerful one not twenty yards to my left.

In less time than it would take me to blink, I could be standing in our bedroom in the church. I would be waiting when Ivy got home just after dark. She would be mad, of course. There would be yelling and arguing and banging and stalking around the house angrily. It might last for an hour or even two, but I would be wearing one of her shirts, and nothing else.

The sight of all that bared skin, and her scent completely, irresistibly tangled up with my own would be more than Ivy could resist. The sex and the sharing of blood would be begrudging at first, angry because she couldn't stay angry with me for much longer, because she knew she would eventually give in and let me off the hook. When it was over, she would roll over so that she could cradle me in her arms and she would hold me so tightly that it almost hurt, but I wouldn't mind.

Her hands would be gentle and reverent as they skimmed over my body, cupping, stroking and caressing until Ivy had reassured herself that every part of me was hers. I'd wriggle and squirm in her embrace, laughing as her nails scraped across the back of my knee and tickled. I would love every minute of it, reveling in just being with her.

She would run her fingers through my frizzy red hair and I would bat at her fingers playfully, telling her to stop, that she was only making it worse. She would drop her hands then, of course, and a little pout would steal across her lips. It would be too cute to resist and I would have to capture her lips with mine, kissing her again and again, until I made that pout disappear.

That of course, would lead to more sex, but different this time. Slow and gentle where it had been fast and rough. I would look into Ivy's eyes as she came in my arms and shudder at the way she had given herself over to me completely, the utter trust that she had placed in me.

We would relax in one another's arms, content to drowse in the moment, not thinking about anything in particular. Eventually my stomach or hers would growl and I would stand up, knowing that Ivy was watching every step I took as I wandered around the room looking for something halfway decent to wear. I wouldn't want to scar Jenks' kids for life. Again.

I would smile at Ivy flirtily over my shoulder, as I headed towards the kitchen to search for something that I could bring back with me and feed to Ivy in bed. That's when she would say it.

"Don't go," with a hint of pleading in her voice. "Come back to bed," she would say with a teasing smile that promised all manner of things if I would just rejoin her.

And I would freeze in the doorway, because she had said it. Because I had no choice; I would do whatever she wanted.

I blinked, the fantasy I had created shattering in front of my eyes. I couldn't go back. It would never be the same, no matter how badly I wanted it to be.

Walking back in Al's quarters, I paused, hearing the low murmur of voices from the other room. Immediately I pressed myself back against the wall. I had Al's protection here, and Newt's, but I was still a witch among demons. Al's friends also didn't have the best reputation. Many of them had been in the familiar trade for just as long as he had.

On my second lesson with Al one of those 'friends' of his had captured me and tried to drag me to a demon market for sale to the highest bidder. Al had tried to stop him, to explain to his friend what I was, and why I was more valuable as an ally than a prisoner. (I didn't think it was a good idea to tell Al that I was never planning to have those little demon babies that he was hoping for, especially since I had been with Ivy then.) That was the problem with demons that dealt in familiars though. They were competitors, and not above stealing a potential familiar to sell for their own profit.

Apparently Al had done it, more than once. Color me not surprised. But it had backfired here. I suppose I should have been grateful that Al got me out of that one, and I was. Kind of. But it was his fault that I had ended up on the demon auction block in the first place! Seeing them actually fight it out over me, well, it had been terrifying, worse than anything I had ever seen before.

After that I had learned my lesson, no coming out while Al's friends were around. There was always the chance that I wouldn't be so lucky next time, and even if Al did try to save me, I would be just as dead if I got caught in the crossfire.

There was only one problem. They were between me and my room. There was no way for me to get there without being seen.


"Please, Algalierept, don't tell me you've gone soft with this - this witch. What are you thinking, man? The price you could get for her on the open market. Why, no-one has seen anything like her in ages."

"More like no-one has ever seen anything like Rachel Mariana Morgan," Al said smugly, not - I noted - without a hint of pride.

So nice to see that he was taking credit for me these days. I rolled my eyes.

"All the more reason, old chap. What you could make off her could keep you comfortably into old age."

Al tutted, but he said nothing. China clinked faintly and I recognized the sounds of Al serving the tea. I slowly crept closer to them, careful to keep out of sight. Taking a deep breath, I waited until there was silence and then risked sticking my head out to see what was going on.

Al was reclining in the overstuffed armchair he favored, wearing his usual crushed velvet suit and sunglasses. Thankfully neither of them were in their true forms. I shivered. I had only stumbled on Al once in his true form and it had given me nightmares. I never wanted to see it again.

Al's index finger was idly tapping the rim of his tea cup as he looked over it at the demon sitting across from him. I couldn't see his eyes of course, but he seemed to be studying him. Finally, he lowered his tea cup to rest on the saucer and then carefully set them down on the table in front of him. Steepling his fingers in front of him, Al looked contemplative. Something in the way he looked wanted to make me take a step away from him. It screamed danger.

"You know, Yugrtpletier, your problem is that you have a failure of imagination. You lack a certain vision that it takes to make a demon great."

Yugrtpletier was pissed. I knew that because his cup of tea was now visibly boiling in his hand.

"I'm not the idiot who let his familiar escape and teach a witch how to spindle ley line energy."

Al waved his hand dismissively. "And that would have been the end of a lesser demon."

So nice to know how Al viewed these events. I had been the one to save his ass. He would be so much demon bait right now if it weren't for me.

"But not for me," Al continued. "No, I had a plan. I persevered. I saw something that no-one else could see."

No-one but a certifiably insane, memory deficient she-demon.

"I saw the potential in Rachel Mariana Morgan. More than the fact that her blood can kindle demon magic or that she could birth the next generation of demons. Oh, so much more. What has escaped everyone else is that Morgan is more than all that. She is power, and the demon who controls her is the demon who will wield all of that power."

My jaw clenched. Okay, this had been amusing, watching Al's idle boasting to his friend. Now this was being not so amusing. Al was really starting to scare me.

It seemed that Yugrtpletier was beginning to feel the same way. He laughed nervously, and shifted awkwardly in his chair. He was actually squirming with the desire to get out of there, I realized, but he was desperately trying not to show it.

"What - what do you mean?"

Turns out, hearing a demon sound scared didn't make me feel good. It just made me more worried.

"I mean that through Morgan I will control the entire ever-after. No one will dare risk harming her, when they know that's she's capable of creating more demons." Al leaned forward quickly. "A new demon has not been born in five hundred years. Not even Newt would risk destroying that opportunity. This could be our only chance as a species, and I will be there to guide and protect Morgan. I will be the one that she trusts."

Yugrtpletier was shaking his head. "They will never allow you to do this."

Al's laughter boomed out so loudly that I shrank even further. "My dear boy, they already have. They just don't realize it yet."

Yugrtpletier stood quickly, so forcefully that it sent his heavy, over stuffed chair skidding away from him. It banged into the wall with a dull thud.

"They might be ignorant, Algaliarept, but I am not. I will not let you get away with this."

"Let? You can't stop me."

When he tapped the line, I felt it. He pulled on it so deeply that I felt it resonate through my body. It brought me to my knees, and left me gasping for breath. I couldn't imagine the power he was drawing, if just being near the line that he'd tapped had done that to me. Whether I knew how to spindle ley line energy or not, it would have shattered my fragile human brain in an instant.

"Oh, but I can."

I barely had time to realize how much trouble I was about to be in. I dived away from the wall, just as the room exploded behind me.

Two demons fighting was a lot like a pissing contest between volcanoes, it turned out. There was a lot of indiscriminate destruction, a lot of fire and explosions and a lot of noise. There was also just as much chance of being hit by friendly fire, although at this point I wasn't sure that either side qualified as friendly to me.

Spells gone awry splattered on the walls all around me. I ducked behind a chest and tried to shield myself as best as I could. Unfortunately I was the most fragile thing in this room right now, and I wasn't particularly fond of the thought of dying by accident. I could, of course, strand myself in a circle. It would keep me safe for a while, but it would also make me a sitting duck when they finally got tired of each other.

Not a pleasant thought, and apparently I needed to be getting out of here. Now. I stood up, only to drop back to the floor almost instantly. A blast of pure ley line energy passed so closely above my head that it sent my hair whipping around my face. With an explosion that showered debris in every direction, it took out the wall behind me, and sent pieces of the ceiling raining down.

Damn it back to the Turn, what were they thinking? I was the only one in the room who couldn't go insubstantial to avoid getting injured. I glanced behind me quickly, as a nasty thought hit me, looking to see if Al and Yuri were still occupied or if I was their target now.

Just my good luck kicking in, it seemed. Al and Yuri were still facing off like old western gunfighters, slinging spells at each other like bullets had flown at the OK Corral.

Shattered bits of glass and wood dug into my hands and knees as I crawled across the floor. Dust was thick in the air and it was getting hard to breathe. I grabbed the door handle just as a particularly loud explosion rocked the building. The minute that my feet were over the threshold I started running blindly. It didn't matter which direction I was going in, I just wanted to be away.

I kept going until I was panting for breath and couldn't force myself to go any further. The harsh air of the ever-after wasn't helping, but the fact that I had more or less stopped running since I had come here hadn't helped any. Anger at my stupidity in allowing myself to get so out of shape was burning inside of me.

I doubled over trying to catch my breath, knowing even as I did so that it was the wrong thing to do. At the moment, however, I didn't really care. What was one more mistake in the string of mistakes that I was making? With the back of my hand I swiped at the sweat that was burning my eyes.

I couldn't go back. That much was clear. Al, who I had been depending on - stupid, stupid, stupid witch - had betrayed me. Or maybe he had always been playing me. I should have known that Al never did anything unless something was in it for him. And I had played right into his hands. Even better, his demon buddies were after me now, too.

I wondered what odds the bookies back in the Hollows would give me for staying alive now?

There was no doubt that I needed to get out of the ever-after right now. At least back in the real world I would be safe during the daylight hours. What I did after dusk, well that had always been a bit dicey, but surely the church wasn't the only sanctified safe haven that I could find? There had to be other demon practitioners who had tried to escape the notice of the demons who were after them. I couldn't be the first to try to run far enough away to out run a demon's reach. And if there were others who had done it, then I definitely could.

Looking through my second sight was almost a habit now. Al had drilled it into me when I had first started to come to him for lessons. Walking around the ever-after without it was like being blind and as the weakest link on the food chain, I couldn't afford that.

It only took me a moment to spot a ley line and walk over to it. As I stepped out into it, I felt that familiar tingle surge through me. I waded farther in. Standing in it like this, I didn't even consciously have to tap the line. Jumping ley lines was a great thing, but my lessons hadn't progressed past knowing how to jump to a location that I was already familiar with, and now it didn't seem like they would. But that was okay. There was still one place that I could go.

Home. Or the closest thing to it since I had left the church.

I closed my eyes and concentrated. No matter how many times I did this, it never felt any better, although it did get a little easier to concentrate on my destination and hold myself together.

I stumbled as my feet hit the ground and took several staggering steps before I got my balance. I sucked in a lungful of air, savoring the pleasant, crisp scent of air unmarred by the pervasiveness of burnt amber. It was the first clear breath that I had taken in months and it was wonderful.

Straightening, I looked around, wondering if anyone had seen my abrupt appearance. It was dark, probably just after midnight from the way the darkness lingered. Above the stars sparkled brightly as they often did in this small suburb, not quite dimmed by the lights from across the river.

The soft night air blew gently across my skin as I started walking as quickly as I dared. I didn't want to arouse suspicion. The last thing I need was for some over-zealous neighbor to call the FIB on me.

My pace quickened as I came to the hedge. Glancing around and seeing no-one, I slipped into the yard, sticking to the deepest of the shadows as I made my way to the backyard.

As stealthily as I could, I slipped around to the back door. I had learned a small spell from Al that would muffle the sound of someone's steps. I murmured it softly before I stepped onto the porch. My hand was on the screen door, about to pull it open when the sound of someone's voice drifted out.

I froze, and for the second time today pressed myself up against a wall to listen more closely.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I should have called before I flew out here."

Ivy's voice. I jerked back so sharply that I almost stumbled. The next second my brain caught up with my fight-or-flight instinct and I carefully pressed myself back against the wall. Spell or no spell, if I started running right now, Ivy would hear me and come after me.

It was almost a second later that it occurred to me to wonder why the Turn Ivy was at Mom's house. I slid down the wall until I was squatting by the base of the door. Now I could see that the door was open, although the screen door was still in place.

No light drifted out from the house. Only the faint light from the moon shone through, and reflected off the entry way mirror. I stopped breathing as I caught of glimpse of Ivy in the mirror before she moved away into shadow again.

"You know you're always welcome here, dear." There was a slight pause. "I've been keeping Inderland hours since Donald started staying here more often."

I let out a surprised sound, clapping my hand over my mouth an instant too late. My eyes were squinched tightly shut, as though if I couldn't see them, maybe no one could see me. There was no response from inside, at least not to me.

"Rachel would be happy for you, you know. She would want you to be happy with Takata."

My mom's knowing chuckle echoed out from the room. Missing her was almost a physical pain in my chest. How had I gone weeks or even months without going to visit her when we both still lived in the Hollows? Now it was even worse.

"Rachel, bless her heart, is thoroughly freaked out by me living with Donald, but she does her best to be happy about it, because she wants me to be happy."

I risked another glance in the mirror. There was a hint of a smile on Ivy's lips. I resisted the urge to fold my arms over my chest indignantly. I was happy, wasn't I? Happy that Donald was living with Mom. I shuddered. Okay, so maybe I wasn't completely happy, but I was glad that she had someone with her, while I wasn't around. What I didn't want was for her to be alone. She had been alone for too long.

"She was always so bad at that."

I almost jumped as Mom's voice startled me out of my thoughts.

"Hiding the things that she didn't want to know, or want anyone else to know."

Another glance. Ivy's hands were clenched tightly at her sides. She was shifting back and forth, rocking from the balls of her foot to the back of her heels. Everything in me screamed to go in there and wrap her in my arms. I couldn't though, I just couldn't.

"She thought I didn't realize she was in love with you for years. The silly girl. She didn't know that everything that she did screamed it."

"Alice." Ivy's voice cracked in mid-word. She was pleading with her to stop.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was like listening in at my own funeral. Huck Finn had made it sound like fun, but it wasn't fun, not at all. It was more like torture.

I stood up, my fingers running against the nicks and grooves in the door frame, wondering how they had come to be here. This wasn't the place that I had grown up in. It was only home by virtue of Mom's presence.

I didn't want to hear any more.

"You believe me, don't you, Alice?" Ivy had stopped pacing and pivoted sharply on her heel to look at my mom. "You know I wouldn't...Rachel?"

I had missed part of what she had said, as Ivy had turned her head, but I knew what she was asking. How dare she ask my mom to believe that Ivy hadn't bound me! It wasn't fair. Ivy had bound me and she knew it. Why was she trying to convince Mom otherwise? Fairy farts! If Ivy had convinced her that she hadn't bound me, who would believe me? And even if someone believed me, what would it matter?

People got bound all the time. It wasn't a crime, especially since the victim never could prove that it had been against their will. Funny, that. Even if the FIB did try to protect me, what could they do? They didn't have the skills to go up against a vampire and come out of it successfully. Ivy had proven that, herself, in the their own offices.

In the mirror, Mom had gotten up, finally moving to where I could see her. Even with her hair up and more stylish clothes she looked old, older than she had ever looked.

I almost gasped again as she wrapped her arms around Ivy and held her. Ivy stood stiffly in her arms, but Mom wouldn't let her go. She rubbed loose circles up and down her back until Ivy just dissolved in her arms. She slumped as if she was a marionette whose strings had suddenly been cut, and buried her head in Mom's shoulder.

I couldn't see her face, but her back heaved as she sucked in deep breaths, her chest heaving, until she began to let out huge wracking sobs.

My fingers bit into the palm of my hand so hard that warm blood welled up, making my palm sticky with it.

"It's okay, dear," Mom murmured soothingly. "It's okay."

Ivy sniffled. "No," she said between sniffles. "It's not."

She sniffled again, more loudly and then froze, tension running through her body. Gently, Ivy separated herself from Mom and took an uncertain step back. She turned slowly away from Mom until she was looking directly into the mirror.

I felt like a scared rabbit caught in the headlights as I looked directly into the pure black depths of Ivy's eyes. She stared and stared. It felt like an eternity. I couldn't move; I didn't want to move. Then she blinked and the spell - not spell - but something stronger than any magic, was broken.

I jumped away from the door as if it were on fire and ran, as fast as I could. I gave up any pretense of trying to be quiet and just ran as flat-out fast as my feet could take me. I ran until I couldn't think anymore. Then I stopped running and looked around.

I hadn't been out here to visit Mom more than a few times and it took me quite a while to find my bearings. The nearest Greyhound station wasn't that far away, but it wasn't on the best side of town. It was fortunate that I was a bad-ass runner, then wasn't it?

The few crumpled bills that I had in my pocket wouldn't get me far, but they'd get me somewhere away from here and that was a start. I would get more when I got there...somehow. It didn't matter. I just needed to leave and the ever-after was definitely out this time.

The bus window was cool against my forehead. My breath fogged where it hit the glass. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about any of it. Not Mom, not Al, not Ivy.

Eventually I slept. It wasn't easy or peaceful.

The ring of the phone startled me so badly that I jerked and slammed back into the headrest.

"Yeah," I demanded curtly, letting my eyes fall shut as I tried to catch my breath.

"Rachel, where are you?"

I frowned and wrinkled my nose, and then opened my eyes.

"Why? What's going on?"

Glenn sounded more than a little aggravated with me. "We're waiting on you to question the were. How soon can you be here?"

I cranked the engine of my car and smiled. I was here for a reason, to do my job, not to dwell on the numerous ways I had screwed my life up. An uncooperative were I could deal with.

Oh yeah, it would be a piece of cake.

(6/11)