CHAPTER 17

All the color drained from Ceri's face.

"Oh Goddess, no."

Newt's head turned slowly to take in her surroundings, her wide black eyes unfocused.

"Quen!" Ceri tapped into the line and raised a circle around herself and Rea Lynn's crib. He moved in front of them, fists clenched and jaw tight, to stand between his beloved women and the demon.

Trent debated calling security, but knew this creature could kill them all with little more than a thought. Since she was not actively posing a threat he instead chose to stand ramrod straight and still, hoping she didn't notice him.

Ivy snarled. She had been itching to test herself against a demon, though not this one. Rachel had told her Newt was the most powerful creature in the ever after, and she wondered if she would even get a punch in.

Newt turned in a slow circle. "This dwelling is not sanctified." She turned to look directly at Trent. "Is this your home, Trenton Aloysius Kalamack?" Without waiting to hear his response, she moved further into the room. "It reeks of cinnamon and wine." Her brow furrowed. "I know that smell. Why do I know that smell?" Rea's cry drew her attention, though her gaze focused on a wide-eyed Ceri. "You. Cerdiwen Merriam Dulciate. This is your scent. I smelled it every time I came to visit Algaliarept."

Rachel gritted her teeth. 'Crap on toast! She forgot Ceri's an elf, and she's starting to remember!' Given the long-standing enmity between the elves and the demons, if she became aware that Ceri had a child she might realize the elves were starting to breed more successfully again and there was no way that could end well. She came forward. "Newt!"

As if becoming aware for the first time that Rachel was there, the demon blinked. "I came to find you, Rachel Mariana Morgan. I did as you asked. I knocked first." The line, Rachel realized. Newt normally just popped in, sliding through the ley lines so smoothly and suddenly they couldn't even feel it, but this time she had thrummed it deliberately, to get her attention. "I'm here, but I can't remember why I came. Is that strange? It's too soon for your session. I have nothing to teach you. Do I?"

Ceri glared at Rachel. "What is she talking about?" She looked into the crib as Rea began to cry. "Shhh…"

"Is that a cat?" Newt shook her head. "No. It is a child." She saw how protectively Ceri was standing by the crib. "Your child?" Something in her clicked and the demon sneered. "An elf child? You're an elf. It is an elf child!" She surged forward with incredible speed, running headlong into Ceri's circle; almost as if she was unaware it was there. "No! You can't! I won't let you!"

"Go away!" Ceri was trembling. "Just go away! I won't let you touch her!" She had put the preparations for this circle in place in order to protect Rea, but she knew it wouldn't keep Newt out if she were really determined to get in. What else could she do? Banishing her was difficult; she rarely stood still long enough to be circled. "Quen!"

The elf had no weapons on him, Ceri wouldn't allow them anywhere near their child, but was hardly helpless. "Leave this place at once demon!" He tapped the line and used it to form a green mass of energy in his hand. "Or else!"

Rachel eyes widened. "Quen, no!" He wasn't listening. Gritting her teeth, she tapped the ley line too. 'Tulpa!' As the energy began to spindle into her chi, she saw Newt turn fully to Quen, blink, and then smile. 'No!" Quen was strong, and better with lines than she was, but he was no match for Newt. 'She'll kill him!'

Quen was fast, and threw his spell before Rachel could even finish her preparations. The green mass flew right into Newt's outstretched hand and she brought it close to her face to examine it. He smirked. "Ta'hain!" The spell exploded, enveloping the surprised demon in a solid cocoon of green ever after. It was translucent and they could see her mouth hanging open, black eyes still blinking. "That should hold it, long enough at least for one of you to banish the creature."

"I wish it were that simple," said Ceri. "Your spell is impressive, my love, but will not contain her for long."

Newt's eyes flashed, and a spider web of cracks appeared across the green shell.

"No." Quen's eyebrows rose. "It cannot be. That is the strongest containment spell I know."

Rachel shook her head. "Quen! Ceri! Take Rea and get out of here! Trent, you go too!" She didn't even have to look to know Ivy and Jenks were by her side. "Let the experts take care of this."

Newt clenched her fists, and the green shell shattered. She took a deep breath. "That was rude." Moving even faster than Ivy could follow she struck Quen in the chest with one hand and sent him flying back into the wall, leaving a vaguely humanoid impression before he slid to the ground, hopefully just unconscious. "Now I forgot what I was saying."

"Quen!" Ceri screamed. That, however, returned Newt's attention to her. "Oh no."

The demon smiled. "Now I remember." She struck Ceri's circle hard; it rippled, but held. "Impressive. Your skills have improved, Cerdiwen Merriam Dulciate." She hit it again, much harder, and this time a deformation the size and shape of her fist was left behind. "However, you must realize you are only delaying the inevitable." A third strike, and the circle collapsed. Rea wailed as Newt grabbed her mother by the throat and lifted the elf off her feet. "You should not have hid her from me."

Her pure black eyes narrowing, Ivy took a step forward and snarled. "That's it!"

"No!" Rachel reached for the vampire, but Ivy shrugged her hand away and charged toward Newt. 'Oh God, I have to do something.' She could not put up a circle because everyone was too close to Newt. That was when she noticed something laying on the floor where the demon had first appeared. It was a small green piece of a plant. 'Is that yew?'

Ivy punched Newt as hard as she could. The thunderous impact knocked the demon's head back, but she didn't lose her footing or her grip on Ceri. Still moving, the vampire came around and tried to hit her again, but this time Newt's free hand caught her wrist and she hissed in pain as her arm was wrenched. The demon's black eyes peered deeply into her own.

"This is none of your business." Newt threw Ivy one-way and Ceri the other. Both women hit the walls, like Quen, and slid to the ground, but if they were still conscious, they were too stunned to move or make a noise. The demon stood there, staring off into space, until Rea's cries brought her around. She reached down and picked up the baby. "Hello, little one."

Jenks' wings flashed red and began raining dust. "Crap on toast! Rache, you have to do something!"

"I know." Rachel picked up the green stem. It was indeed yew, which demons and witches alike used for forget spells. Had Newt been dosing herself to forget something, or was someone doing it to her, like Minias once had? "But I have to be careful. One wrong move right now, and Rea's going to suffer for it." She gasped. "Wait. That's it." She shoved the yew in her pocket. 'If she's been dosed, her mind and her memories will be fuddled.' She stepped forward and cleared her throat. "Mother?"

Newt blinked. "Lili?"

"It's me, mother." Inwardly, Rachel prayed this would work. Newt seemed to think they were related, however distantly. Regardless of whether it was true or not, the demon believed it, and in her confused state she might be convinced to forget the millennia between them. "You have to stop now, mother. Please. Don't do to that child, to its mother, what was done to us." Newt looked down at Rea, who was staring up at the demon in wide-eyed silence. "Put her down, mother. Put her down and go home."

"Home?" Newt began rocking herself back and forth on the balls of her feet. "The ever after? No. No. It's cold there. I'm alone. Alone. All alone." She glared at Rachel. "Lili is gone. You're not my daughter. Lili is gone. The elves killed her. Elves." She held the baby up. "Like this one. I hate the elves. They killed my daughter! They gave me you but they killed my daughter!"

"Jenks," Rachel whispered. "Can you lift Rea?"

The pixy nodded. "I can't carry her very far, but maybe."

"Get her away from Newt."

Jenks darted forward, took two handfuls of Rea's baby blanket, and yanked her out of the demon's hands. Her weight was too much for him and they both started to fall, but fortunately, they were over the crib. Rea landed softly in familiar surroundings and cooed, while the pixy lay beside her to try and catch his breath, his tiny arms throbbing from the strain.

Newt looked at her now empty hands. "What?"

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Rachel held a hand out. "Rhombus!" A circle rose over Newt, who was crying. "Demon, I banish you back to the ever after! Leave, and do not come back this day!" Newt's body collapsed in on itself and disappeared, and the sudden vacuum popped loudly as it instantly refilled with air. She lowered her hand, dropping the circle. "Damn it."