Chapter 27

Bryce ordered Grant back to my place to supervise the shamans who were there, making sure no one had been abducted from that location. Wherever we were going, he was ashamed of telling Grant—clue #306 that this was not going to be a fun trip. Bryce then had Paulson drive him back to Leech's so he could change. That may sound unnecessarily vain, but there was a practical reason. He informed me we were going hiking. Considering he returned to the car with sunscreen and enough water bottles to keep Flipper alive for a week, I was inclined to believe him.

Bryce had brought enough CDs with us to last until we reached the other side of the country, but he promised we weren't going that far. He was sprawled out in the back seat, complaining about needing rest. The few instructions he gave Paulson amounted to drive into the desert for a long while and then wake him up.

We drove mostly in silence. Bryce was sleeping, Paulson was driving and I drifted in and out of consciousness, working through different translations of spells. There had to be something about this bond I had created with Savannah, something I could use instead of it just screwing with me. The CD finished and I blindly put in the next one. Going from heavy metal to techno was a jarring transition, but I wasn't about to wake Bryce up to ask what he would prefer. He needed his rest.

Eventually, Bryce sat up and ordered Paulson to pull over. Around us there was only the orange glow of the California desert. Bryce hopped out of the car and looked at me expectantly. I thought we were going to see someone. A rather morbid thought struck me.

"You're not going to kill me in the desert are you?"

"Gillian, if I decide to kill you, I wouldn't have to bother to hide it. Now can we please get a move on?" He began talking to Paulson and though the bodyguard didn't like what he was hearing, eventually he nodded.

I got to watch as he drove away, kicking up dust everywhere. That's why Bryce had left Grant behind—he never would have left the client behind. Meanwhile, Bryce was trying to leave me behind, already twenty feet away. I hurried to catch up.

Even the word desert hints at what it's like. Boring. It's just miles and miles of the same stuff over and over again. Cacti. Driftwood. Dust. Over and over. I don't know how Bryce knew where he was going, but he always seemed to be walking towards something. If he was taking a mid-morning hike, I was going to kill him.

"Explain to me again why this guy lives in the middle of the desert?" I asked when the utter sameness of the terrain began to get to me. I hastily wiped the sweat off my forehead. We should have gone earlier. The sun was rising higher—another few hours and there would be two more crispy corpses for the buzzards to eat.

"He doesn't. This is just the fastest way to get there."

"Fast? What is he, paranoid?"

Bryce snorted. "He could probably take anybody. But if you don't want to talk to people, go where they won't go."

"So he hates people—joy."

"Fortunately, he owes me a favor. Well, he owes my father a favor and since he can't collect... I figure Dad won't mind. And he is the best."

"At what?"

"You're going to freak."

"That's what I do, Bryce. That doesn't mean you shouldn't tell me."

He chuckled and helped me stay balanced as we climbed down a steep gorge. Just more barren rock. "Fine. He knows demons. If we're lucky, he might even let us talk to one."

"We're walking all this was to ask about demons? I could have just called the Vasics again."

He sighed like I was some kind of idiot, which was nothing new for him. "If anyone can put us in touch with someone who knows something about that demon that killed Yi and how to stop it, it'll be Kane. And not just what the demon's name is, but his birthday, his favorite color, and—most importantly—where the hell we can find him. Because I'm hoping that whoever sent the demon is the same person who kidnapped Savannah. Two people after the two of you at the same time just seems unlikely."

"She does have a talent for pissing off powerful supernaturals," I pointed out.

We started climbing up the other side of the gorge, which proved even more difficult. Tiny rocks slipped out from under my feet, throwing me off balance. I was a city girl and this nature stuff wasn't fun. Plus, I had to keep up with Bryce. I was already slowing him down considerably, but it wasn't really my fault. His stride was almost double mine and he was walking as fast as he could. The occasional snort of aggravation was the only sign that he was getting increasingly frustrated as I struggled along behind.

The land leveled off eventually, only to reveal more nothing. "Great. Fan-fucking-tastic," I couldn't help muttering.

"We're almost there," he promised. "Sort of."

Almost there meant another hour of walking. The sun was beating down by the time Bryce turned to me to announce we had made it. At that point ,I really didn't care. I was pretty sure my sunscreen had melted off completely.

"There's nothing here!"

Indeed, nothing was the best word. The land was flat. The skyline was obscured by the heat and the swirling dust. The only object that I could see was the cactus Bryce was carefully examining.

"Put your hands on it. I'm sorry if it hurts, but this is the way it has to be."

Flinching a little, I lowered my hands to the plant after Bryce. It wasn't those spindly cactuses you see in cartoons. The points were small, even if they were sharp. Bryce began to chant. And the next thing I knew I was in the middle of the forest. And not just any forest. I sort of suspected I was in the Amazon. Which...no. Just no.

The air was hot, but a hundred times more moist than before, and I broke out into goosebumps at the sudden change, my body going into shock. The trees were tall—huge—the kind of trees that you knew were ancient. It was an old forest, undisturbed, the rustling of the wind, the gurgling of water flowing, and the calls of animals the only sounds. No man-made noises.

"Where are we?" I asked in wonder.

"I don't know. It's safer that way. Come on, it's not much farther."

I shivered, but not from cold. It was quiet in the middle of the forest. I didn't like it one bit. Quiet was nice—I had once lived for quiet. But this was different. This was natural, normal. It didn't make me feel safe. It made me feel like maybe there was a higher power and if that was true, Mom had been right. I must have really pissed it off.

Bryce noticed my shivering and grimaced, mistaking its origin. "The temperature change the next time is going to be even worse. Sorry, I didn't warn you. I haven't been through here in almost a decade."

"I'll be fine," I lied as we slipped through the trees. Eventually the trees cleared and I found myself at the foot of a stream as it raged and rushed through the ground. Bryce began wading into the water, like that was what normal people did. Sweat still covered my body but I wasn't going to clean off until there was heated water. No sir. I dipped my hand in and shivered. He was mental.

He turned around and glared. "You have to get into the water, Gillian. For the next portal."

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm doing this for fun," he snapped. "Hurry up, it's not exactly clean."

"I just have to get in?"

"And swim a hundred yards upstream. That's it."

"I can't swim."

He cursed as he stood in the river, up to his shoulders in water. But he wasn't getting out. If this was the only way....

I started wading in after him. "Can you drag me along somehow, if it's not that far?"

Bryce met picked me up before the water rose above my head. "You're insane." But he didn't bring me out. "Get on my back and hold on. Hold your breath when you see me going under."

I wrapped my arms carefully around his neck, and made sure my legs were tight around his waist. They say drowning was one of the most painful ways to die, but I wasn't thinking about that.

It was the most terrifying thing I had ever done and I can admit I'm not the most careful person with my life. But being surrounded by all that water and knowing I couldn't defend myself against it was horrible. I had taken a few swimming classes when I was little, but then money had gotten tight and I decided I would much rather keep doing gymnastics than get in all that water again. Served me right.

But worse than the fear was the water. Freezing cold, it bit into my skin, cut through clothes and scarred bone. I wanted to die, just so it would stop. But I had lived through worse and this time, at least, there was a purpose.

"It should be here," Bryce sputtered, half-sunk in the water. I knew this couldn't be easy for him either. I probably should have agreed to stay behind. "It should be—"

And then we were underwater.

The river slapped me across the face and my eyes shut instinctively. Too late. The water burned my eyes and stung my nose. I tried to hang on but something wretched at my hair and I reached around to stop it. Suddenly Bryce wasn't beside me anymore. I was submerged, water everywhere. And it was so cold.

I screamed. The water rushed into my mouth, my throat convulsing as it tried to repel the assault. I struggled to reach air. But whatever was holding me, it was much stronger. And it was pulling me upwards.

I emerged from the water, skull pounding fit to burst, lungs ready to explode and coughing for air. I was on a rock, beside a small pool, trying to breath. The last of the water was finally coughed up, so I looked up.

A pair of black eyes looked down on me. Sorcerer eyes.

"My mistake," a sophisticated sounding voice said.

Hands went to push me back in, but I had managed to get enough breath back for a limited spell. As I kicked and struggled against the hands trying to throw me back into the water, I cast. It was just a small spell but I aimed it properly and it set the sorcerer's pant leg on fire.

He cursed and hurriedly let go of me, hitting his pants to calm the flames. When that didn't work, he stuck his leg into the lake. I hurried away from the edge, putting an enormous rock between us and watched him warily.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "And where's Bryce?"

The sorcerer was standing in a small pool, one that didn't even come up to his knee. The surrounding area was much more barren than before, with only the occasional tree. Different types of trees too. These were winter trees, not the big leafy kind from before. There was even ice around here. The sorcerer was still glaring at me.

"Your companion?"

"Yeah, Bryce. He's a Nast. He said he knows you." I corrected myself. "Sort of."

The look in the sorcerer's eye alerted me to the fact that if Bryce was to be believed—and that look said he was—this was a man who hadn't seen a woman in a very long time. But all he did was turn back and reach into the pool. He closed his eyes and began to cast. I readied a spell in return, just in case. The water rippled, slowly at first and then faster, around his arm. He pulled.

He was holding an arm. It didn't take long for the rest of Bryce to emerge from the small pool. On the same rocks I had just lain on, he sputtered. Carefully making sure he was between me and the other sorcerer, I crept over to make sure he was all right.

When my hand landed on his shoulder, he glanced up and finally saw me. Then arms wrapped around me and I found myself enveloped in a hug for the first time in a long time. He was dripping wet, but underneath I felt a reassuring warmth. Before I could even let myself relax, he had pulled away, choking having turned to chuckling: "No more swimming, okay?"

"I think you're friend wants to throw me back into the pool," I said pointedly.

Bryce turned around and looked at the sorcerer. Standing up, he managed to push me behind him, though his voice was pleasant. "Kane. Interesting security you got here."

"Not enough to keep out the trash."

There was no doubt the new guy was not talking about a Nast. What with the trying to drown me and the glaring, he was beginning to piss me off. "Bryce isn't that bad, once you get to know him."

"Listen, man, the witch has to stay. She's just your type."

I shivered, but didn't think Bryce had brought me all the way up here just to screw the other sorcerer. And if he had, I was going to kill him. Kane stared at the two of us, dark eyes impassive. He would have been an impressive sight, if he hadn't been half drenched. Still, with his black eyes and long dark hair, not to mention the formidable scowl, he did make me want to shiver—more. The air was freezing up here.

"Why are you here?"

"You'll be glad you asked that. You wanna go someplace more private?"

"I am alone here."

"Whatever you want. You can stay standing in that pool, but I'm cold."

Kane did not look amused, though Bryce wasn't trying to be funny. I sighed because this was going to be a long day.

"Explain yourself."

"Alone for years and you still don't want to talk to anyone? I've heard of antisocial but you are a piece of work." I placed a hand on his back, willing him to shut up. Bryce got the message. "I need to talk to some of your friends. Urgently. Dad always said you were the best."

"Is that what he said?"

Bryce was smirking. I could feel it. "No. But I was a smart kid—I could read between the lines. You going to help, or not?"

Whatever Kane was thinking I was grateful not to know. Blood and gore and unspeakable things, probably. Did we really need him? If he was the best...and any lead was better than nothing. Anything to help Savannah. If I had to talk to arrogant sorcerers to do it—well, I had survived Bryce for a week. I could survive Kane.

Finally, Kane spun on his heel, stomping out of the pool. "Come," he ordered. We quickly followed, staying close together for warmth. As we traipsed through the forest, Kane muttered some sort of spell and his clothes were dry.

"I don't suppose you want to ask him how he did that?" I muttered to Bryce.

"You ask him."

"He scares me."

"He should. He may not like witches, but if you're alive it means he decided not to kill you. He's the most powerful sorcerer I know."

"It's a rule, Bryce. You avoid Cain. Everyone knows that."

"It's not his real name. It's a nickname—that I gave him, as a matter of fact. Might be why he likes me so much. And I thought you weren't religious."

"I'm not. But if he stabs us in the back, I might have to start."

There was small cave within the rocks and Kane slipped inside. More dark and dank places—at this point it wasn't a surprise. Bryce glanced around and followed Kane inside. It was the thing to do. The cold feeling still lingered, maybe because my clothes were sopping wet. A sigh and I quickly followed after.

The cave was darker than I had expected. It was really more of a crevice. As I slipped between the rock, I couldn't hear either sorcerer up ahead. Was it really that part of the movie where the dumb blonde walks straight up to the monster and ends up eaten? I hated horror movies. The blonde always got killed, though at least her clothes usually managed to artfully fall off beforehand. If only I was still a virgin.

I sensed the wall in front of me seconds before I crashed into it. The tiny dot of light was good for something. Hesitantly, I reached out. It wasn't cool like the rock, or rough. It was almost completely smooth and straight. It was...a door? The circular object under my hand sure did feel like a doorknob. I turned it and pushed.

A small wood cabin stood in front of me. Bryce and Kane were sitting in plush chairs by a fire, Bryce now completely dry. There were windows on either side of the fireplace, revealing a breathtaking scene. A look out the window confirmed it—we were on top of the mountain. Beyond the chairs there was a desk covered in an assortment of herbs, daggers and ancient books. One of the knives still had dried blood on it.

"Took you long enough," Bryce teased. "Take a seat."

"The witch will get my furniture wet."

Shutting the door behind me, I eagerly walked over to the fire. "Was it a portal?"

"Just another precaution. Kane doesn't like strangers. Or strangers don't like Kane." Bryce sighed. "She's going to catch pneumonia."

"You want me to waste magic on a witch?"

Bryce glared as only Bryce could. Kane sighed and cast a short spell. I listened carefully to the old Greek words. My translation was pretty rough, but I might be able to recreate it afterwards. It was good enough for a rough stab, at least.

"Your request?" Kane leaned back in his chair. There were only two by the fire, so I was forced to stand but I kept myself busy staring at the flames as Bryce went through the situation quickly enough. There was no mention that the woman we were looking for was his half-sister the witch, just someone fairly important to the company.

"You attacked a demon? Foolish girl."

It had been self-defense and then Savannah's idea, but I said nothing. Kane didn't appear to want any response anyway. "It is strange. They are vengeful—no demon would allow the witch to slip from his grasp twice. Not without reason. Their reasoning is beyond even my capabilities, yet—no. You were right to come to me son of Kristof. I am amused."

"So you'll arrange a meeting?"

Kane smiled. His teeth were white, but had been filled away at the ends, giving them a pointed look. Animal. "For a fee, of course." Black eyes watched me, travelling up the curve of my hip and along the swell of my breast. I wanted to slap him, but I didn't dare. "I would be amenable to a new form of currency—"

"Absolutely not," Bryce snarled. "The standard fee. Her father was an Expiscor."

Kane just looked even more amused and then considered what Bryce had offered. Sorcerers. Always the business men. "Three pints, then. Kimaris's children are common enough."

"Done."

Bryce and Kane shook once, briefly. I wanted to roll my eyes but didn't bother because neither cared that they were being chauvinist pigs. At least I wasn't wet. Asking if I wanted to donate my blood was probably beyond them. They better be talking about my blood.

"I will need everything before you begin, of course."

"I figured. Instruments still on the desk?"

Kane nodded solemnly. "I will to prepare. Knock twice when the sacrifice is ready." And with that he strode from the room as if he hadn't a care in the world.

I shivered but walked over to the ancient desk. It was covered in frayed scrolls, and I studied a few as I gently cleared space for myself. There wasn't a chair to sit on, after all. Bryce got out the materials. Kane probably wouldn't have let me touch the cabinet.

Bryce stepped in front of me and we were roughly the same height, since I was sitting on the desk. Blue eyes studied me carefully. For a second I thought he knew and my blood began to pound. But he couldn't protest. Not if this was the only way to help Savannah. Three pints might not be anywhere near close to safe, but if it could help, then I sure as hell was doing it.

"This is probably going to hurt," he began. I exhaled.

"Let me do it," I said. I guess doing drugs was useful after all. I took the materials he held out. "Just get the cup ready."

I wasn't surprised to see the container Bryce held out had careful measurements on the side. The standard, wasn't that what Bryce had said? I wouldn't have been surprised if the fridge was filled with blood.

I used my lighter to sterilize the needle, even though Bryce had pulled it out of a package. It would take awhile to cool and I glanced at the scrolls around me as I waited. Words jumped out at me, words that gave me shivers when my brain automatically translated them. The portals that Kane had around his home...there were sacrifices required for that kind of power. And I didn't want to know what they were.

"Thank god he left," Bryce muttered, leaning in close, just in case Kane could still hear. "I hate fucking talking to him, even if he doesn't say much. Thinks he's better than everyone."

"I hadn't noticed."

"I suppose that's somehow my fault."

"Defensive much? You can't be responsible for everything that's rude and condescending."

Bryce leaned forward even further, his face inches from mine. "I'm kind of hurt. It was good to be the best at something."

"You do have other skills," I reassured him.

His breath tickled my neck and a shiver ran down my spine, the good kind, the one I liked. A hand ran up my thigh. "Such as?"

I pushed him away, gently. "I'm not putting on a show for the hermit. Because he'd ask to join in and that's just awkward."

Bryce laughed and carelessly brushed my hair back. It was disgusting how that one faux-intimate gesture made me want to swoon. A deep breath and then I said, "Let's do this."

He put the tourniquet on, as tight as he could, and my arm was tingling by the time we agreed on which one of us got to stick me with a needle. In the end, the fact that I had actually done this before and he had only hung around junkies (maybe that's why I loved musicians) meant I won. He took a step back and I stuck the needle in my arm. Bryce had already carefully placed the tube so that it led to the container. Blood began pouring forth. "Hold the needle?" I asked. When he took it, I removed the tourniquet, allowing the blood to flow faster. It wasn't a pleasant sensation—the needle was at an awkward angle and pinched my skin.

I kept my fingers moving as the blood poured out. Somehow, it felt like it helped. Where the tube touched my skin, it burned—how could my blood be so hot when I was always so cold?

"This is sick," Bryce muttered as he watched the blood flow through the tube and into the glass. I chattered in response. I wondered if I always got cold when this happened and I hadn't noticed because of the smack.

He didn't say anything else until he told me to stop. Applying pressure on my arm, I slipped the needle out. Bryce held up the three pints of blood.

"Perfect. He should—are you all right?"

"I should have sugar or juice or something," I said. My heart was beating like a jackhammer and I was cold, but I was conscious...

Bryce—after carefully placing the blood beside me—hurried to the tiny fridge in the corner. The blood looked thicker than I had expected, like red chocolate sauce. It made what little food I had in my stomach lurch about. He returned with a carton of orange juice.

"I'm not going to ask how he gets that stuff up here," Bryce said. "It's pulp free."

I gulped it down, straight from the carton. It didn't help. I hadn't expected it to do much. Trembling violently, I almost dropped the carton. Bryce quickly took it from me and began running his hands up and down my arms trying to warm me up.

"Is it the blood loss?"

"I think so. You're not supposed to donate that much at once. They usually stop at around a pint." And I was smaller and probably less healthy than your average person...

"You donate blood often?"

"When I could. My ex...I needed to practice healing needle marks."

"You should have mentioned that before." Bryce informed me. The movement of his hands sped up. How could you be a Cabal prince and not know how much blood a person could stand to lose? But there was a good reason I hadn't said anything before.

"I need to help."

"Having you pass out on me is not helpful, Gillian, no matter what you think." He sighed, brain whirling. "When I got shot, you performed some sort of spell for the blood loss."

"Blood replenishing." He looked at me expectantly so I clarified. "You can't cast powerful healing spells on yourself. It's the strongest branch of witch magic, but most people think it's useless because you can only help others with it, not—"

"As much as I appreciate the equal rights rant or whatever," Bryce said, "You need to shut up and say the spell."

"It won't work on me."

"You said that. I listen when you talk. That's why you're going to have to teach it to me. Preferably before you go into shock."

I stared at him for a long time, uncomprehending. But I was pretty much losing all function, so I forced myself to spit out the words, one sentence at a time. His accent was atrocious but he got the flow the second he heard the words. All it took was a little polish on the pronunciation and within ten minutes he had cast the spell.

The relief was instantaneous, if not perfect. "Is it safe to cast again?" he asked. I had stopped shaking as hard, but I was still freezing.

I considered and finally relented; I should probably take some sort of medical course soon. He screwed up the cast, but managed when he tried again. It worked, and that left him pressed against me, my own personal heating blanket. It somehow made everything a little less horrible. "That was amazing. How do you learn these spells so fast?"

"I just repeat what you say," he said. "It used to bug the hell out of Sean, how I could pick up spells in an hour that he had been working on for weeks. Dude has absolutely no sense of rhythm."

I had never thought about magic like that. It had always been about translations, the power in the words. But if the power was in the string of words...that was an interesting. Something else to look into, if I ever sat around learning spells with Savannah again.

"I bet you teased him mercilessly."

"You know it. I was an ass."

"Was?" I kissed him before he could protest. His lips were chapped. The cold wasn't doing either of us any favors. But at least I wasn't about to lose consciousness from the blood loss.

Bryce grunted something, a sound lost between tongue and teeth. When he pulled away, all he said was, "Come on. I want to show you something."

His grin kind of scared me, but I let him help me off the desk. And then since I was completely dizzy, I let him practically carry me to the door. It wasn't the same one we had entered from. That's all Kane's house seemed to be. Fireplace and doors.

Bryce pushed open the door and led me through it. I could only gape as he smiled. "What do you think?"

"We're on top of the world."

The wind was chilly, but I barely noticed. It was incredible. I reached out, almost convinced I could touch the clouds. Far down below, I could see ice and trees on other mountains, barely visible thanks to the fog. I shivered, moving closer to Bryce. It was beautiful, heart wrenchingly so, and it terrified me, utterly. I was already so small. What could I do against all of this?

"It almost makes you think he's not so wrong about everything," Bryce said quietly. I could feel his lips brush my forehead. "Almost."

"It's...amazing," I concluded lamely.

"First time I saw it, I was nine years old. Dad had to talk to Kane and I begged him to take me. So we went from the office to here. Dad made me stand outside while they did business and by the time they let me back in, I had made up my mind. I was never going to work for my family. Dad used to think it made me go crazy, like it couldn't just be a regular epiphany. But really, how can you see something like this and want to work in a two by four office the rest of your life?"

"I'm thinking your office is a little bit bigger than that."

"Maybe a little."

I took a shaky breath and asked to go back inside. I couldn't handle this. Kristof had been right. You went insane if you looked too closely at something this perfect.

Bryce's eyes never left the landscape. "We need to go over what's going to happen first. Where Kane can't hear us. He'll call the demon, but he won't get involved. I'll act as mediator and you'll talk. You're free to promise anything the Nasts have. But if you agree to anything," his voice took on that steely Cabal tone I knew so well, "Anything, without my express permission, you will have eternity to regret it. Understand me?"

"Be careful, Bryce, it almost sounds like you care."

His expression remained blank. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," I rolled my eyes. "I won't make the deal if you don't approve. I probably won't have anything a demon wants anyway. I'll have to promise away the Nast fortune."

"There's too much of it." His fingers dug into my hip a little more. "I wouldn't be too sure about having nothing a demon wants. Just make sure he doesn't get it."

"I swear." For the moment he was placated but I doubted it would last long.

Shoulders squared, he backed off, ready to get Kane. I followed, with one last look at the world around me. I don't know why I felt like crying, but I did. Inside, I moved around to get warm, trying not think about how alone I suddenly felt. Bryce knocked on Kane's door.

One loud knock and that was all it took. Kane emerged just as wild and dark as before. "Let us begin."