Chapter 17

Ivy and I had made a run to the store to get some spelling supplies. Trent stayed back hoping Jenks would show up but I knew it was an excuse for him to do some spelling of his own. I didn't care what he did as long as we found Jenks alive. The temperature wasn't too cold for pixies yet but we were so far from home and the rules for pixies were different on the west coast than in Cincinnati. We had learned that the hard way when Jenks had been kidnapped by a pixy clan for wearing red.

We were on our third charm shop trying to find ginger root. They no longer sold it in traditional grocery stores after the turn, humans learning that witches used it in spells. This shop smelled better than the last two. I think the supplies in here were fresher and the witch behind the counter had a very strong redwood smell coming from her. She smiled asking if we needed help with anything. We declined and ventured in to hopefully find the ginger.

"Oh thank God." I said grabbing a big chunk of the root.

"That's it?" Ivy looked at it not seeing why it was such a big deal.

"Yup." I walked up to the counter to pay when the clerk tilted her head and looked at me differently. I think she finally recognized who I was.

"You're Rachel Morgan?" She asked taking the ginger and putting it into a paper bag.

"Yep, that's me." I said sighing hoping she wasn't going to fight me about selling me the ginger. I was no longer shunned but people were still just as scared of a day walking demon.

"There was a woman and a man in here looking for you earlier. They had something in a box that was spouting a lot of profanity." She said with serious eyes.

"That's Jenks!" I practically jumped over the counter. "Where are they? Where did they go?"

The clerk jumped back a step as Ivy approached with eyes black as night. "Where are they?" Her tone smooth and sultry. Swell. She vamped out.

I stood my ground ignoring Ivy which seemed to help the clerk calm down. "Was it a blonde woman?" I took a step to the side somewhat blocking Ivy's view of the clerk. I needed her to come down and maybe that would help.

"Uh, yes." The woman was scared but I could tell she just wanted to help. "She left a note for you. The man had said you would be here today. I didn't believe it until I saw you walk in that door." She reached under the counter and pulled out a sealed envelope. It had my name printed on the front in elegant script. I grabbed my keys from my bag and set them next to the envelope, the amulets staying a nice solid green. So it wasn't spelled.

"Thank you." I said to the woman shoving it into my bag. I set a twenty on the counter for the ginger. "Keep the change. Ivy lets go."

The woman stared at me in awe as I pushed an angry vamp towards the door. Yeah, I'm bad. Ivy didn't scare me nearly as much as the dead ones did.

"Open it Rachel." Ivy said the moment we were out the door, the cooler air outside helping bring her down. I nodded, pulling the envelope out and tearing it open. Inside was a hand written note addressed to me but as I pulled the second page out it was addressed to Trent. Shit. I read mine and then handed it to Ivy. It didn't say much that I didn't already know. Basically telling me to stay away from Trent, that I ruined Ellasbeth's life and that I was going to pay. Trent's letter was much more detailed. Ellasbeth wanted him back? She realized the mistake she had made treating him the way she had and that she could learn to love him? Who says that? She said she would make me pay if he didn't stay away from me and that she had insurance to do it. She had Jenks. I handed Trent's letter to Ivy. She crumpled it in her hand after reading it.

"Ivy, that wasn't mine." I took it back trying to straighten it out so Trent could read it. "We need to get back." Ivy nodded her agreement as we grabbed a cab back to the hotel.

-x-x-x-

"And the clerk just handed these over to you?" Trent questioned as he let the letters drop to the counter.

"Yes." I said as I smashed more ginger root against the cutting board. I had to make due with what spelling supplies I had.

"Something doesn't feel right about this." Trent said running his hand through his hair.

"I agree." I grabbed one of the copper pots Trent had gotten from the hotel restaurant. Like they would tell Trent Kalamack he couldn't have their pots? "I'm almost done with the finding spell and then we can go to work. I even have a focusing object now that I have the letters. Easy as pie."

"I don't know Rachel. I think we should back off. Just until we know who we're dealing with. What if another demon is helping Ellasbeth?" Trent was scared. I could see it in his eyes.

"No demon is going to go against me except maybe Newt and it's not her." Grabbing all of the spell ingredients I threw them into the pot together. "This is not some demonic power play." He nodded not fully agreeing with my assessment of the demon portion. I sighed. "I'm the only female demon besides Newt. If anything those bastards would protect me. I'm their only chance at continuing on the species. That, and I'm sure they don't know about the ever after shrinking yet."

"You're right." Trent agreed. I heard Ivy huff from the couch but she kept her distance when I was spelling and angry and today I was both. I reached into my bag for a finger stick to finish the spell. I heard the splat of the three drops of my blood hitting and the smell of burnt amber rose around me. I knew Trent and Ivy could smell it but they said nothing.

"It's ready." Ivy joined us in the kitchen. I hadn't told them it wasn't actually a finding spell but a curse. I wanted to be sure I got Ellasbeth and the smut was worth it to get Jenks back. I tapped a line and I felt Trent step back.

"What are you doing?" He asked then he realized it was a curse.

"Evulgo." I whispered feeling the curse register. "I take this." The smut didn't hurt at all as I felt it wash over me tarnishing my aura further. I hadn't done this particular curse before so I wasn't entirely sure how it would work. I felt a quiver start in my middle like I was being summoned. Shit. That wasn't what I was expecting. I was going to be pulled to where Ellasbeth was.

Ivy's eyes widened in alarm realizing it wasn't going how I had planned. I felt the line start to pull me in and I grabbed Trent's hand at the last second praying that it was working right and he was coming with me.

-x-x-x-

I was being pulled through the lines but I didn't expect it feel so familiar. I couldn't feel Trent's hand in mine but I could feel his thoughts and he was enjoying this? I was surprised that this seemed like fun to him but then again it was a rush to kick some ass. The lines were warmer and felt like home. It was home. We dropped out of the line in Trent's office?

"What the hell?" I asked as Trent found his feet beside me.

He immediately rushed forward hitting the intercom on his desk. Quen questioned more than answered "Sa'han?"

"My office now Quen!" Trent was panicking. This wasn't good. Ivy was in Seattle, Jenks was missing, and my spell took me to Trent's place with the girls. I was about to panic. Not even a minute passed and Quen burst in the office with two security men trailing behind him.

"Sa'han what are you doing here? I thought you were in Seattle?" Quen took a protective stance next to Trent. I blew out my breath trying to disguise my snort. Quen's eyes moved to me but he remained silent waiting for Trent to answer.

"Rachel's curse brought us to Ellasbeth and we just dropped in the office. She's here. Get us on lock down. No one in or out. Understand?" Trent was firm and I understood what he was getting at without saying it. Ellasbeth could be using a doppelganger charm. Quen nodded and directed the security guys and continued on down the hall. Trent picked up his desk phone and was put through an inter-building line to Ceri. He filled her in and she said she would take the girls to their safe place. I breathed a sigh of relief that they would at least be safe.

"Now we just have to find her." I said as Trent hung up the phone. I followed him out of the office not really sure where he was heading. We stopped at Sara Jane's desk for Trent to get her up to date on the lock down and I felt a twinge on my awareness. Sara Jane stared at me with such hatred that I don't know how Trent didn't notice. I didn't have anything on me to be able to see through spells but I wondered if a curse that Al had recently taught me would work. He said the general idea was to be able to see someone as they truly are, whatever that meant.

I tapped the line and whispered "Detegat ueritatem persona."

"Rachel what are you doing?" Trent turned to me breaking his attention away from Sara Jane.

I felt the energy burst out of me and I fell onto my ass. "Ouch. I take this." I quickly accepted the smut and got up in time to see the curse hit everyone in the room taking them all down. "Whoops." Then it was if everyone was different. I was able to clearly see every single person's aura as if using my second sight. Not only that but I could hear their thoughts? Oh this was freaky. I saw Trent get up and he didn't speak but I heard him saying 'Damn she can sure pack a punch.'

Sara Jane got up off the floor and tried to sit in her chair gracefully but not able to pull it off since her skirt was twisted and her hair was in disarray. She was pissed to say the least, I heard it. 'Damn whore. What does he see in her?'

I turned to one of the security guards near the front doors picking himself off the floor. He didn't seem bothered by the event and that caught my attention. It was hard to focus in on his thoughts almost sounding as if two thought patterns were coming from the same person. I stopped trying to listen just looking at him and his aura was strange. It was a nice blue color but it had shadowing that I had never seen. Almost like another aura coated his.

"Shit! Trent a Druchii, it's in him. I pointed to the man." I grabbed my splat gun from my back knowing he was going to make a run for it. Not this time. As he went for the doors that he had no hope of getting through I plugged him in his back from across the room.

"How did she know?" Sara Jane whispered thinking only Trent would have been able to hear her, not knowing I could hear her question before she even asked it.

"Come on Trent, I'm on a roll. I can find her, easy." I grabbed his arm and we started walking through the corridors that led to the labs. I had a feeling she would be in that area, thinking maybe this had been a play to get a sample not really separate Trent and I.

'God please don't walk in front of me. You're ass is so distracting.' Trent thought.

"I heard that. Then you lead the way." I smirked at his open mouthed expression.

"The curse?" Trent guessed.

"Let's move. I don't know how long this will last." I pushed Trent forward.

We made our way through all of the labs and offices down below and I found nothing. The curse was still working and I could still hear everyone's thoughts. It was giving me a headache so I just concentrated on Trent's. At least he was making an effort to keep his mind clear. He was worried about the girls. I kept thinking back to the twinge I had felt near Sara Jane. Something wasn't right.

"I want to talk to Sara Jane." I decided.

"Okay?" Trent said leading the way back to the main entrance. He reached back and grabbed my hand and it seemed to relax him. I smiled liking that I could make him feel that way. That was a new feeling for us. I was always good at pushing his buttons but I could make him feel good too.

As we approached the front desk Sara Jane swore, at least in her head.

'The bitch is back. Yay. And he's touching her? How dare she! The whore is going to pay.' Sara Jane had that same look of hatred again. Her aura wasn't shadowed by another so I knew there wasn't a Druchii in her.

"I don't think that's Sara Jane." I whispered in Trent's ear brushing my lips against it. That definitely got the reaction I was looking for from her.

'Fucking whore! Trenton was mine!' Sara Jane plastered a fake smile on her face.

I smiled back letting Trent's hand slip from mine. "Follow my lead." I whispered to him. I moved all the way up to the desk with Trent by my side. "Does she have that contract?" I asked Trent.

He looked confused for a second and quickly recovered. "Sara Jane I need the contract for the hospital wing remodel."

"Mr. Kalamack, I do believe you have it." Sara Jane answered. In her thoughts she was screaming. She had no idea what contract he was talking about. That was enough for me to believe that whoever this person was she wasn't Sara Jane even if she looked like her.

I reached over the desk and grabbed her by her hair slamming her head into the desk. She was out.

"Rachel please explain why you just knocked out my secretary?" Trent said still confused.

"That's not Sara Jane. She's using a doppelganger charm. I think that's Ellasbeth." I explained plopping my butt on the end of the desk, not caring that the woman was slowly slipping to the floor.

"Are you absolutely sure that isn't Sara Jane?" Trent studied me for a moment. "Yes. You are." He pushed the intercom button on the phone and requested Quen to return to the lobby.

Quen rushed back with several security guards. Two went to attend to the man knocked out from my charm by the door and the others stayed with Quen at Sara Jane's desk. We quickly filled Quen in watching his eyes get bigger and bigger with each sentence. When I told him Sara Jane wasn't really Sara Jane he looked worried.

"If this isn't Sara Jane then where is she?" Quen asked with genuine concern.

"And where's Jenks?" I asked staring at the woman now slumped on the floor pretending to be Sara Jane.

"Lets get everyone gathered where we have some privacy. Leave us on lock down. Check identification and use spell checkers before anyone can enter or leave please." Trent ordered and took my hand bringing me back towards the private areas of his buildings. Quen and the security followed with fake Sara Jane and the security officer from the door. I thought we were heading to Trent's living area when we stopped in front of a wall and Trent ran his hand across a keypad that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He had a secret door? He punched in the code and the wall opened into a staircase that led down. I wasn't scared but I was hesitant. Trent still had plenty of secrets and I was trusting him. I wondered if I was making another mistake.

My curse was still in full swing and I could hear everyone's thoughts and I knew I had nothing to be afraid of. I only wondered if this was the room he held Nick in. Is this where he had killed Brett? I didn't know if I could go down those stairs. Quen and security moved forward and down leaving Trent and I standing in front of the door.

A million thoughts were going through Trent's head and I felt like I was invading his privacy. "It's not what you think. I don't murder people down here Rachel. Please, trust me."

I gulped and followed him down.