What in the arcane are you doing? came Al's unusually angry thought within mine, and shoved away the whisper imagery of him either cleaning his spelling kitchen or tearing it apart.
"Filing an emancipation curse," I said aloud so Ivy and Jenks could hear half the conversation. "And before you start, what I do with my familiars is my business."
Do you have any idea what you've done? Al shouted, and I winced. Please tell me you didn't teach him anything. Al hesitated. Did you?
I shook my head even though Al couldn't see it. "I didn't teach Trent anything. Not even respect," I said, and I felt Al sigh in relief.
Itchy witch, Al thought, his dark musings seeming to insert themselves into my head. There's a reason we kill familiars when we're done with them. He's got a new mark, doesn't he?
"His familiar mark turned into a smiley face," I said, feeling myself warm.
From the backseat, Jenks exclaimed, "No way! Let me see!" and Trent's negative growl.
Damn my dame, Al thought, seeming to fall back into Ceri's comfortable chair by the small hearth in his kitchen if I was interpreting his emotions right. You did it correctly. Nice going, Rachel.
"Hey, you're the one who gave me the recipe," I shot back, thinking the modern phrase sounded funny coming from the old-world-charm demon.
I gave that one to you because it's bloody impossible and I thought you wouldn't be able to do it! he exclaimed, loud enough to give me a headache. You just made Trent able to call any demon without fear of being snatched. Nice going.
Fingers pressed to the glass to maintain our link, I looked back at Trent. So? You can still smack him around, can't you? I said, and the demon chuckled, making me shiver.
Technically, no, but that's a matter of interpretation.
I pushed my fingers into my forehead, tired of it all. Demons. Their society's rules were not worth the blood they were written with unless you had the personal power to force everyone to abide by them. But the snatching thing? That was probably ironclad.
"What did you say?" Jenks asked belligerently. "Hey! You're talking and not telling us. That's rude, Rache."
"Tell you later," I said, turning to look at Ivy, her hands on the wheel as she waited. She looked worried. Hell, I knew I was.
"Look, I wasn't going to use him as a familiar," I said to Al. "And now he's going to help get my shunning removed." The part about the West Coast elves trying to cack him, I'd keep to myself, not because it made this look more dangerous, but because Al wouldn't care. He'd just as soon see me fail. If I lost our bet, I'd be living with him in the ever-after-hence the reason he wouldn't just pop me over there.
Trenton Aloysius Kalamack? Al thought, a tweak of magic running through me when he lit a candle. Why? You going to be his little demon in return for his vouching for your sterling character, dove?
"Absolutely not," I said with a huff. "Trent's on some elf quest. I promised I'd see him to the West Coast is all. I'm his mirror, sword, and shield all in one. It was a deal, Al. Just because I can break them with impunity doesn't mean I will."
"You're on an elf quest?" Jenks said loudly, and Trent sighed. "You shitting me?"
You make the most interesting mistakes, my itchy witch, Al thought, and I didn't care if he could sense me slump in relief. If he was back to calling me itchy witch, we were okay. Don't teach him anything, he finished. Nothing.
"Not a problem," I said and lifted my hand, breaking the connection before Algaliarept caught my first whisper of unease.
Don't teach him anything, Al had said. Like how to free a familiar, maybe? Too late.
Chapter Eight
The hum of the engine shifted, becoming deeper. It stirred my unconsciousness, waking me more than the bright sun determined to wedge itself under my eyelids. Beyond the cover of my coat draped over me, it was cold, so I didn't move. Somewhere between Ohio and Texas, the cinnamon and wine smell of elf had joined the familiar scent of vampire and witch, mixing with the leather of my coat. Under that was the faint hint of lilac perfume, evidence of my mom lingering yet in the cushions of the backseat of her car. It was relaxing, and I lingered, dozing and slumped against the door. If I woke up, I'd have to move, and I was stiff from riding in the car for the last twenty-four hours.
A sigh that wasn't mine moved me, and I jerked awake. Crap, I wasn't slumped against the door. I was leaning against Ivy!
Great, I thought, carefully sitting up and trying not to wake her. I wasn't being phobic, but I didn't want a misunderstanding.
Her eyes opened as I pulled away, and I met her sleepy expression with my own, taking my coat and covering her up where my warmth had been against her. Ivy's smile turned sly even as her eyes closed again, and I shivered at the slip of teeth. The clock on the dash said it was about nine. Way too early for me to be up. Jenks must have changed it to Central time.
Scooting to my side of the backseat, I flicked my attention to Jenks sitting on the rearview mirror. He had on a new red coat I didn't recognize, matching his boots. Seeing me look at them, Jenks shrugged and continued his conversation with Trent about financial trends and how they parallel the size of successful pixy broods. I vaguely remembered hearing them talking in my dreams, and I sat there, ignored, as I tried to figure out what was going on.
The last thing I remembered was Ivy stopping for gas and Trent waking up from his midnight nap to take over the driving. We'd been in Oklahoma, and it had been dark, flat, and starless. Now, as I sat slumped in the back and blinked at the bright sun, I wondered where we were. The terrain had changed again. Gone was the sedge that had dotted the dry, rolling plains and turned everything in the distance into a pale green carpet. It was true desert now, the vegetation dry and sparse. Under the glaring sun and cloudless sky, the colors were thin and washed out: tans, whites, with a hint of mauve and silver. I'd never seen such a lack of anything before, but instead of making me uneasy, it was restful.
My mouth tasted ugly, and I checked my phone, my brain still fuzzy as it tried to work without caffeine. I'd missed another call from Bis, and I frowned, concerned. He'd be asleep now, but if it was anything important, the pixies would call Jenks. Bis was probably just checking on me again, still worried about me having pulled on St. Louis's line so heavily. He'd called yesterday shortly before sundown, throwing me until I realized it was dark where he was. But what bothered me now was that he'd felt me pull on a line when he'd been asleep.
Trent's voice was pleasant as he talked to Jenks, and I tucked my phone away, wondering what it might feel like to have that voice directed at me. I was not crushing on him, but it was hard not to appreciate a man who was rich, sexy, and powerful. Trent was all of that and scum, too, but the respect in his tone as he talked to Jenks was surprising. Respect, or perhaps camaraderie.