“Yes, ma’am.”
With that, she released me and said her good-byes to her nephew. When she turned to Giguhl, she said, “You take care of them for me or I’ll whip your scaly hide.”
Giguhl chuckled and lifted the elder mage into an undignified hug. “You bet your sweet ass.”
All around the room, awkward glances and sniffles punctuated the tension of the impending farewell.
Finally, Giguhl released Rhea. Turning toward Adam and me, the demon clapped his claws and rubbed them together. “All righty, let’s get this quest under way already.”
I smiled up at him. “Quest?”
He shrugged. “Sure, isn’t that what you call it when someone rides off into the sunset to meet her destiny?”
I shook my head at the demon. “You’ve been watching too much TV again.”
“All right, you two.” Adam’s upbeat tone was forced, and his red-rimmed eyes hinted at how much he was hiding. “Circle up and we’ll be eating beignets in no time.”
Rhea joined us in the circle, more out of solidarity than a magical need. Giguhl held my right hand. “On three,” I said, forcing my tone to stay strong. Beside me, Giguhl and Adam nodded, giving me the all-clear.
“One…” Rhea’s smile wavered.
The wind rose up, cold and harsh as a stranger.
“Two…” Adam squeezed my hand. Over his shoulder, I spied the tense, hopeful faces of the Queen of the fae, the vampire Enforcer, and the dozens of members of all the dark races who were putting their faith in us.
Through the haze of magic and the pull of time and space, I sent a little prayer to Lilith that this would not be the last time we were all together.
“Three.”