"Got you, you bastard!" I shouted, spinning to plug him right in the face.
His eyes widened, then rolled up. Stifling a shriek, I rolled out of the way as his momentum tipped him forward. There was a sodden thump as he hit the cobbled drive. Blood seeped out from under his cheek. He'd broken something.
"Sorry you work for such a dick," I breathed as I got up, then did a double take. My face went slack and I let my gun slip to dangle from a finger. I was surrounded by eight men, all of them a good ten feet back. Lee stood behind them, looking obnoxiously satisfied as he adjusted the button on his coat. I grimaced and tried to catch my breath. Oh yeah. I had broken the circle. Shit on crap, how many times did I have to tag this guy?
Panting and hunched in pain, I saw David and Kisten unmoving under three guns in the garage. There were eight surrounding me. Add in the five I'd just downed. Kisten had gotten at least four. Mustn't forget the original guys upstairs. I didn't even know how many Ivy had taken out. The man was ready for a freaking war.
Slowly I straightened. I could handle that.
"Ms. Morgan?" Lee's voice sounded odd among the dripping snowmelt coming off the garage's overhang. The sun was behind the house, and I shivered now that I wasn't moving. "Anything left in your little gun?"
I looked at it. If I had counted right—and I thought I had—there were eight charms in there. Eight charms that were useless as Lee could deflect them all. And even if he didn't, I stood little chance in taking that many men without getting nailed. If I played by the rules…
"I'm dropping the gun," I said, then carefully, slowly, opened the reservoir and dumped the blue splat balls out before I tossed it to him. Seven tiny spheres bounced, rolling in the cracks of the red cobbled drive to come to a stop. Seven in the open; one in my hand. God, this had to work. Just don't bind my hands. I had to keep my hands.
Shaking, I put my hands in the air and backed away, a tiny splat ball dropping down my sleeve to make a cold spot at my elbow. Lee gestured, and the surrounding men converged. One grabbed my shoulder, and I struggled not to hit him. Placid, meek. No need to tie me up.
Lee got in my face. "Stupid, stupid girl," he sneered, touching his forehead under his short dark bangs where a new cut spread.
He pulled his hand back, and I forced myself to not move, taking it as he backhanded me. Seething, I pulled myself straight where the momentum had shifted me. The surrounding men laughed, but my hands behind my back were moving, the splat ball rolling to find my palm as I finished. My eyes flicked from Lee to my splat balls on the cobbles. Someone bent to pick one up. "You're wrong," I said to Lee, breathing hard. "I'm a stupid, stupid witch."
Lee's attention followed mine to the splat balls. "Consimilis," I said, tapping a line.
"Get down!" Lee exclaimed, pushing the men around him out of the way.
"Calefacio!" I shouted, elbowing the witch holding me and rolling to the ground. My circle snapped into existence around me with a quick thought. There was a sharp pop, and a scattering of blue-colored shrapnel peppered the outside of my bubble. The plastic balls had burst from the heat, sending superheated sleep potion everywhere. I looked up from between my arms. Everyone was down but Lee, having put enough men between him and the flying potions. In the garage, Ivy stood panting over the last three vamps. We had gotten them. All that was left was Lee. And he was mine.
A smile curved over me as I stood and broke my circle, taking the energy back into my chi. "Just you and me, surfer boy," I said, tossing the splat ball I had used for a focusing object and catching it. "Care to throw the dice?"
Lee's round face went still. He held himself unmoving, and then, without a glimmer of emotion, tapped a line.
"Son of a bitch," I swore, lunging. I slammed into him, knocking him flat on the cobbles. Teeth gritted, he gripped my wrist, squeezing until the splat ball rolled from me.
"You will shut up!" I shouted from atop him, jamming my arm into his throat so he couldn't speak. He fought me, bringing his hand up to smack my cheek.
My breath hissed out in a pained gasp as he hit the bruise Al gave me. Catching his wrist, I snapped my cuffs on him. Spinning him over, I wrenched his arm out from under him. Knee on his back, pinning him to the pavement, I snapped the other ring about his other wrist.
"I am tired of your crap!" I exclaimed. "Nobody tries to put a black charm on me, and nobody traps me in a boat with a bomb. Nobody!You hear me? Who in hell do you think you are, coming into my city and trying to take over?" Rolling him over, I snatched David's paper from behind his coat. "And this isn't yours!" I said, holding it high like a trophy.
"Ready for a little trip, witch?" Lee said, his eyes dark with hate and blood leaking from his mouth.
My eyes widened as I felt him pull more from the ley line he was already linked to. "No!" I shouted, realizing what he was doing. The cuffs were FIB issue, I thought, kicking myself. They were FIB issue, lacking the core of solid silver that the I.S. issue cuffs came standard with. He could jump. He could jump to a line if he knew how. And apparently he did.
"Rachel!" Ivy shrieked, her voice and the light cutting off with a terrifying suddenness.
A sheet of ever-after coated me. I choked, pushing Lee away, clawing at my mouth, unable to breathe. My heart beat wildly as his magic raced through me, etching the lines both physical and mental that defined me. The blackness of never flooded me, and I panicked as I felt myself exist in splinters everywhere but nowhere sure. I teetered on madness, unable to breathe, unable to think.
I screamed as I snapped back into myself with a wrench and the blackness retreated to the pit of my soul. I could breathe.
Lee kicked at me, and I rolled away to my hands and knees, thanking God I had them again. Cold rock bit through my nylons, and I sucked in the air, gasping, gagging at the choking smell of ash. The wind whipped my hair into my face. My exposed skin went icy. Heart pounding, I looked up, knowing by the ruddy light coating the rubble I knelt in that we weren't in Lee's drive anymore.
"Oh…crap," I whispered as I took in the setting sun glowing through the remains of shattered buildings.
I was in the ever-after.
Thirty-two
The frost-rimmed rocks beside me slid, and I jerked out of the way before Lee's foot could connect with my ribs again. Red and small, the sun crept behind the shadow of a broken building. It looked like Carew Tower. Nearby were the remnants of what might be a fountain. We were at Fountain Square? "Lee," I whispered, frightened. "We have to get out of here."
There was a ping, and Lee brought his arms out from behind his back. His suit was dirty and it looked out of place amid the destruction. The soft and certain clink of a falling rock pulled my head around, and he threw the handcuffs at it. We weren't alone. Damn.
"Lee!" I hissed. Oh God. If Al found me, I was dead. "Can you get us home?"
He smiled, brushing the hair out of his eyes. Slipping on the loose rubble, he scanned the ragged horizon. "You don't look well," he said, and I winced at how loud his voice was against the cold rocks. "First time in the ever-after?"
"Yes and no." Shivering, I got up and felt my scraped knees. I'd put a run in my nylons, and blood was seeping out. I was standing in a line. I could feel it humming, could almost see it—it was that strong. Clasping my arms about myself, I jerked at the sound of sliding rock. I wasn't thinking of tagging him; I was thinking of escape. But I couldn't travel the lines.