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Savannah grabbed my shoulder to wrench me off Jaime's body. I looked up into her eyes.
"It's not Paige, baby," I said. "It's me."
She blinked. "M-Mom?"
And here was my long-dreamed reunion. At last, looking into my daughter's eyes and having her looking back, knowing it was me...and I had my hands wrapped around the throat of her friend, choking the life from her.
"You have to go, baby," I whispered. "Please. I know what I'm doing. Lucas will explain. I'll take care of Jaime. I promise."
She just stared at me, eyes wide. "Mom?"
I tore my gaze away from hers and looked at Lucas, standing behind her. He nodded and put his hands on her shoulders.
"I'll be right outside," Lucas murmured to me. "Call me when you need to bring her back."
He whispered something to Savannah, and she let him lead her from the room. I could feel her stunned gaze on my back until they turned the corner. Then I looked down at the Nix and squeezed. When her body went limp, I held her down and waited for Trsiel to do his job.
Would I know when Trsiel had captured the Nix's spirit? How? I looked down at Jaime's face. Her lips had turned blue and her eyes were glassy, pupils dilated. Shit! I needed to start CPR soon. But if I started it too soon, she might resuscitate before Trsiel had the Nix.
"Lucas!"
By the time he got here, Trsiel was bound to have the Nix. Then he could start CPR and maybe, just maybe, the Fates would give me a few moments with my daughter before they whisked me back.
The back door clicked. Jaime's body began to pulse with a dull glow. As Lucas's running steps tapped up the rear steps, that glow began to separate from Jaime's body, just as it had in the community center.
The Nix's spirit condensed, taking on the features of her true form. Lucas rounded the corner, limping from his wounded leg. I held up a hand.
"Just give it a sec. It's almost over. Is Savannah--?"
"Outside," he said, dropping beside Jaime. He checked her pulse, then turned to me. "She's fading. I need to start--"
"Wait. Just a few more seconds." I cast a quick look around. "Damn it, Trsiel. Where are you?"
"So that's the Nix?" Lucas said, one hand still monitoring Jaime's pulse, the other gesturing at the Nix's spirit.
I started to nod, then stopped. "You can see her? Oh, shit! We shouldn't be able to see her. She should be on the other side. That means Trsiel can't--"
"Eve! We're losing--"
His lips parted in a silent oath, and his head whipped down to Jaime's and started CPR. The Nix's spirit writhed and twisted. For a second, I saw her face clearly in the fog. I grabbed at her, but my hands went right through her form. She threw back her head and laughed. Then, with one last twist, she tore herself free, shot up to the ceiling, and disappeared.
"Goddamn it!"
I drove my fist into the wall. Then I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. Okay, so it hadn't worked. The kids were still safe. As for the Nix, I'd catch her again, this time in the ghost world, where she couldn't escape so easily.
I knelt beside Jaime.
"Is she okay?" I asked. "What can I do?"
He pulled back and began chest compressions. "We lost her for a second, but I think she's coming back. Can you take over the--?"
"Lucas?"
Savannah's voice drifted out from the back of the house. Her footsteps clomped across the kitchen floor.
"Mom?"
"In here, baby. Come--"
