“Now, Kirin. I need to get her to Lala’s. And you need to clean up that mess before the spell breaks down and the assholes inside figure out who we are.”
Kirin’s glare intensifies, but he nods, giving me his word.
Trusting the mage is on it, I whisper another spell—cloaking, this time—then run as fast as my burden will allow, crossing into the staff lot and the car I left there earlier. Glamoured, of course, like everything else about this jailbreak mission.
I get the woman situated and buckled into the front seat, then start the engine, rolling us out toward the exit. At the guard booth, I smile and flash a Tarot card.
Seeing only an employee ID badge, he raises the barricade and waves me through, wishing me a good afternoon. It doesn’t even occur to him to notice the unconscious girl strapped in next to me, still dressed in her prison uniform.
Thanks to my spellwork, it doesn’t occur to him to notice a lot of things.
I’m fifteen minutes down the highway when Kirin’s voice buzzes from my comms watch.
“All clear,” he announces. “Straight from the internal communications system—one of the guards reported the bodies to the warden. Said the medical examiner already came to dispose of them, so it’s out of their hands.”
“Bodies? As in, more than one?”
“You had to off yourself in this story, Cass. Too many loose ends otherwise.”
“Ah. Good point. Have I told you lately that you’re brilliant?”
“You know, nothing says ‘you’re brilliant’ like a raise.”
“We’ll discuss it later.” I glance at my passenger, still unconscious, her head slumped forward against her chest. “And the death certificates?”
“I’m faxing them over now. Official cause of death—gunshot wound to the chest. The unofficial shit—well, the gossip is already making its way through the walls. Murder-suicide by a fanatic impersonating an attorney.”
“The other prisoners must be loving it.”
Kirin sighs. “It’ll die down soon enough. A little luck, and everyone here will forget Starla Milan ever existed.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Is she awake?” Kirin asks.
“Not yet. But she will be.”
“You’d better be damn sure about that.”
“Kirin? You may be brilliant. But try to remember who’s in charge.” I sign off, focusing my attention back on the road. Another hour, and we’re well off the beaten path, traversing the old county roads long since abandoned for the faster, well-paved interstates. I haven’t seen a single vehicle since I left the highway.
The road curves, and Starla slides sideways, her hair brushing the arm of my suit jacket. When the road bends again, she shifts back to the other side.
Wake up, Starla. Wake up.
My hands tighten over the wheel. I know she’s unharmed—it was my spell. She’ll come to in another hour or so, once the initial shock works its way through her body and the illusion magick fades.
That magick worked exactly as designed. It always does.
Doesn’t make the hot rush of guilt in my chest any less painful. I’m pretty sure it’s going to take more than a few non-magickal, very hard drinks to wipe my memory of that look in her eyes. The disbelief, the anger, the confusion. The raw terror when I pulled out my weapon.
I glance over at the woman again, reaching out to smooth her hair behind her ear. Her color is good, her skin warm and soft beneath all the prison grime.
I should take my hand away. Focus on the road.
But I can’t stop thinking about what I saw back in that room.
When I touched her hand to calm her, I was pulled into some sort of vision, so strong I could’ve sworn it was real—a memory. I was walking through an ancient forest on a nearly moonless night, called forward by the peaceful sounds of night birds and running water. The trees thinned out, and I came upon a clearing—that’s when I saw her. She was nude, kneeling at the edge of a moonlit pool, her hair brushing her shoulders. Behind her, a circle of standing stones rose toward the stars. She saw me watching her, and got to her feet, approaching me with a soft smile. I returned it. Without words, she wrapped her arms around me, pressing her naked breasts to my chest, whispering my name as if we’d been lovers, finally reunited after far too long.
