IfI got out of this situation.
If you didn’t,a sharp voice behind me said,it would be totally deserved. What you did was reckless.
I half jumped, then spun around. Atticus sat three feet away, his tail swishing violently from side to side.You just about gave me a fucking heart attack.
Deservedly so, given you gave me one when you dove into the void. That was stupid.
Yes, but I couldn’t afford to lose Monica or Orion.
Neither of whom are in this wretched place. He paused.Orion? Was that not Lanie?
Yes, but her soul is no longer in residence.
That does explain her ability to create the vortex and the magic that thwarted us in that house. I take it you have a plan?
Beyond finding and stopping Orion? Absolutely not.
He snorted.Then it is just as well I am here to offer expert guidance.
You know what they say about experts.
His gaze narrowed.No, I do not. Enlighten me.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help grinning.An ex is a has-been, and a spurt is a drip under pressure.
He sniffed. It was an unimpressed sound.
From outside came the soft rumble of an approaching vehicle. I padded across to the old wooden doors and peered through a crack. I didn’t recognize the car, but I did recognize the man who climbed out.
Tane.
I frowned.How did he get here so fast? How much time has passed?
Just over an hour.
What? I wasn’t in the vortex that damn long.
They tend to warp time, either stretching or compacting. What likely seemed like minutes to you was in fact much longer in the real world.
Which explained why Orion wasn’t here even though I’d leapt into the vortex only seconds after him. His spell had stretched time for me; maybe I was lucky it had even spat me back out.Why did it take you an hour to find me, though?
If you are not in this world, you cannot be traced.
You’re able to step between worlds. Surely that gives you a tracing advantage.
A vortex is basically a tunnel that is formed between the real and the spiritual worlds. I cannot trace such magic.
Outside, a door slammed. I peered back through the crack and saw Tane striding toward the garage. I swore softly and, after a quick look around, quietly ran around the car and dropped down beside the one remaining tire.
And not a moment too soon.
The old doors were flung open, and fingers of magic spun through the room, seeking, testing. The bracelet on my wrist pulsed lightly as the fingers approached, and they skipped over me and ran on, passing right through Atticus’s ghostly form. His tail swished in annoyance, but he otherwise didn’t comment.
After a moment, Tane retracted his magic and continued on. I dropped to my belly and watched him from underneath the raised car. He skirted around several old red drums, then stopped in front of another metal shelf.
“I’m here, as you asked. Where is my daughter?”
There was a beat, then Lanie said, seemingly from nowhere, “Did you bring the runestone?”
