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"Nothing ever is,” she muttered.
Amusement filled Seline's voice as she said, “Not when it comes to magic, I'm afraid." Nikki sighed. “So, what's the problem in this case?"
"It's twofold. First, the symbols will be inked into his skin, and they will need to be washed with a special soap before they start to fade."
"Meaning we take lots of baths?"
"This is a ghost town, remember,” Camille commented, amusement touching her thin lips. “It won't have running water, let alone hot running water."
"Guess that means electricity will also be at a premium?"
"Hartwood did have power a century ago, but I'm guessing only the section where the rangers stay would have power now,” Camille said. “And it wouldn't be necessary for any of Weylin's spells." Nikki rubbed a hand across her eyes. She'd roughed it on the streets as a teenager, but her teenage years were long ago, and she was well and truly used to life's little luxuries—water on tap, hot food, clean sheets. It was sounding like those were going to be a little sparse on the ground. “Am I able to take anything in with me?"
"Weylin has provided a list of what can and can't be taken in. Candles, matches and a small camp oven are on the list. But we'll try and sneak some soap in, as well."
"What about food?"
"He has apparently stocked the general store, probably because I had a lot to do with the store owner." Nikki had a feeling she didn't want to know the exact details of that. “So, what's the second problem with removing the symbols from Michael's back?"
"Michael himself."
Nikki's eyebrows rose. “Why?"
"He will be role-playing, remember, and will see you as me. He and I were never intimate, though my role as saloon girl meant we did share a kiss or three." Seline paused, as if waiting for a reaction. Nikki shrugged, even though she knew Seline couldn't see the gesture. Michael had told her many times he and Seline had never been sexually intimate, and Nikki trusted the truth of his words. But he'd never said they hadn't kissed or touched, and she'd be a fool to think otherwise.
After another second of silence, Seline continued, “While instinctively he will be drawn to you, he will fight it, because deep down he knows that he and I never happened."
"So that's another way of maybe tripping the spell—dragging him into bed."
"Possibly. But one thing you should remember—the Michael you meet in Hartwood will not be your Michael. He will be rougher, harder."
How much rougher and harder could he be than when she'd first met him? He'd been so close to edge, so close to becoming one with the darkness, back then. And though he'd only really threatened her once, it was something she was never likely to forget.
"Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Plenty. But Camille will fill you in on the rest of it.” Seline paused and added softly. “Bring him home safely, Nikki."
She intended to.
After all, they had a wedding planned.
Chapter Four
Nikki squatted on her heels and studied the ramshackle town sitting in the heart of the windswept hills of sagebrush that surrounded them.
Hartwell was bigger than what she'd expected and better maintained, though, in many ways, that wasn't surprising. The town and surrounding hills were a California State Historic Park—though what had happened to the rangers living here was, at this stage, anyone's guess. Maybe Weylin had forcibly enlisted them into his mad schemes.
There were probably a good fifty or sixty houses down there that could be described as being in a reasonable state—at least from this distance. There were another thirty or so that had either half or fully given way to the elements. Most of the buildings were wooden and the streets dirt, though a couple of the streets still had wooden sidewalks that snaked past the buildings. What was surprising were the people—there had to be at least twenty visible—some walking along the streets, some tending to horses, and others walking back from the skeletal mining structure situated halfway up one of the hills. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn this town was still functioning rather than having been abandoned a hundred years ago.
What she couldn't see was any form of a barrier.
She glanced at Camille. The older woman was standing several feet to her right, her red shirt clashing brightly with the clear blue sky.
"Looks like I can walk right on down there."
Camille sniffed. “You can try, but I doubt you'd succeed. See them black stones down near that sign below us?"
Nikki nodded.
