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“Your time has passed, Magda. I release the summoning. Return to the ever after.” I took a deep breath, pushing power into my words. I was a medium, the bridge between the living and the dead, and by gosh, that bridge went both ways. “Return speedily, peacefully, and without delay!”
A wind came up out of nowhere, and with a curse, Cain fled back to my body like he was worried about being blown away in it. The wind tore at Magda, sending the skirt of her dress whipping around, and she leaned forward, straining, resisting being moved. Magda strained against my power, trying to claw her way closer to the idol on the ground.
I gripped my power with both hands, coaxing it into a cold flame that burned through my entire body. “Go speedily, peacefully, and without delay!”
The wind tore through the room, blasting into the ghost of Magda Erepto, shredding the aura of violence and obsession that had started to build around her like a toxic cloud. For a split second, she looked exactly as she had back in my office that day when I’d summoned her. Gray hair neatly coiled at the back of her head, long dress buttoned primly right up to the top of her throat. Her hands folded together in front of her stomach.
She gave me a look of grudging respect, and tilted her head to me in a shallow nod.
And then she was gone.
The light died, the wind died, and suddenly all I could hear was the fire alarm and the sound of my own breathing.
I’d never been so flat played out and so jazzed at the same time. I wanted to sleep for a week, and dance all night. I’d done it! I’d managed to send Magda back where she needed to be. Not just that, but…
I snatched up the idol off the floor. The metal was surprisingly heavy and cool to the touch. I held it to my chest and did a couple dance steps, only just managing not to whoop out loud, in case the guards were close enough to hear me.
Cain shook his head, but Henner was grinning from ear to ear.
“I did it,” I told him, elated. I’d gotten the idol back. I’d get it back to Sophia Erepto, stop the fighting in her family before it got started, and show Blaise Howard that I was a great medium.
You did,Cain said, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.But maybe we should get out of the illegal auction house and away from the men with guns before we celebrate?
I deflated. Cain might be a bluenose, but he wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t have anywhere to hide the idol, so Henner put it into one of his ridiculously deep jacket pockets.
Getting out of the building was pretty easy after that, especially with the fire alarm still blaring and Cain scouting for us.
“Is that you?” I jerked my chin towards the ceiling where the red light of the alarms were flashing.
Henner didn’t look up from his phone, where he was making sure that none of the cameras had gotten a good look at us, but he did smirk. I giggled and leaned forward far enough to press a kiss to his cheek.
We went out the emergency exit, since the alarms were already blaring, it wasn’t about to tip anyone off. Besides, everyone was piling out, customers, security, everyone, though I did hear someone shouting at the guards to get back in there and ‘secure the merchandise’. Good luck with that, pal.
It was interesting, trying to hurry without looking like it. It helped that a lot of the ‘customers’ were also making like a tree and leaving. No one noticed me and Henner slipping around the corner and heading down the block.
I wanted to dance, to box the air. The idol was right there, in Henner’s pocket, and we’d done it, we’d pulled it off. Were there some snags? Sure! But I still couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
We sailed along, my blood fizzing like I’d taken a gulp of giggle water, all glowy and golden.
Right up until three guys in suits stepped out of the car we were walking past and blocked the sidewalk.
Chapter Fifteen
Henner and I slowed to a stop as the mook who’d accosted me outside the clothing store the other day managed to block the entire sidewalk all by himself.
Even so, there were two other guys standing just behind him, making a wall of thugs that wouldn’t be easy to get past. The guy in the front made a show of adjusting his cuff links, little golden snakes with emerald eyes, and smirked at me.
“Ah, fiddlesticks.” This I didn’t need, not with victory sitting so sweet on my tongue.
“Nice to see you again, Miss Rowe,” the big gorilla said. “I was wondering if you’d gotten a chance to rethink Mr. Erepto’s offer.”
I hadn’t even thought about it once. No way was I handing over anything to this guy, or his slimy boss. “Sorry, it’s my night off. I don’t think about business when I’m stepping out with my fella.”
I hung off Henner’s arm, batting my lashes up at the big ape. Henner looked relaxed, but I could tell he was ready to move from my grip on his arm. I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt—and definitely not because he got dragged into my mess.
The big guy nodded, all smiley and polite like but as slimy as they came. “And have you had any luck finding the object? It certainly looked like quite the party you left.”
