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“I can barely open a portal! How do I even track where people ended up?” I looked at the old witch for help. “I’ll just end up trapping myself in bubble dimensions.”
Evanora simply turned and walked away. “I shall protect your beaver friend,” she said over her shoulder.
My throat was as dry as the twigs in Evanora’s hair. “But what happened to Free Jinx? Where are its people?”
Evanora hobbled out of the circle of my light. I darted after her, but she was already gone.
Chapter 23
BythetimeIstumbled out of the forest, I had wrangled my anxiety partly under control. Enough to stop gnawing on my nails, at least.
Ram had cast a small purple-black fire. The men sat around it like at camp, complete with Moe waving his fingers and going “oooh” as though he had just finished telling a spooky story. The sky behind them was starting to lighten to the deep navy right before dawn.
As I stepped into the strange, haunted disco club light, Elliot leaped to his feet. “You’re bleeding!”
I looked down at my hand. The skin around my very, very short nails was red on my thumb and index finger. “It’s nothing.”
But all four of the men jumped up and rushed to me. “What happened?” Jag demanded as though ready to fight someone over my damaged fingernail.
“I said it’s nothing.”
Ram gently took Evanora’s basket from my other arm, and I let him. He could deal with the woods witch’s sticks or mushrooms or whatever the fuck.
Elliot loosened his tie and slid it off. Taking my wrist, he dabbed at my bloody nails with the end of the tie. It was soft against my battered skin. Meanwhile, Moe rubbed my back as though to comfort me.
I could have laughed at them. It was barely worse than a paper cut, and they were doting on me like I was dying. At least Ram had the sense not to act like I was a fragile little flower petal. Instead, he crouched by the fire and flipped open the basket.
But part of me did like Elliot gently wiping my cuts.
“How’s Beverly?” Jag asked.
“She was happy to swim in the river,” I said. “Evanora will look out for her.”
Jag’s shoulders relaxed. “I like a wet beaver.”
When I didn’t take his bait, he frowned. “What is it?”
How strange and wonderful that he was reading me like we had known each other for years, not days. I started to answer but hesitated.
The situation was much more dangerous than I had thought. I wasn’t dealing with one or two portals with Juniper and my friends’ help on the other side. I’d have to go through multiple portals with no idea where they led and no guaranteed way to get back to Earth.
If I lied and said everything was fine, Jag, Elliot, and Moe could stay here safely. Well, safeish, given the random portals and the cops.
I’d be alone, except for Ram, but they’d be out of harm’s way.
Ram, of all people, saved me from answering right away. He pulled jars from Evanora’s basket. “We’ve got waking potions to combat sleepiness, Eat Me potions to drink in place of food, and…” He held a glass jar up to the light. “Some kind of jam?”
“I can tell. I’m an expert on jams and jellies!” Moe skipped over to the basket. Ram handed him the jar, and he grunted as he tried to open it. He put the hem of his sweater over his hand and tried again.
As Moe struggled with the jam, Ram turned his gaze to me. The purple flame caught in his dark eyes like he was made of pure magic.
It sent a shiver down my back.
“Why did the notoriously unfriendly woods witch give you a basket of potions to keep you awake and full?” Ram said.
I tensed. Damn his attention to detail. “She was glad to have a new beaver friend.”
Ram eyed me, and I knew he knew I was lying.
