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There were two-person and larger forms that witches could perform with each other too. I started to turn in a slow circle, fanning the flame of my spark with flicks of my fingers, and Lesley swayed through a larger circle around me. The tingle of her magic wafted over me, joining with mine to send it sparking even higher.
With her help, I’d cast my illusion all the way to Seattle. All the way to the house the Frankfords’ daughter and husband lived in, where we expected the family to be home right now. I’d conjure a small real fire on the tree at the back of the yard to add a smoky realism—and the illusion of larger flames flaring around the house’s windows. Enough to scare them, I hoped. Enough to make them think I was trying to hurt them without putting them at the slightest real risk.
The Frankfords and their faction believed I was dangerous? I could skew that assumption in my favor. A crazed witch might attack a child associated with her enemies. The Frankfords would have to respond to the threat.
And while they were distracted by our bluff, we could put our real plan into motion.
Heat whirled faster and hotter in my chest. I pressed my toes into the ground as I spun faster. My arms wove out through the air and up. Then I stopped, my hands clapping together with fingers splayed, every ounce of my will hurling the energy inside me across the state line.
Even with Lesley’s support, the casting left me briefly exhausted. I stumbled, and Damon was right there to catch me. “Careful, angel,” he murmured.
I turned in his arms, seeking out his mouth. He met my kiss without hesitation. I drank in both the sizzle of energy that generated between us and the warm glow of love that radiated from him.
“Are you all right?” Naomi asked when I eased back from my consort. “I could have pitched in too if it was going to take a lot out of you.”
I shook my head. “I want you fresh for when we’re out there at the Cliff. I’ll be pretty much recovered by the time we make it there.” I glanced past her to Kyler, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the van, turned toward the open door. “Any word from Seth yet?”
“They haven’t seen any movement,” Kyler reported. His brother and Jin were staked out closer to the Frankfords’ property, watching the security there. He rubbed his mouth. “How long do you think we should wait before we— Hold on.”
He peered at the phone. The rest of us hustled over. A smile stretched across Ky’s face.
“It worked,” he said. “The Frankfords must have called some of their lackeys onto other duty—to check things out in Seattle, probably. Six cars just left the estate. They couldn’t see exactly how many guards were in each of them, but that means the numbers there are down at least a little.”
“There’ll still be at least a couple dozen on the property,” Damon said. He cracked his knuckles. “But we’ll make sure they wish they’d left too, right?”
“We’re not going to hurt anyone we don’t have to,” I reminded him with a nudge of my elbow. “We want it to be totally clear thatthey’rethe bad guys here.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, but he grinned at me.
“Ready to call the Assembly in?” Ky asked me. “I’ve got the phone simulation running.”
I nodded. “If the Frankfords are reaching out to their security, they’re already distracted. We’ve got to get this moving before they decide there’s no real threat in Seattle.”
I came up beside him to type out the message I’d prepared. It’d appear on the phones of our contacts as if it’d come from the number they’d connect with Frankford.A lot has changed since the Den of Spades. I need your presence urgently at the coordinates I’m sending. We’re on the verge of catastrophe here.
Ky shot off the messages and the location. We waited, my heart thumping, to see how Gwen Remington and the others would respond.
What’s the emergency?Justin Brimsey wrote back.How does it involve my department?
You really need to see this to fully understand, I replied.Hurry, please.
All right. I’ll make my excuses. It’ll take an hour to get out there. This had better be as serious as you’re saying, Charles.
Similar responses were coming in from the other contacts. They didn’t sound all that happy with Frankford, but that was a good sign for us. All that mattered was that they’d believed it.
“They’re coming,” I said, and Damon let out a whoop of victory. Lesley bobbed excitedly on her feet. “The next part of the plan, then?”
“We’ll head over and get in position,” I said. “We won’t want to start the next phase until our, er, guests are pretty close.”
Naomi hopped back into the front to drive. Damon, Lesley, and I climbed into the back of the van. I ducked all the way into the third row of seats where Thalia was sitting in quiet meditation. She opened her eyes when I sat down beside her. The van’s engine rumbled.
“We’re heading over there now?” she said. Her voice was tight. I couldn’t even imagine how many horrible memories she must have of that place. How many times she might have faced those demons down, been forced to pit her magic against their unnatural energy.
“We’ll be there soon,” I said. “Are you sure you’re up to this?” Her powers weren’t the strongest after the way her experiences had rattled her nerves, but she was a wild card none of the Frankfords’ allies could have been prepared for. The people from the Assembly would know her—they’d respect her more than they might respect me with my now highly checkered past.
“I’ll manage,” she said. “Just as long as I don’t have to go right into that place.” She shuddered.
“You can hang back when we head to the cave,” I said. “I don’t want you having to face those things again.”
