“She's not the only one who can make portals,” my grandmother said as she looked down at Bart's body. She was solid now, and looked just as I remembered from our meeting. She held a long, thin sword in her hand and was cleaning it with a green cloth.

  “My my grandmother,” Dorrie said with a stunned expression on her face. “What strong arms you have.”

  Alexandria did a double-take at Dorrie, then turned her attention to me. “You stole a driver?” she asked with a glare.

  I swayed on my feet and ended up having to crouch on the ground to keep from falling. “It was an accident,” I mumbled, feeling sick.

  “What's wrong with her Alexondre?” my grandmother snapped.

  My dad came to my side and helped me to my feet. “What are you doing here mother?” he asked just as sharply.

  Alexandria snorted. “You sent the girl to ask for my help,” she stated like it was obvious.

  My dad held me next to him as he glared at his mother. “And you refused.”

  Alexandria rolled her eyes. “A lady is entitled to changing her mind. Are we done here?”

  “Quite,” my father answered coldly.

  Before I could think to protest, Alexandria snapped her fingers and was gone in a puff of green smoke. I stared at the place where she'd been, feeling like it was all a dream. Then I turned around and looked at Bart's decapitated corpse. Nope, definitely not a dream.

  “Not to interrupt,” Dorrie chimed in, “but the red-haired girl seems to have disappeared . . . and she witnessed Xoe breaking her contract . . . ”

  My eyes widened as I turned to look up at my dad. “I'll find her,” he stated, but the shakiness in his voice let me know that it really wasn't that simple. “Take Dorrie with you and go find Chase.”

  “B-but what about Jason's cure?” I stammered.

  “Search Bart's lair,” he said as he gazed off into the distance. “See what you can find.”

  He left as quickly as my grandmother had. I turned to look at Dorrie. Her glittery skin and crystalline blue eyes fit in perfectly with our snowy surroundings. It was a shame that she had to go right back to the demon underground, and likely wouldn't have a chance to see the human world again any time soon. I held out a hand to her and she took it gently.

  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get back into Bart's lair, even if I had shattered the wards like Josie claimed. Yet as soon as I closed my eyes and thought of Chase, the cold was whipped away and I landed nearly on top of him.

  Dorrie landed on her feet this time. I almost managed it, but Chase had to catch me as I teetered on my feet for a moment, then stumbled forward.

  Chase's face betrayed the million questions he held inside, but there would just have to be time for that later. “Where's the bag?” I asked quickly. “Josie said she took it.”

  Chase's gaze shifted to the ground beside his feet, and relief flooded me as I saw the bag. “She tried to grab it,” he explained, “but I was prepared. Trusting her didn't work out well for me the last time.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, finally feeling a little guilty about blaming him for Josie's actions.

  “Xoe-” he began.

  “There's no time,” I cut him off. “Let's see how this portal thing works with three people.”

  Chase picked up the medical bag as I grabbed onto his free hand and offered my other hand to Dorrie. She took it, and I closed my eyes once again, thinking of my dad's home.

  We ended up in my dad's kitchen, and I immediately took the medical bag from Chase and ran to Jason's room. He was right where I left him.

  I opened the bag to find a single syringe inside, filled with a dark red liquid. I handled it gingerly as I held it up to the light, then looked at Jason. I wasn't sure if I should just inject him in the side of his arm, or if it needed to be intravenous. My eyes widened as another thought came to me. What if it was similar to an adrenaline shot and needed to go into his heart? I started feeling dizzy at the thought.

  Finally I decided that getting the cure in his bloodstream would be the best bet. I walked to the bed and sat down next to Jason, who was in a deep sleep that seemed eerily close to death. My heart raced as I searched for a vein in his inner arm. I had to hold my breath while I slid the needle home, and still my hands shook slightly. I emptied the dark fluid into his vein, then pulled the syringe out. I watched as a tiny bubble of liquid followed the needle out of his arm, then turned to look at his face. Nothing happened.

  I don't know why I expected an instant cure in the first place, but it would have been nice if there was some small change to tell me that the antidote had worked. Instead, Jason remained completely still. His skin was icy and there were dark purple bruises under his closed eyes.

  I started to cry just as Allison walked into the room, holding a fabric-covered hot water bottle in her hand. “Xoe!” she exclaimed. Her surprised expression quickly shifted to anger. “How could you just go off like that?” she chided. “I was stuck down here with your mom while she had hysterics.”

  I turned my attention back to Jason. “Where is my mom now?” I asked distantly as I placed my hand against Jason's neck. Did his skin feel even colder?

  “She's back in Shelby,” she explained. “Your dad came back here first and tried to run right off again, but your mom made him take her home.”

  I finally turned back to face her. “S-she left?” I squeaked.

  Allison's expression softened. “This has all been really hard on her-” she began.

  “She could have at least waited to see for herself that I was okay,” I mumbled.

  Allison walked closer, but then gave me a wide berth as she went to lay the hot water bottle against Jason's neck. I turned a hurt expression towards her.

  “Sorry,” she said dejectedly as she sat down beside me with a huff, “but you do tend to get randomly angry a lot lately, and I can't heal as well as everyone else.”

  I nodded, but didn't reply. I couldn't really blame her for being cautious.

  “So you got the antidote?” Allison asked. “Did you already give it to him?”

  I nodded numbly, and slumped against Allison as she put an arm out to comfort me. “He doesn't look any better,” she commented honestly, “but maybe it just takes time.”

  I nodded again, utterly exhausted and unable to think of anything to say, and we sat like that for a very long while.

  11

  Eventually Chase came into the room to join us. He took one look at Jason, then sat wordlessly on the floor to wait. My dad still hadn't returned from hunting down Josie, which was probably a very bad sign.

  I'd broken a contract with another demon. It was a grave offense. I tried to be frightened by the possibility of being tortured to death by demons, but all of the fear I had was focused on the possibility of Jason dying. Once he was awake, then I could worry about demons. For the time being, I was just worried about his icy-cold stillness.

  At one point Dorrie had come in with a plate of food, but I refused to eat. Even just thinking about food made me queasy. I could somehow sense it when night mercifully fell. I curled up next to Jason's cold form and slipped into the deepest sleep of my life. If I dreamed, I didn't remember them, and it was probably a good thing.

  I woke to someone gently stroking my hair. At first I thought that my mom had come back, because that was how she often woke me when I was younger. I opened my eyes to find Jason looking down at me with a soft smile. My mom would have been nice, but at that moment Jason was so much better. He still looked like death, but his eyes were open, and that was good enough for me.

  “Good morning,” he said softly as he continued to look down at me.

  I shot up in bed, feeling so many emotions that I didn't know which one to feel first. “It worked!” I exclaimed. “How do you feel?”

  Jason cringed. “I have not felt this bad since I had the flu when I was human.”

  “Well at least you're alive,” I said with a smile.

  “If you say so,” he said jokingly. “Would you mind telling me what happened?”

  It was my turn to cringe. He'd missed a lot. I started by telling him he'd been poisoned, then I explained the events following said poisoning. He was not happy when I got to the part about Josie disappearing with knowledge that could very well condemn me to death.

  His eyes widened in panic as I explained to him that our only chance was if my father could find Josie before she ratted me out. “We have to hide,” he blurted out. “Your father said-”

  I dropped my head back down to my pillow with a sigh. “Josie is the only witness,” I explained. “At least the only witness that would turn me in, and my dad is looking for her. It'll be fine.”

  “But what if he cannot find her?” he said, still obviously panicked. “We need to be prepared. We shouldn't just wait down here for the other demons to find out.”

  “Hey Jason,” I interrupted, not wanting to talk about my impending doom any longer. “Who's Mary?”

  “M-mary?” he stammered. “What do you mean?”

  I turned my head away, suddenly embarrassed that I'd even felt the need to ask. Jason leaned over me and stroked my hair back from my face, waiting for me to speak.

  “You talked about her when you were unconscious,” I mumbled, still not looking at him. “You said that you were going to marry her.”

  Jason's hand paused against the side of my face, and then he slowly took it away. “I was,” he admitted, “but it was a very long time ago. Does that upset you?”

  I shrugged my shoulders against the bunched up comforter. “No. Yes . . . I guess I was just shocked that you never told me.”

  “It was a very long time ago,” he explained. “A very, very long time ago. I didn't think it was relevant.”

  I finally turned to face him. “Did you ever find the ring to ask her?”

  Jason nodded. “I found it. I was going to see her that evening, but Maggie found me first.”

  My stomach did a little nervous flip. Maggie was the vampire who'd turned Jason. I'd been slightly instrumental in her death, though she'd been trying to kill me so I didn't really feel bad about it.

  “Maggie took me and turned me,” he explained. “She kept me with her for several days. She convinced me that I could no longer have my human life, I told her that I at least needed to see Mary to say goodbye. It wasn't fair to simply disappear. Maggie agreed. At the time I thought she was being kind, but eventually I realized that she knew exactly what would happen. She did not send me to Mary out of kindness. She sent me out of cruelty.”

  When he didn't speak, I nuzzled closer to him. “You hurt her,” I said softly.

  “I killed her,” he corrected. “I went back to Maggie with Mary's blood on my mouth and left my home behind.”

  “What about your mother?” I asked, remembering him speaking to her as he frantically searched for Mary's ring.

  He pulled me into the circle of his arms. “I couldn't risk seeing her,” he explained. “I did go back many years later, after I had left Maggie and learned to control myself, but my mother had died. I never went back again.”

  “I'm sorry,” I whispered, not sure of what else to say.

  Jason nodded. “It is the past, and you are my present and future. I am much more worried at the moment about demons taking you away and torturing you to death.”

  There was a knock on the door, but before I could get up to answer it, Allison let herself in. She looked flushed, and her normally perfect honey blonde hair was a flyaway mess. She was in jeans and a plain white tee-shirt, which was extremely under-dressed for Allison.

  “I tried to stop him,” she blurted out quickly.

  I straightened up in bed. “What now?” I said tiredly.

  “Chase thought your dad should have been back by now,” she explained as she stepped closer. “It's good to see you awake Jason,” she added, as if she had only just noticed that he was no longer comatose.

  Jason nodded and Allison continued, “Chase thought something might have happened, so he went looking for Josie.”

  I slumped back down in bed, feeling tired and about eighty years old. “Did he say where he was going to look?” I asked as I numbly stared at the far wall.

  “Let your father and Chase handle it,” Jason interrupted, knowing where my mind was going. “It's not your job to take care of everyone.”

  I snorted. “Could have fooled me.”

  “He didn't say where he was going,” Allison added, “and I agree with Jason.”

  “Well Josie already almost killed Jason,” I countered. “I can't just sit back with the possibility that she might hurt my dad or Chase.”

  “Your dad can take care of himself,” Jason said sternly, “and he got you into this whole mess to begin with. Let him sort it out.”

  I struggled up out of bed, feeling frustrated that no one was supporting me. If the situation was reversed, my dad and Chase would be out looking for me, no matter whose fault the situation was. Heck, they were both out there looking for Josie because of me. Really, I should have been the one finding her.

  “Xoe please,” Jason pleaded. “I'm not even sure if I'm able to stand right now. I can't protect you.”

  That stopped me, not because I needed Jason to protect me, but if I left I wouldn't be able to protect him. “Gather your things,” I said turning to Allison.

  “W-what?” she stammered.

  “Just do it,” I ordered.

  Allison left the room without another word. Jason watched me thoughtfully, wondering what I was up to. Knowing he would argue with me if I explained, I chose to pace the room in silence until Allison returned.

  She had to turn sideways and shuffle through the doorway in order to fit her large suitcases through all at once. Once inside, she dropped her baggage onto the carpet with a huff.

  “Over next to Jason,” I ordered.

  She obeyed, though her exaggerated noises of effort let me know that she wasn't happy about being bossed around. I went to stand in between Allison and Jason. I lifted Jason's hand off of the bed and entwined my fingers with his, then held out my free hand to Allison.

  She glared at my outstretched palm. “I can't hold both suitcases in one hand,” she stated grumpily.

  “Well then we'll just have to come back for one later,” I sighed. “Pick the more important one.”

  Allison gave me a yeah right look.

  “Allison,” I began harshly.

  “Fine!” she interrupted and grabbed the larger of the two suitcases.

  I grabbed her free hand and thought of home, but instead of the upward motion of my previous portals, the room began to shake violently.

  “Is this supposed to happen!” Allison shouted over the rumbling of the house.

  “Just don't let go of my hand!” I shouted in reply as I tried my hardest to keep my thoughts on home.

  Suddenly we were ripped violently towards the ceiling, and it was all I could do to hold onto Allison and Jason's hands. We ended up sprawled in the snow. I sat up and was flooded with relief as I saw my house. For a moment I thought maybe I had put us in the middle of the woods, but I'd only actually missed my destination by a little bit. The earthquake still had me worried though. My portals seemed to be getting worse rather than better.

  There was a groan to my left and I turned just in time to see Allison vomit on the fresh snow. She spat onto the ground and turned her face towards me. “I hate you,” she groaned.

  “I know,” I said as I got to my feet. I had to help Jason stand, and with his full weight on me I almost fell back down. The lack of food in my system was beginning to make me dizzy.

  Allison slowly got to her feet and went to Jason's other side. With her help we were able to drag him into my house. My stomach was full of butterflies at the thought of seeing my mom, but she wasn't there. We sat Jason down onto the couch, then I picked up the phone to call Lucy.

  “Would you care to tell me what you're planning?” Allison said as she came to stand in front of me with her hands on her hips.

  I shook my head and mumbled, “No.”

  Just as Allison was about to say more, Lucy answered. I quickly explained everything that had happened, then without waiting for Lucy's reaction said, “I need you and Max to come here and look after Jason and Allison.”

  “Xoe!” Allison argued as she realized I was still planning on going after Josie. Jason was silent. He probably had known all along.

  I hung up the phone. “You guys shouldn't stay here,” I said, ignoring Allison's frantic expression. “We don't need to make it any easier for . . . anyone to find you.”

  Really, I didn't know if Jason and Allison were in any danger. Josie might try to hurt them, but it wouldn't make any sense for her to do so. She already had all of the leverage to hurt me that she'd ever need. I was more worried about her telling the other demons what happened, and them sending half-demons to look for me.

  It would have been nice to know where my mom was so I could tell her to leave as well, but it didn't seem as if she'd spent much time in the house. I rushed through the kitchen for any sign that someone had eaten there. The remaining coffee in the coffee pot was dry and sticky, and the trash under the sink seriously reeked.

  There were a few dirty dishes, but the dried, crusty food on them told me that they were from before we had left. Allison followed me as I went up the stairs and into my mom's room. The bed wasn't made, but that wasn't anything new. Other than that, I couldn't find anything to tell me whether or not she'd been there.

  I turned around abruptly to face Allison. “My dad brought her back here, right?”

  “Y-yeah,” she stammered. “I saw her before they left.”

  I gestured behind me to the empty bedroom. “So where is she?” I asked breathlessly as I began to panic.

  “I'm sure she just went out,” she said softly.

  I stretched my neck from side to side to relieve some tension as I competed with the overwhelming need to act. “When Lucy and Max get here, you have them take you somewhere else. Abel and his recruits are still in town. If Lucy protects you and Jason, the others will be obligated to protect her.”

 

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