"It'll be full of humans, all visiting those booths, all reminding her of what she hates. She can pick them off like ticks off a dog."
"Something like that. I think it could be bad. So what I've got to do is quietly lure her somewhere else and then send her back where she came from."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"I don't know." Thea rubbed her forehead. The sun was dipping toward the cliffs and long afternoon shadows had fallen across the desert.
"You've got a plan," Eric said matter-of-factly.
Not you, Thea thought. I promised myself I wouldn't use you. Not even to save lives.
"You've got a plan you think is dangerous for humans. For me, since I'm going to be helping you."
I will not use you....
"Let's make this easy on everybody. You know I'm not going to let you do it alone. We might as well take that as given and go on from there."
This is the crazy guy who ignores snakebites and attacks people with punch, she reminded herself. Do you really expect to talk him out of helping you?
But if something were to happen to him...
The voice came back again, and Thea didn't understand it and she didn't like it at all.
Would you give up everything?
Chapter 14
Every week passed more or less quietly. Grandma Harman came home, her cough better. She didn't seem to notice anything different about Thea.
Night came earlier, and everyone at school talked about parties and costumes. The air got colder and there was an announcement that the old gym would be opened for Halloween.
Thea heard that Randy Marik had been moved to a psychiatric hospital and was in intensive therapy. He was making some progress.
Thea and Eric worked every day on their plan.
The only real excitement came the night when Thea walked in, sat on Blaise's bed, and said, "Bullets won't stop him."
"What?" Blaise looked up from creaming her elbows.
"I mean, spells won't stop him. Eric. They just bounce off. I'm telling you this because you're going to notice that he's not with Mar."
Blaise snapped the tube of cream shut. She stared at Thea for a full minute before she said tightly, "What are you saying?"
Thea's humor drained away. She looked at the floor. "I'm saying we're soulmates," she said quietly. "And that I can't help it. There is really, truly, nothing I can do about it." "I can't believe, after all that-" "Right. After all that work. And after me trying and trying to stop, because I'm scared to death. But there's no way to fight it, Blaise. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I've got to find some way to try to live with it." She looked at her cousin. "Okay?"
"You know it's not okay. You know it's completely not okay."
"I guess what I mean is, okay, will you please not kill him or turn us in? Because I can't stand being in another fight with you. And I can't stop breaking the law."
Blaise tossed the cream jar in the direction of the dresser. "Thea, are you all right?" she said, seriously. "Because you're acting very..."
"Fatalistic?"
"Fatalistic and generally scary."
"I'm okay. I just... I don't know what's going to happen, but I am sort of... calm. I'm going to do my best. Eric's going to do his best. And beyond that, nothing's guaranteed."
Blaise stared for another minute, her gray eyes searching Thea's face. Then she shook her head. "I won't turn you in. You know I would never turn you in. We're sisters. And as for trying to kill him..." She shrugged, looking grim. "It probably wouldn't work. That guy is impossible."
"Thank you, Blaise." Thea touched her cousin's arm lightly.
Blaise covered Thea's hand with her own red-nailed fingers, just for a moment. Then she sat back and straightened her pillows with a little jerk.
"Just don't tell me anything, all right? I wash my hands of you two and I don't want to know what's going on. Besides, I've got worries of my own. I have to decide between a Maserati and a Karmann Ghia."
Halloween.
Thea looked out the window at the darkened world. There weren't any kids in the alley, but she knew they were flitting around the city. Goblins and ghosts and witches and vampires-all fakes. Real vampires were sitting inside at fireplaces, or maybe at exclusive parties, chuckling.
And real witches were getting dressed for their Samhain Circles.
Thea put on a white shift, sleeveless, made out of one piece of material. She pulled a soft white belt around her waist and made a loop pointing up with one side of the tie, then wrapped the other end around the base of the loop three times. A thet knot. Witches had used them for four thousand years.
She took a breath and looked outside again.
Enjoy the peace while you can, she told herself. It's going to be a busy night.
Eric's jeep pulled into the alley. The horn honked once.
Thea grabbed the backpack, which had been stuffed under her bed. It was full of materials. Oak, ash, quassia chips, blessed thistle, mandrake root. The hardened residue from the bronze bowl, which she had painstakingly scraped off with one of Blaise's art knives. A wooden seal, also carved with Blaise's tools. And an ounce vial with three precious drops of summoning potion stolen from the malachite bottle. She started for the stairs.
"Hey, are you leaving already?" Blaise said, emerging from the bathroom. "You've got-what?-an hour and a half before Circle."
Blaise looked gorgeous, and more herself than at any other time of year. Her shift was black, also sleeveless, also made in one piece. Her hair hung loose to her hips, woven with little bells. Her arms were pale and beautiful against the darkness of hair and shift, and she was barefoot, wearing one ankle bracelet.