“Vortex,” I said. “Underworld, not Hell.”
“Whatever you say, Officer. Now, let’s get a look at those eyes.”
I knew I wasn’t getting out of this, so I sat back down and let them do their thing.
I watched in a daze as the Salmon Queen—who looked a lot like Kelby in a costume—came down the river in her flowing dress and hip waders throwing gummi salmon and clam chowder coupons to her adoring pirate crowd.
I realized music was playing, but it skipped forward raggedly, like a scratched record, a flickering movie, as if I were blacking out for small stretches of time, only to tune back in again.
Pirates followed the Salmon Queen giant, singing, skipping, swaying up to the main road. There, if everything went as planned, she would mount the huge salmon-shaped float and take up the reins. The fish would wave its tail as it rolled at the head of the procession, its mouth flapping to sing songs where the lyrics had been changed to rhyme with salmon.
I should be happy, even if I wasn’t quite sure I was steady enough to walk.
Ordinary was safe. The vortex was closed. No one who wasn’t a supernatural or a Reed had any memory of seeing it.
But all I could see was Bathin’s face, his eyes.
—Love you—
Yeah, well, if he’d really loved me, he wouldn’t have possessed my sister’s soul for a year. He wouldn’t have worn it down so thin that it had allowed demons to open vortexes to Ordinary.
He would have…
…Not taken the scissors away from me. Used them on himself to save me…
…been honest with me.
I shivered, though I couldn’t feel the wind. Steven wrapped a blanket over my shoulders, and after a few more questions, I was told I could go home.
“I’ll drive you,” Jean said, helping me to my feet, blanket and all.
I let her lead me. By the time we got to her truck, I decided I was probably in shock.
“Stupid,” I said as she started the engine.
“What is?”
“All of it.” I pushed the blanket off my lap and readjusted the seatbelt. “We should check on Delaney.”
“We should get you home.”
“We need to see if she’s awake. If her soul is back. Oh, gods! What if her soul went in the vortex?”
“Her soul didn’t go in the vortex.”
“How do you know?”
“Than. And the hospital already called.”
“And?”
“She’s awake. Ryder’s there with her.”
“Tell me we’re driving to the hospital.”
She flashed me a grin, and something inside me untied a little, like I could breathe. “Of course we are. I want first row seats when Delaney chews you out for taking on a Hell vortex single handed.”
“You were there.”
