“Xtelle,” Than warned. “I see what you are. Do not forget that.”
Her eyes went large and she swallowed hard. “You can’t.”
“I can.”
“Then why haven’t you—”
“Myra!” Jean yelled. “People!”
The crowd on the shore stumbled our way, slowly, thank goodness, all of them aimed straight at the vortex. None of them took their eyes off it, didn’t even see the unicorn which was still pink, her horn shooting off rainbows. Didn’t see the man on his knees in a headlock, or that there were three police officers on the scene and far too many frogs.
All they saw was the vortex.
It called to them, just like the first, smaller vortex had called to Ryder.
“Stop,” I shouted. “This is a crime scene. Turn around immediately and go back to your vehicles.”
Nope. Nothing. The vortex filled their ears, their eyes, making them deaf and blind to everything else in the world.
Terrific.
The girl stretched, really pushing against my hold now.
“Faster,” I told Than. “Whatever she wants, do it faster.”
“Tie the end of the string to my horn,” Xtelle said in a rush. “Now give it to Myra and Bathin. This is going to take all three of us.”
“What is going to take all three of us?” I asked.
“Closing the vortex before a demon hoard comes through,” she said. “What do you think we’re doing here?”
Than handed me the string, then unraveled the lurid red lips and handed that to Bathin.
“This is a closing?” Bathin asked, “Because it looks like—”
“Now you don’t you trust me?” Xtelle said. “Now?”
“I have never trusted you.”
“Why?” she moaned. “What have I ever done to you? Why do you hate me?”
“You told them about my father.”
“Oh, boo-hoo. They would have found out eventually. No matter how ashamed you are of your parentage.”
“This has nothing to do with being ashamed.”
“So you admit you’re ashamed?”
Bathin’s nostrils flared and he shoved the struggling guy’s face into the sand and put a knee in his back. “Not the time.”
“Go!” I glanced at the shamblers headed toward us. “Close it. Close the vortex.”
Xtelle seemed to remember we were in the middle of an emergency. “Do you remember the spell with the turnip?”
“Yes.”
“Can you say it backwards?”
