“I can cancel it. It will wear off in just a few hours, maybe faster for the humans since you aren’t natural to this kind of thing. A little slower for werewolves who have this awareness built into their DNA.”
“What about them?” Danube thumbed toward Lu and me.
All the faces turned to study us, many of them curious, more than one person sniffing the air as if still trying to decide what sort of creatures we were.
“They know you’re different,” Valentine said.
Danube’s gaze tacked where the ghost had appeared on the other side of Lu, half standing in the bookshelf.
Ricky opened the inkwell and dipped the brush.
“Like I said,” she replied, “it will connect all of us. Even Lu and Brogan. I’m hoping for a solid four hours. From this moment forward. Let’s do this quickly.”
She dipped the brush into the well, and a glowing line of magic pulled out with the brush. She flicked her wrist and, with three quick strokes, transferred the magic to Elmer’s forearm.
The magic flared purple, softened to a sunset hue, and then there was nothing but the faintest glow on his skin.
“That it?” Elmer asked.
“That’s it.” Ricky turned to the room, and I could see the echo of light in her eyes, a slight hint of madness swimming there. I wondered what it would cost her to be the center point for all these connections, but then she smiled, and the madness, the magic in her eyes was gone. “Lu-lala?”
She stepped forward, and I let my fingers fall from her belt loop, following her, step-for-step to Ricky.
Lula held out the back of her hand, and I did the same, our hands leveled to create a single canvas. Ricky made a considering noise, dipped the brush, and began.
It took a few more strokes to paint the mark on us, but Ricky had a deft touch. The magic poured into my skin and sent a taste that was warm like wintergreen and soft like caramel rolling through my senses.
Lu leaned into me a little closer, I did the same with her, and when Ricky lifted the brush from Lu’s skin, there was a visible snap, like an electrical current had tripped.
“Is that supposed to…” I started to ask. But then I could feel Elmer connected to me in a way only one person ever had been.
He wasn’t unpleasant, like a wool flannel shirt that was a little too large wasn’t unpleasant, but I not only felt him, I could feel what he was feeling.
Elmer felt the connection to Ricky—a muffled experience for Elmer that came roaring at me like an ocean wave of power and force.
Elmer felt his connection to me, and that echoed back at me like death, like destruction, like connections broken and bleeding.
Elmer felt Lu, burning bright, a nearly painful flame.
All of it doubled for me. It was a lot. It was too much. I inhaled, held it.
Lu squeezed my hand, her flame spread out like a wing, shielding me from the sensations, the connections.
“I just need some air,” I said, faintly.
Lu guided me out of the room. I knew the moment the first werewolf was marked, because I could feel her doubt and her surprise.
“She said she can break it,” Lu said, and I realized I was sitting at the table on the porch again, her hand rubbing small circles between my shoulder blades.
“She also said it wears off. Four hours.” I took a good breath and let it out, settling myself with the ever-growing noise of other people building in my mind, Lu’s touch grounding me like nothing else could.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said softly. “You could stay with Lorde.”
I sat back and gazed up at her. “Not a single fucking chance.” I smiled to take the heat out of my words.
“You know there’s stubborn, and then there’s stupid,” she observed.
“And then there’s the perfect blend of both.” I stood, caught her face between my palms, and gently tipped it up toward me. She went with the motion willingly.
