“Not immediately. We’re reconvening in a few hours. Once we know the target, we’ll plan a coordinated attack.”
“How long will that take?”
“It depends on what we’re dealing with. The exact location and number of security guards. This safe house has a sufficient arsenal, so I think we’ll have a plan in place in just a few days.”
“A few days?” I can’t believe my ears. “They could drain him dry in a few days.”
Remus adjusts his cap, his frown mirroring the mask on his pec that peeks out from under his black tank. “I’m sorry, Zoe. That’s the best I can do.”
His phone rings, and he pulls it from his pocket, mumbling something about coordinates in response to the caller’s question. I drift back toward the bedroom, too upset even to cry. I’m furious at Jeremy and achingly lost without Seb. There is no version of this situation in any universe or time or world where I allow Seb to be left at the mercy of the Saint’s Order for three days.
I need to help him, and I need to do it now.
I rush to my cottage and retrieve my black bag, before returning to the bedroom and snatching the ring from the ring box. I’m thankful not to see a single person as I carry both into the office. The ring, I set at the center of the desk. The bag, I drop near the legs of the desk chair. I feel like a robot as I walk back to the door and lock it, then sit down at the desk. I’m not strong enough to ignite this ring on my own, but I’m definitely strong enough to do it with gold dust.
I open my black bag and take out the urn.
When I remove the lid, I’m dismayed at just how little is left. It’s enough to ascend and do what I need to do, as much as I used last time, but there will be none left of my stash after that. Perhaps that’s for the best. I won’t be tempted to use again. But it also means I can’t mess this up. I have one shot, and I have to make it count.
I dump the gold dust on the leather desk covering and use my athame to draw the lines. I concentrate on the ring, lean over, and breathe in the goddess.
My ascension is quick, the walls of the office bleeding gold and every book on the shelves singing to me of its usefulness. I notice immediately that Seb’s dragon isn’t with me this time. The way it breaks my heart only spurs me into action.
“Please, Goddess, I beseech you for help charging the spells in this ring.”
“You wish to bring the metal alive, my daughter. Breathe life unto it.”
I take a deep breath and release it across the ring. Each spell rises, one by one, the scent of lavender and honey filling the room. The four enchantments float around the metal one, twisting into an infinity symbol and weaving themselves together and then into the ring itself. When the process is complete, the ring glows like a small sun.
“Sacred. Sacrosanct. Blessed,” the goddess whispers in three distinct voices.
“Please, goddess, I must get this to Seb. He’s in danger.”
“Then open a door and take it to him,” she says in a voice hollow as wind chimes. “But be warned, daughter. There will be a price for this level of magic. One only you can pay.”
“He is worth the price.”
The ring flies at me, and I catch it in my right hand. To my left, a gold door appears, covered in arcane symbols. I open it to find myself in a dark cell with Seb unconscious in a pool of blood at the center of the room. I rush to him, noticing the blue chains that bind him.
“Seb!” I call, but we’re not on the same plane. He doesn’t even know I’m here. But his dragon does. He appears in the room, his colors dull, his leg cuffed with the same blue cuff that resides on Seb’s ankle. The dragon growls at something behind me, and I look over my shoulder. Jeremy is there, and although his body isn’t moving, his eyes are. He’s tracking me. He knows I’m here.
“You.” His mouth forms in slow motion.
I’m running out of time.
I grab Seb’s hand and slide the ring onto his finger. The golden glow is blinding, and I hear his dragon laugh as the blue cuff dissolves from his leg and Seb’s. The chains break and drop to the floor. “Wake up, Seb. Wake up!”
His dragon plows back into Seb’s body, and his eyes flip open, his irises molten gold. Our eyes lock. “Zoe?”
“Yes. I brought you the ring.”
He looks down at his hand and then toward Jeremy. I glance back at my former doctor, just in time to see a pulse of blue energy heading straight for me. I move for the door, diving back through the portal into Seb’s office. But the blue energy comes through after me, a cloud of blue fire, like the aftereffects of an explosion. It sears my skin and knocks me out of the chair my body is in, just as my soul reenters it.
I land facedown on the Persian carpet. I’ve descended, hard. Everything hurts. I manage a glance back to see the portal is closed. The gold is gone. I also notice that the back of my leg is burned and smoking.
“Ms. Willow?” Patrick’s voice calls through the door. The doorknob rattles. “Are you in there?”
I can’t answer him. The pain from my injuries, delayed by the gold dust, finally catches up to me. I gasp in a breath and then welcome a wave of darkness.
