She hadn’t seen. Hadn’t seen Lainie’s soul sucked into the vessel.
I reached into the land. Reached into the life of Soulwood.
Reached for Mud and Esther.
Yummy cut herself again. Sharing her healing blood all over Lainie’s wounds. The vampire’s bleeding stopped. Her skin started to regrow.
“Mercy, Jesus,” Esther prayed as she fell to my side. Next to T. Laine.
“That ain’t good,” Mud said, kneeling on my other side and placing her hand on top of mine.
I reached deep, deep, deeper and found a Sleeper of the earth, silent, full of life. With one finger, I brushed the thin lining of the Sleeper. Gently, I slid just a hair of its life away. Mixed it with the life of Soulwood, pulled yet more from the vampire tree. I wrapped them together, twisting, pulling, as if making thread from three different kinds of wool. Tight. Strong. Twirling the life forces into one.
Help me,I thought at my sisters. We shoved the odd fusion of energies into T. Laine.
Nothing happened.
I reached for the knight.I need life for her. Energy. Electricity. To restart her heart.Once I got her heart started I could figure out what to do about her soul.
I have no fire,the knight thought.Fire is evil.
Kneeling on Lainie’s other side, Rick began chest compressions.
Yummy clicked her fangs open and pricked T. Laine, licking the healing flesh.
Time passed. Probably only seconds, but it felt like forever.
Aya stepped into my field of vision, saying, “I’ve called EMS.” He had clearly shifted too many times recently. He looked gaunt. He’d traded flesh for the power to shift shape. He elbowed his way in next to Rick and switched off for compressions, his fists laced and arms straight, his body rocking, pumping on T. Laine’s chest, hard and fast.
With her own fangs Yummy ripped her inner wrist and held it to T. Laine’s mouth. “Stupid witch.” To us she snarled, “What are you waiting for? Do your magic.”
I said aloud, “She died at the same time as Torquemada. Her soul was sucked into the containment jar. If we can get her heart started, we can open the containment jar and let it free…”
“Nell. You will not,” FireWind said, his breathing loud as he compressed her chest.
I didn’t reply. He had a small point. I had no idea how to get just one soul out, or how to keep a demon in. A demon might come out, leave Lainie’s soul behind, and take her body.
“They use a defibrillator in school,” Mud said. “They showed us how to use it.”
“We don’t have one.” I took her hand. “Therehasto be somethingwecan do.”
Together we dove back into the land. In the visions of the land, T. Laine’s body looked like a carcass. Mud, Esther, and I shoved life into Lainie. Mud and I sentourselvesinto her, and…nothing. Not a spark of life.
Nothing.
Nothing.
I started to open the vessel.
“Nell. Do not,” FireWind said.
I hesitated.
FireWind sounded winded when he said what I had been thinking. “We have no idea what might happen if we open it again. The demon would surely get out and possess one of us. No idea if Lainie can get back out and into her body if wedoopen it.”
I looked to the side and something glinted on Tomás’ bloody chest. A silver cross. The same one that had burned into his chest? The brand…He wore it all the time? I ripped it from him and said, “Let’s see what happens.”
Before anyone could stop me, I opened the containment vessel. Instantly I rested the silver cross across its wide mouth. Silence descended on the clearing. The demon’s lightless evil roiled against the silver and whipped away, back inside. “Come on,” I whispered. “Lainie. Come on.”
