“What can I say? I’m a workaholic.”
“I think you’re more than that.”
I raise my eyebrows. “That’s for me to know. Thanks again, Nick.”
He gives me another nod and gets into the car, turning on the lights and taking Trevor into the station.
“You know he totally wants to bang you,” Gemma says as we walk back to my car.
“Yeah, I’ve come to that conclusion. He has a girlfriend.”
“Gross.”
“I know, right?” We get in the car and head home.
* * *
“Where the hellwould she take him?” I run my hands through my hair, heart racing. I’m back at the house, and Jared is still missing.
“I have no idea.” Thomas paces back and forth by the window. Everyone is on edge, and not knowing what the fuck to do frustrates me more than anything. Jacques is translating another section from the book, Hasan is out in the yard keeping watch, and Gil is gathering up all the herbs in the kitchen to make another batch of the banishing spell.
“What about the waterfall?” Gemma suggests. “That’s where she died, right?”
Jacques looks up from the book. “That makes sense, actually.”
“Should we go?” Gemma asks.
“We need a plan.”
I twist my hair around my finger. “Open the rift and shove her back in?”
“That’ll work,” Jac says. “But trying that on your own is risky, Ace. The spell is complicated.”
“She won’t be alone.” Gemma stands next to me. “I can help with the spell. I’m not as powerful of a witch as you, Ace, but I’ll do what I can.”
Jacques considers it. “It’s not ideal, but time is of the essence here. The kid’s life is hanging by a thread.”
“No pressure or anything,” Thomas mumbles, giving me a wink.
“Let’s do it then,” I say, ready to spring to action.
“The spell requires three witches,” Jacques goes on. “We can help, but you’re going to carry most of the power.”
“How do we do this?” Gemma asks.
“This spell has many parts.” Jac taps the book. “But Ace opened a rift before without even meaning to. That’s not the hard part.”
“The hard part is closing it, right?” I move closer to Jacques, looking down at his notes.
“Closing it, not letting anything out, and making sure the ghost doesn’t take Jared through the rift with her. A human wouldn’t be able to survive that.”
“Oh, lovely.” I close my eyes in a long blink. “Easy peasy.”
Jacques takes my hand. “You will get him back, Ace.”
“What if it’s too late?”
“It could be,” Jacques says honestly. Usually, I’m all for him not sugar-coating shit. I don’t, and I appreciate him not being afraid of the truth. But right now, I could really use some lies.
