Ouija boards don’t work.'
Dex rocked back on his heels, still grinning. 'That a fact?'
'I’m just saying, I don’t think that anything made by Milton Bradley is much good for contacting the dark side, that’s all.
So why were you with her?” “She was my assignment.” “From The Eye?” “No, from the Boy Scouts. That Witch Dating badge just kept eluding me.” “Well, you must have at least three Total Douchebag badges by now, so that has to count for something.
Rachel HawkinsTag: hex-hall rachel-hawkins demonglass
You’ll venture down there-alone-to collect as much demonglass as you can.”
“Why does everyone keep talking like this is a walk in the park?” Archer asked. He tried to raise his hand, probably to push it through his hair, leaving me to dodge his elbow. “Oh, Sophie will just go skip down to the Underworld to put some demonglass in a basket!”
“No one takes Sophie’s safety more seriously than her father and I do,” Mom said. Her voice was low and even, but her eyes were steely. I wasn’t sure if it was the Brannick in her, or just the mom.
“I know that,” said Archer, backing down. “And I know…Look, I know Sophie is a demon. She could wipe the floor with any of us, magically speaking. But what exactly does going to the Underworld entail? I mean, are there other demons down there? Monsters? What could happen to her?”
My parents exchanged a glance, and then Aislinn cleared her throat. “We don’t really know. No one has ever attempted this before.”
“So, what?” Archer asked, clearly angry now. “You’re just sending her and hoping for the best? That’s insane! There has to be some other way to fight the Casnoffs.
I had no idea what time it was, but my body told me it was roughly “Ouch, This Is Way Too Early” o’clock.
Rachel HawkinsSeems safe enough,” Cal said, and Aislinn shrugged.
“Well, there you go,” she said.
Without so much as a “Hey, try not to get killed,” she turned back for the stone hut. I wouldn’t let my eyes follow Aislinn. If I looked back, I was afraid I’d go running after her.
Instead I walked out to stand next to Cal. Underfoot, the surface gave slightly. Gingerly, we made our way down the watery road. “Brannicks and magic and hell, oh my,” I joked, and Cal gave a snort of what might have been laughter.
I hit a particularly slipper spot and wobbled for a second before Cal grabbed my elbow. I didn’t want it to be awkward, and I really didn’t want my entire face to go red, but that’s exactly what happened. I glanced up. Our eyes met, and Cal jerked his hand back so fast that he overbalanced. As he started to fall, I went to grab him, and the next thing I knew, we both went down. I hit the wall of water to my right, just as Cal slid to the left. I fell into the water, completely immersed, only to have it spit me back out onto the path.
I sat there, arms and legs akimbo, hair dripping water into my eyes. Cal sat opposite me, every bit as drenched, looking totally bewildered. Once again, we locked eyes.
And this time, we both burst out laughing.
“Oh God,” I spluttered. “Your face!”
“My face?” he said, his laughter dwindling to a chuckle. “You should see your hair.”
He rose to his feet, leaning down to offer me a hand. I took it gratefully. Once I was upright again, I ran my hand in front of my body, magic fluttering out of my fingertips to dry my hair and clothes. Cal did the same to himself, and then we studied each other.
“All right, now that the weirdness between us has caused actual physical damage, I think it’s time we talked it out, don’t you?
All right, now that the weirdness between us has caused actual physical damage, I think it’s time we talked it out, don’t you?”
He gave a half smile and then turned back to the path. “We don’t need to be weird,” he said. “These past few days, since the thing with Elodie, I’ve been thinking.” He took a deep breath, and I knew that this was one of those rare occasions when Cal was about to say a lot of words at once. “I like you, Sophie. A lot. For a while, I thought it might be more than that. But you love Cross.”
He said it matter-of-factly, but I still caught the way his ears reddened. “I know I’ve said some pretty awful stuff about him, but…I was wrong. He’s a good guy. So, I guess what I’m saying is that as the guy who’s betrothed to you, I wish we could be more than friends.” He stopped, turning around to face me. “But as your friend, I want you to be happy. And if Cross is who you want, then I’m not gonna stand in the way of that.”
“I’m the worst fiancé ever, aren’t I?”
Cal lifted one shoulder. “Nah. This one warlock I knew, his betrothed set him on fire.”
Laughing so I wouldn’t cry, I tentatively lifted my arms to hug him. He folded me against his chest, and there was no awkwardness between us, and I knew the warmth in the pit of my stomach was love. Just a different kind.
Sniffling, I pulled back and rubbed at my nose. “Okay, now that the hard part’s over, let’s go tackle the Underworld.”
“Got room for two more?”
Startled, I turned to see Jenna and Archer standing on the path, Jenna’s hand clutching Archer’s sleeve as she tried to stay on her feet. “What?” was all I could say.
Archer took a few careful steps forward. “Hey, this has been a group effort so far. No reason to stop now.”
“You guys can’t go into the Underworld with me,” I told them. “You heard Dad, I’m the only one with-“
“With powers strong enough. Yeah, we got that,” Jenna said. “But how are you supposed to carry a whole bunch of demonglass out of that place? It’ll burn you. And hey, maybe your powers will be strong enough to get all of us in, too.” She gestured to herself and the boys. “Plus it’s not like we don’t have powers of our own.”
I knew I should tell them to go back. But having the three of them there made me feel a whole lot better and whole lot less terrified. So in the end, I gave an exaggerated sign and said, “Okay, fine. But just so you know, following me into hell means you’re all definitely the sidekicks.”
“Darn, I was hoping to be the rakishly charming love interest,” Archer said, taking my hand.
“Cal, any role you want?” I asked him, and he looked ruefully at the craggy rock looming over us. As he did, there was the grinding sound of stone against stone. We all stared at the opening that appeared.
“I’m just hoping to be the Not Dead Guy,” Cal muttered.
We faced the entrance. “Between the four of us, we fought ghouls, survived attacks by demons and L’Occhio di Dio, and practically raised the dead,” I said. “We can do this.”
“See, inspiring speeches like that are why you get to be the leader,” Archer said, and he squeezed my hand.
And then, moving almost as one, we stepped into the rock.
Sophie, you saw Alice’s transformation.”
I nodded. “And the murder of my great-grandfather. Weird it showed me that when I’ve had so many other awful things happen directly to me,” I said, beginning to tick them off on my fingers. “Elodie getting killed, having to kill Alice, escaping a burning building with the help of a ghost…” And then, because both my parents looked so deflated, I added, “Oh, and this really heinous pageboy haircut in sixth grade.”
A few wan smiles appeared, but I think it was just to humor me.
“Yes, but that was the act that was directly responsible for all of those other horrible events,” Dad said. “Well, except for the haircut. I suspect that can be laid at your mother’s door.”
“James!” Mom protested, but I swear I heard affection behind it. I think Dad did, too, because his lips quirked upward briefly.
Which makes Archer and Nick-“
“Cousins,” Archer filled in, still stirring his soup. “Nearly murdered by my own relative. That has to win some kind of medal for dysfunction.” Then his expression darkened. “Or maybe it’s just family tradition.
I was normal, I reminded myself. Just a regular seventeen-year-old girl, about to face against a werewolf with nothing more than…Okay, well, I did have a big-ass sword and a ghost. That had to count for something.
I glanced over at Elodie. She was staring into the woods, looking vaguely bored.
“Um, hi,” I said. “Werewolf headed this way. Are you even a little concerned about that?”
She smirked at me and gestured toward her glowing body. I read her lips: “Already dead.”
“Right. But if I get killed, too, you and I are so not becoming ghost BFFs.”
Elodie gave me a look that said there was no danger of that happening.
That’s how I’d ended up lying flat on my back, Archer’s sword still clutched in my hand, my head aching. Maybe I could just li here and wait for Mom to find me. That would be convenient.
I sighed as the wind rustled the leaves overhead. Yep, that was a solid plan. Lie here on the ground and wait for someone to come to me.
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