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  “Well, I need to, and you might as well have something. I’m not sure how long this will take, and you might be sitting up with me well into the night.”

  Her lips pressed together, and she nodded, then got up from the couch without saying anything else. Levi took that as his cue to stand as well. “We’ll see you in an hour.”

  “We’ll be there,” Connor said, while Angela murmured her assent.

  There was nothing else to say, so Levi headed for the front door and opened it for Hayley, then closed it behind them once she stood on the porch. From the stiff set of her shoulders, it seemed clear enough that she didn’t feel liking talking right then.

  Very well.

  On to his last meal.

  18

  This had to be a nightmare. Surely at some point she’d wake up — hopefully, next to Levi — and realize she had been asleep this whole time, that all this talk of demons and portals and travel to other planes of existence had only been a dream conjured by a brain with far too much weighing on it.

  But no, there was Levi calmly eating a piece of pizza, occasionally pausing to take a sip of water. While she’d thought there had never been a better occasion to have a drink, he’d demurred, saying that the wine might ruin his focus when it came time to walk in the demons’ dimension.

  How in the world was she supposed to reply to a comment like that?

  Basically, she didn’t. She forced a piece of Greek pizza with feta and Kalamata olives down because her body had started to feel hungry, even if the thought of food seemed repellent to her. Should she have another? No, that would surely lead to disaster. One piece would get her through…whatever was coming next.

  Voice pitched low, so the civilians at the booth across from theirs wouldn’t be able to hear anything, she said, “There has to be another way.”

  “There isn’t. At least, not one with as little risk to the rest of the clan — or clans, since this affects everyone in Arizona.” Levi set down his half-eaten piece of pizza and gazed across the table at her, his expression pleading. “I have to try. If I’m not successful, then you may have to attempt a more head-on sort of confrontation. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  Talk about your understatements. He might have been a part of her life for only a few days, but Hayley knew she couldn’t face the consequences if he should fail. How could she even think about a world with no Levi in it? No, it wouldn’t happen. He’d faced down the Escobar-summoned demons three times now, and had been successful each time.

  Yes, but that was only a few at a time, she thought then. He’s going to a full plane occupied by those things. How in the world can he possibly survive that?

  Of course she had no idea. Levi seemed confident as he sat there and ate his pizza and drank from his glass of water, but how much of that was false bravado put on so she wouldn’t worry any more than she already was?

  No, she wouldn’t accept that. Bravado was not a concept she could associate with the man she loved. If he thought he could do this, it was because he’d mentally weighed the risks and found them acceptable. He wouldn’t do anything crazy, not when he had her to come back to.

  Oh, that sounded terrible. She knew she wasn’t Levi’s reason for living, or anything like that. He was doing this because he wanted to save all of them, not just her. But…

  “I love you,” he said softly. “I want to survive. Of course I do. Tell me you understand.”

  Hayley wasn’t sure if she did. Selfishly, she wanted to grab him by the hand and run, run far away from the Escobars and their scheming. Problem was, once they’d suborned the entire Santiago clan, would they be satisfied, or would they want to keep going, pulling more and more witch clans under their spell? All her family, and the Wilcoxes and de la Pazes as well?

  No, this wasn’t Levi blindly throwing himself away. He knew what was at stake. His decision had more than a hint of “it is a far, far better thing I do now, than I have ever done” about it, but she couldn’t fault him for that. She had to allow him to do this, no matter how much it hurt.

  “I understand, Levi,” she replied. “And I love you, too. More than anything in the world.”

  He smiled at her, but she couldn’t find much reassurance in that smile. Actually, it hurt to look at him, to see his beauty and his brilliance, and worry that it was about to be taken away from her forever.

  They finished their meal, and had the leftovers boxed up so they could take the extra pizza home with them. And wasn’t that an irony, pretending that Levi would even be around to eat those leftover pieces of Greek pizza with white sauce.

  No, he would be. Hayley knew she had to believe that, or she’d break down sobbing right then and there.

  They walked down to their building, and climbed the stairs to Levi’s flat. No sign of Lucinda and Brandon, and Hayley couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or relieved. She supposed it was good that they’d stayed in Cottonwood for dinner, because that meant they were still enjoying one another’s company, and yet, right then she wanted her brother to be there so she wouldn’t have to go through this alone. Yes, Angela and Connor were coming over, but Hayley didn’t know them very well. If the worst happened, she didn’t know if she’d be able to hold it together in front of the prima and primus.

  Levi was calm and matter-of-fact as he went about the apartment, turning on a lamp here and there, before he headed into the bedroom so he could straighten the rumpled bedclothes they’d left behind. “It’s best if I lie down in here,” he explained as he smoothed away the last traces of the lovemaking they’d shared in that bed only a few hours earlier. “I could lie on the couch, I suppose, but the bed is more comfortable, and I need as few distractions as possible.”

  “I understand,” Hayley said. Did she? It somehow hurt to watch Levi make it appear as if nothing had happened in that bed, as if those ecstatic moments they’d shared were being erased forever. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she swallowed, telling herself not to be an idiot. Nothing could change the time she’d spent with Levi in that bed. She was only starting to lose it because she feared she’d never be able to lie in his arms again.

  He came close and touched a hand to her cheek, then bent and kissed her very gently. “Don’t cry, Hayley. I need you to be strong for me.”

  “I’m not sure I’m very good at that.” She reached up and brushed away her tears with her fingertips, knowing that she didn’t want Angela and Connor to see her all weepy and fragile.

  “Oh, yes, you are. You stood with me against the demons. You never left my side. You’re stronger than you think. You just need to keep on being strong.”

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. At that moment, a knock came at the door, and Levi passed a caressing hand over her hair before he went out into the hallway so he could answer the knock.

  Hayley took a deep gulp of air and followed him. Be strong, she told herself. Be strong for him, even if you can’t do it for yourself.

  Levi had already let the prima and primus into the flat. They offered Hayley a pair of awkward smiles, as though they knew all too well how hard she was working to stay calm.

  “Would you like some water?” Levi asked, and they both shook their heads. “All right,” he said, then continued, “I will lie down on my bed, and you’ll keep watch on me as I ‘travel.’”

  Angela frowned slightly. “Your body stays here?”

  “Yes. We are all spirit on that plane — the demons only become corporeal when they enter this world, since it is a world of matter. Much as I only took on a body once I arrived here, although of course my form is very different from theirs.”

  The prima appeared to absorb that explanation, and nodded. “I guess it makes sense — that sounds sort of like when I did my spirit walk. Do you have chairs we can bring in?”

  “I have one in the bedroom already, and we can get two more from the breakfast set by the kitchen.”

  Some time was taken up fetching the chairs and squeezing them into the bedroom
, which really didn’t have the space for extra furniture — the chair Connor sat in ended up halfway in the hall. Once that task was done, however, Levi climbed onto the bed and lay down, his legs straight in front of him, his hands folded on his chest.

  “How will we know if you’re successful?” Hayley asked.

  “I’ll wake up and come back to myself. If I don’t awake…then you’ll know my soul was defeated on the demons’ plane, and doomed to remain there forever.”

  She swallowed, and willed the one piece of pizza she’d eaten to remain where it was. “Oh, is that all?” she responded, trying her best to make light of the situation. Unfortunately, her voice cracked on the last syllable, and she could feel the tears start to her eyes once more.

  He lifted one hand from his chest and extended it so he could touch her fingers. Briefly, just enough for her to feel the warmth of his flesh. He seemed so real. He was more real to her than anyone she’d ever met. Surely she couldn’t have been lucky enough to have him come into her life, only to lose him when she realized how much he meant to her.

  “I’d best go now,” he said. “We really don’t know when Joaquin Escobar will make his next attempt to summon more demons.”

  “We’ll be here,” Angela promised him. “May the grace of the Goddess go with you.”

  And before any of them could say anything else, he’d shut his eyes. His body went so still, Hayley couldn’t even see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She wanted to reach out to him, to place her fingers on his wrist and feel his pulse, reassure herself that he was alive. But she stopped herself, because she didn’t know if even that light a touch might wake him from his trance.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  “Now,” Angela replied, after a quick glance over at Connor, “we wait.”

  Darkness swirled around him, darkness given shape and form, like a heavy fog black as tar. Levi pushed through that darkness, even as he felt its negative energy, its desire to thrust him back to the world he’d come from. It knew he was not supposed to be here.

  But he willed himself to keep moving forward, to break through that dark fog. It relented at last, allowing him to appear on a vast, empty plain, the ground beneath his feet stony and gray, mirroring the sky above him. Iron-hued clouds rushed overhead at unimaginable speeds, looking like the time-lapse images he’d seen in the human world. This was no time lapse, however; they truly were moving that quickly.

  The portal he’d used to come here was not the same one utilized by the demons, because each portal had to resonate with the particular energy of the being it was transporting. That was something of a relief, because at least then he wouldn’t have to worry about those dark beings using the very doorway he’d traveled through to get back to the world of the living.

  He stood there for a moment, letting his senses range out and away from him, seeking the other portal, the one Joaquin Escobar had conjured to allow the denizens of this realm to escape and wreak their own particular havoc. Yes, there it was — a dark, gaping maw, one which had a strange, glittering lightness at its heart, an enticing glimpse of the world beyond. No wonder the demons would be drawn to it, would seek to travel to find that light, which was the warmth and life energy of the human world.

  In this world, he did not need to walk; he had a body here, although it was only a construct of his mind, was still pure spirit. But all he had to do was visualize that portal, imagine himself standing next to it, and he was there. This close, the portal’s energy was far more apparent; Levi’s hair was tousled by an unseen wind, the opening in the world pulling everything in its vicinity toward it. He stood fast, though, would not allow himself to be drawn through. True, everything he loved was on the other side of that portal, but he could not use it. His flesh was human, and would be destroyed the second he attempted to go through.

  Besides, he could not return to that place until he was done with his work here.

  He paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to heal the tear in the world. Then he recalled how Rachel would sometimes sit during quiet spells at the store with a piece of embroidery, the sharp needle flashing in the sunlight as it moved in and out of the cloth, pulling the fine silk floss with it. He did not have a needle with him, but he didn’t require one. This gash would be sewn up with magic.

  Magic lived in his core, was a part of him the way it could never be with human witches and warlocks, because they were human first, and magic second. Magic was not like air to them, as it was to him. All he had to do was breathe in, and ask the power to come forward.

  The ground beneath his feet rumbled, and the portal began to shrink in size, slowly at first, and then with increasing speed. It had started out wide enough to drive his truck into, and now it was barely the size of the silver basin Allegra Moss used to cast her spells of healing and unity under the light of the full moon.

  A beating of heavy, leathery wings and a wash of foul-smelling air told Levi that he was no longer alone. He had to leave off the spell of mending, and throw up a wall of protection around himself. This was accomplished with barely a second to spare, because as soon as he was surrounded by that shimmering barrier, a trio of demons appeared above him, wings churning at the thick air. Their eyes flashed scarlet with rage, rage at his trespassing here in a realm that wasn’t his own.

  “You have no place here, mortal,” said the demon in the center of the trio. He seemed somewhat larger and bulkier than the other two.

  “I will leave as soon as my work is done,” Levi replied.

  “Your work?” retorted the demon on the left. “Your only work is to leave before the life is squeezed from your throat.”

  The third demon narrowed its blood-colored eyes. “This one smells human, but I do not think he is entirely mortal. He has a whiff of the otherworld about him.”

  “That makes sense,” the largest demon remarked. “Otherwise, I do not see how he could have come here. Only — ”

  “It doesn’t matter what he is,” the demon on the right said. “It only matters that we keep him from doing whatever it is he planned to do.”

  That was the only signal Levi required. Demons could be talkative, but their sometimes chatty nature never prevented them from attending to the matter at hand. He had to strike first, while they were otherwise occupied.

  Neither flame nor lightning would affect them here on their home plane. Those sorts of attacks worked in the human realm, because the demons’ bodies were made corporeal there, and so could be destroyed by natural elements. Here, he could only use the power of his mind and his magic to disrupt them, to go inside and destroy their very being from within.

  The effects were instantaneous. The demons’ eyes bulged, and then they writhed in midair before their wings seemed to collapse in on themselves, and they fell to the stony ground. A few more shudders, and then they were gone.

  Levi’s mouth compressed. He did not like what he had just done, even though it was necessary. True, the demons would not have scrupled to destroy him if their roles had been reversed, but all the same, it was never good to take a life. However, now he had bought a little time. He could only pray that it would be enough.

  Once again, he turned all his strength, all his focus, on making the portal close. It had begun to expand while he was distracted by confronting the demons, but now he was able to regain the ground he had lost. Yes, now the portal was less than a yard wide…now only a few feet…down to the width of one hand….

  The blow knocked him sprawling. Levi went down on his knees, his right ear ringing. Had another demon blindsided him? Entirely possible, he supposed, since his attention had been fixed on the portal, and he had to assume that more demons would come to replace the ones he’d destroyed.

  But as he pushed himself to his feet, he realized the source of the blow hadn’t been a demon.

  No, the being who faced him now was as human in appearance as he was.

  For a second, Levi could only stare at this apparition, at the man
who seemed to be roughly his same age, and who had coal-black hair and dark eyes that danced with a mocking light. He was far too young to be Joaquin Escobar, and so that meant….

  “Yes, my father sends his regards.” The stranger made a waving motion with his hands, and it was as if an unseen fist collided with Levi’s jaw.

  He staggered back a few feet, then collected his magic in order to steady himself. At once an invisible wall went up around him, one that even an Escobar’s powers would find difficult to penetrate. “Matías.”

  “You look surprised.” Matías Escobar still held his fists up, as though he was a boxer readying himself for the next assault from his opponent. “Didn’t expect to see me here?”

  “I’ll admit I’m surprised. I didn’t know you had the power to travel between worlds.”

  A slight lift of his shoulders. “I don’t — but my father does. What I do have is the power to summon demons.”

  This revelation did startle Levi. He — and Angela and Connor, and everyone else who had knowledge of the matter — had thought Joaquin Escobar must be the one who’d sent the demons against the McAllister clan, although abetted by his son. But then Levi remembered how it was Matías’ half-sister who’d been the witch behind the demon attacks in Scottsdale, who’d killed more than one person and planned to kill more, until she was shot to death by a civilian, of all people…how it had been Matías who’d called the demons to him to assist in the slow murder of Maya de la Paz. Perhaps the power of demon-summoning existed only in this younger generation.

  “Not a talent to be proud of,” Levi replied.

  “I don’t know. It’s been useful.” Matías eyes narrowed. “Why did you take her?”

  Levi didn’t bother to ask who the warlock meant by “her.” “Because she was not your property. She deserved to be free — just as all the others in the Santiago clan deserve to be free.”

  That comment only elicited a sneer. “The Santiagos will finally be a power to be reckoned with, instead of a weak clan with an invalid at their head.”