"Al," I said, breathing heavily when my hands smacked the top of the island counter. I'd made it. "You'd better get in a circle. I have to call Al."
Lee jerked. "This is a setup? You're giving me to Al?" he exclaimed, and I started when I felt him tap the line out back.
Ivy ducked and I yelped when Pierce flung out a hand and the ball of purple aimed at us ricocheted into the sink. The pixies scattered, shrieking. "Mr. Saladan!" Pierce shouted as I coughed at the smoke drifting out the open window. "Dash it all, calm yourself!"
"I'm not going back to that!" Lee exclaimed, determined from fear.
Ivy rose from behind the counter, her eyes black and, as Pierce would say, all wrathy. "Rachel doesn't give people to Al, you ass\ You may deserve to be tossed into the ever-after, but that's not what she's doing! As long as you don't owe Al anything, you're safe." She hesitated, then added, "It wouldn't hurt to get in a circle, though."
Lee squinted at her, another ball of black stuff in his hand. Seeing them occupied, I dropped below the level of the counter, swearing as I slipped and fell on my butt. Moving carefully, I got to my knees and looked for my calling mirror. Al was going to pay up. I was going to make him. I was going to have one less tie to demons. It was going to be a good night.
"I've no fist with you," Pierce said, "but threaten Rachel again, and I'll give you thrice the pain you promise her."
Blinking, I stared at my spell books. My mirror wasn't there. "It's gone!" I exclaimed, then remembered it was still in my bag.
"You don't scare me," Lee said to Pierce, oblivious to my disappointment.
"Then I'm of the mind you've not been paying attention," Pierce said, making it a threat.
Above me, Bis crawled along the ceiling, almost matching the color perfectly. His ears were pinned to his head as Pierce and Lee argued. Ignored, I lurched back to the table, falling when I misjudged it, and pulling not only my bag, but all the coats down on me. I sat for a moment, figuring things out, then decided to stay there. If I was on the floor, I couldn't fall down. Slipping my mirror out, I struggled with the heavy glass. "Al?" I shouted, my mirror finally on my lap. "Get your butt over here!" I added, my hand splayed over the middle of it.
The argument suddenly stopped, and Lee edged into my sight from around the center counter. "Should she be doing this right now?" he asked, looking worried.
Ivy was suddenly beside me. "No," she said dryly, lips tight and brow furrowed as she leaned under the table and tried to take the mirror.
"Mine!" I said, yanking it back. "Let go!" I threatened, and she stood, hands on her hips and looking at me in disgust. "I want my name back. Too many people know Al's." I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said, bewildered. Then realizing that I was looking at the back of the dumb thing, I swore and turned it over. The crystalline beauty of the contrasting wine-colored depths and the sharp diamond lines sparkled in the artificial light, and I lovingly ran my fingers over the glass. It was beautiful. Too bad it took a curse to run it.
The three of them stood over me, all watching with concern. "You're going to let her do this?" Lee asked, his brow furrowed.
"You're the one who drugged her," Ivy said. "Maybe one of you boys can make a circle in case she figures out which hole in her head the words come out of."
"I'm fine!" I said, squinting up at them. "I want my... name back," I said breathlessly, putting my back against a heavy table leg so I wouldn't fall over. "Get in a circle. All of you."
Hot damn, I felt good. That last shot Lee had given me had been the icing. "Al!" I shouted, hand splayed on the mirror, crossing lines and totally in the wrong place. "Talk to me!"
"Mayhap we should tend to our own funeral," Pierce said, opening the drawer where I keep my magnetic chalk and sketching a large circle around Ivy and Lee. "The drug will be spent soon. It's like watching a corned pixy." Finished, he stood, examined the size of the circle, then picked up my splat gun from the floor, forgotten till now.
Lee stood indignantly in the uninvoked circle. "What do you want a gun for?"
"It's a dash-it-all fine weapon," Pierce said, looking at his pants pocket and frowning. "The demon set me to watch her, so I'll be fine outside the circle, but I don't set much store on a demon's word." Pierce snatched up his coat, shrugged it on, and dropped the splat gun into one of the large front pockets.
Looking doubtful, Lee invoked his circle, and a wash of purple-tinted ever-after rose up.
"Al-1-1-1-1-1-1," I called, using my free hand to position my pinkie properly, squinting when I accidentally shifted my thumb off the right glyph. Damn it, this was hard, and I exhaled when I finally got everything in place. "Al!" I shouted, touching my awareness to the ley line out back. Power flooded into me, and I gasped. "Ooooh, that feels good!" I said, and Pierce flushed.
"Al!" I called again, glad the others were safe in a circle. "Get over here or I'm going to come over there and kick. Your. Ass." Stupid, dumb demon, I thought, pressing my hand into the mirror. Trying to weasel out of our deal. "Talk to me, Al!" I demanded. "You slimy little no-good son-of-a-bastard demon!"
My eyes widened, and my pulse jerked faster as I felt my mind expand when Al picked up. A shot of clarity struck through, showing me with a frightening sureness how stupid I was being. Shit. What in hell am I doing?
Good God, Rachel, cant you go five minutes... sweet sticky hell on a stick! the demon exclaimed, his thoughts reeling from anger to concern as he realized I was hopped up on something. Where... Your church? What are you on, itchy witch?
"I want my name back, and I want it now," I said aloud. "And take your damned mark off!
"Hey!" I yelped as Al suddenly vanished and I was thrown back into the muzzy slop of my drugged haze. Putting a hand to my stomach, I set the mirror aside and used the table to pull myself upright. I didn't feel so good anymore. "He's coming," I said. Whoo-hoo! Here we go!
Al popped in as if he belonged, used to my kitchen almost as much as I was to his. He frowned at Pierce, then did a double take at Ivy and Lee, safe in the protection circle. "Stanley Saladan?" the demon purred, smiling evilly, and the man's face went ashen.
"Still think I'm skeerylike?" Pierce muttered as he tucked his shirt-tails in and tried to look more presentable.
"Lee doesn't owe you anything!" I said. "Off-limits."
A trace of irritation crossed the demon's face; then he smiled as if it didn't bother him. "Rachel, my itchy witch," Al said as he tugged the lace at his cuffs. "We've talked about this. You simply must stop collecting nasty little men. How many do you really need, love?"
My knees were sore, and they were shaking. "Brooke summoned me again!" I exclaimed, pointing, then shifted my arm when I remembered where the university was. "I told you she would. She had a rolling bed with straps. I want my name back now\"
Al made a puff of air, but he was coming at me, and I backed up.
"They drugged me," I said, trying to smack his reaching arm away only to find myself picked up and plopped on the table, sitting on some of Ivy's papers. "In my leg," I continued as he smelled my breath and peered over his smoked glasses at me. "Shot me twice. I want my name, or I'm going to start charging you a fee every time I field something for you. And it's going to be expensive. I'm Park Place. Bud-dy."
His red, goat-slitted eyes squinted at me from over his smoked glasses. "You're more like Oriental Avenue right now, dove. What are you on?"
I pushed him away, catching Lee's awe that I was not only standing with a demon outside a circle, but that Al was treating me like an equal. Or maybe a favorite pet, I amended as Al caught me when I started to tilt. "I want... " - I panted as he held my shoulder with his white-gloved hand and kept me upright - " ...my name. Right now. This is crap! I mean it!"
Al glanced at the two people behind him, safe in a circle, then at Pierce. I wrinkled my nose at the burnt amber flowing off him, and he let me go. With a yelp, I slid from the table to land in a crumpled pile at his feet. "Ow," I muttered, seeing his cute little buckled boots. No one wears buckles anymore, and I decided to get him some real boots next winter solstice. Some sexy guy boots. Yeah. Fumbling, I reached to find the top of the table, and I pulled myself up.
His goat-slitted eyes narrowed and he turned to Pierce. "You're supposed to watch her."
"I am!" Pierce said, his own anger showing. "In all my born days, I've not seen a woman more prone to trouble, and your almighty refusal to settle your hash is making things plumb impossible. Give Rachel her name or I'll tell Newt I can't do this."
"Yeah," I said as I wove on my feet, trying to focus.
Al was silent, his jaw clenched as Pierce arched his eyebrows in challenge. "Come along, let's go," the demon abruptly said. "Pierce, stay here. I'll send her back before sunup."
Blinking, I stared at him. "Go? Go where?"
Al looked back to Ivy, Lee, and Pierce and sniffed. "I'm not going to twist curses in front of an audience." Al grimaced, looking pissed.
I suddenly realized that Pierce had done it. Al was going to live up to our deal. It had taken me being dragged around, drugged, and headed for a lobotomy, but I was going to get my name back. Teeth gritted in a weird smile, I looked at Ivy. It was going to be a good day.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, stumbling when Al pulled me to him and a puff of burnt amber rose. "Why can't we do it here?" I asked, but with a gasp, I found the air crushed from my lungs. We were gone.