"We're going to see Maggie."

The fake demon-Spike came up next to us. "Who's Maggie?"

"The old witch in the tree," said Aidan. "And I'm going down on record as saying this is a very bad idea."

"If you don't want to come, you don't have to," I said.

"I'm going. No way would I let you go there without at least one of us," said Scrum. "But I'm not happy about it. She's not a very nice lady."

"I have no choice, Jayne, you know that," said Aidan. "You are choosing for me."

I stopped suddenly, causing the Spikes to run into one another. They quickly separated without a word, watching me closely.

"Don't put that s.h.i.t on me, Aidan. You either wolf-up and agree to come without fear and without complaining, or you choose your own way and leave me alone. I'm not responsible for you coming with me. That's all on you."

"If you wish," he said, giving me a half bow.

"No! It's not what I wish. It's what is. So either you come of your own free will or you stay. But don't b.s. either of us and try to say you're being forced, because you're not."

"Fair enough." He bowed again.

"If you friggin bow at me one more time, I'm going to brain you with my stick."

He winked at me. "As you wish."

I glared at him. "I hate winking too, by the way."

"What should I do to show you I agree to your terms. Flap my arms? Do a dance?"

"Either one would be fine," I said with a totally straight face.

The stupid werewolf totally launched himself into a jig in the hallway, flapping his arms a little for effect. Scrum joined him, unabashedly giggling as he bounced his rotund, barrel-shaped body back and forth from wall to wall, b.u.mping into the wolf-man with abandon. They looked like they were in a mosh pit at a chess club meeting. Pitiful.

I shook my head. "Fine. You guys are idiots. Now get out of my way." I pushed past them to continue on my mission, but it was impossible to miss the chuckle they shared under their breath.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

WE REACHED THE TREE EVEN though there was little light to guide us. I used a ball of Green energy to illuminate the hallway and forest paths on the way, but let it drop away when we were standing at the foot of the Ancient. I stepped up to the door, knocking three times without hesitation.

No one answered.

I knocked three times again, this time louder.

Still, the only sounds we heard were those of the night creatures shifting in the brush around us. An owl hooted, bringing on the spooky.

"That's weird. She's always home unless she's hunting mushrooms and stuff. But that's during the day."

I tapped into the ley line below our feet, trying to get a handle on where Maggie might be. I knew her signature, and although she was capable of hiding it from me, she rarely did. She's here somewhere.

I frowned, reaching up to knock on the door even louder. "I know you're here, you old bat! Open up! I have an emergency situation on my hands right now!"

"She's not here, Jayne," said the real Spike. "Can we go? This place is giving me the creeps." He rubbed his arms up and down with his clawed hands, as if trying to warm himself up.

I frowned at him. "Just chillax, alright? She's here, I can feel her inside. She's just playing games."

"Perhaps she is sleeping and does not wish to be disturbed," said the fake demon-Spike.

"She can sleep in tomorrow. This is more important than her beauty rest. It doesn't help her anyway, trust me."

I banged on the door about ten times. I knew she'd hate that. She'd answer just so she could yell at me now.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are! Little pig, little pig, let me in! I'm ready to be threatened! I have pixie wings! I just told a lie! You're an ugly old hag! That was the truth!"

I said everything I could think of that would get a reaction out of her, but still, there was nothing. "That's it," I said, backing up. "Get out of the way, guys. I have to blow this mother off."

"Maybe we should just try the handle first," said Scrum.

"She's not going to leave her door open," I said. Dumba.s.s. Who'd leave their tree door unlocked when they so obviously don't want to be bothered?

He reached around me and took the handle, easily pushing the door inward.

He had the grace to say nothing, and I lacked the maturity to tell him he was right. I stepped carefully into the tree house, soon enveloped in utter darkness.

"Maggie? Are you in here?"

A m.u.f.fled yell and some rhythmic banging came from the corner of the room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

AIDAN PUSHED ME OUT OF the way and charged inside. Scrum and the real Spike came next, moving me farther back. The fake demon-Spike was last, putting himself between me and whatever was inside Maggie's house. They all four stood in a line, legs spread, fists up, ready to kick a.s.s on my behalf.

Nothing happened. No one showed himself and no sounds came, except more m.u.f.fled complaints.

I brought up my ball of Green light again, adding more of the energy into it, enough so that the entire interior of the s.p.a.ce was lit. It was then that we found the source of the muted sounds in the room. Maggie was gagged and bound to her rocking chair over in the corner, struggling weakly to get free. I pushed the guys out of my way and ran over to her.

To say that Maggie was having a bad hair day was an understatement. She never had good hair, but right now it looked like someone had used it to mop her floor - and she had a dirt floor.

I quickly untied the rope holding her wrists behind the chair and removed the gag from her mouth. A dry, rasping cough blasted out of her two-thousand-year-old lungs and didn't seem to want to stop.

Aidan went to the kitchen area and came back with a gla.s.s of water. "Here. Give her this."

Maggie held out a hand for it, but it was shaking so badly, I had to hold the cup for her. I put one hand on her back and rubbed it while she took a couple sips. I tried not to get ill over the lumpy surface I felt under her nubby cloak.

"What the h.e.l.l happened in here, Maggie?" I asked, looking around. The place had been turned upside down. All the jars that were normally on her shelves were spread across the floor, many of them broken. Neither of her giant rats was anywhere to be seen. The door to the pantry or other room - I didn't really know what it was - was hanging from a single hinge, the other pulled out of the wall. It was closed, but not well.

"Demons," she croaked out. "You need to leave, Jayne. Leave and don't come back," she gasped before the coughing overtook her again.

I got angry, real quick. "f.u.c.k that, Maggie. I'm not going anywhere. Tell me who it was so I can go wipe the friggin forest with his a.s.s." Maggie wasn't my favorite person in the world, but it took some special kind of evil to kick a two-thousand-year-old lady's a.s.s like this.

She looked fearfully at the pantry, grasping my hand with her boney fingers. "Go," she whispered, her eyes darting to the front door and then back to the broken one.

I got a really bad feeling, slowly standing and turning towards the kitchen. But before I could warn my friends, a voice came from across the room and froze the blood in my veins. The broken door flew open, banging against the wall and falling further off-kilter.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Jayne Blackthorn. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

I nearly fainted when Rick the d.i.c.k came walking out of Maggie's other room. Rick the d.i.c.k, speaking in Torrie's demon voice, smiling at me like he did the night he'd come for me in my bedroom.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

MY HAND WAS ON MAGGIE'S shoulder, squeezing her hard. I didn't realize how hard until she flinched with the pain. I glanced down at her, still in total freak-out mode, but now feeling extra terrible since I'd hurt an old lady who'd so recently been used to wipe the floor, bound, and gagged.

"Oops! Sorry, Maggie," I whispered.

She waved me off, still unable to speak. But she could hold the cup now and dropped her face down into it to take another drink.

I turned back to Torrie, doubly angry now that I realized he'd come down on another woman in my family tree. "What in the h.e.l.l are you doing in this realm? You don't belong here."

He looked at the fake demon-Spike. "I could say the same for your friend."

I noticed my fake friend was staring at the floor, purposely not looking at Torrie. Hmmmm, I wonder why ... I'd have to muddle that one through later. But first, I had to kill me some demon.

"Jayne, this guy is seriously bad news," said the real Spike. "We need to get out of here."

"Oh, no. Please stay," said Torrie. "Maggie and I were just catching up. Talking about old times, weren't we, Maggie?"

She was staring into her cup, frowning, saying nothing in response.

I was totally confused. Why wasn't she telling him to go to h.e.l.l? Why wasn't she throwing a demon-be-gone spell on his sorry a.s.s? I really hated it when s.h.i.t didn't make sense in my world.

Since no one else was jumping in, I took the bull by the horns. "Torrie, why are you here and what do you want?"

He shrugged. "Surely you know this and I do not need to repeat myself."

I put my finger in my chin, tipping my head slightly so the sarcasm could really flow. "Hmmmm, let's see ... well, there's the fact that you want to have a demon baby with me. And, mmmm, oh, yeah, you want to destroy all the fae. Oh, and, I almost forgot ... you also want to go to an all-you-can-eat human soul buffet and be able to come back here to live so you can accomplish all those goals. Did I miss anything?"

His nostrils flared and his jaw twitched. "You are incorrect on all counts. Why am I not surprised?"

"Maybe because you're a psychopathic killer who can't remember what one of his many split personalities said to me from one day to the next?"

"I do not have a split personality."

"I beg to differ." I'd been waiting for most of my teen life to say that line to an adult. I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Jayne, perhaps it isn't the best idea to accuse him of having a mental illness," said Aidan.

"Oh, I'm not. He knows he's a lunatic. I'm just mocking him, mostly."

"An even better idea," said Aidan dryly. He stood up straighter, moving his feet farther apart. "Oh well. I suppose it's better to die in battle than of old age."

Scrum took a similar stance, his fists opening and closing rhythmically.

I frowned at their battle stances, Aidan's comment drawing my attention away from hara.s.sing Torrie momentarily. "We're not going to fight anyone right now." I pulled The Green from the light in my hands and added to it, putting a shield around myself and my friends, including the fake demon-Spike. Then I looked over at Torrie. "I'm just taking this s.h.i.thead down once and for all, and then we're bringing Maggie back to the healers so she can get her d.a.m.n hair fixed. No amount of regular shampoo or brush is going to work ... not with that mess. She's going to need some serious magic."

I smiled a little at her scowl. It was a sure sign she was already feeling better.

Looking back over at Torrie, I noticed for the first time that he had one hand behind his back. When he'd first walked out, I'd thought it was just part of his swagger, but the longer he kept it back there, the more it started to look suspicious.

"What are you hiding, Torrie?"

Maggie shifted in her seat, struggling to get up.

"Stay, Maggie. You're too weak."

"He cannot ...," she gasped out, still fighting gravity. But gravity was definitely winning. Her b.u.t.t was like some sort of anchor, causing her to fall back into her chair out of breath.

"Give it up, Torrie," I said. "Whatever you think you're taking out of here, you're not."

He glared at me. "I'm taking what is mine and nothing more. Maggie knows this." He drew a small wooden box from behind his back.

The second I saw it, I knew what it was. My voice dropped its threats and a strong feeling of misgiving came over me. I didn't know what this meant, but I knew it wasn't good. "You're taking the tiny Torrie."

"You know about this," he said flatly. "You are in this with her."

"No. I mean, yes and no. I know about the tiny Torrie, but I don't know why it's here or really what it is."

Aidan leaned in towards me and whispered, "What's a tiny Torrie?"

I whispered back. "That demon over there is Torrie. There's a miniature version of him in that box. And it's alive."

Aidan jerked away from me and then amazingly, took a step away from Maggie too. "Dark magic," he said, a thread of fear wound around his words.