I looked down at Maggie, trying to read her reaction, but all I saw was obstinance. I'll deal with you later, old lady. Turning my attention back to Torrie, I said, "Fine. Take your tiny Torrie and beat it. Don't come back here again, and leave Maggie alone. She's an old lady and shouldn't be tied to a chair, as tempting as it might be to do it. Believe me, I understand more than most."

Maggie tried to kick me, but I was too far away for her to reach now. I walked up to the edge of my shield, staring at Torrie. "You need to leave now."

He smiled, opening up the box, gently taking out the tiny version of himself.

"No!" yelled Maggie from behind me.

I didn't even look back at her. I just watched in fascination as Torrie stared at the tiny version of himself. The little creature was no longer a demon, as it had been when I'd seen it on the day Maggie had used it in a brew to bring the demon Garrett into the Here and Now from the Underworld. Now the tiny thing was just a man. Almost pixie-ish, but without the wings. He was good-looking too, if you could get past the fact that he was only four inches high and, well, a psychotic killer.

"It's a mimicker," said Aidan, nearly whispering. His voice had taken on a very high tone, making him sound like he was ready to panic. It was a terrible thing to hear, especially coming from a werewolf who was supposed to be my bodyguard.

"Yes, it is," said the demon-Spike. "She has kept it here for many ages."

Torrie, as Rick the d.i.c.k, looked up at Maggie, actual tears in his eyes.

My world was spinning with the complete lack of sense things were making. I felt light-headed and lost.

"Why?" Torrie said softly. "Why would you do this to me?"

To see a nasty-a.s.s demon - the one who'd murdered my mother and tried to do the same to my friends - crying and nearly pleading with Maggie, was nothing short of mind-blowing. I didn't care what Aidan said this time. This was some serious next-level s.h.i.t, like I'd never seen before. I'd never been more confused in my life, and from the looks on my friend's faces, neither had they.

Maggie just grunted. "The Fates do what needs must."

His nostrils flared again and the tears dried up. "You do what suits you and your machinations, that is all. Nothing more, nothing less. You have meddled in my affairs for the last time, witch."

She cackled. "It will take a demon a lot stronger than you to take me to task, Torrence Silverthorn!"

He tipped his head back and roared, the sound making me want to run, hide, and never come out. This was the stuff that nightmares were made of.

Aidan stepped up close to my right side and Scrum did the same on my left. The two Spikes moved to stand in front of me. Now my view of Torrie was effectively blocked, which made it impossible for me to use The Green to take him down.

"Jayne Blackthorn!" Torrie yelled, before I had time to push my friends out of the way. "I hereby call in my favor! Send me back to where I belong!"

"What?" I asked, mostly to myself. "What's he talking about?"

Aidan looked at me. "What is he talking about?"

"Jayne?" said Scrum, not looking at me, but his voice almost pleading.

"How the h.e.l.l do I know?" I said, freaking out.

Torrie took a step towards our shield, stopping just on the outside of it. I looked over the fake demon-Spike's shoulder, meeting Torrie's gaze.

He spoke in a calm, proud voice. "You vowed that the day I asked, you would send me back to where I belong. I am redeeming that promise now. Send me back now."

"How?" I asked. No one could be happier than I was about sending this t.u.r.d bag back to h.e.l.l. "Just tell me what to do."

"Don't!" screeched Maggie.

"Shhhh, you old bat. You've caused enough trouble already," I said, waving her off.

She kept trying to stand, but her legs and arms wouldn't cooperate. I ignored her.

"Maybe you should listen to her," said Aidan. "She's the most powerful witch in our realm."

"Yeah, right. And look where it got us - a demon in the kitchen and Garrett running all over the compound. She's a screw-up, just like me." I looked back at her. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

She curled her lip at me. "You are about to show the world just how far from this tree you have fallen, girl." She finished with a snarl that I think was supposed to scare me, but all it did was make me laugh.

"Whatevs." I was used to being wrong. Threatening me with making a mistake wasn't going to stop me now. I needed this guy gone. I faced the demon wearing the Rick the d.i.c.k body with firm resolve. "Tell me what to do, Torrie."

"Wrap me in your power. Tell it to send me where I belong. It will know what to do."

I squinted my eyes, wondering if it could really be that simple. But I knew enough about my Earth element to know that it was pure. If it was in charge of what was going on, it had to be right for the universe.

I left the shield in place around us and added a little power to my field, drawing some of it around Torrie until he looked like he was standing in a green tube with a lid on it.

He closed his eyes, a small smile playing across his lips. The miniature version of himself stood in his hand, doing the exact same thing. It was creepy as h.e.l.l.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the vision and trying to ignore the feelings of misgiving that Maggie's words had planted in my mind. I am not s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g this up. I am not doing the wrong thing. Everyone should be where he belongs, even the bad guys. Sending someone to the Underworld is not going to get me in trouble. I chanted several more rea.s.suring lines to myself until I felt confident enough to try my hand at teleporting souls, and then I asked The Green what Torrie had asked me to.

Earth element and the power of The Green, I ask that you send the demon Torrence Silverthorn back where he belongs.

The first thing I heard was Spike - the real one - saying, "Whoa. That was pretty cool."

Then Maggie spoke up, her voice sounding much clearer and stronger now. "Well, I hope you're happy with yourself. You've just loosed evil on the world."

I stopped breathing for a second and opened my eyes, not surprised to see an empty green tube with no demon in it anymore. Just the wooden box lay on the floor where Torrie had been standing.

My lungs began working again, and I turned to Maggie, letting the force that used to be around Torrie come back to me. "Shut up, you old bag. A simple thank you for saving your sorry b.u.t.t would be nice."

She rocked the chair back and forth, a bitter smile on her face. "Thank you for destroying the plan I've had in place for over a thousand years ... that I spent almost half my life working towards. Thank you. How can I ever repay you?"

I shook my head. No way was I letting her ruin this for me. "Listen, Grandma-to-the-tenth-power, I get that you're cranky for getting caught by a demon and having your nasty little ingredients taken from you and having your 'do royally messed up in the process. But I did what was right. You can't keep fae or whatever trapped here if that's not where they belong."

"You are the one keeping him here now, not me. And you will live with the consequences of your actions. Don't come crying to me later over it."

The real Spike nudged me. "Maybe we should leave now," he whispered.

"Not yet. Maggie, I need you to help me get my friend's soul back into his body."

She cackled, still rocking back and forth, picking up the pace a little. "Ha! That is a funny joke. Come back tomorrow. Perhaps by then I will forget how you've destroyed everything I've worked for."

I sighed. So she wanted to play hardball. Fine. Two can play at that game. I bent down and retrieved the rope from the floor where I'd dropped it. "If that's the way you want to do it," I said, stepping over and grabbing her hands, forcing them behind the chair.

"What are you doing?!" she screeched, struggling feebly against me.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" I asked, wrapping the rope around her hands. "I can't have you running amok, stealing souls and locking them up in boxes, now, can I?" I wasn't sure that's what was actually there with those mimicker things, but it sounded close enough that I stuck with it.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Maybe I don't. But I know I need you to do this for me, and that if I leave here I have no idea when I'll see you again." I stood, putting my hands on my hips. "So when you're ready to cooperate, I'll come back and let you out. Just send me a message through the ley lines."

She struggled to get free, but I'd made sure to let her know I meant business, adding a little of The Green to the knots so there'd be no way she could get free from them. At least not while I was standing there.

I gestured towards the door. "Come on, guys. It's bedtime. I'm tired."

"You can't leave me like this!" she yelled at my back.

"Watch me," I said, not even looking at her.

I was halfway out the door when she said, "Wait," in a quiet voice.

I turned around, the last one to leave. "What'd you say?" I put my finger up to my ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

She frowned at me. "I said wait."

I sighed. "Are you ready to be reasonable?"

"Yes."

"Are you telling the truth?"

She sighed. "Yes."

I sensed that she was, so I walked back over to her and stood in front of her chair. "My friend has been possessed by a demon. They can't switch back. I need you to do it for me."

"I know."

"Will you?"

"If you untie me, I will consider it."

"No deal. If I untie you, you do it. No questions asked, no bulls.h.i.t. Otherwise, plan to spend the night or the week or the month or whatever it takes in that d.a.m.n rocking chair. I hope you can hold that water, by the way."

"You wouldn't," she growled.

I grinned. "Oh, I would."

She stared me down but then just said one word. "Truth."

"You bet your sweet wrinkled a.s.s it is," I said, motioning for my friends to join me back in the room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX.

THE SPIKES AND I WORKED at putting all of Maggie's unbroken jars back up on the kitchen shelves and sweeping up the mess on the floor, while Maggie gathered ingredients to add to her big black pot. Some magical fire underneath got the steam coming out of the top of it within just a few minutes.

Aidan and Scrum stood off to the side, silently observing and saying nothing.

Maggie went into her pantry and a few seconds later, screamed.

I went running to the entrance, the guys close on my heels.

"What?!" I yelled into the darkness. It took a little bit of time for my eyes to adjust, but once they did, I could see why she was so upset. What looked like hundreds of little wooden boxes were all over the floor, pulled off shelves that lined the room and stood in rows, going farther back into a s.p.a.ce that was impossibly long. Several of the boxes were open and little creatures sat in those openings, looking around as if stunned.

"What in the h.e.l.l is this, Maggie?" I stared at the wreckage around us, not really understanding what it all was, but knowing in my bones that it was seriously bad news.

"Get out!" she shrieked, sounding completely unhinged. "You have no business in here!"

I stepped inside, ignoring her mania. I reached down and picked up a box that was open, looking at the little person who sat inside. He stared up at me, confused. He reminded me of a little pet or something. Not exactly totally human or fae, guileless, a little worried as to what I wanted or what I was doing with him. That's how my dog Blackie had been when I first got him. Two days later, his real personality came out and he became the bada.s.s I grew to adore, but I still remembered the innocence that was his baby-self.

"Why do you have all these little fae in boxes in here?" I asked, almost not wanting to know the answer. For sure it was going to freak me out.

She shuffled over, kicking boxes out of her way, and grabbed the one from my hands, snapping it shut and slipping the clasp forward to lock it in place. "Leave. Now."

I put my hands on my hips. "Dammit, Maggie, what the h.e.l.l? I'm no witch, but I have to say ... this s.h.i.t looks very wrong to me."

"If you want your friend back where he belongs, you will leave this room immediately and question me no further." She poked me once in the arm with her boney finger. "Truth!"

I frowned at her but backed out of the room, b.u.mping into my friends who were still in the doorway.

None of them said anything, but I felt warm hands on my upper arms, pulling me back out into the kitchen. The fake demon-Spike pushed the broken pantry door closed behind me as best he could, giving Maggie the privacy she wanted. The door still hung c.o.c.k-eyed, but we could no longer see her ma.s.s of boxes on the floor and the empty shelves that used to hold them.

I turned to my friends. "Someone tell me what the h.e.l.l that was, please, because my mind is going to all kinds of freaky places right now, and I just need to get it all straight."

"Those were mimickers. Hundreds of them," said Aidan softly.

"Maybe thousands," said Scrum, sounding sad.

"What is a mimicker?" I asked. I knew they could be used to make some seriously potent spells, but that's it.

"They are a piece of a person's soul. There's no reason for a witch to have even one, let alone a legion of them."

The fake demon-Spike spoke. "There were rumors ..."

We turned to look at him.

He shook his head and continued. "I just never believed them. It all seemed so ... fantastic."

"Fantastic as in good?" I asked, knowing my hope was fruitless.

"No. Fantastic, as in not possible."