"Where have you been, little girl?" I asked, picking her up and stroking under her chin. She meowed a couple times but mostly purred. I was just glad she was okay. Otherwise, Stacey would probably kill me.

As we walked through streets lit by thousands of lightning bugs, I noticed crowds gathering at the pubs along the way, and a line of people waiting outside some of the fancier clubs and restaurants. A young vampire grinned at Elyssa as we walked past, his long teeth glistening. A pack of lycan teens howled with laughter as they rolled past at breakneck speeds on strange skateboard-like contraptions with large rubbery wheels.

I even saw a huge flying carpet as one soared low overhead, loaded down with goggling tourists.

"Are those noms on the carpet?" I asked.

"That might have been the Arcane Council's indoctrination tour-the one they give to noms who find out about the Overworld," Elyssa said.

It was almost too much to take in. Despite the weight of the world on my shoulders, the temptation to stop and smell the supernatural roses tugged on my sleeves a time or two. Once I'd cleared the death mark from Dad, maybe I'd bring Elyssa back here for a romantic night out. Heck, I might even trade some dollars for tinsel to make it look like I knew what I was doing.

When we reached the parking garage, I saw the young stable boy-or whatever his official title was-shoveling a huge mound of poo where the elephant had been earlier. He gave us a cheery wave as we passed by.

"Poor kid has a supernaturally cheerful attitude," I said. "Or maybe they drug him."

Elyssa laughed.

"Sir, don't forget your purchases," the boy hollered.

I snapped my fingers. "Ah, yes. Almost forgot." I walked to a nearby table where a number of packages sat, many of them identical. "How do I know which is mine?" As if in answer, what looked like a holographic image of my face popped up above the paper bag from the prank shop.

"That's how," Elyssa said with a smile. "Now you have to say the code words."

I tried to take the bag but it wouldn't budge from the table. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?"

Her grin widened and she stifled a laugh. "No. Not at all."

"Ha, ha. Justin is a dork." The bag came free. "I ought to bend you over my knee for that one."

"Ooh, is that a promise?" She winked.

A blaze of heat ran up my tender bits. "God, I hope so."

We went to the car and took off. Thankfully, this drive was heart-attack-free. I texted Shelton while we were parking outside his hideout so he could open the stairwell and let us inside. Smith waited just outside the door to the grungy room hiding the secret entrance. His shoulders were slumped and his gaze seemed captivated by the brick wall across the alley from him.

"You okay?" I asked him.

He flinched and then realized it was us. "Not really."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Felicia. She's gone back to Maximus. God help us if she tells him where we are."

Chapter 30.

I smacked a palm against my face and squeezed my eyes shut at the sudden onset of a headache.

"Stupid girl," Elyssa said. "How could she go back to him?"

Shame kicked a field goal with my stomach and celebrated by kneeing me in the gut a few times. I'd actually accepted her apology. Believed that maybe she really hated Maximus and had repented of her sins with him. Even worse, the leaden weight of depression in my chest made me realize I had actually started to like the girl.

Stupid me.

"I told you," Smith said, his voice heavy with sadness. "I love her, but I hate her. Sometimes I just wish she'd die and get it over with." He slumped back against the wall. "And then I realize it's my fault she turned into such a loser. I should've paid more attention to her after our parents died. I should have been there for her."

Elyssa stepped next to Smith and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We all make decisions impacting those around us, but the choice ultimately lies with them, not us. You can't blame yourself. Just move on with your life."

He patted her hand and nodded. "Yeah. If only it was so easy." Then he took a deep breath and straightened, brushing an invisible bit of lint or something off his shirt. "Anyway, you're not here to give me counseling." He chuckled. "I have no idea why I'm suddenly spilling all my worries out on you guys. It's not like we even know each other that well."

"Bottle it up too long and it comes bursting out," Elyssa said. "Besides, I'd like to think we can all become friends. You seem a lot nicer than Shelton."

Smith laughed. "Shelton has his charms." He raised an eyebrow. "Man, I'm so busy feeling sorry for myself I forgot to ask whether you arranged a meeting with Underborn or not."

Elyssa and I looked at each other.

"We did a bit better than that," I said. "But I'd prefer to wait until we can tell everyone."

"Sure thing." He entered the iron door and waved us on. "Speaking of Underborn, we finally blocked that damned tracking spell from transmitting anything and, believe it or not, might be close to actually disabling it. We've been at it all day."

"Great," I said, feeling guilt creep into my voice. I hoped they weren't ticked off that all their work was for nothing.

We descended the stairs to the sounds of classical music and the delicious aroma of cooking food drifting up to greet us. I stepped inside and stared at Ryland, who was wearing an apron stating, This is where the magic happens, as he stirred a medley of veggies and meat in a large wok on the gas stove. He picked up a nearby glass of dark red wine, held it out toward us as if toasting our arrival, and took a big gulp.

Stacey sat in another corner of the room, a magazine in one hand and a glass of white wine in another. She beamed a huge smile as we entered and rushed over to squeeze me in a hug. "My lamb, you're back. You actually made it!" She pulled back then turned to Elyssa, giving her a peck on each cheek. "You kept him safe, didn't you, dear?"

Elyssa's face flushed pink and she seemed off balance by Stacey's enthusiastic greeting. "He needs a lot of babysitting," she said, an uncertain smile finding its way onto her face.

"Justin!" Dad rushed from the room where they'd been keeping him and smothered me with a bear-hug. "Son, I-I can't believe you did something so stupid! I've been worried sick."

"I had to tell him," Stacey said without a hint of shame. "He was rather worried when you were gone so long."

"I'd like to say I'm sorry," I told Dad, "but I'm not. I spoke to Underborn."

Shelton emerged from his bedroom, his eyes underscored by dark circles. "What the hell is going on-Justin?" He rubbed his eyes and looked at me again. "I take it you're not a ghost?"

"No. Underborn has better things to do than kill me." I handed him the scrap of paper the assassin had given me. "See if this helps with the tracker."

Shelton unfolded it and stared at the symbols for a moment before laughing. "Smith, look at this."

"At what?" the other man said.

"Read it and weep, buddy. I told you if we tried your method it'd trigger the failsafe and burn his body to ash."

Smith gazed at the scrap of paper, rotating it for a moment before snorting. "You were looking at it upside down."

Shelton snatched the paper again and looked at it. "No I wasn't! I'm right!"

Smith laughed and slapped him on the back. "Don't get all sensitive, TP. We definitely would have burned his body to ash."

"Jackass."

"Will this fix it?" I asked.

"Yeah, in about five minutes," Shelton said. "Guess it's a good thing we didn't try to totally remove it."

"Yeah, thanks for not burning my dad to a pile of smoldering ashes." I looked at Dad. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go get the mark removed."

Dad looked at the floor, his eyes tight. "Son, I don't know what to say. I feel-"

"Hey," I said, smacking him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

His eyes met mine and I could almost see something like shame in his. "Okay."

He followed Shelton into the room with the metallic circle in the floor and dropped heavily onto the bed.

Elyssa took my hand and led me away from the others. "You need to have a talk with him, Justin."

"About what?"

"He's feeling a lot of guilt right now. He thinks he's failed you."

"How do you know?"

"I can see it in his eyes. He's tried so hard to get your mom and sister back but instead you've had to bail him out twice. I may not be a man, but I know how the ego works, and his is hurting right about now. How would you feel if you were in his position?"

I gave her words some thought and realized with horror she was right. I'd feel like crap if I couldn't keep my family safe. Even worse, I still hadn't done a thing to help my mother or sister. Dad's problems had tangled me up so much that reuniting with the rest of my family had fallen to the bottom of a long list. But now it was over. He was no longer marked and we could rescue Mom and Ivy together. Once I took care of Underborn's task.

"You're about to do something really stupid," Elyssa said. "Again."

"Huh?"

"It must be about finding your mother and sister."

"Are you sure you can't read minds?"

"Your face is like an emoticon, Justin. Every time something pops into your head, your face either turns into a frowny, a smiley, or the far-off vacant look you have now which tells me you're planning-I mean about to leap headfirst into-something."

"A vacant look?" I glanced around for a mirror but didn't see one. "Great, now I know I look like a moron when I'm trying to figure something out."

She laughed and pecked a kiss on my nose. "I think it's cute." Her smile faded as she regarded me, curiosity burning in her violet eyes. "Now tell me exactly what's going on in that head of yours."

"Just like you said. I want to rescue my mom and sister." I glanced back at Dad. "I want to help Dad this time. Maybe things will work out better."

She nodded. "How about we gather some intel, draw up some plans, and maybe put a bit of thought into things first?"

I thought back to Underborn's comments regarding mine and Elyssa's strengths and how they complemented each other. He might be a backstabbing assassin but he had a point when it came to my girlfriend.

Stacey giggled and rested a hand on Smith's shoulder as he spoke with her near the stool where she'd been reading a moment ago. He pushed up his thick glasses and smiled. Not more than a few weeks ago, I'd had glasses like his. I'd also been shorter and quite a bit rounder around the middle than Smith, too. I glanced at my arms and rubbed a hand across my flat stomach. I'd come a long way physically, but what about mentally? I was still a nerd, no doubt about it, but what kind of a person was I turning into? Things had been so frantic I'd hardly had a moment to think about any future more than five minutes away. What if I ended up like Underborn said? What if I figured it was okay to blackmail or kill people to have my way?

I looked at my dad and thought about the rest of my family. I thought about winning the approval of Thomas Borathen, and an unwelcome dagger of ice twisted in my guts. What would I have to do for a normal life? Would I be able to keep myself whole, or would I even recognize myself by the end?

Elyssa squeezed my hand. "Earth to Justin, come in, Justin."

I smiled. "Sorry. I think my brain is short-circuiting."

"You're just now figuring that out?" She graced me with one of her rare giggles. "I'm going to search the Templar database to see if we have records on the Conroys. First thing we need to figure out is where they live and whether your mother and sister are there. I wouldn't doubt it if they keep her somewhere else."

"Sounds good," I said. "I'm going to rest. It's been a long day."

Elyssa came closer, pressing a hand to my forehead and looking into my eyes. "You do look pretty worn out, hon. Get something to eat and go to bed. We can't do anything until you're fully recovered anyway."

"I will." I kissed her and then walked over to where Ryland was cooking. "That smells really good."

"Thanks," he said in a surly voice.

"Are you cooking for everyone?"

"What does it look like?"

I dropped into a nearby chair. "Jeez, dude. The wine giving you a tummy ache or something?"

Stacey giggled again as Smith conjured a pair of flying kittens with tiny superhero costumes and made them fly around the room.

I chuckled. "Man, I'll bet the women eat that up."

Glass shattered. I turned and saw wine dripping down Ryland's hand and arm since his wine glass had apparently imploded.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He growled and rinsed his hand in the sink, a deep cut in the flesh healing within a minute. "Peachy." He tossed a load of stir-fry into a large bowl and handed it to me across the kitchen counter.

I looked at him in confusion a moment longer before digging into the food. My taste buds rejoiced from the first mouthful. "Holy cow, Ryland, you can really cook." I chewed slowly, savoring the tangy sauce he'd used.

He turned away from me, apparently pouring another glass of wine. "Yeah." When he turned, his eyes locked onto Smith and Stacey.

Something in my stupid man brain clicked at that moment. I looked from him to Stacey. Each time she smiled or touched Smith, Ryland's scowl deepened. I had suspected he might have something for her but dismissed it as sheer lunacy. Since when would a wolf fall in love with a feline? Then again, they were mostly human, right?

"This might be none of my business," I said, "but if you like her, you should talk to her."

"You're right," he said. "It's none of your business."