The world grew dark as I turned to face the warlock who had killed Alice. Energy snapped and crackled like a downed power line. Black clouds churned and lightning jumped across the sky followed by the angry rumble of thunder. I wasn't conscious of drawing the energy together, but I welcomed it. It danced along my skin while all the fine hairs on my body stood on end. There was so much energy in the air, I felt like I could pull the world apart.

The warlock looked nervously up at the sky and then took a step back as his eyes darted to me. Holding the handle in both hands, I snapped it near the spade over my knee with the help of a little magic. I dropped the metal spade with a thud and then drove the spike through the chest of the warlock I had knocked out only seconds before. He never stirred, never cried out, as I plunged the spike through his heart.

The other b.a.s.t.a.r.d snarled something at me, but I couldn't make it out. Stepping on the dead warlock's chest, I pulled the spike out and held it in my right hand like a b.l.o.o.d.y spear.

The warlock hurled a nasty attack spell at me, aiming to rip my flesh off, but I batted it away with a thick wave of energy. At the same time I threw a fireball at him with my left hand. A smile curled on my lips as I watched him predictably raise his hands in the proper countercurse to protect himself. Hefting my spear, I threw it at him with all my strength and the bulk of the energy shifting in the air. The broken handle hit him hard enough to plunge through his chest and throw him backward. The point of the spear slammed into a telephone pole behind him, pinning the b.a.s.t.a.r.d to the thick wooden beam.

The man weakly groaned, his hands loosely clasping the spear in the middle of his chest as the last of his life drained out of his body. Blood soaked his clothes and ran like a river down to the sidewalk.

I started to march across the street to make sure this kid-killing f.u.c.ker died in as much pain as humanly possible, but Gideon stepped in front of me. I tried to shove him away, energy arcing between us. Gideon shoved me back and then backhanded me hard enough to make me stumble.

"Pull yourself together!" he said in a low, harsh voice.

"He killed Alice," I snarled. Blind with rage and pain, I was ready to take him apart.

"I know, but you need to get a grip. You've got enough magic gathered to kill us all." I rubbed my sore jaw, staring at him through narrowed eyes as his words slowly sank in. "Pull it together, for the kids."

"The witch?" I asked, trying to breathe around the fury licking at my brain. My tight grip on the magic energy in the air started to loosen. The charge slackened and the air grew less dense as I packed my emotions away in a box in the back of my mind.

"Dead," Gideon replied, motioning toward the b.l.o.o.d.y heap in the middle of the street. "You okay?"

I nodded, looking anywhere but at him. Standing in the middle of the street on that early morning, I understood for the first time why the Towers forbid warlocks and witches from marrying and having children. It wasn't because they were afraid of them being distracted from their studies or some elitist idea of sullying themselves. It was simply too dangerous for us to form emotional attachments. We were brought to the Towers to learn control, but in a moment of rage and pain, all that control was thrown out the window and we became a deadly force of nature.

I couldn't bear the idea of a child being killed by a warlock, especially a child I knew and respected. Yet standing there, struggling to bury the horror, I had a feeling that if it had been Trixie or Bronx instead of Alice, Gideon would not have been able to stop me without killing me.

"How'd they find us?" I asked, trying to push my thoughts to more important matters.

"They said something about blood."

My head snapped up to look at Gideon. "Mine? I thought I-"

"No, one of the dead warlocks guarding you," he said, cutting me off. "I think one of the kids stepped in the blood and tracked it here. They followed the trail."

I cursed in a low voice, squeezing my eyes shut. I hadn't thought of that. I should have thought of that. Should have thought of some protection spells to hide the kids better. Should have done something . . . more.

Turning, we walked over to where the kids were standing in a small semicircle. Paola was pressed against etienne, softly sobbing, while Tony stood on the other side of his friend as silent tears slid down his dark brown cheeks. James was on his knees beside his sister, holding her hand in both of his, staring blindly. He wasn't crying, but it would come as the numbness wore off.

As we drew close, etienne glared at us and raised his wand. "He led them to us." Paola raised a haunted expression to me, filled with fear that more fighting and dying would come. Tony looked as if he was about to shatter before my eyes, his mind unable to accept that I might have betrayed him through Gideon.

"No!" I said sharply as I stepped in front of Gideon. "They followed the blood on the baseball bat." I wasn't sure if that was it, but I didn't want to risk any of them looking at their shoes, wondering if they had brought the attackers and Alice's death.

etienne's face twisted in pain and confusion as he turned over the idea. "But-"

"Gideon risked his life to protect you. He risked his family to protect you. He didn't betray us."

The anger drained from their expressions to be replaced with pain. I stepped over and gently grabbed Paola's elbow, pulling her away from etienne. She looked at me with wide, sad eyes. "I need you to help James. Please."

She nodded woodenly and moved over to the little boy's side. Very carefully, she pulled him away from his dead sister and into her arms. He stood with his face buried in her side, his breathing growing heavy as the first sobs started to hit him.

Gideon swept in and knelt where James had been, spreading his black cloak on the ground. He gathered up the girl and lovingly laid her on the material. Folding her arms on her stomach, he wrapped her up in the cloak. I looked away when I saw the tears streaking down his pale cheeks, knowing he was thinking of his own daughter.

Turning my attention to etienne, I cleared my throat so I could speak past the lump. "We need to get out of here. Do you know of another safe place to hide?"

"Yes."

"Go inside now. Get everything you need and then leave out the back door. When you're sure you're safely hidden, send a message to me at my parlor," I instructed in a hard, even voice, hoping the tone was drilling into his head past the pain and self-doubts.

"Yes, but . . ." His words immediately drifted off as he motioned toward Gideon; the warlock lifted the body in his arms.

"Gideon will see that she gets a proper burial. You need to get these kids to safety. It might be a little while, but eventually the Towers are going to come investigate this fight. You need to be gone."

etienne nodded and then quickly urged the others back into the house. They wordlessly followed his orders and I was grateful for that. I turned to find Gideon standing a couple feet away, the cloak-enshrouded Alice held in his arms with the same gentleness he would show any sleeping child. Tears still streaked his cheeks, but there was a coldness to his eyes that made me glad that he was on my side.

"We will end this," he said in a low voice, and then he disappeared.

A chill swept over me as I stood there alone in the silence. I had a feeling that the this that Gideon was referring to was the Towers' reign of terror. I hoped he was right, but I was afraid that we wouldn't live to see the fruits of our labors.

A soft meow drew my attention to the ground to find Sofie stepping out of some thick bushes near the front porch. I had completely forgotten that she had been in my arms as I left the house. I couldn't blame her for hiding, as there wasn't much she could have done in that fight besides die. As I bent down toward the ground, she ran over to me and let me gather her up in my arms.

We stood guard at the side of the dilapidated old house as the kids gathered their meager belongings. I rubbed Sofie's head, but she never purred. I stared off into s.p.a.ce, concentrating on using a quiet spell that tracked all magic in the area, but no other witches or warlocks appeared.

When the remaining kids had run from the house and disappeared to some unknown location, I used another small spell to dissipate any lingering traces of magic spells in the area. With any luck, when the Towers came to check out the dead, they would a.s.sume that I was the only one who had been found. They would have no proof that the runaways had ever been there.

Holding Sofie against my chest, I teleported, wishing I had never left Gaia's world.

26.

I WANTED TO go back to Trixie's apartment with Sofie. I wanted to crawl into bed with the blond elf and pull her tight against my body while mentally blocking out the world. But I didn't. After grabbing my wand from my apartment, I went to the tattoo parlor and prepared for the end.

Spells were put into place to alert me if someone decided to unexpectedly pop in. I grabbed my wand, tucking it in my back pocket, so that I wouldn't feel quite so naked. I had no idea if Henry Fox was going to make another grab for me or if he was going to send yet another group of witches and warlocks to be slaughtered. He had come at me with three other magic users. He held me in a house with others magic users. He had sent three more hunting for me after my escape, and still I slipped from his grasp. I was hoping that he was going to be more cautious. It would buy me time, which is what I needed most because I was sure that I wasn't going to escape again.

With my defense in place, I spent the morning on the phone, draining my bank account and trading in favors to get things done quickly and quietly. Plans were finalized. This business had put me in contact with more than my fair share of shady characters. I had always hoped that I would never contact them, but that never stopped me from secreting away their phone numbers against the day when I would need them.

By late afternoon when Trixie walked through the door for her shift, I was done and was waiting for my target. I felt numb and I was grateful for it. If I had felt anything else, I wouldn't have been able to continue.

Trixie stepped close, placing her hand against my cheek as her wide eyes searched my face. "Are you okay?" she asked. There was an ache to her voice as if she already knew the answer to her question. "Sofie told me what happened."

I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly. Her head rested against my shoulder with her face pressed against my neck. "I'm okay," I whispered. We stood that way for several seconds, barely breathing. I could have stayed like that forever, but time was slipping away from me and things needed to be said.

Stepping back, I leaned against the counter in the tattooing room. "I have one client coming in today and I'll be with him for several hours. I've canceled all my other appointments, but could you tell everyone else that I'm not in today?"

She nodded, worry starting to fill her face.

"I don't think the Towers are going to strike here, but I've taken precautions in case. I've got spells in place for warnings. If they come, I need you to do as I say when I say it without question. Can you?"

"I can," she agreed, far too easily for Trixie. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"With the Towers, no," I said with a shake of my head. "But you can finish things with the Summer Court for me. Someone is supposed to visit with the queen and king today. She should fix the baby problem. You will need to tattoo them when it's over."

"Who is visiting?"

"Gaia."

Trixie's face brightened and her mouth formed a silent O in surprise. "You spoke to her?"

"Yes. It was an . . . interesting experience." A swell of longing rose with the memory of my time in Gaia's garden, threatening to choke me. It hurt to think about the place I had walked away from-that perfect place where I fit. The place that held my son. But if I had stayed, I would have never looked down on Trixie's smile again and I didn't want to face a world devoid of that beautiful sight.

"She's agreed to help, but you need to make sure everything is mended with the king and queen. You won't be hunted any longer."

She leaned into me, grabbing me in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Gage!"

The little bell on the front door sounded, indicating that someone had come into the shop, and Trixie moved away from me. She started to go to the lobby, but I grabbed her arm, stopping her. I had already seen the person on the monitor, and I had been expecting him.

"I've got it," I said as I walked past her. I paused before the entrance and cleared my throat, pushing back the lump while wiping my face clean of worry and sadness. Stepping into the lobby, I pushed a grim smile on my lips as I looked at my brother, Robert.

"You ready for this?" I asked, drawing his gaze to me. He was looking haggard. His eyes were underlined with dark shadows and his cheeks were hollowed out as if he'd been eaten away by worry.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." His voice was rough and low as he looked over the shop, searching for some hidden a.s.sa.s.sin. "I haven't heard from Reave in a while, but I'm guessing that plans haven't changed. I need to make the delivery tomorrow."

"Good. Let's go." I turned and he followed me wordlessly to the back room, where I had made all my preparations. I closed and locked the door behind him then set a spell over it to ward against anyone trying to come through with magical means.

Robert slipped off his jacket and tossed it over a spare chair in the corner while I grabbed a piece of paper and pencil. "Give me your driver's license. I need to make a record for TAPSS," I said.

He crossed his arms over his thick chest and glared at me. "Reave said no records."

"I have to put down who I tattoo. I just won't put down what I really did," I said.

When he grudgingly handed me his wallet, I handed him a piece of blank paper and pencil. "While I'm doing this, I need you to write down the coordinates. I'll turn them into code from that."

We worked in silence for several moments before he handed me back the paper. I didn't give him his wallet. A quick glance revealed that the coordinates were genuine. I didn't know the actual coordinates like Robert did, but there was a resonance in those numbers. Something in my gut screamed that these were the locations of the Towers, the thing that could bring destruction down on all our heads.

I stood, staring at the paper, fighting the urge to blast this information out across the world just like Reave wanted. After the threats to me, the threats to Trixie, and Alice's death, I was ready to see the Towers fall. If I thought for a second that this information could free the world without causing it to burn first, I would have let Reave proceed with his plan. But the world couldn't beat the Towers. At least not yet.

I put the paper down on the table with a grunt and walked over to the counter before the cabinet of supplies. I poured some weak tea from the little kettle into a mug and offered it to him. "It's going to take a few hours to tattoo these on you. Drink this. It will help dull the pain."

Robert stepped back from the mug. "I don't need it."

I frowned and took a step toward him. "The tattoo is going on your side along your ribs. It's going to hurt like h.e.l.l, I promise. Drink it. The painkiller is as much for me as you. The more pain you're in, the harder it's going to be to tattoo you because you're going to squirm. Let's get this done."

"I don't trust you." The words sliced through me, cutting deep. It must have shown because he cursed. "I don't trust you not to try to save me. You have to do this."

"I know. We're trapped. If I don't tattoo you, Reave will have you killed," I said, anger rising in my voice. "Fine. I'll tattoo you, but I can at least reduce the pain. That's all this is."

Robert grimaced, but took the mug and drained its contents. My brother had been right not to trust me. I had been lying through my teeth since he walked through the door. Reave wasn't going to kill him if he wasn't tattooed because I was going to take care of Reave. Unfortunately, Robert was still a target for the Towers and that was why I was going to tattoo him.

"Take off your shirt and lie on your side on the table," I said as I took the mug back from him. He nodded, following my directions while I grabbed the paper with the coordinates and settled on the little stool beside the table as he got comfortable. There was no outline to put on his body. I was working purely from memory. But I wasn't worried. I wouldn't screw this up. If I wanted to save my brother's life, the tattoo would be perfect.

I prepped the area where I would be working, shaving away the little hairs while slathering some petroleum jelly on his side. Snapping on a pair of gloves, I took up the tattooing gun in my right hand while positioning the pedal under my toe.

"I was thinking of stopping by to see Mom and Dad soon," I said, holding the needle poised over his skin.

"I think they'd like that." Each word was slow and slurred as he started to drift off to sleep.

"Good. I'll tell them you said hi."

"Thanks," he murmured, the word nearly lost in an expelled breath. "Don't try to save me, Gage. I'm the older brother. It's my job . . . to save . . . you."

A couple seconds later, a soft snoring tumbled from him as the sleeping potion took effect. Keeping Robert asleep throughout this process would make it easier for me to work the various spells and potions I was attempting.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I stepped on the pedal and drew my first line. The world slipped away from me so that I was no longer aware of the shop or Robert's snoring. There was only the steady buzz of the tattooing machine and the stretch of living canvas spread before me.

Six hours later, I sat back against the wall, staring at the man on the table. It had taken me nearly three hours to complete the tattoo and another three to finish all the other spells. I was exhausted, drained to the bone, but I expected my plan to work. Robert had walked in with brown hair and eyes. The tattoo had changed that, giving him blond hair and green eyes. Pushing away from the wall, I walked over and leaned down to take a closer look at him. The stubble on his now-wider jaw had a reddish tint to it and his nose looked larger and crooked as if it had been broken. There were a couple scars on his arms and his neck that hadn't been there when he walked in. I thought they'd be a nice touch. No one would recognize him. Not our parents. And now not even Robert himself.

He shifted on the table, waking as the sleep potion wore off. I stepped back, turning toward the table where I had left his wallet with his new ID and credit cards as well as some extra cash from my own wallet.

"How you feeling, Chad?" I asked, raising my voice while pretending to look for something on the table. "You dropped off on me about halfway through. Trixie even poked her head in when she heard your snoring to make sure I hadn't fallen asleep." I forced a little chuckle as I turned back to him.

Robert, now turned Chad Lancaster, sat up and rubbed his head with the heel of his palm, looking somewhat dazed as his gaze drifted around the room. His memory was going to be foggy for a little while because his mind was trying to organize the holes where I had taken memories and to sort through the new ones I had put in their place. It wasn't a smooth process since I was forced to distort a lot of old ones rather than risk leaving him with no new memories.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry about that."

"No problem. You warned me you were exhausted. You want to take a look at the tattoo?" I asked, motioning toward his ribs. He twisted in surprise and then winced as the pain reached his brain. Slipping off the table, he walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall.

"I liked your idea of doing two of your Chinese zodiac animals. It's a very powerful tattoo," I continued, trying to verbally reinforce the memories I had implanted about him coming into the parlor.

The tattoo was of a monkey and a wild boar wrestling, their bodies curled in such a way that they almost formed a circle. It was one of the best tattoos I had ever done. The colors, while sharp and vibrant, were soothing to the eye. The wild boar, or rather pig, represented the Chinese zodiac sign that Robert had been born under, while the monkey represented the person I was trying to change him into. In the tattoo, the monkey was winning the fight.

I didn't put much stock in astrology and the different zodiacs, but the animals of the Chinese zodiac had proven time and again that they were effective when it came to tweaking a person's outward appearance and sometimes personality. It was the reason I had used my own zodiac animal of the tiger to change my appearance when I had my back tattooed.

What Chad didn't see was the code for the Towers hidden within the lines of the tattoo. With luck, he would never see it. It wasn't meant for his eyes, but for his protection.

"It looks fantastic," Chad said, twisting to the left and then right to take in the whole design.

"Glad you like it. Let's get it bandaged up so you don't miss your flight tonight." I walked over to a table, holding a pile of gauze and tape. Chad nodded and quietly let me bandage him up while giving him proper care instructions.

When I was finished and he was dressed again, I handed back his wallet. "Oh, here. A courier dropped off your bag and plane ticket while you were out. Good luck in California." Bending down, I grabbed a large black bag filled with clothes I had created while he was sleeping and handed it to him. I couldn't risk letting him have any of his former possessions for fear of them triggering an old memory.

"Thanks. I think it's time for a change of scenery and California sounds good to me. I was pa.s.sing through Low Town when I heard about your shop."

Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. He had pulled up a thought I had placed in his brain and used it, sounding comfortable and accepting of the idea. My words and actions were matching the memories he had, so he was willing to go with it.