"Me, too!" Z says.

"Okay! Okay!" Connor says in a high-pitched voice before Margo can chime in. He places a hand over his crotch. "Only the one in the middle is enchanted-it works on its own, like whoever is holding it doesn't really have to know how to wield a sword. It antic.i.p.ates the correct move. Everything else is just a sword."

"I'll take that one," Dani says. "I may be stronger, but I don't know if becoming a vampire has improved my coordination much."

Dani takes the sword and points it in Connor's direction. He flinches when she swishes it around in the air. "You should be scared!" she tells him.

I take a sword with a long, curved blade. I hold it up to the light and examine the sharp edge.

"Oh, I like this one," Margo says, taking a double-bladed ax with a jewel-encrusted hilt.

"It's pretty."

"Yeah, it's important to have pretty accessories when you're fighting a demon," Dani whispers to me.

I glare at her, and she rolls her eyes.

"This is mine!" Sascha says, taking one with some sort of long black animal hair hanging from the sword's strap.

Z walks over and takes the sword closest to her. "Let's just get this done and hope we're still walking the earth when we're finished."

I take a deep breath and run a hand through my curls. "Are we ready, ladies?" I ask.

"Hey! What about me? Aren't you at least gonna get the binder off me?" Connor asks.

I walk up to him and look down at his legs. "Funny thing about binders. Usually they just crumble after we kill whomever we had trapped. How badly do you want them off?"

Connors eyes widen. I can see sweat stains under his arms. "Jules!"

"Don't worry-unless I'm in a kill-or-be-killed situation, I don't plan on hurting anyone ever again. Oh, and by the way, in case you hadn't figured it out-I'm dumping you."

Connor sighs. "Fine! Whatever! But you don't really think they'll just sit back and let you quit? And when my mom finds out the auctions got messed up, she's gonna go ballistic!"

"He's right-demons aren't the only thing we have to worry about," Zahara says. "Even if we bind our moms they could start throwing spells our way."

The ghost in my pocket lets out a long, mournful moan.

"Too bad we couldn't trap their powers in one of the b.a.l.l.s," Margo says.

"Maybe we could," Dani says. "We could concentrate on their powers and try a command spell-like remove or something. And your mom has a ton of b.a.l.l.s in her shop."

I groan. "Not anymore, she doesn't. I kind of pitched a fit after you left and broke them.

Wait-I threw one in the pond. We could retrieve it."

Z shakes her head. "One's not enough."

"What if we use it together?" Sascha asks. "If all of us are touching it, maybe it'll work."

"Are you insane?" Connor says. "You can't steal powers!"

"Watch us!" I say. "Actually, that's a good idea. You can come and watch us take down the coven. Something you said you'd help me do until you turned into a greedy, spineless, chickens.h.i.t!"

I look at the binder threads wrapped around his legs. "Maybe we can cut them off or try a release spell?"

"I'll try," Dani says, pointing her sword at his legs.

"Oh, no!" Connor says. "I'm staying here. Good luck with your little battle."

"Just shut up already," I say, pointing my hand at his head while I examine his bindings.

I look up and see Connors mouth clamped shut, and I'm glad I wasn't concentrating hard enough to cause it to be threaded shut like the wolfs mouth. I look down at the bindings. "A release command will probably get them off, don't you think?"

Z nods.

"Dani, can you put the vampire mojo thing on Connor before we try to get these off?" I ask.

"If it works then you can walk him over to the meetinghouse with you."

Dani sticks out her tongue. "Only if I have to!"

"Umph!" Connor protests, shaking his head wildly.

Dani looks up at Connor dreamily and runs her fingers along his arm. "Do you want to take a walk with me, a.s.shole?"

Connor's body visibly relaxes and his eyes soften. He nods his head. "Umm."

"That is one bada.s.s power!" Z says. She points her hand to Connor's legs. "Release!"

The binding slips away from Connor, who is still staring at Dani with a glazed, longing look.

"OK, I'll fly back to my house and see if that ball is in one piece. And I'll see you at the coven house in a few!"

I look around at everyone's faces and wonder if I look as scared and worried as they do.

"We can do this," I say, but I'm wondering if this moment marks a new beginning or the end.

19.

We stand by a window of the meetinghouse, listening to the argument inside.

"You don't appear to be listening to me, so I'll say it again," Mrs. Robbins yells. " I don't care if she's been turned, and you know perfectly well she can come home."

"Judy," Helena says calmly, "you know perfectly well they could've told her about the contracts. We can't have the girls learning about that yet-it's too soon."

"We wouldn't even be having this conversation if you hadn't come up with the asinine idea in the first place!" Dani's mom lets out a choked sob. "Sending vampires after the girls-I can't believe I let you bully me into going along with that."

"Look," Mom says. "We can't undo what happened, but surely we don't need to make Dani pay for our poor judgment twice. If it were Connor we were talking about, you might take a different view on this, Helena."

I look at Dani whose eyes are wide with surprise.

"They're fighting for you!" I say.

She jabs her free hand in the air. "Go moms," she whispers.

Connor leans into her and sighs longingly. Dani nudges him away and sticks out her tongue.

"His hand is all sweaty, and he's, like, panting all over me."

"Seeing as Connor is aware of all of our dealings and is not a security risk," Helena says, "I certainly would take a different view."

"a.s.sociating with low-life vampires," Mrs. Robbins says. "Hiring wolves to spy on each other. Anything to make a buck, and my Dani paid the price!"

"Oh, you all protest now, but you've been perfectly happy living comfortably off the money we've taken in."

"We were perfectly happy before!" Zahara's mother says. "Did we really need to buy all that land and build a meetinghouse?"

"Did we really need better cars?" Margo's mom says.

"It's bad enough we're living under the d.a.m.n covenant," Sascha's mom says, "and then you browbeat and threaten us to go along with your plans to use the girls as hired guns. We've had enough!"

" I say when it's enough!" Helena booms. "The demons chose me as this covens leader, and as such I have supreme authority over what activities the coven partic.i.p.ates in. Are you ready to follow your husband into h.e.l.l, Rebecca? Just say the word and I'll summon a demon for you, and Sascha will be an orphan! Or maybe they'll take you, Judy? Is a dead daughter worth an eternity in the bowels of h.e.l.l?"

"Yes!" Mrs. Robbins shrieks. "Yes, she is! I am willing to risk anything to get Dani back."

"So be it!" Helena yells.

"Uh, guys," I say, "I think it's time we head in there with a new game plan."

I look each of them in they eye and they nod.

"Okay!" I say. "It's time we strip the b.i.t.c.h of her powers and find us a new coven leader!" I take the ghost ball out of my pocket and we race up the steps.

"Open!" we yell.

The door slams open and Helena is standing in the middle of the room-her eyes transfixed on a small purple light, the size of an egg, hovering in front of her. " I summon thee from the place you dwell to come forth and exact my wrath!"

As the purple light twirls and expands, a foul-smelling wind whips around the room. This is what brimstone smells like, I think numbly.

"Hi, Mom," Connor says dreamily. "Why'd ya open a portal?"

Helena jerks her head in our direction. She narrows her eyes and gives us her snakiest smile. "How nice of you to joins us, girls. You're just in time to witness firsthand what happens to bad witches."

"Dani!" Mrs. Robbins yells, running to her.

"Just a sec, Mom," Dani says, holding out her hand like a cop. "We've got some bony a.s.s to kick!"

I hold the ghost ball toward Helena. Margo, Sascha, Zahara, and Dani place their fingertips on it, and we hold our free hands out toward her. "Remove!" I yell with the others, hoping we've chosen the right word-hoping we can really steal someone's power.

A blast of white light shoots from our hands and streaks across the room, knocking Helena off her feet. "No!" she screams. Helena sits up, her eyes wide, and clutches her chest as a misty, black steam starts to rise around her. "What-what did you do? Connor! Stop them!"

Oh, s.h.i.t! I look and realize Dani isn't touching Connor anymore, and he's heading my way with his hand held out and his eyes locked on the gla.s.s ball.

"Jules, you don't have to do this. Just give me the ball. There has to be another way," he says. "We can talk with my mom-we can work this out!"

"Just take the d.a.m.n ball, Connor!" Helena screams.

"I don't think so!" Mom calls out, throwing a binder at him. "I bind you to the earth!" As the binder wraps up Connor's legs, Mom shakes her head. "You were never good enough for my daughter!"

"Return!" Helena howls, darting her hand into the black steam thickening above her, trying to capture her power back.

"It's not working!" Sascha yells. "It's not coming toward the ball."

"Steal!" Margo's mom calls out, running toward us. She puts her hand on Margo's. "Try steal!"

Mom, Mrs. Robbins, and Mrs. Ramirez dart over to us, and add their hands to the pile.

"Steal!" we yell together.

The moment the word leaves our lips, the black smoke spirals like a crazy tornado into the ball, and the portal collapses on itself.

Helena pushes herself up slowly. She stands, panting, with her hands clenched into tight little b.a.l.l.s. The intense hate in her eyes tells me we'd be dead if the spell hadn't worked. "What've you done to me?" Her eyes stop on the orb I'm holding and yells, "Retrieve!"

I tense my grip around the ball, and then breathe out when it remains in my hand. I tap it with a finger, as a satisfied smile spreads across my face. "You can't hurt us anymore. You can't hurt anyone."

Helena's face contorts with rage. "Retrieve!" she screams again. When nothing happens she runs toward me. "Give me that ball!"

Mrs. Robbins blocks her way. "Take one more step and I'll call one of our vampire friends to finish you off. I'd bet they'd do it for free!"

Helena's mouth drops open in surprise.

"Hey!" Connor yells. "Everyone just calm down!" He starts for Mrs. Robbins, but the binder pulls him back in place.

Mrs. Robbins turns to Dani and opens her arms wide. Dani rushes in and Mrs. Robbins embraces her. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Oh, s.h.i.t! Oh, s.h.i.t!" Zahara said. "Another portal!"

In the middle of the room, a small purple light hangs in the air, slowly growing.

"Ha!" Helena yells. "Ha! They're coming! You didn't think you could do this to me and not expect to pay!"

We all back away as she sidles up to the expanding portal, her face shining with unbridled glee.