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Chapter Nineteen

I stared at the closed door, hearing a muttered conversation behind it "What do you ain, ed

"Hoould she know you’re here? You call her? I didn’t"

No, I hadn’t, and I looked through the peephole to find her and Robbie discussing things "She knows I’m somewhere in the city," I said "She’s crazy, not stupid, and the press probably knohere Trent is staying"

"Rachel?" my mom called "I want to talk to you before your trial, sweetie"

Ivy shook her head "She’s not swearing And when has Robbie ever been happy to see you?"

I frowned, squinting through the peephole to try to see my mom better Her shoes didn’tIt was the last one that did it "You’re right" Raising my voice, I shouted, "Nice try! Go away!" I dropped down to oat who didn’t let the big bad wolf in to eat her

"Is Trent there?" the man asn’t Robbie asked, his voice off

Ivy leaned toward the door "No," she said belligerently "Whatcha going to do about it?"

I smacked her shoulder with a huff, and she blinked innocently atrim around her eyes vanished, and I backed up a step "What did you tell thes up I want to see the sunset over the bay this evening"

I sighed, leaning to look out the peephole again, but I only got a gli ley-line a Ivy with , and the heavy steel door burst inward, landing askew on the front couch in the lower living roo to find my balance as I held Ivy’s arm I reached for a ley line as the door fraers like slivers of broken mirror It hurt, and I scrambled to fill o of Ivy when my mother and Robbie came in It was obvious it wasn’t the coven witch behind the to try to offto set a circle when Robbie pulled a sun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at me Holy crap, they all had air pistols!

The circle around Ivy and ave a hiccup and died It just flickered and went out Shocked, I just stood there as Ivy snatched the serving tray from the coffee table The last of the crackers and cold cuts went flying as she pulled it up to intercept the splat ball It hit with a ping of sound and a hiss ofblack as the salt in the air interfered Her lip curling in a sneer, Ivy threw the tray like a lopsided Frisbee at ,into Robbie and ruining his ai to be ticked The tray thunked into the wall and stuck, quivering It would have broken a couple of ribs easily Whatever was in those splat balls Robbie was shooting was nasty Robbie, hell It was Oliver I could tell by the way he snarled and shouted, "Shoot theroom and behind the couch

"My circle didn’t hold!" I said, feeling betrayed as I took them in There were four of the as nized Wyatt with his steely brown eyes and stern expression, and the last geeky-looking witch-Leon, if I reht

"You couldn’t wait until tonight, huh?" I shouted, then ducked down behind the massive swivel TV that was almost a room divider Yellow froth bubbled where Ivy and I had stood, and four new splatters outlined the angle of their reach Ivy smelled of excited va blacker by the second My bag was on the couch There was nothing in it to help ic didn’t work on the coast," Ivy said breathlessly, and I yanked her back dohen I heard twin puffs of air

"It generally doesn’t," I said, running throughup short They had timed this perfectly No wonder they hadn’t tried to kill me on the way This was the only place I’d be helpless "But they’re coven," I said, eying theit took for the salt in the air to naturally break the charm "You know, best of the best All they need is for the charh to kill us" I looked at her, starting to get worried as I listened to Oliver’s de does that take?"

"Three seconds if you’re not resisting," she said griht, too Daic Man would be helpful right about now

The splats had stopped, and I wasn’t surprised when I heard Oliver say, "She’s not coo the other"

Ooh, they were going to split up Bad life choice I looked at Ivy, thinking we uys You take my mom and Robbie"

Ivy’s focus became distant as she used her ears to place everyone "No offense, Rachel," she whispered, "but your , a screa from her as she dove over the spell-tainted carpet and back to the broken door I rose, seeing her stand fro at Wyatt, she backhandedtray Aun slipped fro as she turned

Thefor the bathrooet a better shot atinto the kitchen to hide behind the eat-at peninsula Oliver, seeing that gun in Ivy’s hand, dove for the kitchen as well

"Hey!" I shouted, standing tall and then ducking to evade Wyatt’s shot Oliver peeked above the counter, shooting wildly, alrabbed Aled to find her feet, still dazed fro the wall Oliver’s next spell hit her square on Amanda’s eyes widened, and then she slid into oblivion, her anger at Oliver dissolving into a spell-induced coma

"Shoot her! Shoot the vampire!" Oliver demanded, and Wyatt peeked froe wasn’t as wide as he probably liked, and he needed to expose hiood shot atat, and I threw a vase at him My eyes narrohen it bounced off a quickly invoked circle and broke on the tile Either he was used to the crappy lines here or he was using a familiar

Peeved, Wyatt shot at ave Ivy the second she needed to find cover She was beautiful with adrenaline as she slid back to ot you soun, and aze darted to A as fast as I thought itstuff I bet she’d be ticked for having been taken out by one of Oliver’s spells Again

"Thanks," I said as I hefted the weapon, then squeezed off a couple of shots in the general direction of the kitchen and bath, just to let the Aot in these splat balls, boys?" I asked "Is A to be okay, or should we call a time-out?"

"Coverwitch’s refusal Just because you’re good at ic doesn’t mean you like to risk your life Wyatt poked his head out, and I shot at hi where it dripped to the carpet It gavein the bathroo, foa a venomous stalactite With any luck, it would drip on hi?" Ivy asked

I pressed deeper into the shelter of the TV "He’s used to the lines here" I wished I was But in all fairness, his bubbles weren’t lasting long, either Maybe that was the trick to it

"Hey, Ivy," I said, a sudden thought coursing through me I couldn’t tap a line worth a damn, but I knew a spell that used just quick bursts instead of long, drawn-out pulls like a circle Maybe if I kept spindling power, filtering it, as it were, I could do soun over and opening the hopper

Ivy’s confused expression softened to one of amusement as I shook a little yellow ball into raveyard where I deflected splat balls shot by Ivy and thrown by the pixies All I needed was so object "But you can’t tap a line," she protested as I jaun to her

"I can I just can’t hold on to theover to be spindled inun, I’ll deflect what they shoot" I didn’t need Pierce We could do this together, like ays did Relying on hirew "Ready?" she asked, ducking as a splat ball zipped inches over her

I wasn’t, but she had already leapt intoher howls as she made the jump to the broken door and propped it up to hide behind I stood, the splat ball lightly held in my left hand "Hey!" I shouted, and heads turned

His eyes alight, Oliver shifted to aim at me My heart pounded Four puffs of air sounded loud, butdirection and distance, the three th "Iacio!" I shouted, feeling a drop in my chi

My ley-line spell hit the splat ball headed toward Ivy, and the yellow plastic bounced as if hitting a wall, deflecting back to Wyatt His eyes widened as he pulled back, and the ball vanished somewhere inside the bathrooain, and I bounced a second ball at Leon The man ducked back behind the kitchen peninsula, his brown eyes wide in fear

"Rhombus!" I shouted, and the two shots fro to trust it The balls slowed, as if hitting cotton, then fell unbroken to the carpet

"Rachel!" Ivy shouted, and I spun, hand raised to ward off Wyatt’s next shot I didn’t have enough ti out its existence I dove for cover His shot ide as he pulled back too soon, ducking behind his own circle for an instant Crap, this wasn’t working, but even as I prepped to deflect another char finally drip

Wyatt jerked as the spell hit his head, reaching up to touch the cold spot, his expression shifting to alar at Oliver and Leon "Son of a bitch," Wyatt said, hatred in the expression he directed at me, and then his eyes rolled back and he dropped

Tn At least until the char, I pulled heavily on the shattered lines, spindling energy that tasted like broken rock deep in ust Still, she didn’t hide behind the door, but boldly strode forward to the kitchen, beside me

My brother’s thin face that Oliver as red and ugly as he stood in the kitchen and shot atup as I cahtened and his shots wilder as I absorbed his ic in quickly invoked bubbles I took down as soon as his ic hit them I felt like a demon, unstoppable, and a part of me orried even as I enjoyed the sensation