Demon.
Rose.
I hadn’t had any doubts that she’d done this. But sensing her mark on the magic was another slap, another wound atop the damage she’d already inflicted.
I opened my eyes and felt the tears, already fallen, cold on my cheeks.
I turned back, looked at Lulu, trying to reassure both of us. “I can feel them,” I said. “They’re alive. They’re just somewhere else.”
“Where?” Connor asked, his voice low and deep and full of mingled hope and trepidation.
I shook my head, wiped my cheeks. “I don’t know. But the House wasn’t destroyed, right? It wasn’t exploded or burned down or dismantled. It just isn’t here anymore. So we figure out where they are and we bring them back.”
“How are we going to figure that out?” Lulu asked.
I didn’t know that, either. “We’ll either figure out the magic on our own, or we’ll capture the demon and make her do it. One way or the other, we’ll fix this,” I said, forging the promise.
Lulu nodded. “It almost sucked you in.” She swiped at tears.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe because you lived there?” she said. “Maybe because of the binding spell that made you.”
“Maybe,” I said, and slid my gaze to Connor. His face was carefully neutral, but his expression said he understood what had happened. What the magic had targeted and tried to pull away. Monster was still reeling from the attack, still in shock about the absence of the House and the sword.
There were lights and sirens behind us. We glanced back, watched Gwen, Theo, Roger, and Petra emerge from vehicles and run toward the House they expected to see. And then stop and stare at what wasn’t there.
“I heard,” Roger said. “But I didn’t believe it. And seeing it—I still don’t know what to believe.” He looked at me and my tears nearly welling from concern. Family came in all forms. “I’m sorry,” he added.
I nodded and tears welled again. Roger offered me a handkerchief, which was so thoughtful, if old-fashioned. I had a really great boss.
“Thanks,” I said, and wiped my eyes. “I think they’re still alive. They’re just... wherever the House is.”
“Then we’ll bring them back,” Roger said simply, as if it would be so easy. A gentle squeeze of my arm, and then he moved on to Connor, to Lulu, offering what solace he could.
Theo gave me a one-armed hug, the other still casted. “We’ll figure it out,” he said quietly. “I promise that.”
Petra waved her gloved hands. “Consider this a hug.”
“Considered,” I said with a slight smile.
“Then let’s get to the business of figuring.” I appreciated that her mind went directly to solving the problem. “There’s definite demon involvement,” Petra continued. “You can smell the bitterness.”
“Yeah,” I said, anger blooming. “You can.”
She frowned. “Since when do demons do portal magic?”
“Portal magic?” I asked.
“If the House isn’t here, and it’s somewhere else, that’s basic portal magic. The House is probably wherever that”—she pointed to the well of darkness—“used to be. They switched places, like the world’s worst parent trap. Demons aren’t known for portal magic.”
“Maybe someone helped her,” Theo offered.
“It’s possible,” Petra said, “but who’d want to help a demon?”
“Her criminal accomplices,” I said. “She ran with a bad crowd.”
“True,” Petra said.