by Chloe Garner
“Nowhere.”
“Demons do routinely disappear,” Jason said.
“Not in my day,” Doris commented, smoothing her dress under her as she sat down.
“Not like this,” Sam said. “I don’t know where he went.”
“Maybe he went somewhere shielded,” Samantha said. Sam shook his head. She wished she could feel what he was doing, where in time and in space he was looking. His forehead creased.
“Don’t hurt yourself, darlin,” Doris said. Jason set the plate of bacon down next to Samantha.
“Yeah, darlin.”
Sam jolted and shook his head.
“Are you okay?” Samantha asked.
“Fine,” he said. “There. It’s that messenger again. The one I can’t follow. He came to visit our guy and gave him something… I can’t read it. It just looks like a blank piece of paper.”
“I know how to do that,” Samantha said. “The right treatment makes marks on paper invisible to psychics.”
“Maybe six hours later, he disappeared,” Sam said. He focused again, resting his forehead on his fingers.
“He saw us.”
“What?”
“The messenger. He saw us get here.” He sat up straighter, letting his head drop against his chest.
“Sam. What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re working too hard.”
“No I’m not.”
“Then why are you… sitting like that?”
“He always does that,” Jason said.
“He does?”
“Yup.”
“He’s been here before,” Sam said. “He’s watching for us here.”
“I’m sorry, Doris,” Samantha said, standing. “We’ll go.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Doris said. “Carson will be here in a few hours, and if he hasn’t done anything before, he isn’t going to do anything now.”
“We have hit squads after us,” Samantha said. “If they know to watch for us here, they could be laying an ambush.”
She went to stand at the window for a moment.
“Sam, keep an eye out,” she said. He nodded, eating his pancakes blind. “Jason, we need to get packed up.”
“Why would they wait?” Jason asked. “Why not kill us last night, if they knew where we were?”
“Getting ready?” Samantha asked. “I don’t care. We’re leaving.”
“I’m not arguing, Sweetheart,” Jason said. “Just trying not to make the wrong move in a rush.”
“Kelly?” Samantha called. The angel materialized from somewhere else in the house.
“What’s wrong?”
“They know where we are. Sam is watching, but I need you on alert, too.”
“I’m always on alert,” Kelly answered.
“Of course you are, kid,” Jason said.
“Where did he go?” Sam asked. “The demon I was watching?” Samantha paused.
“Back across, Sam. Better to just give up than try to hide from us.”
Sam took his glasses off to look at her.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Probably on orders from whoever is running this thing. Keep an eye out. They could be glitching from anywhere, but it’s most likely they’ll want to glitch in from closer. Easier to hit their formation that way.”
“I should be able to give us a few seconds’ warning,” he said, putting on his glasses again.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” she answered.
“I know.”
She went upstairs with Jason, putting things into bags and carrying them downstairs.
“What have you gotten yourself into?” Doris asked at the door.
“I’m sorry,” Samantha said again.
“Couple of things going on at once,” Jason said.
“Is this about the fiends who took you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Jason said.
“Let ‘em come,” Doris said. “I’d like to put a few holes in ‘em myself.”
Samantha heard Jason laugh, and she allowed herself a smile. He joined her at the Cruiser.
“Sam?” he asked.
“Hmm?”
“What would you do if they hurt Doris to try to get to you?”
It wasn’t an accusation.
“Splash them,” she answered, without hesitation.
“S’pose maybe you should tell them that?” he asked. She stood and looked at him. His face was placid, but his eyes were faintly mischievous. She started to nod.
“Yeah. Yeah, I think maybe I should. It won’t keep the ones hunting the angeldust off of them, but the rest of them, the ones who want to stay here… Yeah.”
She strode across the wide gravel space where Rangers parked their cars and up the porch stairs. Doris started to open the door, but Samantha motioned for her to leave it closed. She pulled the dagger out of her boot, then reconsidered and put it away, drawing Lahn instead. She cut a deep gouge in her right wrist, partially because she couldn’t write with her right and partially because she wanted a stronger promise for them. She licked her thumb, then slicked it with blood and began to draw. Behind her, she heard Jason’s footsteps pick up and disappear into the garage, and he appeared behind an increasingly horrified Doris, putting his hands on her shoulders and drawing her a step back from the door.
Anadidd’na Anu’dd Parroah’na Lahn.
These are mine.
She stepped back, then turned as she heard tires on the driveway. She raised her hand to Carson, then went to the garage, going to the interior door to hit the button to close the wood-panel garage door and running out under it.
It was going to cost her, but it was worth it.
She dug the gouge deeper and put Lahn back away, sucking on her thumb and beginning the work of drawing the symbol on the garage door, full height.
“What are you doing?” Kelly asked. It was a soft question, sympathetic.
“What I have to,” Samantha said. “These are our friends.”
There was a long silence, and she finally glanced over her shoulder to see what the angel wasn’t saying, but he was gone. Jason and Carson were leaned against the Cruiser, speaking to each other quietly. She wished she could tell Sam that she was going to need something to drink when she got done, but she was alone in her mind.
Her palm was smeared with blood by the time she got done, and her arm ached from fingers to elbow, but she wasn’t finished yet. She walked around the house to do the back door, aware that Jason and Carson followed her, and grateful that they didn’t interrupt her.
Mine.
Doris sat at the kitchen table and watched her work through the glass. Samantha wished she knew what the woman was thinking. She kept expecting someone to try to stop her, but no one did.
She finished the last mark and opened the back door, going in to sit down at the kitchen table next to Sam.
“That was really stupid,” Sam said. “You’re weak now.”
She nodded, despite knowing he couldn’t see her.
“Thank you,” he said. She nodded again. Jason and Carson followed her into the kitchen and Carson closed the door.
“You want breakfast?” Doris asked.
“Sure,” Carson answered. Jason got Samantha a glass of juice and sat down next to her.
“You do have a flair for the dramatic,” he said.
“She can wash it tonight,” Samantha said.
“Ow,” Sam said, jumping out of his seat. “Ow, ow, ow, ow.”
“Sam?” Samantha asked. He danced on one foot.
“Ow, ow, ow.” He dug in his back pocket and threw his phone at her. “Answer that.”
“It didn’t ring,” Jason said.
“It’s Abby,” Sam said.
The phone rang.
Samantha pushed the button and put it to her ear.
“Sam,” Abby said. “He’s gone.”
<><><>
“We’re going. Now. Anything that isn’t in the car stays here,” S
amantha said, throwing Sam’s phone back at him without having said a word on it.
“What happened?” Jason asked. Sam threw his vision to New York, homing in on Abby like a beacon. She was frantic. Carter’s apartment was empty.
“He’s gone,” Sam said, rolling time back as he pulled his glasses back down. “Carter’s missing.”
He hit a hard, hard stop and pushed against it as firmly as he dared, but he couldn’t roll time back any further in that apartment. He pulled his vision outside of the building and tried again, but the entire street was locked. He backed up again, and found the entire block refused to budge. He shook his head.
“I can’t see what happened.”
He went back into the building rolling time forward to find Abby, and followed her back. There was no stop on her timeline. She’d been at home twenty minutes before, eyes closed, sitting on her couch. What a strange life. When she was in vision, he struggled to keep her in focus. He rolled time back further, early that morning. She’d been at Carter’s apartment with him, talking. Sam skipped the conversation, feeling like an interloper, and skipped time forward gingerly, remembering how much injury he’d taken when he’d come against the traps the demons had set around Jason in the psychic realm. He’d known there was a problem, but hadn’t been able to slow down in time and had impaled himself. Here, he didn’t hit traps. He just hit a wall. He was watching Carter go through his strange day, then time stopped. Like it used to when he’d first been learning how to watch the future, only he could clearly tell this was the past. He pushed harder, feeling his skin go cold under a layer of sweat. Still nothing.
“Sam,” Samantha said. “You think Abby hasn’t tried?”
He jumped back into his own body, lifting his glasses.
“I have to try,” he said.
“We have to go. Now. Every minute it takes to get there, Abby’s in danger.”
“Abby?” Jason asked. Samantha stared at Sam, begging him to understand.
“She’s psychic,” Sam said. “And Carter is her protection.”
“Carter’s the one who’s missing,” Jason said, kissing Doris’ cheek. “Sorry to rush off.”
“You do what you need to, honey,” she answered.
“And the clock is ticking,” Samantha said. “I’m going to get him back, but we need to get to Abby now.”
“Where are you going?” Carson asked.
“New York,” Sam answered, kissing Doris and following Samantha toward the front door.
“Can I come?” he asked. Sam hesitated.
“Get in or miss your ride,” Samantha answered without turning. He ran past her out the front door. Samantha was at her killing pace. Straight line, head up, nothing was going to stand in her way, nor was anything going to make her go any faster.
“Sa-man-tha,” Doris said, three hard, sharp syllables. Samantha spun, wide-eyed. It looked like fear. “You take care of my boy,” Doris ordered.
Samantha dropped one leg far behind her, sole up, and landed with her head bowed next to her knee and her arms wide outspread to either side.
“Yes,” she said to the floor.
“Oh, come on. That’s not necessary,” Doris said.
“Mom,” Carson complained from his car. He was pulling bags out and throwing them to Jason. Samantha lifted her head, and Doris pulled her back up to her feet and hugged her.
“You would make your mom proud,” Sam heard the older woman whisper. He looked away, feeling like he had been too close. He heard Samantha’s breathing cut off, and he hurried away.
An entire armory came out of the back of Carson’s car and Jason packed it away into the Cruiser. Kelly glitched out next to the car, watching.
“You stay here. Watch over her,” Samantha said, appearing from behind Sam at her war pace. Kelly started to argue, but she didn’t slow. “Not enough room for you in the car. You can join us when we get to New York.”
Kelly clenched his jaw, but gave her a sharp nod that she couldn’t possibly have seen.
“As you say,” he said. Samantha slammed her door behind her and Sam opened the other rear door.
“Maryann,” he heard her call.
“Yes, Mistress? Maryann answered, appearing in the back seat next to her.
“You’re going to keep an eye on Doris with Kelly. When he comes to New York, you stay here. You tell me the instant anything seems out of the ordinary. If you catch a demonic scout, you have my permission to stick him in the back. You could probably use a kitchen knife on him and have it work; messengers like that are almost powerless, but find a gold blade, anyway.”
“Yes, Mistress,” Maryann said, disappearing. Sam got into the car. She shook her head.
“Too many vulnerabilities,” she said. “Why isn’t the engine started?”
Jason was just getting in, and Carson hugged Doris goodbye.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too,” he answered. Jason started up the engine and Carson got into the passenger seat, and they were off. Samantha looked like she was ready to fall over.
“You need to eat,” Sam said. “What have you got in here?”
She shook her head.
“Water. I need water.”
He arched over the seat and dug down through Carson’s stuff to find the cooler down on the floor, handing Samantha a warm bottle of water. It should have been cold, but it was the best there was. She reached under her seat and brought out a bag of candies.
“Thank you, Jason,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” he answered. She opened the bag and slid across the seat to lean against Sam, downing the water in one effort, and then snacking at the candy until her head rolled to the side. Sam snatched the bag out of her hand and eased it onto the floor as her hand relaxed and she settled out across the seat. Sam put his arm around her and leaned his head against the window, unfocusing his eyes as the country rolled by outside.
<><><>
Jason looked in the rearview once in Pennsylvania, as a set of headlights lit up Sam and Samantha. Carson was curled on his side, snoring. Samantha hadn’t moved all day. Sam was looking out the window, eyes distant. In the brief snatch of light, he looked down at Samantha and smiled, then turned to look back out the window. Jason shifted, not wanting to get caught watching.
<><><>
Her dreams were unsettled, full of dark plots that didn’t make any sense and games she didn’t know the rules to. And the smell of Sam. She kept looking for him - where was he? - but he never showed up. Near the end, he was the one who was missing, and a demon called Carter was refusing to help look for him. She woke up afraid and lonely.
“Sam,” Sam said. She jolted and curled up tighter against him, everything sore from being stretched the wrong way for too long, but he was here. It took her a second to put any more of her jumbled thoughts together. That just wouldn’t do. She turned off sleep and juiced her brain, finding clarity where she always kept it.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“About to hit the tunnel,” Jason said, handing back drinks. She took one, rolling onto her back to suck it down greedily.
“What time?”
“Six.”
“Where’s Abby?”
“How should…”
“At home,” Sam said, taking the bag of fast-food breakfast. “She’s not doing well.”
“No surprise there,” Samantha said, pawing through the bag. “Did you guys stop at all yesterday?”
“Two meals,” Jason said.
“Should I have woken you up?” Sam asked. She shook her head.
“I needed the sleep. You can binge on food and water, but not sleep.”
He handed her the whole bag and in the next fifteen minutes she emptied it. There would be food at Abby’s. She drank his soda, too.
“You sleep?” she asked Sam as they went up the stairs to Abby’s apartment. He shook his head. She smiled, appreciative. “You’re staying here.”
“I’m what?”
<
br /> “Sleeping.”
“Not a chance.”
“Need you sharp tonight. I’m going to go rattle some cages, but I won’t do anything stupid until nightfall.”
“You’re planning on doing something stupid?” Carson asked.
“Among other things,” Samantha said. “You slept last night?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You can come, but you keep your mouth shut and do your best not to smell like fresh meat, right?”
His nostrils flared as he smothered a grin.
“You got it.”
“He gets to go?” Sam was doing his best not to whine, but she couldn’t blame him for feeling left out. “Jason drove all night.”
“Seriously, dude?” Jason asked.
“Jason’s got a rough few days coming,” Samantha answered.
“Awesome,” Jason said. Samantha glanced at him, then knocked on Abby’s door. It opened at the first knock and Abby sprang out at her, throwing her arms around her.
“They took him,” the woman said.
“I know, Beloved,” Samantha said. “Tell me the rest.”
Abby shook her head, glancing once at Carson, but backing into her apartment and motioning for them to follow her.
“There isn’t anything else to tell,” she said. “I’ve been watching him, but I have so many other things to watch, and I checked on him and I couldn’t see…”
“That’s what I saw, too,” Sam said.
“Sam, what am I going to do?”
Samantha had never known Abby without Carter. She’d always fought back when Carter pushed her too hard, and Samantha had admired her for her strength. The woman was looking at her with the eyes of the drowning.
“You’re safe here,” Samantha said. “He’s still alive, so his magic is still sound. You’re going to stay here and I’m going to go get him back.”
“How do you know he’s alive?” Jason asked.
“Can you see him on the hellplane?” Sam asked. She’d checked, in that first instant. She’d known she wouldn’t find him, but she’d checked.
“No. But I know that the power it takes to snatch Carter is going to be paired with an interest in keeping him alive.”
Abby brushed tears out of her eyelashes.
“Sam, if they take me…”
“I promised on Lahn. I would never take that back,” Samantha said. Abby pressed her lips together, her face on the verge of melting again.