After another sneezing fit, she evaluated her next steps. Climbing across to the nearest shelving unit wasn’t an option, there was too much space involved. She could try jumping over, while praying the whole unit didn’t head for the floor. That would be such a stellar way to die.

  Above her was a thick metal chain. It dangled down from a winch secured high in the ceiling. No surprise, that chain was rusty. At least her tetanus shot was up to date.

  Praying that it was still strong enough to hold her weight, Katia leveraged herself out from the shelf, then grasped on the chain, kicking off from the unit. A shaky glide got to the next shelving unit as gasps came from the reanimates below.

  “That worked,” she said, immensely proud of that bold maneuver.

  Until she heard the unmistakable sound of a bolt shirring off. Then another and another as her weight made the shelving system increasingly unstable. Metal ground against blocks as the entire section began to free itself from the wall. Boxes slid off the shelves, racing to their demise below.

  “Dammit!” she cried, then leapt upward and grabbed onto the window above. Tucking her feet up as tight as possible, Katia watched as the entire metal structure executed an impressive swan dive to the factory floor.

  Rather than collapsing on itself, it fell forward like a drunk, a corner of it striking the Holy Water circle. As the reanimates cowered inside, it held, exploding in a flash of light. What followed was the screeching impact of rows and rows of metal shelving, and their supports, raising a thick cloud of dust and rat droppings.

  With a final burst of strength, Katia pulled herself up and kicked through the closest window, glass shattering. Once it was reasonably clear she ducked through the opening to freedom. As she sucked in a huge gulp of air she let her mind clear, her body still shaking.

  To her relief, the stairs were right below her so she eased herself down on the first step in case the whole thing was as rotten as the shelves inside. They held solid.

  Euphoric, she clattered down the stairs at a near run, only coming to a halt when she found she had run out of stairs at least ten feet above the paving below.

  “Come on, there has to be way to get down there.”

  Fire escapes often had a built-in extension that retracted to keep people from accessing the building without permission. Maybe this one did as well.

  Katia parked herself on a step while sucking in more air. She hadn’t realized how foul it’d been inside that old factory until now. It took some fiddling, along with more cursing, until she finally located the twin latches that dropped the remaining stairs. The second latch fought her, but she got it done and the stairs clunked downward, rattling as they descended.

  Katia zipped down those like a horde of demons were on her tail, then once at ground level she bolted across the pavement. It was only when she had gotten at least forty feet from the factory that she stopped and turned around, still coughing out the dust and whatever else had invaded her lungs. A minute ticked by, then another, and yet no magical something came after her.

  “I did it!” she shouted, executing a fist pump. Then another because it felt good even if her back was screaming at all the exercise. After more coughing and a few more sneezes, she dug a hand in her front pocket. Then realized what was missing.

  “Oh, damn! Dumb, dumb, dumb!” she growled.

  She’d left her car keys in the trapping bag. The bag that was still inside the factory.

  With dirt and blood-smeared hands she pulled out her phone, which had somehow managed to stay in her pocket. It lit up the moment she swiped across the screen.

  Katia Breman was back in the game.

  SEVENTEEN

  Simon knew he was going to die.

  The claws that were hooked in his leg kept dragging him across the ground, and though he desperately tried to free himself his efforts were useless. To slow the inevitable he dug his fingers into the dirt, and prayed.

  “Let. Him. Go!”

  There was a solid whack, followed by an ear-splitting shriek. Then another solid blow. After another shriek the claws set him loose and retreated. Simon scrambled to his feet and found himself staring at his sister’s sweaty face. She held a steel pipe dripping with dark blood.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he shouted. How had she gotten here?

  “Saving my little brother. Now get us back home, will you?”

  He shot a quick look at the way they’d come. He’d feared this would happen. His sister didn’t realize the portal had closed behind her.

  “Dee, we’re stuck here for now.”

  She whirled around. “What? But didn’t that bastard want you to get something for him?”

  “I did. Katia has it.”

  “And she just left you here?”

  “I didn’t give her a choice.”

  She glared at him. “What do you mean?”

  He shook off the question. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “You really do want to die, don’t you?”

  “No, I don’t, but—”

  Rustling came from the forest behind them.

  “Let’s keep moving,” he said, taking her arm and tugging her forward.

  “Shouldn’t we stay near where the door was?”

  “I’m thinking that way is closed for us.”

  The rustling grew louder.

  “So where do we go?”

  “I have no idea. But let’s get moving.”

  As they hiked away, silence fell between them. He kept checking and was surprised he didn’t see whatever was making that noise. In his distraction he would have missed a different gateway if Dee hadn’t pulled him to a stop.

  “There! Can we go there?” she asked, pointing at it with the pipe.

  Just another dark opening in the middle of the forest with no hint of where it would lead. He bet it wouldn’t be back to the factory. No, they needed to stay here. It increased their chances of being rescued if Mort or one of the other necros came searching for them. At least that was his prayer.

  “We’re not going through any portal unless we’re sure it’s safe.”

  His sister gave a look around. “You mean as compared to here?” He followed her gaze to see another tree with a mangled skeleton trapped inside its trunk. No summoner’s robe this time, so was this just a random traveler? It was then he noticed the legs were bound together with chains, as if this had been a prisoner sent to their execution.

  Shuddering, Simon turned back to his sister. “Yes, we need to wait until someone comes for us.”

  “How long?” she demanded.

  His patience ended. “How the hell should I know? Time doesn’t mean anything here.”

  Dee stared at him as if seeing something unexpected. Then she reluctantly nodded. “Okay, we wait. But if it gets bad let’s not let something eat us if we have other options.”

  “Agreed.” As they moved away from the portal, Simon asked the question burning in his heart. “Why did you come after me? You were safer there.”

  The glare that came his way should have singed his skin.

  “And just what was I going to do there? Sit on my butt and then tell our parents you died in some godawful wherever the hell this is? No way!”

  He opened his mouth to argue, then knew she was right. She was an Adler. He would have done the same for her.

  “Okay, got it.”

  “I saw you give something to the trapper. What was it?” she asked.

  “A ring. It was pulling me into our world. When I got grabbed I knew it was the only way she’d survive. It wouldn’t give her a choice to stay behind with me.”

  Dee studied him more closely now. “I always said my brother is a hero. Who knew?”

  “Just trying to keep up with my sister.” The smile he received was almost worth all this horror.

  Now Simon knew exactly what he needed to do. “Let’s find somewhere I can make a sacred circle and we’ll hunker down.”

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “Then we wait.”

  Dee looked around again, eyes wary, then nodded. She still clenched the steel pipe, her fingers blanching white. “This is your thing. I’ll do what you tell me.”

  His always-in-charge eldest sister had just let him take the lead. God help them both if he screwed this up.

  It took time to find a spot that didn’t sport any of that flesh-ripping moss and wasn’t close to any of the cannibalistic trees. He explained what he was about to do, then created the circle around them using the papal Holy Water and his visualization technique. At least Rome wouldn’t know about that. When the circle flared to life, Dee’s surprised expression reminded him of just how much he’d kept from her. From most of his family.

  If they survived, he’d need to change that.

  Then it was a matter of waiting and praying that someone would come for them. They sat in the dirt as the light around them faded. Occasionally something would check them out, but most of the creatures kept their distance. A raccoon-sized orange beast with crazy yellow eyes wasn’t as cautious and trotted up to poke its spiky nose at the circle. With a sharp yelp it took off at top speed.

  Simon heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been sure if a sacred ward would work here, but so far it had. It made sense—God had created the entire universe after all. This was just a distant corner of that cosmos.

  Once the beast had cleared off, he pulled out the button to find it was even smaller now. He quickly stashed it away because he didn’t want to explain what that meant. Instead, he turned his attention to his sister as she watched the area around them. The steel pipe was at her feet now, but still within easy reach.

  It was time she knew it all. “Go on. Ask your questions. I’ll try to explain,” he said.

  Dee blinked at him, telling him she hadn’t expected him being so candid.

  “Okay. Where are we? How did this happen?”

  In a low voice, Simon told the tale, pausing every now and then to organize his thoughts and to study the area around them. More creatures wandered by, but none of them were bold enough to touch the circle. All of the things were nightmare fodder.

  Dee’s frown deepened. “So, we’re in another realm place and the only people who know we are here is the trapper, that damned necro, and a bunch of dead people?”

  His sis always had a way of cutting right to the heart of a situation.

  “That’s it. You don’t know Katia, but I can promise you she’s working on a way to escape that factory. Once she does, she’ll call for help from the other summoners.”

  Dee shook her head. “There’s no way out of that place. I tried. It felt like something was clawing the skin off my bones.”

  “That would be a spell. Katia is really sensitive to those, so she’ll find any weaknesses. In the meantime, there isn’t much we can do.”

  “Except starve?” she asked.

  “Feel free to trap your own dinner. I’m not leaving the circle and I’d recommend you do the same.”

  “What if no one comes for us?” she asked, her voice thinner now.

  “Then we’ll find a way out.”

  More silence. Something screamed in the woods, making them both jump.

  “This place sucks,” she said, moving the steel pipe closer now. Then she eyed him. “You know, you were always different than the rest of us.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, when you were small, maybe three years old, you would sit and watch Amy and Josh play. Sometimes you’d join them, but usually you just watched them. It wasn’t because you didn’t know how to play, it was that you didn’t want to. You haven’t changed.”

  Simon had no idea what to say so he held his silence.

  “Mom said that was the way you were. It wasn’t that you were sick or didn’t care, but that you had a different relationship with us and the rest of the world.”

  “I still do,” he admitted. He’d always been one to stand back and observe, to weigh and measure events and people.

  “That’s obvious. But all that quiet serves a purpose, I think. Not sure what, but it’s so you.” She hesitated. “You’re having trouble with your job, aren’t you?”

  He blinked at her observation because she was right. “Yeah, I’m burning out already. Too many demons, too fast.”

  “And like when you were a kid, you’re trying to figure that all out rather than just saying, ‘screw this, I’m outta here’.”

  As if he could. “You got all the sass in the family, Sis.”

  “Ha!” she said, shaking her head. “No. But whatever isn’t working for you, you need to change it.” And then she frowned, gave a look around, then nodded to herself. “Same with me, I think. Yeah, same with me.”

  If God were merciful, when this was over she’d be alive to move stuff around his house and complain when he missed one of the family dinners.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  After the discovery of Harry Hawkins’ role in the summoner’s thievery, they’d hit a wall. Hawkins had given them everything he knew, and it still wasn’t enough. Riley wasn’t the only one frustrated, not from the expressions of her two companions as they sat on Mort’s veranda. Their host kept muttering to himself while Ozymandias had remained stubbornly silent. Probably because he hadn’t been able to track the rogue summoner by magical means.

  “Come on, answer your phone,” she said, crossing her fingers as she dialed Katia’s number yet again. It swiftly went to voicemail. “No luck. Where the hell is she? It’s been hours.”

  “Maybe try Simon again?” Mort suggested.

  No answer either. She’d already left one message, but tried again.

  “Hey, Simon. Call me as soon as possible. Thanks, bye.”

  “This does not bode well,” Ozymandias said, crossing his hands over his chest.

  “What are the chances of survival if she goes into another world?”

  “It depends on the realm. The journeyman did survive Hell, but that’s entirely different than some of the other worlds. And given that she is a chaîne, it would depend on how she interacts with that realm’s magic.”

  “What’s there that this summoner would want?” Mort asked. He had a glass of iced tea in front of him, but he’d been ignoring it.

  “There are magical artifacts stored in certain worlds to keep them out of the hands of those who would misuse them. Those items augment one’s existing abilities. There are those who would use such an item to gain power or to exact revenge.”

  “I hate to think that’s what this guy is doing. He’s enough of a threat without a magical boost,” Riley replied.

  Her phone rang and she snatched it up, studying the screen. “It’s Katia!” she said, relieved. “Hey. Where have you been?”

  “I need help. Is Mort with you?” The journeyman’s voice sounded hoarse as if she’d been coughing.

  “Yes, and Lord Ozymandias too,” she said, glancing over at the two of them. The latter’s eyes were open now, focused on the conversation. “What’s going on?”

  “Put me on speaker.”

  From her ragged breathing, Katia was barely holding it together.

  “Okay, you’re on speaker. Tell us what’s happening.”

  “It’s Simon and his sister. You have to help them, or they’ll die.”

  Before she could respond, Katia continued, “They’re in another realm. The necro snatched us up and sent us there. Simon and I were coming back and then he got stuck there. His sister went in after him and the portal closed. You have to help them!”

  “Where are you right now?” Mort asked.

  “I’m at an old factory in Duluth. The other Deaders are here. The asshole necro was sending them into this other world, trying to find this ring.”

  Lord Ozymandias shot Mort a concerned look. “What did this realm look like, Journeyman? I need you to give me as much detail as possible.”

  “Well, the grass was this spiky glass stuff. The trees looked like they were made of leather and there were these skeleton sort of birds. They made a really weird noise and attacked us. The flowers had acid dripping out of them. Oh, and there were human skeletons stuck in some of the trees.”

  His lordship grimaced. “I know this place well. I will head there now and try to find them.” He paused, his eyes growing distant. “I make no promises, Journeyman. That realm is particularly dangerous for all mortals, especially summoners. It was meant to be that way.”

  After one last troubled look he strode into the house, his robe flowing behind him. Riley gave Mort a raised eyebrow and he just shrugged.

  “I need a ride,” Katia said. “My car is here, but the keys are inside the factory and I can’t get back in. I forgot to grab them before I climbed out.”

  Climbed out? There had to be a story there.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’ll send you the address. This was supposed to be an exorcism, but that was fake. This was a trap and I walked right into it.”

  So that’s why you disappeared. “Just stay put. Someone will be there to pick you up as soon as possible.”

  “I don’t care about me. Just get Simon and Dee out of that place. That’s all that matters,” Katia pleaded. The panic in her voice hadn’t lessened. If anything, it had grown.

  “We’ll do what we can,” Mort said.

  “He . . . . Just help them. Just help them get back home.” Then the call abruptly ended.

  “I can go after her,” Mort said. “I’ll need to deal with the reanimates anyway.”

  “I think we need her here quicker than that, especially if she has any injuries.” Riley thought for a moment, then knew who could help them. She concentrated, waited a bit, then nodded again. “Ori will bring her here.”

  “Ohhkay. I’ll dig out the First Aid kit.”

  “Do you think they’re still alive?” she asked.

  Mort’s expression grew grave, which was answer enough.