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What?Who said anything about that?

He was thinking it,her head nodded slightly toward Pritkin.I cannot read the other so well.She sized Mircea up.You have an...unusual mind.

Run out of control how?Mircea demanded, ignoring that and looking at Pritkin.

That is the problem, Pritkin said.I don’t know.Earlier, the spell was simply cutting out at random moments or not available at a distance, which should not have mattered to a soul bond.We were in England, and you were here, but the bond should have nonetheless connected us on a metaphysical level.I assumed the reason it did not was due to the missing element, namely my other half, but—

But what happened just now was not simply cutting out,Mircea said.

No.

Then what the devil was it?

Pritkin’s jaw tightened.I just indicated that I don’t know.Spells usually work, or they don’t, but occasionally, one will...go wrong.Morph into something unintended, as you should know.

Mircea scowled at the memory of the geis he’d had put on me as a child, which had been meant to keep me safe.But it was also meant to allow him a certain amount of control over me and my gifts.It was a choice he’d come to regret, as it was designed for humans, which I was not.

And in the struggle for control between a demigoddess and a centuries-old master vampire, the spell had gone crazy and almost taken him along with it.

Yes, but there’s usually a trigger for that sort of thing, Pritkin added, hearing my thoughts.

A trigger like me absorbing a couple of gods’ worth of energy, I said grimly.I should have known that would come back to bite me!

But you don’t have it now, Mircea said.You used it up—

But she had it for a while, Pritkin reminded us.Long enough for that much power to have done something to the spell.Something that could endanger us all.He looked at me.Do we abort?

For a moment, I thought I hadn’t heard him right.What?

Do we go back?he repeated as if that was in any way possible.Before this gets worse and endangers the mission—

How does this get any worse?I asked, gesturing at the sounds of battle that were loud enough now that people were coming out of their “homes,” looking sleepy and staring about in fear.There are no second chances!We all knew that!

Then we go now, Bodil said.

That is not your call, Mircea told her tightly.

Nor is it yours, vampire.She looked at me.Choose.

I was starting to hate that word, I thought, and glanced at Mircea and Pritkin to see how they were taking her decision to discount their input.But they were looking at each other as if still deep in conversation, one that, judging by their expressions, wasn’t going well.

You’re blocking them?I asked, surprised that even Bodil could manage that.

We need to talk.

Now?

Yes, now.Cassie...She paused and looked at me with an odd expression.What do you think the rest of us are doing here?

I looked back at her, bewildered.Trying to reach Rhea—

No.The only person who must reach your heir is you.We are here to die for you if need be, to allow you to succeed.You are the only one who can save our worlds, so you are the only one who matters.

That’s ridiculous!We don’t even know—

No, that is the truth.Everyone knows it, but you.She looked around and then spoke aloud before I could stop her.“Cassie is confused about who must survive this and reach her heir.Is it you?”she asked Enid.

The beautiful redhead looked startled, maybe because she’d been in conversation with the witches about something.But then her eyes focused past Bodil and onto me.“No.”