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So much more.
The rush that came with the use of my power was adrenalizing, and sobering. In an instant, I was as sharp as a razor, fully in control of what I was doing. An instant later, I was through the door. I hadn’t unlocked it, or opened it with my power, I had simply slipped through it as if it was made of smoke.
Another Ethera spell.
Shutting the magic valve took a moment of concentration, but I managed to control the spell and keep it from spilling out of my grasp. As soon as I was through the door, the hard bass of the club’s inner rhythm began to thump inside of my ribcage. I ran through the corridor I found myself in now, barging past a staff member coming out of a room off to the side and exploding onto the main dance floor.
The place was still packed full of people, and I had to make it all the way to the other side of the club. I had the option to use magic here, to break the crowd apart and let myself slide through it like a hot knife through butter. There were simply too many people around, though, which meant magic probably wouldn’t have worked anyway.
I did the only thing I could do—I picked my way through the crowd, fighting to get to the bathroom where He and I ended up in every single time we found each other in this place. I couldn’t hear the music blaring around me, I could only feel the thump-thump-thumping of my heart as panic set in.
How could I have lost it?
How could I have been so stupid?
Why did I even take my shirt off?
These thoughts were unrelenting as I made my way to the bathroom, and when I got there, searched the place up and down only to find nothing, they turned to a shrieking chorus. It was as if there were four different versions of myself inside of my head, each of them screaming at me.
“It’s not here,” I yelled as I frantically checked the cubicles. “Where is it?!”
Had anyone been in the bathroom with me, they would’ve thought I was insane. After a while, I had to admit to myself that it was gone. Somehow, somewhere, I had lost my aunt Persephone’s amulet… and that means I have no way of getting back home.
I returned to the bathroom sink and splashed more water across my face. “Shit,” I snapped at my reflection.
I didn’t have a choice but to give up and leave. The whole way out, I kept my eyes on the ground, hoping I would see the amulet somewhere being kicked about by the people on the main floor. Maybe I had dropped it, and it was around here, somewhere. If it was, I would never know. Not until this place cleared out, and even then.
These panicked thoughts stayed with me as I made my way back outside. Even the cool, night air couldn’t do much to slow the rapid pace of my beating heart. I was lucky enough to find Max exactly where I had left him, although he was unconscious, now, hugging the box he had settled next to.
He had, at least, had a good night.
If any good was going to come from this, let it be that.
There was only one thing to do, now. Max and I hadn’t brought phones with us because phones could be—and were—always tracked. So, with my tail between my legs, I shut my eyes, drew up another morsel of my power, and imagined my father’s face in my head. I preferred his temperament over my mother’s, so it was he who I reached out to, sending a pulse of power to him through the Ether.
He picked up on my signal at the speed of thought. In an instant, I heard his voice in the back of my head.
“Beatrice?” he asked, in a worried tone. “What’s happened?”
“I’m sorry, Dad,” I thought. “Can you come get us?”
“Get you? Where—” he paused. “—I’ll be right there.”
I didn’t have to tell him where I was. I allowed him to see through my eyes, to sense my location, and he knew. He hadn’t yelled at me, at least, but I was never going to hear the end of this.
When the connection broke, I kneeled down in front of Max and tapped him on the face. “Wake up,” I said.
“Sleepy,” he grumbled.
“Dad’s coming.”
His eyes popped open. “Dad?!” he shrieked. “Why?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just get up. There’s a shop down the street—we need to sober you up.”
“Oh shit,” he repeated as he went to stand. “Oh shit, oh shit. Do I look drunk?”
“Yep. You smell it, too.”
