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I found a narrow alley, devoid of foot traffic, and slipped down it. Extracting my wand from my skirt pocket, I called to the magick in my blood.

“Descelare!”

The magickal seam concealing my relics parted, and a piece of snowflake obsidian floated into my outstretched hand, already buzzing with power.

The relics were only supposed to be used when it was time to recharge magick. Placed in a magick circle and grounded by the elements. They weren’t supposed to be used like this. But what choice did I have?

“I need a little help, my dearest sister of Dominion,” I told the relic. “A witch named Lou has made themself unplottable, but you’ve helped me sneak past protection charms before.” I lifted the stone close to my lips and whispered, “I need you to do it again.”

A rasping voice answered immediately. “Make me a deal.”

I swallowed hard. A little unsettled. “What kind of deal?”

A pause. “Summon me.”

The command seeped into me, like cold water filling every crack inside my broken heart. If I summoned her, I knew she would help me. But something inside me pushed back. I held the stone further away, brow furrowed. “It’s against the Blood Treaty to summon you. You know that.”

“Your coven is no longer beholden to the Blood Treaty,” she answered. “You are a lone witch, free to do as you wish.”

“Yes, but…”

The graveyard came rushing back. The bloody snow. The dead familiars. My cousins, lifeless beside gravestones. The alley spun around me, and I fought to stay present because I couldn’t get lost in the past. I couldn’t let it suck me into a place I couldn’t come back from.

Yes, my mother had revoked the vampire’s protection that night, but that didn’t mean I was ready to do the same. The very last thing I wanted to do was be like her.

“It’s still illegal to summon a demon in the Unified Territories.”

The relic said nothing in response. It just kept vibrating in my hand. As if the Demon of Dominion already knew what I was going to do.

A chill crept over my skin, and worry riddled my thoughts. If I didn’t make this deal, I was out of options. I needed money to start my new life. Glancing down the alley, I looked for Della’s familiar shape, but didn’t find her anywhere. I knew she wanted me to work for the Duke and earn the money as Adrien’s nanny, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t.

That only left me with one option: make the deal with Dominique. If I summoned her, it would be for a specific purpose. I’d ensure she made it back to the Underworld after I found the buyer. No one would have to know. I could get what I wanted, then disappear.

I stopped mid-thought, realizing what was going on. Dominique might be biting her tongue, but if she could influence the sailor, then she could influence me. If I summoned her, she’d be even more influential. What if she convinced me to do something I didn’t want to do?

I wasn’t willing to take a chance.

I closed my fist around the stone. “No.”

The vibrations stopped. I could almost feel her disappointment. I swiftly tucked it back into the pocket and resealed it, telling myself I was done asking the relics for help. I would find Lou on my own terms, using my own magick. I didn’t need a demon to find one lousy witch in a port city. I was one of the Wicked Kemp Witches.

Removing the scrying crystal from my pocket, I held it between my palms and set my intention. Then, I called to the magick inside my blood, shifting my request from the person, Lou, to the establishment where I could find those interested in purchasing demonic relics.

When I opened my eyes, I dropped the crystal so that it dangled from its chain. For a second, it didn’t move. “Come on,” I whispered.

The crystal swung toward the mouth of the alley. Smiling at my own brilliance, I glanced in the direction I needed to go, and my heart clenched. My mother’s ghost was there. Her feet hovering above the street. Her pale hands folded neatly in front of her. A condescending smile on her face.

I hated that expression when she was alive. I hated it even more now.

Expelling an exasperated sigh, I made my way out of the alley, dead set on ignoring her, and followed the crystal’s guidance through the twisting streets while she floated beside me. I didn’t say a word to her, and I’d never been happier that her ghost didn’t speak.

Holding my intention of finding the place where magickal deals for relics would occur, the crystal’s directions led me to a part of town I hadn’t seen yet. The bright festival colors and seashell-strung balconies of Old Town gave way to narrower streets filled with buildings that hadn’t seen a fresh coat of paint in decades.

And the smell.

By Damien, the smell became so foul that I had to take slow breaths through my mouth to settle my stomach.

The crowds had thinned, but with each step, I had the feeling of being watched. I kept going, undeterred, until the crystal led me to an intersection where three streets met at odd angles. The buildings were crowded close together, like they’d leaned in to gossip about the new witch and ghost on their streets.