“So you’re going to punish Summer because she knows what love means?”
“No, I’m going to kill her because she’s a whiny, traitorous bitch. And just what in hell does ‘love mean’?”
“It means you’ll do anything, even die, even sell your soul, for someone else.”
“And you’re saying I wouldn’t?”
Jimmy threw up his hands. “You were going to kill me!”
“You told me to.”
“It had to be done.”
“Hey, I chose you because I loved you,” I said.
“You loved him too, obviously.”
“Lucky him.” My voice broke. Why were we arguing? Because it felt good. It felt like nothing had changed, even though everything had.
“Summer would do anything for me,” Jimmy continued. “You’d do anything for the world.”
“Which is why I’m the leader of the light and she’s not.” I took a deep breath. “You do realize that I managed to send the Grigori and their leader back to Tartarus? This wasn’t a total loss.”
“Unfortunately, someone stole the Key of Solomon, which contains the directions for letting them right back out again.”
I frowned. “First they have to kill me.”
“They can get in line,” Jimmy muttered.
I knew he was just blowing off steam, but still—
I turned toward the door; so did Jimmy. One glance outside and we froze.
Sawyer was gone.
CHAPTER 36
We couldn’t find a trace of Sawyer or the Key of Solomon. Believe me, we looked.
No footprints. Not a single ash at the base of the telephone pole.
“He stole the key,” Jimmy accused.
“He was a little dead to be stealing anything.”
“He was a little dead to be walking away too, but there you go.” Jimmy threw his hands out in the direction of the empty pole.
“He was still here when the thing disappeared.”
“You sure about that?”
I hadn’t glanced in Sawyer’s direction once we went to retrieve the book from the porch. Why bother? He wasn’t going anywhere.
“If he wanted the key he could have taken it before we even showed up,” I pointed out.
“You’re going to have to raise him,” Summer said.
Both Jimmy and I turned to her, and she shrugged. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “But we’ll have to go back to New Mexico first.”
“What the hell for?” Jimmy demanded.
“I’ll need a part of him. Hair, nails, spit. Okay with you?”
If Jimmy had been an animal, he would have snarled. As it was, he just kicked the dirt and walked away.
Summer had left the Impala off the highway a few miles from Cairo. She hadn’t had any problem getting into town either, and I wasn’t surprised. Selling your soul to the Devil must create one hell of an inner darkness.
Once she’d retrieved the vehicle, we piled in and headed west. I didn’t even ask to drive. I just wasn’t up to it. The last time I’d gone on a road trip in this car I’d been with Sawyer, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Luther waited in front of the hogan. As we got out, Ruthie’s voice greeted us. “Been waitin’ on you.”
“Sawyer,” I began.
“I know.”
“He’s with you?”
Jimmy snorted. “You think Sawyer’s in heaven?”
My eyes met Ruthie’s, and she shook her head.
I went into the house, reemerging with Sawyer’s toothbrush, which I tossed on the ground, then drew a circle around it.
“Stand back,” I said; then I raised a storm.
I brought the rain, the clouds, the thunder and the lightning. I did everything the way that Sawyer had—almost. But after the earth moved and the blue-white light flashed, all that lay in the circle was the damn toothbrush.
“Sanducci,” I ordered, “get over here.”
He frowned, but he started forward; then Summer grabbed his arm. “Sex increases her power.”
He stiffened and looked me in the eye. “No.”
“Don’t make me come and get you.”
“Lizbeth,” Ruthie said softly. “That won’t help.”
My breath hitched. I gritted my teeth until they ached. “What will?”
“You need to learn how to manage your powers.”
“That’s going to be a little hard, since I had to kill the one who knows that info in order to get them.”
“Did you think fighting for the light would be easy?” Ruthie asked. “It would be simpler to fight for the darkness, to give in to the evil that lives in everyone. But it’s the fighting of that evil, the triumphing over it, that gives us our strength. When we win, we’ll win because we chose right over wrong, because we believed in it and in ourselves.”
“I just . . .” I trailed off. I wasn’t sure what I’d meant to say.
“Everything happens for a reason, child.” Ruthie’s voice—Luther’s face softened. “Quit bein’ so hard on yourself. You did what you set out to do, didn’t you?”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
I’d saved the world, at least from this threat, but there’d be more.
“We’re going to have to find us another skinwalker.”
“There’s another?”