Таня Хафф - Long Hot Summoning

Considering where they were, the light bulb wasn’t entirely unexpected. Claire batted it out of the way with her good hand as Diana surged up onto her feet.

“We’ll go after her!”

“Yes, but…”

“But nothing.” Diana’s hand closed around her wrist and yanked her up. “Let’s move!”

It seemed that their presence alone had been maintaining what little stability the cavern still had. As they crossed the threshold, the rest of the ceiling crashed down. Coughing and choking in the billowing clouds of faintly pink stone dust, they ran faster, the tunnels collapsing behind them.

Which is certainly better than in front of us, Claire acknowledged as they raced toward the throne room…

…only to find the entrance blocked.

“Is there another way out?” Mouth close to Diana’s ear, she still had to shout to be heard over the roar of falling rock.

“This is the only one I know!”

“Oh that’s just great!” One-handedly fighting the zipper on the belt pouch open, she found Diana there before her. “What are you doing?”

“If we don’t get out, we can’t save Kris. So we’re getting out!” Snatching out the folded piece of paper, Diana knelt and stuffed it between two of the rocks that blocked the door.

“Diana, that won’t work! Rocks can’t read!”

“I’ll read it for them.” Yanking Claire out of the way, she pointed back toward the oncoming destruction and yelled, “Move!”

The paper released the possibilities it held.

The rocks moved.

They moved as though they knew full well they’d be pounded to sand if they didn’t.

The black marble floor had cracked and buckled and the wall behind the throne had canted inward at an impossible angle, but structural integrity was being maintained. Provided the definition of both structural and integrity was less than precise.

And then, lungs burning, they were running on concrete, not stone.

Almost out…

They missed the turn that would have taken them through the construction zone and found themselves in the access corridors instead.

The troll was waiting at the back door of the Emporium.

Before Claire could stop her, Diana grabbed him by the tie and shoved her face up into his, snarling, “Your choice, Gaston! The Otherside’s a big place. You can lose yourself in it, or you can deal with me.”

His eyes widened, showing pale yellow all around the gray. “But…”

“Billy goats but as you very well know. I’m counting to three. One…”

On two, he chose to leave the tie in her hand and pound farther up the access corridor into the mall.

Diana dropped the piece of pale leather and swiped her hand against her thigh, moisture drawing darker lines through the pale pink dust. “Eww.”

“Definitely,” Claire agreed, using the moment to catch her breath. Not the way she’d have handled it, but since it worked…“What are you doing?”

“This is where we came in. This is the best place to cross back!”

Bad hand cradled against her chest, she stepped between her sister and the steel door. “We’re not done.”

“The Summoning ended when that hole closed; I’m done!” Dark brows drew in, their challenge plain. “And I’m going after Kris!”

Claire had her choice of half a dozen good arguments. She used the only one that would work. “What about Sam? He’s still in the mall. I left him guarding Arthur.”

“ You left him,” Diana snapped. “You go…you…” She blinked. Swallowed. Scrubbed her hand across suddenly wet eyes. “Sorry. I just…”

“I know.”

“You can’t know.”

“Dean…”

“Didn’t go to Hell for you ! I’m sorry.” She scrubbed at her eyes again. “But he didn’t.”

“I know,” Claire said again, because it was pretty much the only thing Diana was willing to hear at the moment. She jerked open the steel door with her good hand. “Let’s go get Sa—” A crack opened suddenly in the concrete floor. Somewhere, not very far away, a steel reinforcing rod snapped with an almost musical twang. “Not good!” Shoving Diana into the storeroom, she slammed the door shut with her shoulder and locked it.

It sounded like someone was playing a steel guitar in the access corridor. Playing it badly.

“How far do you think the destruction will come?” Diana demanded as they charged through shards of broken garden gnomes toward the store.

“It’s already come farther than I thought it would.”

“Great.”

“Not really. I was wondering, last time you used the wand, it knocked you flat. This time…”

“I think Kris’ sacrifice caused a backlash. I got—I don’t know—refilled. I’m feeling…” Diana flashed half a pain-filled grin and straight-armed the door out into the Emporium. “…in the pink.”

Claire managed a nearly identical smile. “We’ll get her back.”

“I know.” Easily clearing the fallen T-shirt rack, Diana lengthened her stride and raced for the concourse. One foot out the door, she stopped, turned, and ran back.

“Where are you going?” Claire figured she had grounds for sounding shrill. From behind them, one small room away, came the unmistakable sound of a steel door buckling.

“Promises to keep.” Dragging a wooden crate of resin frogs under the antique mirror, she climbed up, and slapped the glass. “Jack! Hey! Time to go.”

The blue-on-blue eyes popped into view so fast they came accompanied by a faint boing . “The whole place is falling apart!” Jack also sounded a little shrill, Claire noted. “What did you do?”

A green glass ball fell from a shelf and shattered. Something hissed and scuttled away.

“We won. Sort of.”

“How do you sort of win?”

“I don’t want to get into that right now.”

“Yeah, but…”

A muscle jumped in Diana’s jaw. “I said, I don’t want to get into it.” She ducked her head behind the edge of the frame. “Is this all that’s holding you on?”

“How should I know?” Shrill had given way to slightly panicked. “I don’t have eyes in the back of my glass.”

“Fair point. Claire…”

No time to argue. Claire reached up, noted somewhat absently that much of her left hand seemed to be purple, and grabbed the lower edge of the carved and gilded wood. “I’ve got it.”

Jack was a lot heavier than he looked. They dragged him past the writhing box of rubber snakes, past the toppling display of scented candles, and reached the concourse just as the windows started to shatter. As the first triangular piece of glass whistled past, Claire spun him around, his back to the store, and pushed Diana down behind him.

“Claire, we haven’t time…!”

“To get cut to ribbons? You’re right.”

“Hey!” Jack’s eyes were as wide as Claire’d seen them. “Get me farther away! I’m breakable here!”

Barely enough room for them both but barely was better than the alternative. “Calm down. You’ve got a wooden backing.”

“Calm down? That’s glass breaking! Lots and lots of breaking glass! Do you know how that makes me feel?”

“Do I care?” Claire snapped. As Jack’s eyes fled to the far corner, two tiny blue pinpricks deep in the glass, she sighed. “I’m sorry. I do care. We’ve just had a…bad time.”

“Sort of winning?”

“Yeah.”

Sort of…Diana lifted her head out of the shelter of her arms and stared into the mirror. She didn’t look any different. She should have looked different. Wasn’t that the sort of thing that changed a person?

It took her a moment to realize that the mall was totally silent. No more crashing. No more breaking. No more dying. Apparently, this was as far as it went. “Claire?” She almost didn’t recognize her voice. She sounded about seven. “Why did she do it?”