Aaron drove to the far end of the lot and pulled in beside a huge blue truck. Its driver was leaning against the tailgate, glowering. Looked like I wasn’t the only irritable one.

We climbed out, and as Aaron opened his trunk, I strode toward the truck.

“You’re late,” Zak barked.

“Five minutes. Quit whining.” I put my hands on my hips. “Are you ready with … everything?”

“Of course. Are you?”

“The guys need to gear up.”

Across the parking lot, Mr. and Mrs. SuperFit had settled in their car. The engine rumbled, then the vehicle backed out. Once its taillights had disappeared, Aaron pulled his sword and baldric out of the trunk.

He, Kai, and Ezra had gone one step further than merely bringing weapons. They wore leather pants, similar to armored motorcycle gear, and heavy boots. Aaron’s sleeveless shirt was made from a shiny, fire-resistant fabric, while Kai wore a long-sleeved black shirt in the same style as his pants. Ezra’s t-shirt conformed to his torso, the material padded with something I assumed was armor. His long fingerless gloves that ran up to his biceps were definitely armored, the silver plates on the knuckles and elbows gleaming.

Zak, too, had dressed for the occasion in similar clothes, and he hadn’t bothered with his shadow-hood coat. Too bulky, probably.

Me, well, I wore sturdy jeans, hiking boots, and my leather bomber jacket. The closest outfit I had to “badass combat mythic.” All three of my sorcery artifacts were tucked in my pockets, and the only other thing I carried was my cell phone.

As the guys strapped on their weapons, the air shimmered and the sylph appeared. She nuzzled the back of Zak’s neck, then glided behind me and closed her small front paws around the collar of my coat. As I’d discovered earlier today while getting ready, she liked to be towed along like a kid in a wagon.

“She says you chose a name for her,” Zak remarked as he opened his tailgate. A duffle bag waited, plus a stack of his own gear.

“We named her Hoshi. It means ‘star’ in Japanese.” I patted the sylph’s nose. “Does she like it?”

“She does.” He buckled on his belt of alchemic vials, then picked up a set of three long knives. As he strapped them around his thigh, he frowned thoughtfully. “If she’s staying with you, you two need to be able to communicate.”

“You said she doesn’t talk.”

“She doesn’t. She communicates with images and a few sounds, but not words.” He turned to his truck bed. “Take off your coat.”

I was halfway through sliding my coat off when I realized I hadn’t questioned his abrupt command. Damn, I must be growing desensitized to his bossy bluntness. The glow of my rune-covered arm reflected off his shiny truck as I flipped my coat over the edge of the box.

He dug into a pocket of his duffle bag, then turned to me, a thin black pen in hand. Wait, no, not a pen.

“Is that eyeliner?”

“Non-smudging, waterproof eyeliner.” He lifted the hem of his shirt to show me the bottom of a spikey, rune-filled triangle on his side. “Best product for drawing on skin.”

“You don’t say.”

Taking my left elbow, he uncapped the eyeliner with his teeth. Hoshi hovered beside him, watching with curious fuchsia eyes.

As he drew on my arm, I whispered, “Maybe he’s born with it …”

“Ha-ha.”

Aaron wandered over, adjusting the baldric across his chest. The leather-wrapped hilt of Sharpie, his biggest sword, jutted above his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

Zak drew a swift circle on my upper arm, filled the center with a jagged rune, then added radiating lines and more runes. As he capped the liner, Hoshi stretched out her petite muzzle and touched the centermost symbol.

Heat flashed through my arm. “Whoa! What was that?”

“Now you can communicate with her. Might take some practice, though.” He stuffed the liner back in his bag. “Are we ready?”

Aaron’s trunk was closed, and Ezra and Kai had donned their weapons. The latter wore two swords at his hip—a long katana in a black sheath, and a shorter one. Kai usually relied on small throwing knives; I hadn’t seen him bring out his swords in months.

I squinted at my drawn-upon arm, then pulled my coat back on. “Guys, are we ready?”

“No,” Aaron replied. “We’re waiting for the O’Conner sisters. I called them yesterday with an update, and they insisted on being present.”

“Is that a problem?” I asked Zak.

He shrugged. “As long as no one calls me the Ghost in front of them, they’ll have no idea who I am.”

Minutes ticked by as we waited. At a quarter after nine, a familiar blue sedan pulled into the lot and parked a few spaces away. Olivia climbed out, her hair in a messy ponytail, bags under her eyes, and a greenish bruise on her cheek—courtesy of yours truly. She straightened her khaki pants, barely glancing at Zak.

“Sorry I’m late,” she mumbled.

I frowned. “Where’s Odette?”

“She’s not feeling well. She stayed home.”

“Are you okay?”

“I might be coming down with something too.” She squeezed her temples like her head hurt. “Can we hurry?”

Yeesh. If she was going to be cranky, she should’ve stayed at home.

Zak heaved his duffle bag out and slung it over his shoulder, then reached into the truck for a small pet carrier. As he slid it out, something inside squawked.

“Uh … what is that?” I asked in alarm.

He shut the tailgate. “A chicken.”

“Why did you bring a chicken?”

He started across the parking lot. I scrambled after him, the three mages following and Olivia bringing up the rear. Hoshi had vanished, but I figured she was nearby.

“Zak? Chicken. Explain.”

“Did you forget already? Our plan requires a blood summoning array.”

“Blood …” My gorge rose as we walked onto a dark trail through the trees. “Tell me you aren’t planning what I think you are.”

“It’s black magic, Tori. No getting around it.”

“But—”

“But the chicken will make a delicious roast.”

I gulped down my twisting stomach. Right. Zak lived on a farm, and he was nothing if not pragmatic. That chicken had been destined for someone’s dinner table anyway, and he wouldn’t waste it.

We made our way down the sloping path toward the coast. Zak scouted around, then chose a forested spot away from the trails but close enough to hear ocean waves. The near-full moon provided our only light as he kicked the worst of the leaf litter out of the clearing, then unzipped his duffle bag.

Keeping out of the way, I watched him open a large wine bottle and stick a spout in it. When he upended it, instead of liquor, a viscous silver liquid poured out. He used it to draw a perfect circle three feet across, then marked out lines and runes. No grimoire needed.

“Who is this mythic?” Olivia whispered to Kai. “Is he a witch or—oh my sweet lady earth!”

“What?” I demanded.

“His familiar is possessing him!”

Zak glanced at her, his green eyes supernaturally bright. “And?”

“That’s—that’s disgraceful! And dangerous! Only black witches and druids would ever allow a fae that much influence over—”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He bent over the circle again, adding lines and runes with swift precision. “Witches know less about fae than vampires.”

Olivia let out another wild gasp. “You’re a druid?”

“I’m obviously not a witch.”

“Fae possession is taboo,” she declared righteously. “Whoring yourself for power, opening your body and mind to a fae like a prostitute for a—”

The feather tattoos on his arms shimmered. “You’re making my familiar angry. You don’t want to do that.”

Olivia snapped her mouth shut. She minced sideways until she stood beside me, then whispered feverishly in my ear, “This is why a druid’s primary familiar is called a consort. It’s obscenely intimate to allow a fae inside your body. With prolonged exposure—”

“If she doesn’t shut up,” Zak said coolly, “I’ll silence her.”

“Olivia,” Kai snapped, “keep your opinions to yourself.”

She pressed her lips together, glaring mutinously. Zak continued his preparations, adding various dried plants, fresh leaves, bits of precious metals, pouches with mysterious substances in them, and crystals. Finally, he brought out a scorched metal bowl, filled it with oil, and lit it on fire. Smoke curled up from the dish.

He turned to us. “I’m ready to begin the summoning. I’ll stand in front of the circle. Kai, Aaron, Ezra, you three line up four paces behind me. Don’t speak, no matter what I say; this will require some calculated bravado. I won’t know how powerful the darkfae is until he shows up, so I’ll signal to you.”

He held up his index finger. “One means I don’t need your help. Just look menacing.” He spread his hand, fingers and thumb outstretched. “Five means we’re dead if he decides he doesn’t want us alive, so I’ll give him whatever he wants and hope he doesn’t massacre us.”