“You are close,” I said.

She rubbed her tired eyes. “So close. Go. Please get out of my house.”

“We’re getting,” I said, pushing the guys toward the door before Connor could get into the finer points of mortgages and property ownership.

* * *

Alexei stayed with Lulu, although he waited in the SUV outside, ready to transport her when the time came. Connor borrowed another Pack SUV and drove us to the Ombuds’ office. I stared at the moon while en route, willing the nearly invisible sliver of shadow to hold, to remain in place for a little longer.

I sent messages to everyone, arranging for our rendezvous at the office and bugging them until I had confirmations. And when I got to the office, I paced the floor and checked the time until my screen beeped again.

I lifted it, found the message we’d been waiting for.

i’ve got it, Lulu said. we’re on our way.

* * *

Less than an hour later, we were assembled: me, Petra, Roger, Theo. Connor and Alexei. Lulu, Ariel, and Gwen.

We were the demon-catching dream team. Or so we hoped.

“Power Rangers,” Lulu began, walking in front of us like a commander preparing to lead her troops into battle. Which wasn’t far off.

She’d even dressed the part in black military-style boots (found on consignment), black leggings, and a black hooded vest over a black tee. Not the usual garb for an artist, but she was playing a different role tonight.

If she had any remaining qualms about using her magic, she wasn’t showing it. Honestly, it seemed like I was the only one having trouble adjusting to how well she was adjusting. Maybe that’s because she’d been holding her real self back for so long.

“Power Rangers,” I repeated blankly. “The dudes with the colors?”

“Yeah. But in this case, it’s chicks with magic.” She pointed to each of us in turn. “Necromancer, aeromancer, vampire . . . and me. I think, if we work together, we have enough power to seal the demon.”

Ariel tilted her head at Lulu. “I thought you decided not to do any more magic. Especially after fireballing Elisa.”

Petra must have updated Ariel, as I hadn’t had time to fill her in on Lulu’s new, if possibly temporary, hobby.

“I had decided that,” Lulu said. “Because my specialty—my skill—is working with dark magic.”

“Old magic,” I corrected.

“Old magic,” she agreed. “Long story short, I had been thinking about magic as a dichotomy: white or black, good or bad.”

“Colonial nonsense,” Petra said.

“Truth,” Lulu said. “And I don’t want to think about it that way anymore.” She looked at me. “You’re a vampire from a millennia-old lineage, and your magic—your body—is fueled by blood.” Then Petra. “You’re an aeromancer—that’s elemental magic.” Then Ariel. “You can speak to the dead. That’s a skill as old as life itself. Maybe the problem isn’t the magic. Maybe the problem is people who use magic to hurt other people.”