“They’ll follow us,” he started, and I shook my head, not looking down the hallway to the bright sanctuary as I patted my pocket to be sure I had the rings and went into the back living room for my coat, hesitating until I remembered I had left it on the porch to air out.

“No, they won’t,” I said over my shoulder, feeling almost relaxed. Ivy and Jenks would wait for me. I wasn’t losing them at all. “You’re just mad that you don’t have an excuse to do your charm.”

“A little, yes,” he complained as he followed me out. “Did something happen to the sanctity of your church again?”

My eye twitched. “Newt broke it so she could look in my closet.” Again.

“Oh.”

The night air was almost a slap as I opened the door, the soft breathing of the wind taking me by surprise. My coat was frigid as I jammed my arms into the sleeves, and Quen watched as I shoved everything but my chalk into a pocket. “No splat gun?”

Snapping the chalk in two, I wedged a piece into each boot. “He can burst the charms in the hopper and put me out in three seconds,” I said, having downed Lee that way once—before we had come to an understanding. “It’s your elven charms that are going to hold him, sweetheart. You up to it?”

“Sweetheart?” he muttered, and I turned to the graveyard with its glowing gargoyle eyes. Feeling good for some reason, I started down the stairs, boots clumping until I realized he wasn’t following me. I frowned when he took a small, hourglass-shaped charm from his pocket and hung it on the nail the Christmas wreath had rested on. It was the first level of protection every home, be it Inderland or human, had, but we didn’t have one up right now.

“Hey!” I exclaimed when he pulled the pin from the intricately detailed charm made to look like a wineglass pouring into another, and a shimmering wave of gold and black rose. Great leathery wings opened in the graveyard, and I shivered, thinking that it was like the demons of hell had come to life and were here to drag me to eternal torture for betraying my friends.

“You didn’t lie to them,” Quen said as I fumed. “I’m not going to risk Nick escaping.”

My protest faded, and I almost fell off the step trying to see up to the top of the churchwide spell. “How long?” I said, my face cold, and he took my arm and turned me around.

“Sunup. Now: I’m doing this to save Trent. You’re doing this to save the world. Yes?”