The Nix’s lips curled and she bucked beneath me. I squeezed harder. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucas jump to his feet.

“Keep binding her!” I said. “It’s still working. Start a fresh cast.”

They did. It didn’t bind the Nix, but it kept her demonic strength in check. I bent over her, looking into her bulging eyes as I continued to squeeze her neck.

“Wanna count down with me?” I said. “I figure you have about thirty seconds left.”

“Paige!” Savannah yelled. “Stop it! That’s still Jaime. You can’t kill her.”

I tightened my grip. “Lucas, take her out of here. Please.”

Savannah had broken her cast, but the Nix had almost stopped struggling, eyelids flagging as she faded from consciousness.

“Paige! No!”

Savannah grabbed my shoulder to wrench me off Jaime’s body. I looked up into her eyes.

“It’s not Paige, baby,” I said. “It’s me.”

She blinked. “M-Mom?”

And here was my long-dreamed reunion. At last, looking into my daughter’s eyes and having her looking back, knowing it was me…and I had my hands wrapped around the throat of her friend, choking the life from her.

“You have to go, baby,” I whispered. “Please. I know what I’m doing. Lucas will explain. I’ll take care of Jaime. I promise.”

She just stared at me, eyes wide. “Mom?”

I tore my gaze away from hers and looked at Lucas, standing behind her. He nodded and put his hands on her shoulders.

“I’ll be right outside,” Lucas murmured to me. “Call me when you need to bring her back.”

He whispered something to Savannah, and she let him lead her from the room. I could feel her stunned gaze on my back until they turned the corner. Then I looked down at the Nix and squeezed. When her body went limp, I held her down and waited for Trsiel to do his job.

Would I know when Trsiel had captured the Nix’s spirit? How? I looked down at Jaime’s face. Her lips had turned blue and her eyes were glassy, pupils dilated. Shit! I needed to start CPR soon. But if I started it too soon, she might resuscitate before Trsiel had the Nix.

“Lucas!”

By the time he got here, Trsiel was bound to have the Nix. Then he could start CPR and maybe, just maybe, the Fates would give me a few moments with my daughter before they whisked me back.

The back door clicked. Jaime’s body began to pulse with a dull glow. As Lucas’s running steps tapped up the rear steps, that glow began to separate from Jaime’s body, just as it had in the community center.

The Nix’s spirit condensed, taking on the features of her true form. Lucas rounded the corner, limping from his wounded leg. I held up a hand.