Vivian took another step back, her gaze darting from me to her Pinto.

“Rachel!” Ivy exclaimed. “Rushing a coven member might not be the best thing!”

I smiled at Vivian. That tracking amulet was mine.

Vivian’s eyes were wide. She swore, then turned and ran, her boots thumping on the walk running alongside the motel. She was headed for her car.

Instinct kicked in, and I bolted after her. Arms pumping, I gave chase, my boots hitting the dirt as I tried to head her off.

“Look out!” Ivy shouted, and my gaze shot to Trent, head down as he came out of the motel room. My pace faltered, and glancing at me, Vivian put on a burst of speed, turning her head just in time to smack right into Trent’s door.

The thunk of her head on the thick wooden door was loud, and I winced, slowing to a jog.

Trent scrambled, dropping his toiletry bag as he narrowly caught her. Her hand opened and the amulet dropped, going dark as it rolled off the raised wooden walkway and to my feet, falling on its side in a tiny puff of dust.

I snatched it up and looked at Trent, now holding Vivian as her head lolled and her feet splayed askew. “That wasn’t quite what I’d planned,” I said, then turned to the waitress leaning half out of the restaurant and waved, shouting, “Can we have a bag of ice? I think she’s okay.”

The woman ducked back inside, and I shifted to make room for Ivy.

“I missed the meeting, didn’t I?” Trent said, and I helped him ease her to the walk. She was breathing okay, and when Ivy lifted her lids, her pupils contracted equally. Given a little time, she’d likely be fine.

“Thanks, Trent,” I said as I hefted the amulet, glowing again now that I was holding it. “You’re being useful today. I think you just saved me from beating up a coven member.”

Ivy looked from Vivian’s Pinto to my mom’s car. “Now what?”

I looked at the amulet, my heart pounding as I saw how far apart the two little red dots were. I wondered if Oliver had made it. Looping the cord around my neck, I crouched beside Vivian. “You take her feet, I’ll take her hands.”

Immediately Ivy shifted, and together we lifted her, me straining far more than Ivy.

Trent backed up a step, confused. “What are you going to do with her?”

“Put her in the car,” I puffed, moving awkwardly to my mom’s car.

Trent scooped up his toiletry bag. “You’re joking, right? Rachel, she’s coven. We can’t take her with us.”

“I’m not going to leave her here,” I said, and Ivy’s eyes flicked to him as the unconscious woman seemed to gain fifty pounds with every step. “Will you get the ice?”

Frowning, he turned away, but I couldn’t help but be impressed as he gave the waitress a story about us traveling together and knowing her and her friends, and that we’d make sure she got home okay. Pace fast, he caught back up with us in time to open the back door.