“Georgina,” he said, not taking his eyes off Grace. “The vessel’s over by the north side of the stone’s base.”

I wasted no time in hurrying over to the spot he’d indicated. I heard Grace’s outrage and caught her moving toward me in my periphery. But then, her anger turned to pain. Roman had blasted her with something, and her attention returned to him. My own attention was on the rocky ground as I began digging with my bare hands. In my zeal, I’d once again forgotten a spade. Seth was by my side in an instant, clawing at the sandy surface with me. Large, fat drops of rain began falling on us, but I didn’t have time to care.

“Who’s stronger?” he asked as the sounds of fighting raged behind us. If Roman’s appearance startled him, he was ignoring it for now.

“I don’t know,” I said. The ground was getting harder to dig in. It was damp and caked together from a recent rain, and I could feel it building up under my nails. “Roman can theoretically be as strong as Jerome, and I’m guessing she’s less powerful than Jerome. I don’t know for sure, and he might be holding back. The more power he uses, the more he alerts others that he’s here.”

My fingers hit something hard, and Seth and I both worked to pry it out. It was a wooden box, an old cigar case from the looks of it. I managed a good hold on it, and it began lifting out.

“Here,” I said, pausing. I tossed him my purse and then immediately returned to my digging. “Get my phone. Look in the numbers, and you’ll find Mei. Call her. Tell her where we’re at.” The cigar box came up out of the earth.

“You want me to call a demon?” he asked in shock.

“We need her. Tell her where we’re at. Then get away from here. Get in my car and go.”

“Georgina—”

“Go!” I shouted.

Seth hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then got up and ran with my purse, keeping well away from the combatants. I didn’t know if Mei would react to a call from a mortal. I didn’t even know if she’d answer, nor did I know if she could be trusted. I was relying on instinct—and that naïve hope about everyone’s good side—that she and Grace weren’t collaborating.

Roman’s scream caused me to look up sharply. He was on his back, Grace advancing. What looked like lightning crackled toward him, though just with the fire, it split away. Only, it got a lot closer to him than before. He was weakening.