The link with the ley line was heady, and no longer able to keep my eyelids closed, they flew open. My cluttered kitchen replaced the silver outlines. Queasy with disorientation, I tried to reconcile my mind’s eye with my more mundane vision, using them simultaneously. Though I couldn’t see Nick with my second sight, it would cast shadows upon him through my usual vision. Sometimes there was no difference, but I was willing to bet Nick wouldn’t be one of those people. Our eyes met, and I felt my face go slack.

His aura was rimmed in black. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it pointed to an uncomfortable direction. His narrow build looked gaunt, and where his bookish mien gave him a scholarly air before, now it had undertones of danger. But what shocked me was the black circular shadow upon his left temple. It was where the demon he had saved me from had put its mark, an IOU that Nick would someday have to repay. Immediately I looked at my wrist.

My skin showed only the usual upraised scar tissue in the shape of a circle with a line running through it. That didn’t mean that was all Nick could see, though. Holding my arm up, I asked him, “Is it glowing black?”

He nodded solemnly, his usual appearance starting to overshadow his threatening look as my mind’s eye began to falter under the strength of my mundane sight.

“It’s the demon mark, isn’t it?” I said as I ran my fingers over my wrist. I didn’t see any hint of black, but I couldn’t see my aura, either.

“Yes,” he said softly. “Did, uh, anyone tell you that you look really different while channeling a ley line?”

I nodded, my balance wavering as the two realities clashed. “Different” was better than “scary as all hell,” which is what Ivy had called me once. “Do you want out of the circle? I haven’t closed it yet.”

“No.”

Immediately I felt better. A properly closed circle couldn’t be broken except by its maker. He didn’t mind being trapped inside with me, and his show of trust was gratifying.

“All right, then. Here goes.” Taking a steadying breath, I mentally moved the narrow rill of salt from this dimension to the ever-after. My circle made the jump with the sharpness of a snapping rubber band against my skin. I started as the salt winked out of existence, replaced with an equal ring of ever-after. The spine-tingling jolt was expected, but it got me every time.

“I hate it when it does that,” I said as I glanced at Nick, but he was staring at my circle.

“Whoa,” he breathed in awe. “Look at that. Did you know they were going to do that?”

I followed his gaze to the candles, and my jaw dropped. They had gone transparent. The flames still flickered, but the green wax glowed with an utterly unreal look.

Nick slid from his stool, edging carefully around the counter to avoid hitting the circle. He crouched by one of the candles, and I almost panicked when he extended a finger to touch it.