I gritted my jaw as my ankle gave a twinge as I slipped on a rock. The line was just ahead. I could feel it. The sun had sunk below the horizon, halfway gone. It took seven minutes to sink once it touched the earth. Three and a half minutes. I could hear a gathering of breath from the lesser demons. God, help me find a way out of this.

“You should be afraid of you,” Newt said. “Want to know why?”

I pulled my head up. Newt was bored out of his or her mind and looking for amusement. I didn’t want to be interesting. “No,” I whispered, becoming more frightened.

An evil smile crossed Newt, emotions shifting faster than a vampire hyped up on Brimstone. “I think I will tell Algaliarept a joke. And when he’s done ripping that witch apart for what he lost, I’ll trade for that mark you owe him and make it mine.”

I started to shake, unable to stop my hands from trembling. “You can’t do that.”

“I can. I might.” Newt twirled the staff idly, hitting a rock so it ricocheted into the dark. There was a catlike yelp of pain and a scattering of sliding rock. “And then I’ll have two,” the demon said to itself, “because you won’t be able to figure out how to travel the lines and will have to buy a trip out of here. From me.”

There was a cry of outrage from the watchers behind the rocks, quickly squelched.

Horrified, I came to a jerky stop, feeling the line right ahead of me.

“You want to survive,” Newt intoned, its voice dropping in pitch. “You’ll do anything for it. Anything.”

“No,” I whispered, terrified because Newt was right. “I saw Lee do it. I can do it too.”

Black eyes glinting, Newt set the butt of its staff down. “You won’t figure it out. You won’t believe; not yet. You have to make a deal … with me.”

Frightened, I wavered on my feet, and with the next step, I stumbled into the line, feeling as if it was a stream, warm and generous, filling me up. Almost panting, I teetered, seeing the eyes around me narrow with greed and anger. I hurt. I had to get out of there. The power of the line hummed through me, peaceful and comforting. There’s no place like home.

Newt’s expression went mocking, its pupil-black eyes spiteful. “You can’t do it.”

“I can,” I said, my vision darkening as I almost passed out. From the deepest shadows glittered green eyes. Close. Very close. The power of the line hummed through me. There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, I thought desperately, pulling energy into me, spindling it in my head. I had traveled the lines with Lee. I had seen how he had done it. All it took was him thinking about where he wanted to be. I wanted to be home. Why wasn’t it working?