“Damn,” she said as she walked over to me, lying on the floor. “As much as I liked being a chick, there are definitely advantages to having a guy’s strength.”

She stomped on my stomach and I let out a howl. She hauled me up by my hair and I threw up, splattering the floor with everything in my stomach.

“That might make you feel better, but the poison’s in your bloodstream.”

She whipped me around to see the homeless guy convulsing on the floor. His eyes rolled and I was sure he was screaming, but all that escaped the gag was a horrible mewling sound.

“Doesn’t look too comfortable, does he? It’ll all be over soon, though. For him, at least. That was a double dose.”

I fought to get up. She let me, then delivered a right hook to my stomach and I went down again, doubled over in agony.

She grabbed my hair again and forced me to look at the homeless guy, dead now, wild eyes staring, face and body contorted.

“Kids these days don’t take anyone’s word for anything,” she said. “You need proof. So I provided it. I’m hoping that will be enough, but if it isn’t, I’m willing to indulge you with a second lesson. I have someone else in the back room just dying to help me out.”

Adam. I looked at the homeless guy and threw up again.

“Don’t like that idea, I see,” Leah said. “Really got it bad for Fire Boy, don’t you? Can’t see the attraction myself. A nice guy, but nice isn’t right for you, Savannah. Too vanilla. I’d be doing you a favor, you know, getting rid of—”

“What do you want?” I rasped, throat raw from retching.

“I’ve already told you. Call Mommy Dearest.”

“My cell doesn’t work in here.”

“Still haven’t lost your bite, huh? You’re right. It doesn’t. Handy thing, a cell phone blocker. But this call will get right past it.”

“If you think I have a spell to contact my mother—”

“Then draining your spell power would have been really dumb, wouldn’t it? Just concentrate really, really hard and call Mommy.”

“You’re nuts.”

“Mmm, possibly. But I’m pretty sure it will work. Eve is out there right now, looking for me, and she’s always looking out for you. That made things tough, I’ll tell you—getting close to you while she’s hunting me. Luckily, I have two addresses these days. Jesse Aanes and a gal in Connecticut. I let Eve find hideout number two, and she’s been chasing that body ... while I keep popping back here. Now it’s time to give her the forwarding address. You call, she comes, we negotiate.”

“What if she doesn’t hear me?”

“Then you’d better try harder.”