But knowing if Bill was selling their work to the highest bidder would be worth a few hours of her time. “You really think you can make something that looks like it? Bill is not stupid, and Jack knows what it looks like.”

“Absolutely.” Rachel hiked herself up on the bar stool. “You probably have what I need to make it.”

“Which is?” Peri asked, her doubts rising again.

“She’s got copper pots, Rache,” Jenks said as he finished, cleaning his chopsticks with a drop of water and darting off to her shelf of talismans.

Peri warily watched him. “Stay out of my stuff,” she demanded, though she was ignored.

“Copper pots?” Rachel questioned. “You sure you’re not a witch?”

“She’s got more candles than a teenage vampire,” Jenks said, flitting among her talismans. “You can melt one down. Make a mold of it. Holy crap, you still play with dolls, Peri?”

Peri strode out of the kitchen. He was messing with the figurine she’d gotten from the aborigines in Australia. It had straw-blond hair and contained the memories of a wonderful night she’d spent with Jack under foreign constellations. “You. Pixy,” she demanded, to make Rachel laugh. “Sit your butt down and keep your dust off my things.”

Spinning on the bar stool, Rachel said, “Candle wax is inert. We need something for the base that embodies energy.”

“Make me,” Jenks said, flying a looping path within inches of Peri’s nose. “Like you could catch me, lunker.”

Peri reached out to snatch him, and the pixy darted away, laughing at her.

She’d had enough. Reaching out with her mind, Peri yanked time back two seconds. The world flashed blue, and she stared at Jenks, who was once more almost touching her nose.

“Make me,” he said again, oblivious that they were replaying time. “Like you could catch me, lunker.”

Again, Peri reached for him, aiming for where he was going to go. Jenks moved, wings clattering, and her fingers pinched his foot, catching him.

“Hey! Le’go!” he shrilled, shocked.

Peri stared at the frantic little man as she gripped his boot. From the kitchen’s bar, Rachel gasped. “You will sit your butt down and stay away from my talismans,” Peri intoned.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jenks said, cowed.

But then the world flashed red and settled, and she forgot everything she rewrote.

Peri stared at Jenks, his foot pinched between her careful fingers. Bright red dust spilled from him, coating her hand in pinpricks. The last thing she remembered was him touching her doll. Clearly she’d drafted to stop him, and it bugged her she didn’t remember it.

“You going to let go now?” Jenks said, clearly uncomfortable.

“What did I tell you to do?” Peri prompted, hoping her intuition and his words would piece this together. She hated jumping without an anchor to fill in the blanks, but Jack was five miles away in Opti Health.