Page 159 of Harnessed in Gold

Avery thinks aloud, “You’ve still got, what, another two weeks of this cat-and-mouse game?”

“Twelve days until the equinox,” Leo confirms.

“Go someplace really far from here,” I suggest, even though my heart is screamingno, no, no, stay here. “Like, I dunno, Japan?”

Aaron snorts. “Try getting that thing—” he gestures toward the kitchen, i.e., to the bracelet in the freezer, “—through airport security.”

“Oh, yeah,” I say, seeing his point. “Or customs.”

“Head out west, then,” Avery proposes. “You need to be at a ley line on the 21st, right? So go to Sedona. You’re guaranteed enough energy there to get back home.”

“That might be too obvious, though,” Aaron says with his humble smile. “What about staying close by?” When both Rime and Avery frown skeptically at him, he holds up a hand. “Hear me out. They’d expect you to go far away. You could even fake like that’s what you’re gonna do. Then you stay right here in this area. Jump from town to town—Asheville to Marshall to Hot Springs. It’s the last thing they’d think you’d do.”

Rime’s eyebrows shoot up. He obviously likes the idea. “Leo?”

Leo’s fingers twitch between mine. He’s been steadily calming me since he sat down, even though I said I didn’t need it. Because, yeah, I’ll admit, I do.

He rubs his chin and says in that low, soft voice of his, “There’s something I’d like to try.”

Rime’s lip curls like he’s caught a bad smell. “Something you want to try? We don’t have time for an experiment.”

“We don’t have time to be rash either. There’s too much to consider.” The warm energy coming from Leo’s hand fizzles. “What about them?” he asks, gesturing to the humans dominating the room. “The second we leave, Juniper and Burdock will know we have the bracelet. And what’s the first thing they’ll do?—?”

“Take them hostage,” Rime finishes with a frown.

Beside me, Liv stiffens, her fear cutting into me like wind-driven sleet. I want to kick both Leo and Rime for dredging up her trauma, but what they’re saying is true, and it needs to be addressed, no matter how scary it is to talk about.

Like the ninja she is, Topaz appears out of nowhere, freshly showered. “And that’s why I’m staying here,” she announces. She scans every one of our faces as she crosses the room and takes a seat at the table beside Avery. “To guard the Subwor… to guard our friends until we’re absolutely certain they’re not in danger anymore.”

“Perfect,” Leo says, smiling. “But you might want to get your own phone.”

Avery shrugs. “She can keep using mine.”

Rime nods. “So, that’s one problem solved.” He reverts to thinking mode, chin resting on his thumb and one finger curled over his mouth.

Desperate for a get-out-of-jail-free card, I nudge Leo with my elbow. “So, what’s your experiment?”

“It’s not really an experiment.” He sits up straighter. “More of an alternative solution that may or may not work.”

Alternative solutionis music to my ears. I wave him on.

“What if there’s a way to get home sooner?” he proposes, slowly and thoughtfully. “Or even better, what if there’s a way to disable the bracelet right away, like tonight or tomorrow?”

Rime’s expectant expression morphs into an aggravated scowl.

“You can’t be serious.” Avery looks at Leo like he’s sprouted eyestalks. “Did you forget what happened to Henry Browne?”

“I’m not talking about melting it down,” he says. “I’m talking about reversing it.”

“We need the caillecha for that,” Topaz interjects. “Next idea.”

It suddenly dawns on me where Leo is going with this. The caillecha are priestesses, performers of spellwork and rituals. “Jean,” I breathe, turning to Leo.

“Jean.”

Rime crosses his arms and arches a brow. “The granny lady?”

“Grannywoman,” Avery corrects.