Chapter 25 — The Greatest Magic Ever Assembled

They had a weapon, they had a distraction, and they had a trap. All that remained was for Rachel to lure Jackson into the snare.

For that, she had to trust a man she'd suffered far too long. By all accounts he was normally an honest man despite his rough edges. Still, Rachel's only experiences with Robert were argument, hatred and betrayal. A bit of distrust and skepticism seemed like a healthy approach.

The Summit had dispersed. Julian agreed to send his henchmen—for lack of a better word—to join Ryan and Josh on the frontline with Rika and Alden. They were already on their way to the park at the south end of town, beyond which lay Robert's usual meeting place with Brian Hendricks. Today, Robert would have to draw them into the trap. Rachel could only pray he managed to hold back Brian somehow so that the man wasn't caught in the crossfire—and so that his daughter wouldn't spot him. Natalie wouldn't be near the front, thank goodness, but Rachel still feared for her father's safety.

It was his own fault, obviously, but Rachel still wanted to keep her promise to the girl. She needed a real family, not the dysfunctional mess that was her current life, following either Lily or Rachel around every day. Shouldn't she be out playing and being a kid?

She's twelve, not six, Rachel reminded herself. Natalie's just a bit small for her age. She should be obsessed with her friends and spending all her time online or something.

Except Natalie Hendricks grew up in Rallsburg with a single father and only a few friends. And her closest friend was murdered…

"What?" asked Natalie, looking up. She'd been riding alongside Rachel, dutifully keeping to her self-appointed job as scout and bodyguard.

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Aren't you scared?" Rachel asked, looking over at her. Even atop Gwen, Natalie only sat a few inches taller than Rachel standing.

"Nope. Gwen and I beat him already. We can do it again."

Rachel shook her head. "You're not going up against him again."

"Why not?"

"We're going to do a ritual to stop him."

"I thought I was never supposed to do rituals. That's what Lily said," Natalie said doubtfully.

"We're breaking a lot of the rules right now, Natalie."

"What do I have to do? Is it gonna hurt?"

Rachel tried to look reassuring. "Not if we do it right. You're not going to do the ritual though."

"Why not? I can do it."

She imagined Natalie getting ripped apart, just like her friend had been, and shuddered. "No, Natalie. I need you to protect us. If we get interrupted, everything might fall apart. You've fought his golems before, remember? I need you to keep them off us."

"And then we're gonna go find my dad, right?"

Rachel felt tears forming and quickly glanced away. She couldn't look her in the eye. She doubted Natalie had the experience to recognize a lie when she saw it, and there wasn't anyone else around to clue her in. Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie. "Yeah. Then we'll find your dad and bring him home."

Natalie patted her wolf's head. "Hey, since everyone knows about magic now, that means dad can meet Gwen, right? I don't gotta hide her in the woods?"

"You'll still have to keep Gwen a secret from the world, Natalie," Rachel replied, wiping her face. "Everyone here knows, but the rest of the world isn't quite ready yet."

"How long?"

"I don't know," she sighed.

"...Thanks for not making something up," Natalie said. "Where are we going?"

"Back to the sheriff's station. We have to pick up Robert."

"I don't like him," she declared.

"Me neither."

Before they were halfway to the station, there was a rolling clap of thunder, so loud they instinctively clapped their hands to their ears. Rachel looked up, but she didn't see any lightning. If anything, it was an unusually clear afternoon, with only a few puffy clouds lazily drifting along the expanse of sky.

Rachel tensed up. Every muscle in her body felt like it was knotted in anxious anticipation. Is he about to attack? She'd expected to have more time while he recovered, given how much weaker and slower he'd seemed at the Summit compared to their fight the day before. Brian and Robert still had a meeting scheduled—wouldn't Omega want to wait for that first?

He wasn't attacking, as it turned out. Jackson had decided to make his presence known throughout the town to all those who hadn't had the misfortune of meeting him yet. His voice echoed through the entire town as if he were speaking through a loudspeaker from high above. Rachel recognized the telltale signs of similar magic to what Cinza often employed on her own voice, an alteration of sound waves to strengthen them and repeat them across long distances—only now on a massive scale.

"Rallsburg, your town has come to an end."

Within seconds of the thundercrack, Rachel's phone started ringing. She slammed it against her ear while Natalie stared wide-eyed at the sky, holding tight to the back of Gwen's neck.

"Melodramatic son of a bitch, isn't he?" shouted Ryan through the phone speaker.

"—sorry this has to be done, but—"

"He's stalling," Rachel replied. "That's a good sign. He's trying to sew chaos."

"—the so-called 'awakened' among you are dangerous—"

"What if he does whip up another riot?" he asked.

"—For the sake of the the world—"

"He has nothing to offer. Who's going to go after us just for a quick death?" said Rachel.

"—can't be allowed out of this town—"

"Stick to the plan, then?" Ryan shouted.

"Yes. I'll have Robert get him there."

"You're putting a lot of trust in that old bastard."

"It's the only way we're going to get—," Rachel started, but Jackson's next words stopped her dead.

"—help me find them, I promise you a return to your normal lives."

"...Shit," they said, in unison.

"Of course I know it's a lie," Robert growled, stumping along behind Rachel. He looked a little worse for wear after the brawl and the night spent in jail—not that Rachel particularly cared. They made their way back across town yet again, much slower than before. Rachel had already dodged several groups of would-be witch hunters armed with whatever they could find. People were taking Jackson's offer seriously—but thankfully Robert didn't seem to be one of them. "That bastard always seemed off to me."

So why did he tell us something different? Rachel wondered. Is this just to make more chaos? "So you're still with us?"

"I'm with Brian. I could give fuck-all about you. But he's not gonna let Brian's little girl survive this one way or another, and I'm not gonna let that happen." He glanced at Natalie, riding a few meters in front of them. "Even if she scares the hell out of me."

It was good enough for Rachel. "You're sure you can get him to come out?"

"Well, about that..."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "I don't have time for this, Robert."

"I'll need your help to do it."

"Explain."

"I overheard him talkin' once. He's really shit at moving quiet-like in the woods, let me tell you. He was talkin' 'bout a way to find out who's got magic and who don't. Gave Brian somethin' that could tell him."

Something to identify Awakened on sight that anyone can use? Rachel shuddered at the potential long-term implications. "How does this apply to us?"

"Well, he also went on about actually findin' magic being used. But thing was, he apparently can only tell when certain kinds of magic are being used. Or certain people or somethin'. Special people."

Something clicked in Rachel's mind—a snippet of what Hailey and Rika had told her about the attack at Boris' shop. "I know what he's talking about."

"Great. So here's the plan: you do that wherever you need him to go. I tell him you're trying to kill him with something."

"You what?"

"Truth's always easier than lies, and he thinks he's unstoppable. I go in, I tell him the truth, he'll come roarin' out with his monsters. You get your battle and I don't die."

Rachel considered it. As plans went, it wasn't the worst she'd heard. She didn't really have any better ideas for luring Jackson out to a particular spot—and Robert couldn't possibly reveal their real plan, since he had no idea what it was. As long as the spot they chose was far enough away from the ritual site, it shouldn't matter. The problem was, she only had one of the special Awakened to spare.

Natalie glanced over her shoulder, as Rachel had stopped walking. "We gotta keep moving, right?"

Rachel swallowed hard. It's the only real option, she told herself. It has to be done. She'll be okay. She's way tougher than she looks, and she already looks tough to start.

"Works for you?" Robert asked.

Rachel nodded. She didn't dare open her mouth, because she didn't think she could get any words out without choking on them.