*Quin*

It'd be a lie to say sleeping was going well. It'd be a lie to say I slept at all.

I heard Heather come back, but didn't get up to meet her. The queen was waiting in the living room, saying something about how it was a magic only door. I think she just lost the keys.

That was about forty-five minutes ago, if my good soldier instincts were still intact. I couldn't help but feel the cold bite of irony. The good soldier was a renegade working with the queen of magic.

I shifted, turning to face the door.

I was still thinking about Xavier, still seeing his lifeless body laying over the witch's. All because I didn't take the bullet. As much as I hated to admit it, not drinking it off was helping. Instead of dealing with all of this later, I was glad it was nearly over with. Still, the though put me off a little.

Hecate was right.

Ugh.

I turned again, this time remembering something that was still in my back pocket. I reached over and pulled it out.

It was the little piece of paper from the motel. There were weird symbols and drawings on it, all coming together to form a big circle. If I remember right, Hecate called it a glyph, I think.

It was hard to make out all the symbols in the dark, but none of them really made sense anyways, so what did it matter?

Still, I was interested.

The symbols seemed simple, but at the same time they were like a puzzle. Somehow, they seemed to fit together. Every symbol was entirely different, but they still flowed. They fit.

Hecate said if we tore them, she'd know. I wasn't so sure if I believed her. Maybe the magic was worn out of it already. I knew she wouldn't lie about something like that, but still. Maybe they didn't look special because they really didn't mean anything to me.

I gripped the top of the paper, both of my thumbs pressed close together. In one, quick motion, I tore the paper in half. There was nothing, no noise, no sound, nothing to tell her that-

Footsteps thundered down the hall. I heard glass shattering, a little cry, and then more footsteps. Something hit my door, and then it was pushed open.

"You okay?" Hecate said, popping her head in through the door. I could only see her head, like she was standing on the far wall.

"Yeah, um, fine," I replied. "You?"

"Good, good." She glanced at the papers in either of my hands and smiled. I almost felt embarrassed to still be holding them. "See anything interesting?"

"Yeah, actually. These glyphs are weird. Do they say something?"

"Of course they do," she replied, like it was a stupid question.

She flinched a little.

My eyebrows drew together. "You sure you're okay?"

She let out a little laugh. "Yep, everything's good, Commander Ze..."

"Zeeli. My last name's Zeeli."

She smiled. "All's good, Commander Zeeli, Sir."

I rolled my eyes and she left.

I looked at the two halves of paper in my hand. I pushed the two halves of paper back together, held expecting them to fix themselves. They didn't, and I felt a little stupid for expecting them to.

Sighing, I set them on the little table besides the bed and laid back down.

Now, sleep seemed to come easy.

---

"-up!"

I groaned, turning over on my stomach.

"Wake up!" Someone yelled.

"Nng."

"Fine, but this is your fault."

I reveled in the silence, but not long enough. I was suddenly rolling down a soft hill.

My eyes shot open for a second, my hands reaching for something to grip only to be met with soft sheets that fell with me.

I hit the ground with a thud. I rolled a little, pressing my hands against my sore back. I was panting, adrenaline still shooting through my system.

Looking up, I saw Hecate looking down at me, her hands on her hips. She was giving me a wide grin.

"What the hell?" I mumbled.

"Time to go," she chirped like it wasn't way too early o'clock.

"I thought we were leaving in the afternoon," I groaned.

"It's one. In the afternoon, not morning. Anyways, get up! We gotta go soon. Come on! Uppity up up."

She nudged me with her shoe and I started to move.

Getting a real glance at her, I saw that she was wearing new clothes. Gray boots with skinny jeans and a long sleeved maroon shirt. She finally looked like a real adult. Not quite the almighty queen of magic, but an adult at least.

"I'm getting up," I mumbled.

She pointed her finger down and I heard a thud behind me. She really dumped me out of bed.

"Hatchet, Heather, and Jacin are all getting dressed too. You all had long nights."

"I thought it was just me, you, and Hatchet. That other guy's coming? More importantly, how'd you get Heather to come along?"

She smiled, tipping her head to one side. "Jacin asked me last night, but I forgot to tell you that. Heather asked me right when she got back. I think something happened when she was snooping cause she was really enthusiastic about it. I mean, she really wants to come." Her head tipped to the other side. "I guess that means I'll have to get a minivan if we all want to fit comfortably. Well, I'll go talk to Niquie. Oh, and feel free to take whatever food you find in the fridge and put it in the bag I set out. Seriously, I may be the queen, but feeding five hungry mouths costs a lot. Especially feeding me. Anyways, I'm gonna go talk to Niquie and Wynnie. Meet you all in the bar and bring the bag and be ready and-"

"I get it," I just about yelled. "I get it. Just go."

She gave me a mock salute before leaving.

Now clothes, where did she put the- Ah!

There was a pile of neatly folded clothes sitting on the nightstand. On top, three pieces of paper, all with an identical marking, glyph, as the one I got from Hecate.

I reached over to take a look at what I got.

It was a simple outfit, a black leather jacket with a light gray t-shirt and jean pants. Along with the outfit, I also got a new pair of unbranded sneakers sitting on the floor by the nightstand.

---

The outfit fit nicely and I was scared to find out how Hecate found out my sizes. I knew enough about her magic to determine that it wasn't invisible... Unless she wanted it to be. Could she do that? Probably.

Apparently, I knew almost nothing about her magic.

I pocketed the three pieces of paper, unlocked the door, and walked into the living room, or lounge as Hecate called it.

Heather was sitting on the couch, playing with something in her hands.

She got a new outfit too. A red leather jacket with a black shirt underneath. From here, that's all I could see, but I had a feeling Hecate had leather jeans set out for Heather too.

I looked back to the kitchen, where a beach bag with yellow and white stripes as well as a blue handle was sitting.

"Any requests?" I asked. "Hecate wanted me to grab food from the fridge before we leave."

She let out a little scoff. "How about a real name? Hecate sounds like shit."

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, but I don't think anyone knows her name. Even the bartenders calls her Majesty and Highness."

Hatchet walked in, wearing a new white t-shirt and a navy blue jacket. His long blond hair was tied back in a very short, neat ponytail. A glance towards me and then Heather and he was already scowling.

"How come all of you get leather?" He complained. Another glance at me digging through the fridge and the thought was already out of his mind. "Pack all the chocolate. And I mean all of it."

I nodded, pulling a stack of Hersey's chocolate bars out of the back of the fridge. Other than that, I mostly stuck with fruits and vegetables, figuring that Hecate could keep it cool. Next, I went to the pantry and pulled out a container of Nutella, bread, crackers, and other little things to fill in the cracks with.

I grabbed a few cans of coke, knowing it would keep Hecate happy and quiet, hopefully.

"What's that you got?" Hatchet asked.

"Someone put a phone out by my bed last night. It was sitting with my clothes."

"What? You got a phone?"

I could see Heather nod. "Everything I've ever learned about tracking someone tell me this's dangerous to use, but I think Hecate gave it to me, so we should be fine."

There was a click, and all of our gazes shot to the door.

The man named Jacin peeked in.

"Her Majesty sent me," he said. "You all ready?"

"Yeah," I replied, for the rest of them. "Let's get going."