Dawn broke on a morning as cool and crisp as any you could find in December. Only it was September, and while Mississippi might enjoy the rare, pleasant day as summer tipped into autumn, I'd never experienced such a drastic shift in temperature this time of the year. It was unnatural, and something sour tainted the breeze, turning my stomach as I stepped out onto the sagging front porch.

"Here ya go," Willow whispered as she came up behind me and pushed a mug into my hand. Dark, fragrant liquid sloshed in the white ceramic cup, and I held it to my nose, more to cleanse the stench from my nostrils than to savor the robust aroma of fresh coffee.

"Where did you get this?"

Willow wiggled her tan fingers. "Magic of course. Well, magic and the instant coffee someone left in the cabinet."

"Oh, good," I replied, sipping on the bitter brew and wrinkling my nose as it seared my taste buds, "we're drinking the coffee of vagrants."

"Nope, just cheap teenagers. They throw parties out here fairly often, and when things get too out of hand, we sleep it off in the shack. This is probably from the last party."

I nodded, blowing on the drink and keeping my eyes on the trail of mist it cast into the air. If I turned to look at Willow she would see the hurt in my expression. Hurt that was dumb and childish considering the circumstances, but I couldn't help but feel even more ostracized from this life and these people. Of course, it made perfect sense that the local witches and warlocks had places to party. They were teenagers, no matter how much power they had, but I'd lived here my entire life. This was the first I heard of this.

"We should probably wake the others."

"You get any sleep?" Willow asked, neither of us making a move toward the inside.

"A bit. Yeah."

Once Ash joined me, curling his long, lanky form around mine. His heartbeat pulsed against my ear, drawing me into slumber. When my eyes fluttered open, he was still at my side, his heavy arm draped over my waist and his face buried in my back.

"I didn't think I would sleep at all, but once I laid down, I was out. Hope Flannery managed to get a few hours in. Today is going to be draining for her."

"You'll take care of her, won't you? I know you two don't really get along, but-"

"We'll make it work. I think we're just a little territorial where you're concerned, but today isn't about that."

"Territorial?" I scoffed.

"Yes, we each only get a part of you, and it's hard to share."

"What do you mean by that?"

Willow drew in a deep breath and exhaled. "I can only speak for myself, but I'm guessing it's a bit how Flannery feels. Especially now that she knows the truth about your double life. But, I've always felt like I'm missing out on part of who you are. You're this whole other person in St. Augustine. It's like an entire life I don't get to be a part of."

"That's just-" I stopped myself from saying silly. If there was anything I knew anything about, it was feeling left out. "I'm sorry."

"It is what it is. We probably have a lot more in common than we're willing to admit, considering we're friends with you. Maybe we'll get to see it today."

"That's very mature of you."

And not at all like the girl I knew. Willow was volatile. Dramatic. Dynamite in a small package and all that jazz. When she turned to me, I saw what caused the change. Apprehension and anguish swirled together, turning her brown eyes almost black.

"Willow are you okay?"

"You know, it was one thing when Charlie was just some impoten. Some human you knew. I could kind of push it aside in the back corner of my brain. Oh, don't look at me like that," she said when she caught sight of my frown. "I just meant that even though I knew this was bad stuff we were dealing with, I felt detached from it, but after spending some time with Flannery yesterday, I started to think about how bad this was for her. I mean, I don't have a brother, but what if that was Ash? What if Malphas was sitting inside of him, eating away at the very things that make Ash, Ash?"

A chill went over me, and I looked through the grimy windows to find Ash. He was sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. There was an innocent air about him. The way his hair stood out from his head and red lines marred his cheek. When he caught me staring, he grinned, though he couldn't hide the blush that spread across his face.

Both boys meant a great deal to me, and the idea of choosing between them made me ill. But a sickening certainty raced through me, making my gut clench and my vision dim. Charlie wasn't the only one in danger from Malphas. Luis knew enough to know my weaknesses, and he wasn't above putting his son at risk to get what he wanted.

"Y'all ready to get a move on?" Ash asked, coming outside as he attempted to flatten his hair. It sprang back up as soon as he lifted his hand.

"Yeah, let me go wake sleeping beauty," I mumbled, anxious to put some distance between us. How could a boy with bedhead and morning breath get me so flustered? "Flannery? Time to get up."

She cracked open an eye and glared. "You do know what time it is, right? The sun isn't even all the way up."

"You've got a lot of ground to cover today, and you need to stop by your house first. Your mom will freak."

Flannery shot up like a bottle rocket. Her skin turned gray, and her lips trembled as if everything from last night hit her at once. "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"No, it wasn't."

"Ch-charlie is really possessed by a demon?"

"He is, but we're going to save him. I promise." It was a promise I wasn't certain I could keep, but she didn't need to know that. Not right now. Not while she was only hanging on by a thread.

"How did this happen?"

"That's what we need you to find out." My fingers curled around hers. "Can you do that?"

"For Charlie? Yeah, I can do that, but you have a lot to tell me when this is all over."

"I'll do my best."

"Do better."

"Well, okay then," I laughed, looking at the floor to avoid her stern look.

She would want to know everything, and if we won and the Council got their way, it was very likely she and Charlie would leave without a single memory of what transpired here. The thought made me sadder than it should have. I thought all I wanted in the world was to escape Black Brier and live as a human, but even though everything was crazy right now, there was something peaceful about the two sides of myself meeting in the middle.

"What are you going to do today? With Ash?" There was a teasing lilt to her last question.

Willow and Ash walked back into the room, and they waited for me to answer. He caught my eye and shook his head slightly, reminding me of what we'd agreed upon last night. It was better to let them think we were still working on getting to Clemmy than to tell them the truth.

"What we talked about already. Find Clemmy. She's the one with all the power. If we can get her, we can take down Luis." I still thought this was the best course of action, but a smart person listened to Clemmy when she told you to do something. Even in a dream- no, especially in a dream.

"Okay, well y'all keep us updated. We're stopping at Flannery's house first-"

"Why?"

Willow huffed. "Because your mama is probably out of her mind with worry right now, and I can put a spell on her to ease her anxieties. Won't that make you feel better?"

"It won't hurt her?"

"No, I promise," I said drawing my friend into a hug. "Magic is good when the right person is doing it, and Willow is the right person. She'll take care of you."

An hour later, Ash and I stood across the street from the city jail. No one went in or out except for a few police officers, but even this far away, I could feel the prickle of magic surrounding the squat, brick building. A hesitant step closer- just to test a theory- turned the prickle into an outright itch.

"Ash, I don't know. The closer I get to that place, the more I feel like I've rolled in a fire ant bed. What have they done? It's not always like that."

"They must've put up some pretty powerful wards. Eff. It has to be because of my father."

We exchanged heavy looks. We both knew what that meant. Only Council members could alter wards on city property, and that meant Luis had at least one member in his pocket. Maybe more.

"This just got a whole lot more complicated."

"Ash, what are we going to do? My mother is the only person I know with enough knowledge to tell us how to break the connection, and this isn't like breaking into your shop."

"You don't think I don't know that," he hissed, then flinched. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

"No, it's fine. I get it." We were both tired and at the end of our ropes. "Maybe it was dumb anyways. Surely, Mama would've told them how to break the connection already. She might not like my daddy most days, but she would never want to see him die."

Ash drew me to him, and his chest rumbled against my cheek as he spoke. "She might have told someone, but if she told the wrong person, they're not gonna do anything with that information."

He made sense. "Okay, so you're not gonna like my idea."

"If it's as good as the one you had back at your house- you know the one where you sacrificed yourself- then probably not." Scrunching my nose, I bit my lip and batted my lashes. He groaned, drawing attention from a passing witch.

"Rose, no."

"It's the only way."

"We'll have maybe ten minutes before word gets to my father, and knowing how to break the connection isn't going to do any good if you never come out of there."

"Oh ye of little faith," I whispered, bouncing up on my toes and placing a quick peck on his cheek. It caught him by surprise, and I stepped away before he could react. It was all I could to not touch my mouth. "I'll be back in twenty."

"Fifteen," he whisper shouted as I crossed the street in plain view. "And then I'm coming after you."

Wiggling my fingers at him with more bravado than I really felt, I yanked open the door to the jail. The receptionist looked up and smiled at me. Susan Plinth was the name on her name tag, and I vaguely remembered helping her from time to time at Southern Charms.

"You here to see Alizon?" she asked, not a trace of malice in her voice. In fact, she almost looked sympathetic. Good. I needed allies.

"Yes ma'am," I told her, looking around the empty, gray waiting room.

"I'm afraid she's not allowed to have any visitors just yet. In fact," Susan leaned forward conspiratorially, "I'm supposed to call up and report anyone asking to see her."

"That's outrageous," I protested. And confirmed our worst suspicions.

"I think so too. I cannot believe what they're saying about your mama. She's one of the best witches I've ever met. So, that being said, if you get caught, I'll lie through my teeth. Down the hall to your left."

She pushed a key across the counter. It was unpleasantly hot against my skin. Bespelled, then.

"Thank you," I said, real tears in my eyes. This was the break we needed.

"Go on. You've got ten minutes."

Looking at the clock on the wall, I nodded. It was three minutes more than I needed.

"I'm coming, Mama. Hold on."