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  The shield is what held Mira in place. She felt the demand, but it had slid over her and caused no more than a shiver down her spine.

  They could hear shrieks fade away in the distance. Mira sank down in a chair, still trying to hold up the shield as Gabriel leaned against the table, sword still in hand. When she passed the shield back to him, Mira saw that he was shaking almost as much as she was.

  Gabriel went over to the door and slammed it. The hand on his sword was white knuckled. Once he made sure the door was secure, he let himself fall into a chair. He did not relinquish his weapon or shield.

  “Okay, I’m trying to stay real calm here, Mira.” He wouldn’t look at her. “But I need to know what you gave me.”

  Mira shook her head. “I didn’t give you anything.” She leaned her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples, but she kept her eyes open and on the door. Her heart raced as though she had run several miles and needed a break.

  “This is bullshit,” Gabriel replied.

  “This is bullshit,” Mira agreed, trying to keep the tremor from her voice, “but you know I’m not lying. I would have never have brought us here. Even if I knew how to do this, I wouldn’t have done it. No one comes here.”

  He stared at the door, but looked as though he was looking at nothing. “Where do you think here is?” he asked.

  “We’ve been moved into the Ether,” Mira said. “The Ethereal Plane.”

  Gabriel sat unmoving while Mira tried to wrap her own mind around what she had said. They were in the Ether. When witches went into the Ether, they didn’t come back.

  Mira jumped when Gabriel stood up like a shot. “Those things are in the station. We have to make sure everyone is okay.”

  “There’s no one else here,” Mira said. “People don’t go to the Ether.”

  “We’re here. I’m checking.” He stood at the door. “Are you staying here or coming with me?”

  “Gee,” Mira said sarcastically, “wait for my death alone in a room or go with the warrior angel. Which should I do?”

  “Warrior angel?” Gabriel asked.

  “Never mind,” Mira said, getting up. “I’m going with you.”

  “Stay behind me, but you have to keep an eye out behind us. Don’t let anything sneak up from behind.”

  Mira nodded and kept herself plastered to Gabriel’s back as he led them through the second floor and then down to the first. She felt jittery trying to see every direction at once.

  Out of the corner of Mira’s eye, she caught sight of movement. When she jerked her head around, however, there was nothing there. Gabriel had the same twitching that told Mira that he must have been seeing movement as well. Maybe it was just the atmosphere of the place making them think something was lurking just out of sight.

  It’s probably the haze, Mira thought. It was a constant smoky reminder that they were not in their world. It didn’t help Mira’s nerves. Neither did Gabriel’s voice, calling out to see if anyone was there. It kept Mira taut with tension, half hoping for someone to answer, while at the same time fearing what it might be that answered.

  On the main floor, they worked their way steadily toward the entryway. Knowing that the front doors were glass, Mira thought that was a bad move, but she had nothing better to suggest. Nothing that Gabriel would accept, anyway.

  At the door that Gabriel had led her through not an hour before, there was a scratching noise.

  Gabriel’s wings billowed out and stretched wide behind him, throwing Mira back. They stood as still as possible and listened to the noise. Something scraped along the door, wanting to come in.

  When Gabriel moved forward, Mira bit her lip and scrambled back until she hit the wall. Every instinct she had screamed that opening that door was a bad idea. Instead of opening it, however, he clicked the lock.

  The scratching grew more insistent and Gabriel backed away, holding his sword out in front of him. With her back to the wall, Mira slid down to sit on the floor. Gabriel backed up beside her, wings first. They watched in silence until the sound went away. Neither of them took their eyes off the door as Gabriel sank down to sit next to her.

  “I don’t feel like I’ve been drugged,” he finally admitted. “This shit is weird. What’s going on?”

  Taking a deep breath, Mira started with the most obvious, “Did you know you were an angel?”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes.

  Mira gestured to his wings. It was as though he had never noticed them. He rubbed his hands over the feathers, inspecting them. Mira wanted to do the same, but it seemed intrusive.

  Looking tense in the face, he stared hard at one of his wings. Trying to figure out what he was doing, Mira watched him. It wasn’t until he raised one arm up and down that she realized he was trying to make the wing move or flap.

  A hysterical little giggle escaped Mira, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

  He glowered at her.

  Chapter 21

  When Mira thought she could trust her voice, she swallowed hard and removed her hand. “I’m sorry you didn’t know,” she said, unsure of what you say to someone who just found out they were an angel.

  “Yeah, well, if this is real, I think my parents have some explaining to do. Although,” he added, “I’m still not convinced this is real. Start talking.”

  While letting the idea of being an angel sink in, Mira plunged on. She told him why she had showed up at the station. Before she was too far into the story, he went into cop mode. He started asking questions and pulling more details out of her. Mira managed to keep Emmit out of it. The spell she had performed that morning was none of his business, and she had made a promise to Emmit.

  Gabriel was able to fill in some blanks for Mira as well. Everything she didn’t remember saying from the Perspective spell. He said it didn’t really sound like her voice, yet did in a way.

  Whatever that means. When Mira got to the part of the two Gabriels, he held up a hand for her to stop. He rolled his head on his shoulders. Mira had to bite her lip to keep another bout of tense laughter from escaping when he hit his head on his wing.

  She almost succeeded.

  After glaring in her direction, Gabriel started inspecting his sword and shield and let Mira continue talking. She went up to the point where they had entered the Ether, and he stopped her again.

  “Tell me about the Ether. What is this place?” Gabriel asked.

  He wanted more information, but she wasn’t sure what to tell him. “People don’t come here. Witches, warlocks, alchemists, it doesn’t matter. No one comes here. Seers look into the Ether to tell the future, but even looking at it tends to drive them mad.”

  “You said witches used to come here.”

  “Hundreds of years ago, we witches destroyed practically all of our knowledge on the Ether. We were almost extinct at that point. The Ether stopped being a safe road to travel.”

  “What do you mean, ‘safe road to travel’?” Gabriel asked.

  Mira let out a noise of frustration. “It’s just a saying. There is an old nursery rhyme for witches warning against traveling the ethereal roads. Darkness lying in wait and things like that.”

  “Wait, what’s the rhyme?” Gabriel asked.

  Mira wracked her brain for a minute, but she was getting impatient. “I don’t remember! I was kid. It was just a kid’s saying.”

  He looked frustrated, but let the subject drop and picked another. “So these things. They say they brought us here. How do we get back?”

  Mira slumped, feeling defeated. “There hasn’t been a way out for my people in hundreds of years.”

  “Keep it together,” Gabriel snapped. “We’ve gotta think of a way out of this. What about angels? Do angels have a way to get out of here?” He gestured at his wings as if she needed the reminder.

  Mira looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Gabriel, angels aren’t— I mean… you look like an angel. That, that thing called you the son of a god. But I’ve never met an angel.” She stopped an
d thought for minute. “I’ve never heard of anyone meeting an angel.”

  Gabriel looked down at his lap.

  “Look, Gabriel, I’m sorry. I’m just—I don’t know everything. And I don’t know that many people.” She thought for a moment. “Emmit might have known. I think he sensed something in you.”

  Gabriel snorted. “Great. My number two suspect. Number two, since you’re number one.”

  “You can’t still think that I did this,” Mira said.

  Gabriel shrugged. “Doesn’t matter much here, does it?”

  Mira looked around and started to shake again. She took a few deep breaths and really started to look around the room—taking in all the detail under the haze, focusing her mind away from the fact that she could die here in the Ether.

  The building and doors looked solid, but the furniture blurred around the edges. Almost as if, it weren’t quite there. Getting up, she glanced at the door, hoping not to rouse whatever wanted to get in. While walking over to a desk, she took in the lack of windows in the room. Her stomach was a nervous knot. She didn’t want to reach out and touch the desk, but the more details the better. With one finger, she scrunched up her face and touched the surface. Although it was blurred around the edges, it was solid enough. When she took her hand back, she wiped her finger on her jeans.

  She looked back at Gabriel. He was standing now, and his eyes were focused on her, his whole body tensed, as if ready to pounce or run. He was also glowing.

  Where he glowed, the haze pulled away, as if the air itself was afraid to touch him.

  “We need to make a plan,” Gabriel said.

  His skin was beautiful. Mira walked over to him, wanting to reach out and touch him, but he was far too pent up for her to try. They weren’t exactly friends, and he had a sword in his hands.

  “What’s with you?” Gabriel asked. “We need to go back to the interrogation room and figure out our next move.”

  “Did you realize that you’re glowing?” Mira asked.

  Startled, Gabriel looked down at his skin, catching the tail end of the steady bright glow. He appeared less anxious while he watched the shine disappear.

  He looked up at Mira. “I thought it was you. Well, your necklace and whatever the hell that thing is around your waist.”

  She held out her pentagram and turned it this way and that. A calmness stole over her while she had it wrapped in her hand. Carefully, she rearranged the necklace, making sure it touched skin, and examined the braided strand of silk. It, too, was glowing, though not as strongly as the necklace.

  “Magic,” Mira said. “Magic glows here.”

  The scratching noise started at the door again. Gabriel’s sword swung up, ready to attack, but the thing didn’t seem likely to make its way through.

  “I think it can hear us,” Mira whispered to Gabriel. “Let’s go back, like you said, and figure out what to do next.”

  On the way back, they made a pit stop in the bathrooms. Gabriel was hesitant to go inside with her, but there was no way Mira was going to walk in and have something jump her.

  She did a quick look around the room. The mirrors were gone. There were dark marks where they might have hung in the bathrooms out in the real world, but no other signs. Bracing herself, she checked a stall. No water in the toilet. Making one last-ditch effort, she turned on the water in the sink. There was nothing.

  Gabriel was watching her intently, but instead of answering, Mira motioned him back out and led the way to the interrogation room.

  “Want to tell me what that was about?” he asked when he had closed the door behind them.

  “There are no reflective surfaces,” Mira said. “No windows, no mirrors. There’s not even any water.”

  “Does this tell us something?” He asked.

  Mira shrugged. “Not by itself. Items with magic in them have some sort of effect on the world.” She pulled at the knot in her silk string, and then hesitated. “Um, come put your hand on my shoulder. Just in case.”

  “In case of what?” He asked.

  “Just—just in case,” she said, motioning for him to come over.

  He shifted his shield into the same hand as his sword and grabbed her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she undid the knot and took off the string.

  Nothing happened.

  Mira slumped in her seat. “Sorry,” she said. “I was hoping maybe the string was holding us here.”

  Gabriel shook his head and moved to the other side of the table.

  Ignoring the slight, Mira started taking stock of what she had. Magic string, magic necklace, and clothes. Nothing else with her.

  “What do you have on you?” she asked Gabriel.

  Once again, he switched his shield to his sword hand, and then he started digging around in his pockets. He came up empty.

  “I should have had a gun and my badge, but I ended up with these,” he said. “But I also had keys, a wallet, you know, the usual stuff.”

  “Those things can’t be light,” Mira said, motioning to the shield. “Why don’t you sit them down and rest? You may need your strength later.”

  Gabriel shrugged, but didn’t let go. Instead, he looked over the shield.

  “Will they disappear?” he asked.

  “Good question. I’m not sure. If they do, I think they’ll come back to you. They came to you pretty quickly when those creatures were here.”

  “When they came near I was thinking how I needed my gun,” Gabriel said. He was quiet for a moment. “They feel good in my hands. Like they’re a part of me.”

  “As long as they aren’t wearing you out. Those monsters might not be willing to leave us alone.”

  “I’m good,” he said.

  She noticed that he rested the sword across his lap and his shield on his booted foot.

  Standing up, Mira started walking around the room, trying to feel for a circle, or some trace of the magic that had pulled them through. She turned up empty. Tossing herself down in the chair again, she rubbed her temples. When she looked, she saw Gabriel watching her.

  Before he could ask, Mira answered, “I was sensing for the magic that brought us here, but I can’t find a trace.”

  “Are you sure it is magic?” Gabriel asked.

  “What else could it be?”

  “How should I know?”

  She didn’t have a reply.

  For a while, they sat silently in the little room, each trapped in their own thoughts. Both glanced at the door from time to time, Mira’s glances were a bit more nervous than Gabriel’s was. Maybe the sword made him feel better. At the hint of any noise, Mira would freeze and listen intently.

  The silence made Mira more unsettled, not less. It wasn’t a break from what had happened. Instead, it was a constant running reminder that neither of them had any idea what to do. Mira couldn’t handle the silence for long. It had felt like hours instead of minutes.

  She drew the silk cord out of her pocket again. Staring at the dim glow, she wound it around and around her fingers, only to unravel it all again.

  “I wonder why there are no reflective surfaces,” Mira mused.

  Gabriel shrugged.

  Mira didn’t look up from the cord. “Magic from our world stands out here. The desks and stuff are here, and they’re real, but they don’t look solid.”

  “I’m not sure where you’re going with this,” Gabriel said.

  “Is the magic here real or a reflection of the magic from our world?”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes.

  Heat rose to Mira’s face and into her voice. “If we get to my house, we may be able to do something.”

  “I’m not sure I buy the witch thing.”

  “What?” Her voice was higher than she’d intended. At least she was trying. “You say that after sprouting feathers?”

  Gabriel looked back, surprised once more by the fact that he had wings. Then his shoulders slumped, and he stared down at the sword across his lap.

  Mira sighed. Now she felt sorry
for him even though she really didn’t want to. This was a lot to take in all at once.

  “You know,” Mira said after a while, “you’re taking this much better than Ian. I told him about the supernatural and he ended up getting drunk after a few little displays. He hadn’t been ripped out of his world or sprout wings.”

  Gabriel looked a bit better knowing how his partner had acted. “Is that why he’s been working with you so much?”

  “We needed someone for the case.”

  “We?”

  “The supernatural community.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?” Gabriel asked.

  Mira had a ghosted smile when she told Gabriel about the spell. That and she shared the rest of the story with him. Everything. In detail.

  Well, everything except Emmit.

  He looked more relaxed as she went on. “Why would the spell on Ian cause you to fall down the stairs?”

  She looked around their little room and told him about the repercussions of spelling someone against their will. “The more they fight it, the worse things come back on the witch.”

  “It doesn’t sound like Ian. Doing that to you, I mean.”

  “He didn’t do it. I did it to myself when I cast the spell.”

  “But he keeps fighting it.”

  “He doesn’t know what that will do.”

  “Then why tell me?” Gabriel asked.

  Mira shrugged. “You’re one of us. A supernatural.” Then she winced. “And I’m really hoping that what I did didn’t cause this.”

  He looked like he was going to say something, and then changed his mind.

  “Anyway,” Mira said, “you’re taking it better than him.”

  “You should have told me as well.” There was a sullen hint to his words.

  “We were getting to that point. Ian really, really wanted me to.”

  “And you didn’t because?”

  “Witches that get in the habit of spelling people against their will, die.” Mira tried to stress this. “You already didn’t like me. I figured you’d fight the spell like mad.”

  “But I would have known you were telling the truth,” Gabriel said.