I struggled to focus, then nodded. The memory flashed and a tiny smile tweaked my lips. “He said ‘encountered’ was a more accurate word than ‘met.’”

Eve laughed. “That’s Lucas, isn’t it? Got to be precise.” She rocked back on her heels. “How long ago was that? Shit, it has to be four, five years. He couldn’t have been more than twenty. Tried to confiscate some of my grimoires. But I caught him. Trounced him good, too.”

“So he said.”

Eve’s left brow shot up. “He admitted it? Well, that’s real strength, isn’t it? Not being able to knock someone down, but being able to admit it when you’re the one who hit the floor. He’s a good kid. Good for Savannah, too. You both are.” She looked from me to Lucas, then thumped down and pulled her knees up. “Ah, shit, what are we going to do?”

“We need to go back.”

“Hey, I’m with you on that one, but it’s easier said than done. Normally, it’s a one-way ticket, but you guys didn’t take that train in, so maybe we can find a way—” Her head snapped back and she glared at something over my head. “Goddamn it, you’re worse than a bloodhound. Track me down no matter where I hide.” She waved her hands. “Shoo. I’m busy. Go away.”

I craned my neck to look behind me, but there was no one there.

“Of course I’m helping her get out of here,” she snapped. “What, you want our daughter raised by wolves?”

I hesitated. “Kristof?”

“Yeah. You can’t hear him?”

I shook my head.

Eve laughed. “Ha! Hear that, Mr. Almighty Cabal Sorcerer? You can’t even project far enough into this dimension for her to hear you. I broke right though. In living color.”

“Dimension?”

“Dimension, level, layer,” she said, “It’s complicated.”

“So the real ghosts are all in your layer? The one Kristof’s in now?”

“Nah, they’re scattered everywhere. That’s the bitch of it, really. You pass over, thinking you’ll see everyone who left before you, and you don’t, because they’re not all in your dimension. Some of us, the magical races, can blur a layer or two, see through to the other side, like Kristof’s doing. But to pass through—” She grinned in Kristof’s direction. “That takes a real spell-caster.”

“So my…my mother. Is she here?”

Eve shook her head. “Sorry, baby. Not in this layer or in mine. There are others, though. I just haven’t figured out how to see through them.”

Her gaze shot up again. “Yeah, yeah, funny guy. Go find someone else to pester. I need to talk to Paige.”

A pause.

“Ishe leaving?” I asked.

“Nah, just sitting there. Being quiet, though, which is the best I can hope for. Now, let’s see what we’ve got here. That vamp bitch Natasha somehow ripped open a hole in her layer. I have no idea how she did that. Hell, I didn’t even think vamps had a layer. It’s all very strange. Almost makes me wonder if the Fates let her open it up, so she could suck her fiend-partner into hell with her.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Nice theory, but it doesn’t help you out, right? Point is, you guys fell through by accident, and we need to get you back. Now, since you came through here, this spot must be important. A portal, if you want to get all Trekkie about it.”

I looked around.

“Damned ugly place to stick one, isn’t it?” she continued. “Which is probably the point. No one comes here sightseeing.”

“So, can you break through?”

Eve shot a glare behind me. “Finish that sentence at your peril, Kris.” She paused. “That’s what I thought.” She turned to me. “No can do. Not yet anyway. We need a necromancer.”

“Good, I know just where to find one.”

“Jaime Vegas?” Eve made a face. “Not my first choice, but I guess any necro will do. Between her and me, we should be able to rip this thing open enough for you to go through.”

“Lucas and me.”

“Uh, right. Now, I can’t say it’ll work for sure, because I know there’s no way for me to go back permanently. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

Her eyes cut to Kristof and, for a split second I caught a glimpse of something in those eyes that sent a shiver down my spine, and reminded me of who and what Eve was. She locked glares with the air behind me.

I suspected whatever Kristof said, it had something to do with Eve trying to cross back into the world of the living. From the way she said it, I guessed she’d been trying damned hard to return to life and, for a moment, I wondered at that. She seemed happy and comfortable enough. It wasn’t like she was in some kind of hell dimension. So why fight to return to life?

Even as the question flitted through my brain, I thought of my own situation. I was here, in the afterlife, and not for one second did I consider staying. Why? Because my life was on that other side, and no matter how pleasant it might be to live in a world free of pain and discomfort, I wanted to finish my “real” life before I embarked on my afterlife. That real life, though, included Lucas. It had to.

“So if you can’t get back,” I said, “then you think maybe we…?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell gonna try. You’re a special case, so there’s gotta be a way.”