“I am a Kallasea scholar,” Kaspar said haughtily. “I’ve taught ley line studies to—”
“Good. Great,” I said, interrupting him. “It’s basically plan B, but with some added sparkle. Constance is still camped out at the I.S. because of that lily stink, right? We can work with that. Pike is going to walk me in there under the flag of compliance. I’ll tell him I’m willing to talk to Constance about, say . . . compensation for me leaving Cincinnati and the Hollows. He’ll know I’m lying, but he’ll take me to her if only to get back under her protection.”
Jenks flashed a brilliant silver. “As if he managed to seduce the demon.”
“Wait up,” Trent said, worried. “If you go into the I.S., what’s to get you out again?”
“He tried to seduce you?” Edden interrupted, looking appalled. “Why? Other than the obvious,” he added, then flushed when Jenks whispered in his ear.
“Ah . . .” Trent said, clearly not liking the idea.
“Which will free you, Kaspar, Jakob, and Edden to retrieve the Brimstone and get it on the street where it belongs,” I said to Trent.
“You want to be a distraction?” Jenks said in disbelief. Which I totally got. I was never a distraction—distracted, yes, but never a distraction.
“Mmmm, this idea has questionable merit,” Trent said, clearly uneasy. “As soon as you cross that seal, you’ll be searched and strapped. Helpless.”
I nodded. “Agreed. It’s the only way they’ll let me talk to Zack to ‘convince’ him to comply with Constance.”
Kaspar stiffened, even though I’d made finger quotes around convince.
“Then it’s plan B,” Jenks said merrily, wings rasping. “Grab the fish and run like hell.”
Distraction, hell. I’m the main event. “I’ll find Zack. Get him out,” I said, and Jakob bristled.
“Kaspar and I will find Zack,” Jakob said. “You and Trent will retrieve the Brimstone.”
“Constance won’t let you in to see him,” I said harshly. “She owns the tower. Besides, Brimstone is not a distraction. The vampires need it as much as you need Zack to keep Cincinnati stable. You already tried for him and failed, getting his bodyguard mutilated and killed before Zack’s eyes because you pissed her off. When there is a life in the balance, you send your best man or woman—”
“Or pixy,” Jenks interrupted.
“Or pixy,” I continued. “With all respect, gentlemen,” I said, hands on my hips as they stared at me in anger and frustration. “You tried and failed, then came to me because you know I can do it. You get the Brimstone. Jenks and I will get Zack. Everyone is happy.” Except Constance, but, unlike Pike, I wasn’t here to make her life roses and cream.
Kaspar took a breath, and I pushed up into his space.
“That is how it is going to run,” I said, looking at his features so much like Trent’s it was scary, “or it’s not going to happen.”
“I will not help vampires when our high priest is being threatened by them,” Kaspar said.
“That’s right.” I stared up at him, my expression cross. “You’re retrieving the Brimstone to help Cincinnati. I’m going to need multiple distractions to get Zack out of there, not just one. Pike knows we want the Brimstone, which is why he won’t suspect our goal is also Zack.” I backed off, brow furrowed at his continued ugly expression.
“You can’t do any magic when you’re strapped,” Trent said, clearly not liking this. “And there will be too many for you to physically overpower, especially alone.”
I smiled, fingering the potions in my pocket. “Jenks will be with me. And I’m not planning on overpowering anyone. Pike saw me helpless when I was strapped at Alcatraz. He’ll think I’m contained, but as long as I’m not soaked in salt water, a potion will change me whether I’m strapped or not.” I took out a vial and held it between two fingers. “Jenks can get one to Zack, and we will escape through the ducts as mice.”
“As what?” Kaspar bellowed, and Jenks rose up, dust a brilliant silver. “That is insane!”
“Insane works when nothing else does,” I said, glancing through the open rafters at the belfry and Etude on the roof. “Unless you keep shouting and tell Pike what I’m going to do.”
“Rachel.” Trent took my hand, pulling my attention to him. “This works on paper, but you need two potions. You will be searched, and Jenks can only carry one.”
“I’m going to put them into splat gun pellet refills,” I said. “They’re small enough to hide under my tongue or between my teeth and cheek. I break it when I need it. It’s light enough for Jenks to carry, and it won’t break if it’s dropped. It needs a lot of pressure. A bite will do it.”
“Sweeter than newling piss,” Jenks said, wings a gossamer blur.
But Edden was shaking his head. “Everyone knows me. Rachel, I can drop you off, but other than that, I’m out.”
“Not necessarily.” I smiled, glad the workmen had stopped dinking around with the tools and were listening, heads tilted, an eager, waiting light in their eyes. I was going to need their help, too. “Kaspar, Jakob, this is where you come in,” I said, looking first at the older elves, then over Trent’s shoulder to include the workmen. “You all look close enough to be brothers. With a little magical makeup and the right clothes, an I.S. grunt won’t know the difference between you and Trent at a quick glance.”
Jenks rose up in excitement. “This isn’t plan B. You’re pulling a pearl-with-the-peas.”
My eyebrows rose. “I don’t know that one,” I said, and Jenks grinned all the wider.
“You’re going to flood the tower with fakes so the real one gets where they need to go.”
“That’s it,” I said, and Trent sighed as if taking on a burden. “Plan C. The dewar can supply the Trents, and if some of my taller guests with fangs are willing, we have enough vampires to glamour to look like Pike. Edden?” I turned to him, and the man’s eyes widened in alarm. “How would you like to be Doyle for a day? He’s about your size and he’s got enough clout to take anything out of the I.S. in a van.”
Trent shifted from foot to foot. “Let’s say we do this . . .” he said slowly. “Pike is under a death threat. What about his assassins? Anyone pretending to be him will be in danger.”
“Which won’t be a problem when they’re in the I.S. tower,” I said, hoping it wasn’t a wish, but the truth. “Just make sure everyone knows how to break the charms with salt water. If they get caught, the most they will be charged with is using an illegal doppelganger charm.” My pulse quickened. This was going to work. Jenks could get us out of the tower in ten minutes through the ductwork, in a car in fifteen. Back at the church in thirty.