"An hour in the vortex is a minute in places beyond it. Think of what that means. You've been here for, say, an hour. To anyone away from this place, you've only been here a minute."
As the implications of that sank in, Harper's stomach dropped and panic fluttered through her. Even if Knox was able to get her at a pace that was supremely fast to him, enough time would have passed here for Nora to end Harper's life first.
"In other words, don't be counting on a rescue, Harper. Call out to Knox all you like – he won't hear you. Not while you're trapped in the vortex."
///
Huh. Well, that wasn't actually correct, but Nora didn't need to know that. "He'll find a way to get to me."
"Oh, I doubt that."
"You shouldn't. People have hurt and taken me before – he's always come for me." And both Harper and her demon trusted that he'd come for her again.
"He won't come, Harper. As I said, time is different here. Let's say that Larkin goes into the restrooms and finds you gone – she'll sense the leftover magickal energy, but she won't understand it was from a portal. Of course, she'll run to Knox. He'll feel the magick too, but it's highly unlikely that he'll sense there was a portal. Still, he's smart enough to know he'll need an incantor to ‘read' the magick."
He'd be aware that there was a portal for the simple reason that Harper had told him – that was yet another thing that Nora didn't need to know.
"I'm sure he'll find one, and I'm sure they will be willing to reopen the portal for him. However, that process takes up to fifteen minutes to complete. Now add all that time together and, for Knox, that will be – at the very least – twenty minutes before he even steps through the portal. That's twenty hours to us, sweetheart. By then, you'll be dead, and we'll all be gone."
Okay, that was bad. Really bad. Dammit, she had to get the fuck out of there.
Nora's expression turned sober as she spoke to her companions. "Get into position."
While Linda stayed still, each of the others copied Nora in moving to stand near a boulder so that they surrounded Harper.
Another shot of adrenaline pumped through Harper, and she flexed her fingers. "I suppose you intend to kill me now before Knox has the chance to get here." And, heartbreakingly, there wasn't a single thing that she could do to stop it.
"Not just yet," said Nora as she and the others sat cross-legged. "I want you dead, but I want the baby first. If we can't destroy Knox, we can at least control him. What better way than through his child?"
Harper's heart slammed against her ribs, and her knees almost buckled. She put a protective hand to her stomach. "You can't have the baby."
"Oh, but I can. You have to understand, Harper, that there's no real way for demons to exist as equals while someone so powerful lives. Knox could take complete control at any time. Trying to kill him hasn't worked. Holding the baby's safety over his head, though … yes, that would keep him under my thumb."
Nora raised her hands and began to chant under her breath. The others joined in, and the stale air suddenly turned heavy and oppressive. The clouds thickened and darkened, making the sky look almost bruised.
"What are you doing?"
It was Linda who spoke. "Inducing labor, of course."
Harper shook her head, stomach plummeting. "The baby isn't ready yet. They'll kill it."
"No," said Nora. "I have a team of people on standby who can give it whatever care it needs to ensure it survives."
"And I'll be there to care for the baby," declared Linda, chin up.
Nora's smile faltered. "Yes, and you'll be there." She went back to chanting, and the wind picked up, whipping the snarled trees and making dirt swirl in the air.
A gust of wind sailed at Harper, making her dress flap against her legs. Panicking, she called to her wings again, and yet more pain wracked her. The baby's mind touched hers. She felt its fear, and that almost broke her. "No, you don't get to take my -"
She cut off as what looked like black drops of rain sprung from Nora's fingertips and, quick as lightning, hit Harper right in the chest. She tried to wipe them off, but they sank into her skin. She felt the magick inside her, then. Felt it slither around her bones, snake around her organs, and settle over her womb like an oily blanket. "What the fuck did you just do?"