Free For Whom the Spell Tolls by H. P. Mallory

use the element of surprise to our distinct advantage.”
    Knight was quiet for a few seconds. I could see the wheels spinning in his mind. Finally, he turned to face me. “There are some holes.”
    “Okay, lay them on me.”
    “The biggest obstacle is that we don’t know exactly where Melchior is. It will only be a matter of time before any secret entry points that we create with Bram’s portal ripper are discovered, which would put us on a huge time crunch.” He was quiet for a couple more seconds. “The only way your plan could work is if we know where Melchior is before we go in. Then we simply cut a portal into the Netherworld, take him out, and be done with it.” He cleared his throat and looked over at me. “But I’m sure you’ll agree, that’s a huge ‘if.’”
    I nodded. “That’s where Quillan comes in.”
    “How?” he asked, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Quill.
    “He knows precisely where Melchior’s homes are, as well as his hangouts, and what’s more, Quill knows how Melchior thinks.”
    Knight shook his head. “Your father won’t be that stupid. Whatever Quill knew has already been invalidated by your father. I’m sure he realizes that Quill is no longer a trustworthy ally.”
    “My father still doesn’t know Quill joined our side,” I argued. “All he knows is that Quill got arrested during the skirmish with his men when you busted the Draoidheil delivery.” I took a breath. “That’s it.”
    “Don’t you think Quill’s loyalty would have been one of the first questions your father demanded of Christina when she was on the Blueliss ?” Knight asked, frowning at me.
    “We don’t know that for sure,” I said, even though I had to admit (if only to myself) that Knight did make a pretty good point.
    “The point is that your father makes it his business not to trust anyone, which is the primary reason why he’s stayed in business for so long.” He shook his head. “And besides, he’s also well aware that Quillan is in love with you. Because of that alone, he knows that Quillan’s ties to you are stronger than they are to him.”
    I shook my head with a sigh, feeling frustration all the way down to my toes. “Quill is not in love with me.”
    Knight eyed me with raised eyebrows. “Keep telling yourself that.” He faced forward again just as a sucking sound interrupted the air, shaking the Suburban as if we’d just driven over a cattle grate. It was the sure sign that we’d just traversed another portal.
    “Where are we going, anyway?” I asked, frowning because I was annoyed he still didn’t see the beauty in my plan. Sometimes he was just so pig-headed.
    Knight smiled at me. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, my sexy, love kitten.”
    “Really?” I asked, cringing at the appellation.
    With another quick smile, Knight sighed. “Going back to our conversation: your father isn’t an idiot and creating a plan in which you must rely on his trust in Quillan won’t fly.”
    I nodded, since I knew he had a point—about Quillan’s loyalty, that is, not about Quill being in love with me. “Okay, what about Bram?”
    “What about Bram?”
    I shrugged. “Maybe Bram knows something about my father’s whereabouts.”
    “What makes you think Bram would have that information?”
    “Because Bram knows a lot more than he ever lets on. He gave us the portal ripper, and he knew about my father forcing Christina to confess our secrets. Bram is our wild card.”
    “I won’t be placing any bets on him.”
    Just as I was about to respond, Bram’s phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID, which said “Private Caller.”
    “Is that Bram’s phone?” Knight asked, regarding it with disdain.
    “Yeah, I wonder who’s calling,” I answered, unable to mask the surprise in my voice. Who would be calling and why? I had no clue. The phone rang again, and after wondering if it might be Bram, I decided to answer it.