They all squeezed inside the office and shut the door behind them. Kayden looked around the small space in disgust. She hadn't thought it'd be this bad. Objects were strewn about, piled up on each other like a landfill. She wouldn't have been surprised if she had seen a mouse scamper over all of the filth.

Kayden started clearing off a futon, and Vincent helped her, tossing potted plants and odd wooden contraptions onto the floor before sitting down next to her with a grin. Helio and Lexi shared a beanbag chair, while Marie took the one opposite of them with a dainty plié. But Blaze remained standing, his eyes on Walter's cluttered desk.

"Do you think he'd mind if I used his laptop?" he asked.

"Probably," Kayden said, but Blaze didn't listen. He took the computer off the desk and sat down on the floor. Kayden could just make out his desktop image: it was a black and white picture of a young couple in front of a sequoia tree.

As Blaze began typing, Kayden's eyes flicked up to Lexi. Her cousin's fingers were intertwined with Helio's, but her eyes were stuck on Marie. Kayden had never seen Lexi stare at someone so intently; it almost made her feel better, knowing that her cousin wasn't immune to jealousy. But if Marie saw her stares, she didn't seem to mind; she was too engrossed examining the office, her sapphire eyes sweeping across the cracked walls and cluttered floor.

"So," Vincent said, turning to look at Kayden more fully. "Where are you from?"

"New Jersey," Kayden said.

"Ahh Jersey. Was the shift bad there?" He looked interested, propping an arm up on the back of the futon to rest his head.

"Um, not insanely," Kayden made up. There was no point in telling Vincent that she was a non-er; she barely knew him and it was much too long of a story.

"Lucky for you." He glanced around the room. "So what are you doing here in LA? Did you come all the way for the Congregation meeting?"

"Kind of," Kayden admitted, shifting a little bit. She was unsure of how much to tell him. Her eyes flicked to Blaze, but he was still engrossed with the computer, and Lexi and Helio had struck up a half-hearted conversation with Marie. "Blaze and I got into a bit of trouble because of the shift."

"The thing on your wrist, right?"

At first Kayden was startled he knew, but then she noticed that the sleeves of her button-down were pushed up to her elbows, exposing her wrists. The green symbol was in full view.

Vincent smiled sheepishly. "Mind if I see?"

Kayden offered her wrist to him. Vincent turned her arm over gently, as if he were handling a fragile flower, to expose the pale underside. His hand felt warm and buzzed with magic, stronger than anything she had felt with Blaze. He must be really powerful, Kayden thought as a small rush ran through her body. Unbidden, Lexi's words from that morning played through her head: When we kissed, there were sparks. She suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss Vincent.

Vincent's dark curls obscured his eyes as he ran a finger over the green symbol. "What's with the mark? You can't undo it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. Not unless the shift is reversed."

He whistled quietly. "There's no way that's going to happen, especially since this new book is out."

"We're going to find a way," Kayden said, taking her arm back. She glanced at Blaze on the floor, hoping that what she said was true. He didn't seem to have heard her; his eyebrows furrowed as he clicked links and scanned web pages, like an artist sorrowfully searching his muse.

Suddenly she felt Vincent's arm wrap around her waist, warm and tingly and toned. She turned towards him and his face was inches from her. Not for the first time, she was entranced by the strong planes of his face and his brilliant blue eyes. He was probably the most handsome guy she had ever met, and her breath caught in her throat. She was so caught up in the moment that it took her a second to realize he had spoken.

"What?" she asked, trying to clear her head. A light buzzing sound had taken over her hearing.

"It won't work," Vincent repeated, pushing a stray piece of Kayden's brown hair behind her ear. "The Congregation won't shift magic back."

"They will if they have enough of a reason to," Kayden said, trying to stop her voice from wavering. "That's why we need to talk to Mr. Voyle."

Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry but I can't let you do that."

Kayden blinked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. "What?"

"Orders," he said simply, and that was when everything changed.

His arm around her waist was suddenly scalding hot, and when Kayden flinched back, Vincent grabbed her wrist. Her skin vibrated fiercely in his tight grip, stinging with heat, and she yelped in pain. Her voice echoed throughout the small room, bouncing off the cluttered walls.

Blaze sprang to his feet. "Let go of her!" he shouted, launching towards Vincent. But with a simple movement, Vincent had grabbed onto his wrist as well. Blaze swung around and knocked him square in the jaw with his free fist, but it didn't faze him. Vincent didn't even flinch.

"Lexi!" Kayden shouted, but when she looked over at the beanbag chair, she saw that both her cousin and Helio had been yanked to their feet. Marie held onto their wrists as tightly as her brother.

"What's going on?" Lexi demanded, trying to yank her arm away.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, "but we have orders from Russ Naven to bring you back to Le Lieu."

"You work for Naven?" Helio said. His face was nearly white.

Blaze glared at Vincent. Kayden had never seen his eyes look so dark, like a starless sky. "Not exactly. They're illusions."

Kayden's stomach flip-flopped. She remembered Rita's hand brushing over her neck back in New York, feeling the touch of her overly warm skin. She looked up at Vincent, with his near perfect features, and realized that they were perfect. Too perfect to be real.

"Blaze is right," Vincent said, his grip never slackening. "And we have our orders." He began to pull them towards the door.

"No!" Kayden said, planting her feet into the floor. "You have to understand—"

"They can't understand." Blaze's face looked pained, but his voice was matter-of-fact. "They aren't real. You can't reason with them. They're just following orders."

"So we just go with them?" Kayden asked, her gut wrenching at the thought. "After we just escaped?"

"You have no choice," Marie said, looking at her with clear blue eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You can't be sorry," Kayden said, her voice purposely laced with venom. "You're not real."

But Marie didn't seem bothered by the insult. "He's expecting us," she said, and started leading Helio and Lexi towards the door. They pushed against her, dug their heels in, but she was much too strong. Slowly they progressed forward, and Kayden could only feel a wave of helplessness as Vincent forcefully dragged her and Blaze as well.

"Please," she begged. She pulled on Vincent's collar with her free arm. "Please Vincent, you have to let us go!"

"I can't," he said, glancing down at her. His face looked so contrite that it was hard to remember that he was not real. "It's against my ord—"

Suddenly the door to the study slammed open, almost hitting Marie. Lexi shrieked and Kayden stumbled back into Vincent, who stood unflinchingly behind her. Walter stood in the doorway, the old man's hands glowing with an eerie blue light.

"Get down!" the author yelled.

Immediately Kayden dropped to the floor. Vincent still held onto her wrist, but she managed to crouch before a blue blaze of light whirred over her head and hit Vincent squarely in the chest.

She slammed her eyes shut as furious vibrations ran down her arm. She felt white-hot sparks hit her back, stinging her flesh through Blaze's shirt. And then suddenly, Vincent's grip disintegrated and she was free.

When she opened her eyes, the litter-strewn floor was smoldering and Vincent and Marie had vanished.

Walter carefully stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. His hands were no longer glowing, and he surveyed the burnt ground with a nod. "Well that worked."