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When Chance arrived a little later, I was still at it. Tia must have let him in; I didn’t hear the bell, but my room had thick walls and was near the back of the house. So, not surprising.
    He tapped on the door and then came in before I answered. Because he knew me so well, he took one look, drew me against him, and said, “Tell me.”
    It felt good to be in his arms, familiar, even with the differences. I was slimmer than I had been at any point in our relationship. Rubbing my cheek against the smooth fabric of his shirt, I explained the situation succinctly. He let go of me then, but not in rejection. He picked up the note to examine it, and studied the writing.
    â€œSo you think demons have Shannon?”
    â€œThe spell suggested as much. Certainly they’re involved on some level.”
    â€œWhat do they mean, ‘claim the crown’?”
    He knew I’d handled my business with Montoya, but he didn’t know the particulars. And this wasn’t the time to tell him.
    â€œI’m not sure,” I prevaricated. “But I
am
sure demons took Shan.”
    Chance nodded. “Let me get my laptop. I’ll input the coordinates and figure out where we’re going. It’s a good thing the shop isn’t finished yet.”
    Gratitude warmed my smile by ten degrees. I wasn’t ready to sleep with him, or move in with him, but I remembered why I’d been with him in the first place, before everything went wrong. Maybe second chancesmade more sense than I thought. By and large, I’d thought that if something failed, it was best to put it in the rearview mirror and try not to think about it. I cut ties like a professional swordsman, and only Chance refused to let me go. Maybe that meant something after all.
    He dropped a quick kiss on my upturned mouth and then loped off. His smooth grace captured my eye, as it ever had, and I finished packing while waiting for him to return. Twenty minutes later, he was back in my room, laptop in hand. Tia didn’t have Internet, so he had a USB wireless card, convenient for travel. Chance took the note and brought up a program. A few keystrokes and clicks later, he had a map on the screen.
    â€œThey want you in the Sierra de Juárez in Oaxaca.”
    I studied the topography. “That’s about five hundred miles southeast of here.”
    â€œI could drive that in less than eight hours,” he said confidently.
    While I had the utmost confidence in Chance’s maniacal skill behind the wheel, the roads might not be good enough to support the speed he preferred. I said so politely, and he laughed.
    â€œDon’t worry. I won’t get you killed.”
    â€œI wasn’t worried about that at all.”
    At least not since I started getting regular cleansings. It wasn’t a perfect solution to his infernal luck, but as long as I had the bad karma scraped off on a regular basis, we rubbed along well. Tia was happy to do it, if I bought the eggs. Maybe one day we’d figure out a permanent fix, but until then, this kept me alive. Chance’s unique ability gave him the best possible luck in all circumstances, but since the universe liked to keep things in balance, the person closest to him got whacked with the most terrible shit imaginable. He could use it in the most interesting ways, dowsing for the sense of what direction would solve any given problem. It reminded me of focused coincidence; Chance’s luck could make the most improbable factors come into alignment.
    â€œIf the roads get bad, I’ll slow down,” he promised. “Chuch would kill me if I broke the Mustang’s axle.”
    â€œWhere we’re going, we might need a truck or an SUV.”
    â€œIt’s remote, I take it?”
    â€œIncredibly.”
    â€œIs the El Camino reliable enough?” He didn’t love the idea of driving my car, but it made more sense for a trip like this.
    â€œI had a friend go over it