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brought down the circle with the sword, the candles whooshed out, and the intense, burning cold released its grip on my fingers. I drove the sword deep into the snowy earth and felt the circle’s energy collapse and get sucked down, into the ground.
    *     *     *
    I ran back into the house, my heart racing. Gus was right where I had left him. Next to the fireplace, completely unconscious.
    My heart skipped a beat. Please, tell me I didn’t screw that up.
    I turned on the lights, but nothing happened. We must have lost power at some point.
    I walked over to Gus. In the firelight, his face didn’t look as blue as it had before. That had to be a good sign, right?
    I laid down on him, on top of the blankets, trying to warm him up with my body, rubbing his arms, his face.
    His skin was ice cold and rigid.
    “Come on, Gus. Get back here,” I pleaded.
    I pressed closer into him, holding my breath, looking for signs of life.
    I felt for a pulse.
    But he was still.
    So still.
    Corpse still .
     

Chapter 10
    O h, hell! I ran to the desk and fumbled for the phone to call the paramedics.
    No dial tone.
    Damn it. The phone was tied into the electricity. Where was a rotary phone when you needed one? Where was my cell phone?
    I quickly emptied out my purse, in the circle of light by the fire. The cell phone was dead. I had forgotten to plug it into the charger.
    I had to get Gus back, quick, before he suffered the same fate as the phones.
    But from where?
    Where had he gone?
    Did I still have time?
    Or was it already too late?
    In my desperation, I could feel magic building up in me, like electricity. I rubbed my hands together, faster and faster, concentrating and building the power, until I could feel it, like a physical force, between my palms.
    I directed the energy at him. “Gus, I command you, by the power of the Dame of the Crossroads, you return to me this instant.”
    Nothing. There was no response.
    I thought it through as quickly as I could. If Gus was asking winter to take a holiday, he would have gone to the Winter Queen, or to the Callieach, to bargain.
    “To the Winter Queen of the realm of Faery, I apologize for this intrusion. Kostas Yianni Andrakis, I humbly request your spirit be released. By blood and bone, by womb and tomb, return here to me, return home.”
    I could feel a small sigh, a release of tension in the Web, but Gus still wasn’t back.
    Damn it.
    By now, my hands were buzzing with power.
    “Gus, you son of a bitch, you get your ass back in this body now, or I’m dropping the toad in the lake and you’ll never get that bone.”
     I clapped one hand on his forehead and the other one I slammed down on his chest, as hard as I could.
    Gus’s body rocked from the shock, as electrical currents sparked and coursed through him.
    What the hell?!
    I let go of him and looked at my hands.
    That had never happened before.
    I looked back at Gus.
    His nostrils fluttered.
    He was breathing.
    He was finally breathing.
    “Thank you, Lady,” I said to the heavens, feeling a huge wave of relief wash through me.
    I touched Gus’s face. It was still cool, but that was a huge improvement over covered in icy frost .
    And this time, I was able to detect a slow pulse.
    I bent forward, warming his cheeks and nose with my breath and hands.
    Finally, he stirred and groaned.
    “What did you have for dinner? Garlic sardines with a side of sauerkraut?” He said, turning his face away from mine.
    I laughed, relieved, and sat back.
    Gus had returned.
    “No, but that sounds weirdly good. I might have it for a midnight snack. What the hell happened to you?”
    “Why did you stop me?” He asked, frowning.
    “You were unconscious. No, wait, unconscious doesn’t even begin to describe it. You were beyond that. You weren’t freaking breathing. Your heart wasn’t beating. I thought you were a goner.”
    “I beg to differ. I had momentarily vacated the body, is all. I’m sure my systems slowed down to protect my