Elayra's eyes flicked to Ghent in annoyance. “You’ll get slack when you’ve earned it!” she snapped, wishing he would just keep his mouth shut.
	She returned Miles’ gaze when he looked back to her. The corner of her lips twitched up for a fraction of a second at the change in his countenance; she knew she had said the right thing to gain his help before he said he could. He was unstable, yes, but when someone wanted something as badly as he looked to want the portals open, then even the most impossible of truces could be formed… so long as it was in his favor, at least.
	She gave a quick, stiff nod when Miles echoed her, then let out a “Ha!” at his audacity to restate his previous list of demands with the current standings.
	She shot Ghent a warning glare, trying to shut him up before he could further irritate Miles and potentially make the man change his mind, but his head was against the headrest, his attention away from her.
	“Keep your mouth [i]shut,[/i] would you?” she growled, glancing toward Ghent in the unnerving silence that befell Miles. She looked back to him, her face hard. Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the dagger at the murderous look he was giving Ghent.
	She snorted, her lips pulling downward when Miles voiced her own doubts about Ghent. Though, she thought a day was being generous.
	[b]“He wouldn’t have lasted in Wonderland [i]before[/i] the witch took over.”[/b]
	Elayra snorted. “I’ll have to take your word on that,” she intoned. She snarled and turned her head toward Ghent when he spoke again. “I said, [i]Shut. It![/i]”
	Her eyes narrowed once more at Miles when he gave his final instructions, her gaze flicking toward another car as it rushed by.
	She raised her chin slightly. “Fine. No tricks from us, and none from you. But if I think for even a [i]second[/i] you’re about to betray us,” she shifted the blade, carefully adding the tiniest bit of extra pressure to it as she leaned further forward around the seat, her voice menacingly low as she continued, “I’ll turn your insides into your outsides faster than you can say ‘Wonderland.’”
 	Elayra slowly removed the dagger from Miles’ throat, but made no move to return it to her boot. The patter of the rain against the car intensified, the windshield wipers struggling to keep up with the sheet of water flowing down the glass as she backed away slightly. She remained in her half-standing position, the top of her head nearly brushing against the roof, ready to act should Miles show any hint of further hostility.
	“The portal we used is near Frank’s Book Barn,” she informed him, avoiding telling him exactly [i]where[/i] near the store it was. The last thing they needed was to lose the only bit of leverage they had to insure his aid. “What do you need from us," she jerked her head toward Ghent, “to get us there?”