promised him and the Yankees season tickets and dinners out almost every night and for his friends to have a shot at good things, too.
Now he had shit.
Danny’s hands curled into fists. The energy built inside him. He could feel it pushing against his chest and skull. Then the rain came. Thunder boomed. A fat raindrop splattered against his head. Then another. More pelted the sidewalk. The trees rustled as the wind picked up. He looked up from the wet concrete and got his bearings. He was at a crossroads. Six blocks from school, six blocks from where his best friends had decided he was a traitor, and six blocks from the road leading to the Haverstraw Marina—where it had all begun. Six-six-six; Danny still had a lot to learn about numerology, but he knew that was a powerful number.
Then he glanced across the street and smiled without humor.
Giordano’s Happy Bottle Shop.
Neon signs flashed in the window. The cardboard standee of a buxom blonde girl in a miniskirt and t-shirt stood inside the door, advertising the can of beer in her two-dimensional hand. He’d seen the girl before, a beautiful fantasy promising fun and maybe even a chance to lose his virginity if he’d only buy a twelve pack of the brand she offered with an eager smile. He knew the beer well. His mom drank it when she needed something lighter than tequila or vodka.
“Fuck you,” Danny said to the cardboard girl and the window between them. Slowly, he took in the rest of the details of the Giordano’s liquor store. The feverish energy rampaging through his system swelled.
He didn’t think about it, just let it happen. There were two customers inside the store, and Mr. Giordano was behind the counter. Mr. Giordano, the man who was there for his kids, who took his family on vacations every year, and bought them anything they wanted and kept his promises. How much of that had his mother financed? How many times had she taken his cash and left her little I.O.U.s, all so she could afford another bottle?
Fists pressed against his sides, Danny closed his eyes and pushed. Then he opened his eyes again and watched.
The people inside the store disappeared. One moment they were there, and the next—they vanished, blinking out of existence in a single heartbeat. Simultaneously, every bottle inside the building exploded, spewing their contents across the floor and shelves. Shards of glass shredded the smiling cardboard girl. The store window shattered and broken glass rained down on the sidewalk. Danny pushed again and the air inside the building grew hot. The alcoholic fumes saturating the store burst into flame.
The last of the energy drained from him. Danny suddenly felt very tired. He stared at the store, his mouth hanging open. The fire raced through the building.
“Oh shit…”
He turned and quickly walked away, careful not to run and risk attracting attention to himself. It was hard to do. He had to resist the urge to flee. The falling rain increased, quickly soaking his clothing. Thunder boomed again. Behind him, the store exploded. Danny spun around, shielding his eyes with his hand as a massive ball of flame engulfed the store. His ears popped from the pressure. Fiery debris pelted the three cars in the parking lot. A station wagon was thrown into the air, rolling three times before it crashed into a dumpster. Superheated air slammed into him. Danny staggered. He smelled burning hair, and after a moment, realized it was his. The small, fine hairs on his arms were singed.
The sky opened up, and the rain poured hard and fast.
It did nothing to extinguish the inferno burning inside of him.
NINE
Come
Danny wandered the neighborhood until he received the summons, making sure to avoid the liquor store. He didn’t want to be spotted at the scene. Although he was calmer, he felt cored out and hollow. His energies had drained away, and what remained wasn’t enough to let him tie his shoes without getting winded. Despite his fatigue, as soon as Gustav called him, he started running.
The Russian stood in the living room. His expression was grim. The couch was empty.
“Is she all right?” Danny’s knees felt like rubber.
“She will be. I think.” Gustav sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. “What you did, Danny…that was dangerous. Stupid.”
Nodding with reluctant agreement, Danny sat down next to him and forced back tears. He’d cried enough for one day.
“The mind is breakable,” Gustav continued. “Very fragile. You almost killed your mother tonight, but I think I fix the problems.”
“I just wanted…I wanted to make her better.”
“Magic is like gun. It is tool to use, but is more than that. This is why you go to school, yes? To help you understand better what you do, so you don’t hurt people. Magic is dangerous, because it can’t be taken away.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have a gun, and I can hide it from you. Take it away and lock it up. You have magic; I have to trust you to know how to use it wisely. Yes? And what you did here and at the liquor store—that is not wise.”
Danny flinched. “How did you know?”
“Is on the news. I take care of your mother. Then wait for you. I get bored and turn on the TV. Liquor store explodes and three people inside are found in the water half a mile away. None of them know how they get there. But I know. And so do you.”
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just…”
Gustav put an arm around Danny’s shoulders and squeezed.
“So, now you know, yes? You don’t play with minds. You don’t play with people. Because sometimes you can’t fix what you’ve done.”
“But we can fix Mom, right?”
“Your mother sleeps now. She needs rest. Tomorrow, you call work for her and tell them she’s sick. Maybe after that, she’ll be better.”
“Maybe?” That single word had never seemed so dire.
“Da, maybe. We won’t know until she wakes up, but I think I do good work. I am a specialist. What I did to her will help.”
“What
“That is not important. What you did to her, Danny, was not good. That is important part and you have learned a lesson from it. But she’ll be okay, I think.”
They sat without speaking for a while. The only sound was the television, where the local late-night programming had been pre-empted by coverage of the liquor store explosion. There was nothing left but the foundation.
“I can’t believe I did that.” Danny stared at the screen.
Gustav rose, crossed the living room, and turned the television off. Then he turned on the lamp and sat back down. “Magic requires control. You fell against a wall and wound up here, along with your bike, because you were lucky. You burned a building and no one died, because you were smart. You made them go away. But you could have killed them anyway. You got lucky twice. But maybe not next time. Remember that. Magic has teeth.”
“So, are you mad at me?”
Gustav shook his head. “Nyet. Not mad. Disappointed. You should have talked to me first.”
Disappointed instead of angry. That didn’t make Danny feel any better.
Gustav patted the couch cushion. “Is more comfortable than my bed at home. I will stay here tonight.”
“What? Why?”
“You made a mess today. Someone will notice.”
“You mean like the police?”
“No.” Gustav walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. “There is another like us in this town. Your
