instead of gathered and stored in lead and glass networks running beneath and throughout an entire city, anyone could access it. Anywhere. Even in the dead zones.
“I have never seen anyone use magic to shift mass like that,” Zayvion said. “Much less open up a portal or door or whatever that was. I mean, there are stories....”
“How could anyone Proxy the Offload of that powerful of a spell?” I asked.
Zay’s mouth became a thin, straight line. “There are ways. They are not legal.”
Said like that, flat and unaffected, it gave me the chills.
“Fine. This is technology I could see someone wanting to steal. But who would kill for it?” I asked.
Zay gave one short laugh. “Who wouldn’t? This is going to revolutionize everything we know about and do with magic, Allie. This will put someone in a position of worldwide power and influence. It is why we were being so careful not to let the technology get out before laws and enforcement were in place.”
“Dear loves, Zayvion, did you just say ‘we’?”
“No.”
We stared at each other for a moment, but it didn’t matter what he denied. I knew what I heard. “You want to tell me how you’re involved in this?”
“No, but I know who we should go talk to next.”
“Ooh, let me guess. The police? The FBI?”
“Violet.”
“Who?”
“Your stepmother.”
I groaned. “Run back into the city to the one place the cops, the Hounds, Bonnie, who may or may not still be working for whoever may or may not want me dead, probably have trip-wired and staked out to try to catch me? Great idea.”
“It is a good idea,” he said. “You just don’t know it because you don’t know Violet very well.”
“At all. Never met her.”
He gave me a funny look.
“Listen, I gave up caring after replacement mother number two.”
“Abigail?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so. You know an awful lot about my life, Jones.”
“I’m a big fan of the Beckstrom legacy.”
I tried to parse out what he really meant behind that and gave up on it. “Well, whatever. If you screw me over, I’ll hunt you down and tear you apart. Got that?”
His eyebrows arched up, but instead of looking worried, like he ought to, he was smiling. “I wouldn’t expect any less of you, Allie.”
I stepped to the edge of the ash circle and knelt. My senses were still sharpened by magic. I leaned over the circle’s edge and inhaled with my mouth open. Magic, burned, coppery, and thickened with other metals and oils. Something more too, something I could only describe as slick-tasting hit the back of my throat.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Zay said. “This is untested.”
“Where’s your intellectual curiosity? Your sense of adventure?”
I glanced up at the circular spell glyph that hovered in the center of the circle just above the level of my head. I reached into the circle and ran my fingers through the black ash.
Not ash. More like feathers. But feathers so delicate that they crumbled, or melted, at the slightest of contact. And also unlike feathers, the ashes felt warm against my fingertips, like menthol soaking in. I had a wild desire to stick my finger in my mouth and taste it.
I opened my mouth, but before my finger could even get close to my tongue, Zayvion’s hand clamped down around my wrist.
“Bad idea. We don’t know what that is.”
“If you let go of my arm, maybe we can find out.”
“Or maybe it will kill you. I’m the guy who doesn’t want to see you dead, remember? Don’t be stubborn and stupid.” His hand was hot and felt good.
“You so aren’t winning any points in my book, Jones.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
We had a little glaring match that made me want to throw him down and bed him again. What was it about him that was so irresistible? He was bossy, secretive, maybe even condescending. But he was also thoughtful, kind, and heaven help me, he was looking out for my well-being whether I wanted him to or not. I liked that about him. His tenacity to stick with me, no matter what I got into.
“Fine,” I said. “Let go.”
He did and I brushed my fingers on my jeans to cover the fact that I already missed him touching me.
I stood and released the draw of magic, pulling the power away from my senses of smell, hearing, and sight. The world snapped down into more tolerable olfactory levels, and I couldn’t help but sigh at the relief of normal perceptions.
The strange thing was, I didn’t feel as tired as I usually did when I worked magic. And I did not have the feeling of emptiness I always got when I drew upon the magic I stored in my bones.
Zay and I started walking back to the house, and I glanced down at my hands. The left one tingled like it had been asleep. The marks on my right hand looked different somehow, darker, with a gold cast that flowed into greens and opal blues. Working magic had affected the burn. It looked like an amazing tattoo, a spider gone wild, but painted in opalescent tones instead of flat ink. I always wanted to get a tat, but had never taken the time. I was fast growing fond of this scar.
It was probably only a temporary thing, but I might as well enjoy it while it lasted.
“You two okay?” Nola called out. She jogged down the steps of the porch, a shotgun carried, muzzle down, at her side.
She was so my best friend.
“We’re fine,” I said when we got close enough. “Did you see that?”
She nodded. “I didn’t know people could appear and disappear with magic. Doesn’t that violate most of the laws of physics?”
“I’m pretty sure it does,” I said. “Nola, could you do me a favor and pack some food for Zay and me?”
“Sure. Where are you going?”
“To visit my stepmom.”
Chapter Twelve
Nola made quick work not only of packing a picnic lunch, but of somehow stashing enough food in one box to hold us through winter.
“There must be something more I can do,” she said. I put the box of provisions in the backseat of Zayvion’s car and turned to her.
“I don’t think so. Well, I guess if I get arrested and things go to trial, I’d love to have you testify about my character, and what you heard Cody say about my dad’s death.”
“You are not going to get arrested,” she told me. She caught my hand. “Be careful, Allie, and don’t do anything crazy. You know how much I hate visiting people in hospitals.”
I did know. She’d stayed at John’s side for months, and afterward swore she’d never set foot in a hospital again.
“I promise I’ll stay as safe as I can. And since Zay refuses to leave me alone, I figure if things get bad, I can always shove him into the line of fire while I run like hell.” I smiled, and she shook her head.
“You do like him, Allie. Remember that.”
Remember it? It was impossible to forget.
Then she pulled me into a hug that was surprisingly fierce for a slight woman. I hugged her back. “This won’t be the last time I see you,” I said, hoping it was true.
