had encompassed me became tainted with steel and an oddly familiar sweet aroma. Before either Isaac or I could answer, the scene changed. He and I relaxed on the balcony of the lighthouse. Dave Matthews Band serenaded us from Isaac’s cell phone.
Stirring in my sleep, I rolled to my side and fell into a deeper, blacker sleep.
I woke the next morning in my bed. The purple orbs had vanished with dawn’s light. Brea was gone, but the flowers on my dresser were warm and alive. They filled the room with their alluring perfume. I stretched, rolled to my side, and hugged my pillow, wondering when I had moved to my bed and when I’d see Brea again.
Chapter 13
The rest of the weekend went by uneventfully. Even things at school were back to the normal day-to-day stuff. If it weren’t for the “We miss you” and “Come home soon” sentiments taped to Natalie’s locker, you wouldn’t even know that she’d gone missing barely over a week ago.
“It’s disgusting how quickly they forget,” Lauren said to Sarah, Kaylee, and me on Monday afternoon.
Sarah put her books in her locker and asked Lauren, “Has she sent you any more messages?”
“You heard from her?” Kaylee and I said in unison.
Lauren, whose locker was two away from Sarah’s, replied, “She texted me last night to tell me she was okay and not to worry about her.”
“Where is she?” I asked, relieved Natalie was alive.
“She wouldn’t say.”
“Are you sure she wasn’t forced to text you?” Kaylee asked skeptically.
“We have a code word for when we’re covering for each other. She used it. No way would she have done that if she was in trouble.” Lauren shut her locker.
“This is a good thing, right?” I said.
“It confirms Isaac and Josh’s theory that she doesn’t want to be found,” Kaylee whispered so only I could hear.
“She’s still gone, and they—” Lauren gave a nod to a random group of girls walking by “—don’t even care.”
“But if she left,” I started to say but stopped when Sarah shook her head in a way that warned,
Isaac gave me a ride home. We made a pit stop at the gas station. While he quenched his car’s thirst, I went inside the convenience store to grab us a beverage.
I waited patiently in the checkout line behind a woman in yoga pants and a bright yellow ski jacket. A guy with shiny blond hair and a red plaid jacket placed three liter-sized bottles of water on the counter.
“Reed?” I asked. He turned, letting me see it was him. “Hey.”
“Madison.” He motioned for the woman to go in front of him, and they traded places.
“How do you like working for my dad?” I asked.
“It’s been busy, but good. And your dad has plenty of tools, so at least I don’t need to buy any.”
Dad’s pickup truck was a mobile workshop, and being the person he was, I knew he wouldn’t expect his hired help to have their own tools. I looked down, noticing his Timberland boots. “Gives you more money for shoes,” I teased, remembering how he’d been shoe shopping when I’d run into him at the mall.
He laughed. “Did you get that dress?”
“Yeah.” The memory of his cold fingers brushing my shoulder blade as he untied the ribbons caused my cheeks to warm. I hoped I wasn’t blushing. To keep from having to meet his gaze, I scanned the candy selection near us.
“I still have some of that chocolate.” Reed reached into his pocket and then held out his hand, revealing two pieces of the brightly wrapped treats. “Want one?”
“Thanks.” My thumb had just scraped the fuchsia cellophane when it burst into flames and vanished. Flinching, I clutched my fist to my chest.
“You,” Isaac growled from behind me.
I turned, still trying to understand what had happened. He stared at Reed as if he were seeing a ghost. My gaze went back to Reed. A wicked smile flashed across his face.
Isaac continued, “I sent you back and sealed the door.”
The woman in the yoga pants glanced between Reed and Isaac. I was sure her confused expression mirrored mine. I didn’t know which question to ask first: Who torched a perfectly good piece of chocolate? Or, what door?
Reed shrugged. “Doors get opened all the time.”
The scent of steel and vanilla mixed together to create a nauseating stench and added one more question to my list: Why was Isaac—Mr. In Control—losing his calm now?
“We had an agreement,” Isaac spat.
“I assure you it hasn’t been broken,” Reed replied coolly.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, glad to have found my voice. “How do you know each other?”
As if just remembering I was there, Isaac stepped protectively in front of me. “The question is, how do you know him?”
“He works for my dad.” I tried to move next to Isaac, but he put an arm out to his side, stopping me.
Reed smiled, and for a moment I thought I saw his eyes go from pale blue to winter white. His hair appeared longer, and his high cheekbones looked as if they’d been chiseled out of marble. When I blinked, though, his features were no more remarkable than mine.
He held another piece of candy in his hand. Despite the fact the last one had burst into flames, I wanted it. Bad. I hadn’t even realized I reached for the tiny piece of heaven until Isaac lowered my arm to my side. An unexpected anger grew in me. That was my piece of candy. Isaac had no right taking it from me.
“
But I wasn’t his girl. Was I? My mind became too hazy to think straight. I was sure the chocolate would make everything all right. Then something caressed my skin, wrapping around me like spearmint-scented silk, and I remembered Isaac. I was his girl, not Reed’s.
What the hell was going on? I opened my mouth to tell them both off, but my body had become weightless, and there wasn’t enough of me left to form the words. A second later, I was sitting in the Jeep. It took a moment for me to realize that Isaac had teleported me to his car. Confused and annoyed, I yanked on the handle, but the door didn’t open.
“Son of a bitch!”
I slammed my shoulder against the door. It still didn’t budge. By the time Isaac joined me, I was fuming and pretty sure the copper taste clinging to my tongue was my powers showing just how pissed I was. Isaac sped away without a word.
“Are you going to tell me what just happened?” I asked. When he didn’t reply, I stated the obvious. “You used your powers in front of a store full of people.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “They won’t remember.”
My jaw dropped. “You cast a confusion spell on everyone in the store?”
“No, I cast a confusion spell on the cashier and a couple women who happened to be looking in our direction.” His fingers curled and uncurled around the steering wheel. “Have you eaten anything he’s offered you?”
“What?” I shifted in my seat so that I could see him better. “Isaac, stop the car and tell me how you know Reed or…or…”
