“Reed still works for you?” I slammed the refrigerator door shut with more force than I’d meant to. The condiments inside rattled.
His brow furrowed. “Ah, yeah. The doctor’s office is a couple weeks away from done. Don’t tell me you have something against Reed now.”
Just that he wasn’t human. My mouth opened, but no words came out.
Dad sighed. “Look, Madison, if it were up to you I wouldn’t have hired Caden, and he not only knows the difference between a drywall screw and a wood screw, he knows how to run electricity. I don’t have to contract that piece out to someone else. How about you leave the workmen to me?”
“But Reed doesn’t need the job,” I protested. “He’s only here to—” I stopped before I said too much.
“To what, Madison? Become an independent young man? To show his family he can make it on his own?”
“Is that what he told you?” Still upset I couldn’t exactly inform Dad that Reed was a faerie prince who snatched unsuspecting humans from their lives, I decided to change the subject. “What’s wrong with Chase?”
“Fever, sore throat. It’s not too bad,” he called as I hurried out of the kitchen.
Chase lay curled in a ball on the family room couch, hugging a floppy stuffed golden retriever and watching morning cartoons. I felt his forehead. “Hey, sport. Dad says you aren’t feeling good.”
Chase shook his head. He looked very small on the big couch.
I tossed a blanket over him. “Want me to get you anything?”
He pointed to a juice pouch on the coffee table.
After picking it up and seeing it was still full, I handed it to him.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I ruffled his hair. “Call me if you need anything else.”
“Okay.” He continued to watch his show.
“The flu’s been going around,” Dad said when I rejoined him in the kitchen. He got up and grabbed a bottle of Tylenol from the cabinet above the sink. His sluggish movements made me notice how pale his complexion was.
“You look as if you could see the doctor too,” I commented.
He shook his head. “Chase ended up in my bed last night. I’m just tired.”
“How about I take him to the clinic and you get a couple hours of sleep?” I offered.
He glanced longingly at the ceiling. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. It’s no problem.” I’d planned on spending the morning brother-sitting anyway. It really didn’t matter if I did it at home or at the doctor’s office.
“Madison, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Dad patted my shoulder and headed upstairs. “Thanks.”
I quickly changed out of my shorts and tank top and into jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. I let Chase keep on his Scooby-Doo pajamas, mainly because he was moving so slowly we would have never gotten out the door if I made him change. To hurry him along, I helped him stuff his feet into his snow boots and tugged on his jacket.
“Buckle up.” I started the engine on Dad’s truck. “And keep your hat on,” I said before he could rip it off his head.
We were on the main road when I heard rustling next to me. I glanced at Chase and saw him pop something into his mouth.
“What’re you eating?” I asked, switching lanes to get from behind a minivan. At least the Prius now ahead of us was driving the speed limit.
“Candy. It helps my throat. Want one?”
“Sure.” In the rush to get out of the house, I’d forgotten about the glass of juice I’d poured myself.
Chase pulled a handful of candies from his jacket pocket. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few fall into his lap. “You can have the one with girl cooties.”
“Girl cooties?” I repeated with a chuckle.
“Yeah, Haley said boys shouldn’t eat things wrapped in pink.”
“You and your friends have the silliest rules.” I glanced next to me and then did a double-take. Chase held one of Reed’s candies in his outstretched hand.
“Where’d you get that?” I shrieked and caused our truck to veer into oncoming traffic. I jerked the wheel to the right, steering us back into our lane.
“The guy that works for Daddy gave it to me.”
“Reed?” I asked, my mind working in slow motion.
“Yeah.”
Then, like a key in a lock, it clicked. Reed gave Chase faerie food, but why? To steal my brother away from this world as well or for leverage to ensure I’d go quietly instead? I would, too, because there was no way I’d let anything happen to Chase.
“Spit it out!” I demanded, knocking the candy from his hand. It was bad enough he’d already eaten some of the chocolates. Chase bent forward as much as the seatbelt would allow him and reached for what had fallen on the floor. “I’m serious, Chase! Spit it out!”
I looked from the road—barely registering the Prius going through a yellow light—to Chase chewing faster. Tears filled his eyes, and his cheeks were blotchy red. I felt bad yelling at him, but I didn’t want him finishing what was in his mouth. I put my free hand under his chin. “Now, Chase!”
A horn blared, bringing my attention back to the road and the red light at the intersection in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, but we couldn’t stop quickly enough. The horn grew louder, but I didn’t know where it came from and I didn’t have time to react. My brain registered the deafening
“Chase?” I grunted. Through blurred vision, I saw a man run in front of us. The hood of Dad’s truck was bent at an odd angle. Steam rose from the engine.
“Chase,” I repeated with a groan.
But he didn’t answer. I groped next to me, feeling the center console and then Chase’s limp hand.
“Chase!”
My door creaked open.
“Are you okay?” came a guy’s voice from my left.
I blinked a few times. My vision cleared a little. I shifted a millimeter. A blinding pang shot down my neck and into my right arm.
“Don’t move,” the guy instructed.
“My brother,” I managed to say.
The guy carefully leaned over me. When his expression went blank, I tried again to turn my head to the side to see Chase for myself, but the guy put a hand on my shoulder. “Stay still, Miss. An ambulance is on its way.”
Everything around me swirled in a haze of grays. Squeezing my eyes shut, I focused on my powers. Maybe I could have pushed them out and avoided the accident if I’d seen what hit us in the first place. But I hadn’t, so all I could do now was will them to steady my mind and ease the pain that surged through my entire body, begging them to fix me so I could check on Chase.
My powers failed me, though, and I slipped into darkness.
Chapter 20
