“Give me a moment, I think I can do something with this.” He closed his eyes and chanted a spell. When he opened them he was grinning. “Follow me.”
Just two streets over we found what we were looking for. A little restaurant with a fish logo.
“Umm, let me go by myself. I don’t want to spook the girls,” I said.
“I’m coming with you, at least,” Simon said. I nodded. “But guys, you just wait out here, okay?”
We let ourselves inside. The light was dim. Without the aid of my enhanced senses, everything looked fuzzy beneath the hazy lights. A bell above our heads tinkled as the door closed behind us.
“It doesn’t look like anyone’s here.” Simon’s voice was low as we passed the tables and approached the bar. I was afraid he was right. Maybe we had the wrong place. My heart sank. If this wasn’t right, we would never be able to find evidence. Just as we turned to leave, a movement in the back caused us to stop.
“I’m sorry we’re—” The sound of a plate shattering echoed through the empty building. Two women peeked around the corner, eyes locked on me.
“Umm, can we talk?” I asked. One of the females nodded.
“Yeah, okay.” We all sat down in a booth. Once we were there, I didn’t know what to say.
“You’re the one who changed into the dragon,” the redhead said. “I wasn’t sure because you had that mask on, but it’s you, isn’t it? You saved us from those other beasts.”
“I guess I don’t need to ask you if you remember then?”
“How could we forget? Well, if it wasn’t for you, we would have. You look just like her, are you a dragon, too?” she asked Simon.
“No, just her twin,” he said, flashing a smile in their direction. I half expected the women to swoon right there in their seats.
“Can you tell me everything you remember seeing?”
“We saw trees and buildings we’d never noticed before. There were tons of buildings all behind this wall of trees. We almost thought we were lost. Finally, we got to the back fence, and that’s where we saw you guys.”
“I remember one of you had a phone or camera or something? Did you get any videos?”
“We did. I forgot my phone at my house, tonight though.” My mind was forming out a plan as they talked. It was clear we wouldn’t be able to get the phone tonight, but that wasn’t going to stop me.
“Tomorrow, would you be willing to meet us somewhere with your phone and tell someone exactly what you told me?” They exchanged a glance. The lady who dropped a plate when she saw me sat forward.
“Is someone going to wipe our memories?”
“Not if you don’t want them to.” Simon’s eyes were on me. “I’ll make sure of it. But I have to ask: Will you please promise not to tell anyone what you saw? I can’t really explain it, but just know our safety depends on it.”
“Sure,” she said with a shrug. “We won’t tell. It was cool there for a minute.”
As soon as we left the restaurant Simon rounded on me.
“You can’t keep that promise.” I waved him off.
“I have to, Simon. Do you think what we are doing works right now? This hiding, this being so scared humans that will find us, we are willing to hurt them?”
“No. But what’s the alternative?”
“I don’t know, but it starts with not wiping the memories of two women who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
By the time we all arrived back at school we’d come up with what I’d hoped was a fool-proof plan.
“I’ll meet you guys back here at midnight tomorrow?” Simon asked at the parting of the ways.
“Thank you, Simon for helping us.”
“Anything for my sis.” I gave him a hug, and he split to sneak back to his own school.
“What are we going to do now?” Hudson asked.
“Make Professor Vickers believe us.”
Chapter Eighteen
Our plan needed the cover of night, so I spent the whole next day fretting through my classes. There was one positive moment. When I was going through my daily ritual of not shifting during my first class, something happened. I felt a jolt in my chest and two little flames appeared from my fingers.
“It’s all right, Sophie. Your animal will come back with time.” Professor Atkins hadn’t seen. I moved out of the way to go stand in my old place with Gracie, Willa, and Hudson. I opened and flexed my fingers, trying to call on the flame again. Nothing happened. I quit trying and focused on the person now changing into a colorful parrot. My magic would come back. It had to.
At midnight, my brother and my friends were with me again as we made our way back to the restaurant. The women were there, sitting in a booth.
“I’m back, are you all ready?”
They both looked up at me like they were waking from a dream.
“Who are you?” one of them said. The other yawned and blinked her eyes. A vice grip clenched my heart.
“I—I was here yesterday.” They shared a glance and then looked back at me.
“Here? Where’s here?” The redhead looked at herself and then at her friend.
“Who is she? Where am I?” Gracie came up behind me.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. They don’t remember anything.”
“This must have just happened,” Simon said.
“Sorry to bother you, ladies. We will be going now.” Hudson’s voice broke through the fog in my mind. He steered me away by the elbow. Once outside we tried to regroup.
“We can’t just leave them like this.” I was pacing up and down the sidewalk. How could this have happened?
“We don’t really have a choice. Memory magic can’t be reversed as far as I know.” I gritted my teeth and bit back a reply. Simon’s sensibility was the last thing I wanted to hear right then.
“All hope is not lost,” Gracie said. She
