her face away. Of course, she didn’t understand the real issue, and since I hadn’t told her the whole truth, I had to feel a spark of pride that she’d stood up to Nicolas.
Nicolas paused in his search to give Madison a wary look.
“I can’t believe I said that,” Madison whispered.
“Somebody needed to,” Evan said.
Nicolas glared at him. “Oh, really? So are you going to rethink my offer?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.” Nicolas found the jar of burn ointment. The pale green concoction smelled strongly of aloe vera, though I knew it contained much more, including a touch of magic.
Madison looked at it warily, but she allowed Nicolas to rub a generous amount of it into her hand and fingers. I could tell it started working the instant it touched her burned skin, because her mouth fell slightly open and her eyes widened in shock.
“Don’t wash this off for at least thirty minutes,” Nicolas told her. “This isn’t as bad as it looked so you shouldn’t need another treatment. Give me a call this evening if there’s still any redness.”
“Okay.” Madison began to inspect her hand. “It feels better. I think it feels better than it did before I touched that fork. Wish I’d had this stuff when I worked at McDonald’s and splattered hot grease all over my hand. I still have the scars.” She lifted her uninjured hand, the left one, to show him the faint pink discolorations on the back of her hand and her wrist.
Without missing a beat, Nicolas took her left hand and rubbed some of the burn ointment over the scars. When he wetted a napkin to gently wipe the ointment clear, the scars were gone.
“Wow,” Madison breathed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
I hadn’t realized the ointment would work on old scars, so even I was impressed. A short, betraying smile showed that Nicolas hadn’t been sure either.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Nicolas put the lid back on the jar, and popped it back in his bag. It wasn’t a typical Nicolas move, but I thought I understood why he had gone the extra step to heal the years-old scars. Ever since he had sat down at that table, he and Evan had been frightening Madison with increasingly ugly displays of magic, and he wanted to make up for that by showing her the beautiful side of magic. It’s also possible that he wanted to show off a bit.
“Cassie,” Evan said, his voice low. “I don’t know what you and your brother have planned this afternoon. I don’t want to get in the way of it, but this is time sensitive.”
I held up my hand to forestall anything Nicolas might say. “What is it?”
“A distant cousin of mine went missing from a summer camp in Arkansas,” Evan said. “Her name’s Laura, and she and a friend...”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “What a small world.” I glared at my brother. “Maybe, sometimes, you should stop and listen before you make snap judgments.”
He avoided my eyes. Good. At least he felt some shame for his actions.
“Cassie?” Evan frowned. “Will you help me?”
I slid out of the booth. “Let’s go.”
4
I ’M GOING TO NEED TO STOP by my parents’ house before we leave town,” Evan said when we were well on our way. “My dad’s got pictures, a hair sample, and he wants me to help him with one more location spell before we give up on that path.”
I shuddered, not at all thrilled with the idea of seeing Evan’s father again.
“You’ll be okay,” Evan said, noting my reaction.
“Hmm. Is this the part where you tell me he’s not as bad as I think he is?”
“How bad do you think he is?”
I hesitated. Discussing our fathers had been a well-understood no-no almost from the first. Then again, having the discussion had never seemed so important before. Perhaps if I told him exactly what his father had done to mine, and then he told me what mine had done to his, he wouldn’t want me anymore.
“Well, he destroyed the house I lived in when I was a baby,” I began. “Something
Nicolas paused in his search to give Madison a wary look.
“I can’t believe I said that,” Madison whispered.
“Somebody needed to,” Evan said.
Nicolas glared at him. “Oh, really? So are you going to rethink my offer?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.” Nicolas found the jar of burn ointment. The pale green concoction smelled strongly of aloe vera, though I knew it contained much more, including a touch of magic.
Madison looked at it warily, but she allowed Nicolas to rub a generous amount of it into her hand and fingers. I could tell it started working the instant it touched her burned skin, because her mouth fell slightly open and her eyes widened in shock.
“Don’t wash this off for at least thirty minutes,” Nicolas told her. “This isn’t as bad as it looked so you shouldn’t need another treatment. Give me a call this evening if there’s still any redness.”
“Okay.” Madison began to inspect her hand. “It feels better. I think it feels better than it did before I touched that fork. Wish I’d had this stuff when I worked at McDonald’s and splattered hot grease all over my hand. I still have the scars.” She lifted her uninjured hand, the left one, to show him the faint pink discolorations on the back of her hand and her wrist.
Without missing a beat, Nicolas took her left hand and rubbed some of the burn ointment over the scars. When he wetted a napkin to gently wipe the ointment clear, the scars were gone.
“Wow,” Madison breathed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
I hadn’t realized the ointment would work on old scars, so even I was impressed. A short, betraying smile showed that Nicolas hadn’t been sure either.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Nicolas put the lid back on the jar, and popped it back in his bag. It wasn’t a typical Nicolas move, but I thought I understood why he had gone the extra step to heal the years-old scars. Ever since he had sat down at that table, he and Evan had been frightening Madison with increasingly ugly displays of magic, and he wanted to make up for that by showing her the beautiful side of magic. It’s also possible that he wanted to show off a bit.
“Cassie,” Evan said, his voice low. “I don’t know what you and your brother have planned this afternoon. I don’t want to get in the way of it, but this is time sensitive.”
I held up my hand to forestall anything Nicolas might say. “What is it?”
“A distant cousin of mine went missing from a summer camp in Arkansas,” Evan said. “Her name’s Laura, and she and a friend...”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “What a small world.” I glared at my brother. “Maybe, sometimes, you should stop and listen before you make snap judgments.”
He avoided my eyes. Good. At least he felt some shame for his actions.
“Cassie?” Evan frowned. “Will you help me?”
I slid out of the booth. “Let’s go.”
4
I ’M GOING TO NEED TO STOP by my parents’ house before we leave town,” Evan said when we were well on our way. “My dad’s got pictures, a hair sample, and he wants me to help him with one more location spell before we give up on that path.”
I shuddered, not at all thrilled with the idea of seeing Evan’s father again.
“You’ll be okay,” Evan said, noting my reaction.
“Hmm. Is this the part where you tell me he’s not as bad as I think he is?”
“How bad do you think he is?”
I hesitated. Discussing our fathers had been a well-understood no-no almost from the first. Then again, having the discussion had never seemed so important before. Perhaps if I told him exactly what his father had done to mine, and then he told me what mine had done to his, he wouldn’t want me anymore.
“Well, he destroyed the house I lived in when I was a baby,” I began. “Something
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