Spell Fire (20 page)

"Me."

His expression softened. "Except you."

I clasped his hand and held it near my heart. "When my best friend disappeared, I felt so powerless. I couldn't help her. I couldn't find her." Pressure built behind my eyes. "I ended up on a mental ward for a while."

"Rough."

My brows twitched in agreement. "The whole middle school thought I was crazy. The rep would have followed me into high school, so I enrolled in a private school." I glanced from Thor to the boulders. "Every day my parents expect me to relapse."

"They sound like my parents." He squeezed my hand. "You won't relapse."

"I might if I lose you, too."

A smile dimpled the cleft in his chin. "You won't." Sirens wailed in the distance. "Think Jett called nine-one-one?"

"I better, in case he didn't."

Thor's grasp tethered me. "She…the dragon…was with me the first time… It happened here. A kid at school had invited me to a rock climbing party."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah." He averted his gaze. "This is my first time back."

"Maybe we should scratch this off your bucket list."

He laughed. "Think so?"

The sirens ceased. The wind picked up and whistled in my ears. Thor squeezed his eyes shut until it stopped. A fresh dusting of sand stuck to his cheeks. I swept it away with feathery strokes.

Thor pressed my palm to his cheek. "I blacked out. It could cost me my driver's license."

"Thor and Ainslie?"

I twisted toward the unfamiliar voice. A dark-haired man wearing a ranger's uniform approached us. I released Thor's hand and stood. "I'm Ainslie Avalon-Bennett."

"Ranger Lightfoot. Nice to meet you." He glanced down. "And you must be Thor."

"Yes, sir." Thor shifted his legs as if preparing to stand. The ranger placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No need to get up." The ranger studied the lump over Thor's eye. "Nasty cut. Did you slip on the rocks?"

Thor sidestepped the question. "I'm fine, now."

"Just the same, let's give it a minute."

A serious-faced uniformed Emergency Medical Services team hiked into view — two men and a woman. They nodded to the ranger. The point man lowered his heavy-looking pack and said, "So, what do we have here?"

Thor's brows furrowed. He winced and touched the flesh beside his cut. "It's nothing. I fell."

The team surrounded him. The woman crouched beside Thor and angled his medical alert bracelet toward her. "Supraventricular tachycardia." A stethoscope and blood pressure cuff appeared. "We'll need to do an EKG."

"Let's give them some breathing space." The ranger steered me to a spot a few feet away. He pulled out a notebook and pen. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Okay." Anxiety whirled up my legs.
Should I tell the truth? What if Thor loses his license? What if I lie, and he doesn't? What if he blacks out while driving?

"Miss Avalon-Bennett?"

"What? Sorry."

"Please sit down." He had led me to a rock where the only roost forced me to sit with my back to the ambulance team.

I perched on the cold boulder and clamped my hands together. "Do you have to fill out an incident report?"

The ranger sighed. "Always."

Crap.

"Tell me what happened."

"Ainslie!" Uncle Esmun strode into view. The woman behind him spotted the medical team and dashed to Thor's side.

"Mom, I'm fine," Thor assured her.

Uncle Esmun's gaze circled my aura. He pulled me into a side hug, then shook the ranger's hand. "I see you've met my niece and her friend."

"I have a few questions for them, Esmun."

"I understand. Do what you have to do so we can get these kids home."

I glanced at the medical team swarming Thor. Twice I had ended up in the emergency room before landing in the lockdown ward. I knew the look. Thor wasn't going home — not yet.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Uncle Esmun lowered the volume on the car stereo, almost muting a country western version of "Jingle Bell Rock." Ahead, Thor's mother drove the BMW behind the ambulance.

"You bummed he didn't want you to go to the hospital?"

I pressed my fingers to my lips and shook my head. "No. I understand."
He doesn't want the image burned into my head, where I can't shake it out.
"Why didn't you guys warn me?"

"It wasn't our story to tell." His brows arched. He didn't say it out loud, but I knew he was thinking,
which is why we didn't tell Thor about you.

I shifted toward him and adjusted my seat belt. "Is this why you hoped I'd hit it off with Jett?"

Uncle Esmun blew out a long breath. "Think I'll delete 'matchmaker' from my résumé. Terra warned me it was a toss-up between Jett and Thor. Both of their astrological signs are good matches for you." He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at me. "Don't get me wrong. They both be fine young men. I don't favor one over the other."

"Then why—?"

"Spell fire."

"Spell fire?"

"When we worked on your almanac, the phrase kept entering my head. I had no idea what it meant. But I knew in my bones there was some connection between you, spells, and fire — not bad fire," he hastened to add. "Not like you in a burning building or something. But fire." He shrugged. "Jett had flames inked on his knuckles. I figured he was the link."

"Hmm." It sounded logical, though totally flawed. "Thor thinks I'm a natural dragon shaman. They do spells. And isn't fire one of the elements associated with dragons?"

"This be true." Uncle Esmun rubbed his nose. "I see your point."

I wriggled in my seat.
Maybe "spell fire" wasn't about Jett or Thor. Maybe it was about me.

We had reached the main road. The ambulance and Thor's mom peeled one way; we headed the other.

"Don't worry," Uncle Esmun said. "They'll call us."

"Oh no." I patted my pocket. "I still have Thor's phone."

"We'll get it to him tomorrow."

We passed Coyote Crossroads. A few cars were parked along the street. More were probably in the sandy back lot. I wished Morningstar were free so we could talk.

A few minutes later, Uncle Esmun squeezed into the last parking space in front of Spiral Journeys, and we piled out. "Thanks for picking me up."

"Glad to do it." We reached the front door. Uncle Esmun gave me another hug. "Terra was counseling a bereaved client. I didn't interrupt her. I just phoned Kate — Thor's mom — and took off." He held the door open for me. Jett glanced up from his customer at the register when the wolf-and-moon chime clanged. He saw me, and his eyes widened.

"I'll find Terra and fill her in," Uncle Esmun said.

"Okay. I'll help Jett." Three more customers lined up at the register, so I assisted a woman at the wand and fairy dust table, then another with incense. The steady stream continued for twenty minutes. At last, Jett was free, and I had helped or greeted every customer on the floor. I gravitated to the register area.

"Is he okay?" Jett asked.

I hesitated, unsure if Jett already knew about Thor's heart condition. "He fell. He's headed to the hospital to get checked out."

Jett chewed his thumbnail. "Esmun called nine-one-one and the rangers. I was afraid they wouldn't listen to a kid."

"They arrived quickly. Thanks." I touched his shoulder.

Jett's gaze dropped to his sneakers. "Guess my fire fortunes helped for once."

"Big time." I glanced toward the back. "I need to talk to Terra. But buzz us if you get busy."

"Sure." He let me take two steps before he said, "Wait. I'll do it."

I swung around. "Do what?"

"My fire fortunes. The solstice event." He placed a small object on the counter and stepped back.

My gaze dropped to the pot of fairy dust. I picked it up. The glass jar retained warmth from Jett's hands. My note remained.
Isis/Paid. AA-B.

"One condition, though," Jett said. "Do you still promise to watch Isis?"

My pulse jumped. "Of course."

"Then I'm in."

I think my eyebrows shot up to my hairline. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I don't want Terra and Esmun to lose this place. And the schools need the money."

"Awesome." My heart grew lighter, as if the Grinch had returned Christmas. I placed the little pot back on the counter.

"But remember. I'll only do it if you watch Isis."

I got it.
"No problem." How hard could it be? Maybe she would be over the green snot stage.

"She's wary of everyone else. It's why she hides under the table."

I flashed on Isis's worn ruby slippers and how I had glared at her on the plane. "She's a little cagey around me, too."

An impish smile lit Jett's face. He flicked his head and his bangs shifted away from his eyes. "She thinks you're an angel. She told me you glow."

A blush warmed my face. I saluted him. "Angel at your service. Okay if I tell Aunt Terra and Uncle Esmun?"

He bowed and glided his hand through the air. Feeling like a princess who had been announced at the ball, I left before he changed his mind.

"We're on!" I told Aunt Terra and Uncle Esmun when I found them in the office. "Jett said he would perform the fire fortunes."

Aunt Terra tilted back her head. "Thank you, God and Goddess!"

****

Spiral Journeys rocked. Demonstration Day rocked even more. Morningstar hunched over a television tray wedged into the register area, deftly wrapping gifts. Jett stood with his back to her as he tended the line of customers. The stool had been removed to make room for the wrapping area. His brow knotted as he inputted prices into the computer. Aunt Terra handled the crowd around the Wicca table. Uncle Esmun coated candles with anointing oil and protective herbs for two servicewomen. Lucia and I roamed the store, answering questions and helping people locate items. Thor, who had shown up an hour before, sat on the floor in the kids' corner and pretended to be zapped by a wand-wielding six-year-old and a giggling Isis.

One week until the winter solstice, and the Christmas shoppers had found us. A relieved sigh fled my lips.

Ten minutes remained until closing. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My stomach grumbled, unhappy I had skipped dinner to help customers. Lunch had been a smoothie and a brownie, choked down in the back room while posting about the solstice event on social media. I longed for a chicken Caesar salad, a hot bath, and clean sheets.

At nine o'clock I locked the front door, unlocking it as necessary to let out customers as they finished shopping. The last one exited at nine-twenty, along with Morningstar, Jett, and a sleepy-eyed Isis.

I dimmed the lights. Uncle Esmun stood spotlighted behind the register as he reconciled the checks and credit card receipts against the bank machine printout. Aunt Terra had carried the cash to the office to count and stash in the safe. I yanked the stilettos off my swollen feet. In slow, torturous increments, my toes unfurled against the industrial carpet.

Lucia, Thor, and I fanned out to straighten the store. Like two magnets, Thor and I worked toward each other, meeting at the bookcases.

"Good day, huh?" he said.

"Yeah. Busy." I forced myself to not give him a head-to-toe appraisal. I hadn't seen him for two days. By phone he had said he was resting, but he hadn't volunteered any details about his hospital stint.

"Good thing you showed up tonight. Thanks for helping." Every time there had been a lull, my gaze had sought him out. Each time my brain had arrowed on
he's going to die,
I countermanded three times:
He's totally fine. He's totally fine. He's totally fine.
The effort had sapped me.

"Think it will be enough to save the store?" Thor asked.

I shook my head. "We're way past Black Friday. We have too much ground to make up."

"Good thing Jett agreed to do his fire fortunes." Thor shelved a book about elemental magic, then placed two tarot decks back in their basket.

"He better not wimp out!" Lucia yelled from across the store.

I stood on tiptoe and whispered in Thor's ear. "Does she have supernatural hearing, or what?"

His eyes took on a flirty gleam and his arm slid around my waist. "Come closer. I couldn't hear you."

He sure seemed healthy.

I gently pushed him away, but remained within his arms. "Liar," I teased.

Uncle Esmun cleared his throat.

Thor released me, but before I slipped away, he whispered, "Told you I wouldn't disappear."

I leveled my gaze at him. "I'm holding you to your promise."

"Find a room!" Lucia's back was to us as she tidied a rack of ceremonial capes.

"Does she have eyes in the back of her head?" Thor mouthed.

"Internal echolocation—"

Loud knocking on the glass door startled me.

"It's your mum, Romeo."

"Enough, Lucia." Uncle Esmun sounded tired as he walked to the front door. "You may clock out now. All of you can. Great job today. Thanks, Thor."

"You didn't drive?" Worry crept into my voice.

"The doc said to wait a week." Thor pulled me behind a bookcase. "Dream of me," he whispered.

My abdomen fluttered. My hands mimicked a dragon in flight. The corners of Thor's lips curved into a smile.

The lock clicked open and the chime clanged. "Good evening, Kate," Uncle Esmun said. "Come in. How you be?"

Thor winked. The gesture quickened my pulse. "Bye," he said.

"Bye."

He didn't kiss me. He didn't pull me forward to say hi to his mother. He just left. I had the uneasy feeling things had changed. Was it because we knew the truth about each other?

Maybe he was just being a guy.

I leaned against the bookcase and closed my eyes.
We're damaged goods.
He knows my secret. I know his. Don't think of him as sick, or he'll break off whatever we have together.
I hugged myself.
Hope he doesn't think of me as the crazy girl.

Barefoot, I crept down the back hall. I had lost sleep again last night over the solstice event. I hoped today's sales figures were high, because part of me feared Jett would be a last-minute no-show. Either his mom would pull something, or performance anxiety would slaughter him.
Something.