Time Spell (16 page)

I emerged from behind the door in a black tank top and fitted jeans. Finn eyed my breasts while I reached for a sweater. No matter how serious the situation, he never missed a chance to flirt.

“That’s why I flew to Atlanta tonight, to protect Jack’s sister?” I nodded in agreement and waited for the rest to soak in. “There’s more to this, isn’t there? What else do they want?”

There was no use hiding anything from Finn; I needed his help. “Me. They want me in exchange for everyone’s safety.” I winced.

“Uh-uh, no way, Ivy. This is not happening.”

“That’s why I do need your help. I’ve got to go to Las Vegas tomorrow, well, today actually, with Jack.” Early morning birds were piping up outside my window, and I knew I needed to start the short pilgrimage to Jack’s house. “I need you to stay here and watch my family. I can’t tell anyone what’s going on. If it is Proxies, they can’t do too much to my parents or Ian if they are focused on me in Vegas.” I waited for the fuse to blow.

“What? I’m not staying here and sending you off to Las Vegas with Mr. Editor so you can walk into a trap set by some deranged Proxies. You know what they’ll do. There’s only one thing they’re after. I’m not staying behind.”

Finn had briefly crossed paths with Jack last year when
Masquerade
was published. He showed up, uninvited, to one of my book signings, saw Jack, and left without even saying hello or good-bye. Typical. I don’t know what I expected from him. We had been broken up, but in the messy, so confusing kind of way. I didn’t understand my heart’s need to have him out of my life as much as its need to have him in it.

“I’ve managed to take care of myself so far; I’ve got this covered. I need you to help me with my family. I won’t be able to think clearly if I’m worried about them the whole time.” There were multiple things clouding my mind as I stood in my room arguing with Finn. “Can you do this for me? Last favor, Finn.”

Deep down, I battled with emerging hope. I never wanted it to be the last time with Finn, but I had to get through the next few days before I could even start to process what had happened in the last few hours. Nothing had changed between us. Finn hadn’t changed. He was here because he was a Guardian. I had to remind myself it wasn’t anything else.

“Tell me, why do you think there is a Proxy?” He reverted to detective mode. His arms were crossed, and he took a wide-legged stance in front of my blossoming suitcase.

All the signs of a Proxy had been there the entire time. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I remember, when I was in 1968, one of the women there. It was almost as if she could see me. She looked directly at me, but she didn’t do anything about it. It was creepy, so I left.”

“I thought you always traveled with a
Fade Spell
so you stayed invisible,” Finn questioned.

“I do. I always do. That’s why it was so crazy when she spotted me. Although, I wasn’t sure she spotted me.” I thought back to Helen’s drifting eyes and sudden posture changes when she locked on my position.

Finn continued, “And you think she’s the one chasing you? The woman who maybe saw you in 1968 when you were supposed to be invisible?”

When he said it like that, it sounded ridiculous, but Helen had to be connected somehow.

“No, no, it can’t be her—she died in a plane crash the same day I returned—but I’m wondering if she told someone that day or night before she died. If she was a Proxy, she could have passed along the information to another Proxy. It’s not much, but it’s all I have to go on.”

“Which one? The hot brunette chick?” He smiled and brought a slice of Finn-levity to a dark conversation.

I punched him in the arm. “No, you ass, the blonde, Helen. I should have caught it then when I saw her in the penthouse—the way she arched her back, the way she curled up on the couch, her catty eye makeup. She was definitely a Proxy. She saw me. I know she did.” Helen’s poised posture, graceful walk, and her feline mannerisms were the biggest clues I had. I had mistaken them for her northeastern, aristocratic airs, but now I knew there was a different reason.

“So, you’re packing and going to Las Vegas with Mr. I-Don’t-Know-What-Magic-Is, and you’re planning on defending yourself against a Proxy you haven’t seen because the original one died in a plane crash, and you’re supposed to hand over some diamonds and yourself? Is this the correct synopsis?” He didn’t smile.

I cringed at his reference to Jack, but decided now was definitely not the right moment to share what major witch transgression I had committed tonight. One catastrophe at a time. I elected to keep moving forward.

“Yes, you’ve got it.” I zipped my bag and pulled the handle.

Finn grabbed the handle from me, walked down the hall, and placed the suitcase in front of the front door.

“Wait, you said they want the rest of the Von-something diamonds. How are you going to find them? What
are
the other diamonds?” He did have a good point.

I knew nothing about more diamonds other than the ones that were once on display in Dallas. I didn’t know what the police had done with the investigation since I had called in the tip about the faux gems.

“I’m not sure yet. There must be some clues waiting for me. We’ll find them when we’re there. I don’t have a choice. I have to get on this flight and meet the Proxy in Las Vegas.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked at him. I could feel the pull between us loosening; he was going to let me leave.

“Ivy, if I let you walk out of this door and onto that plane, you know I can’t help you. That Proxy wants one thing, your magic, and if you end up alone with him, he can steal it from you—all of your power, your bond with your family, everything you’ve become.”

The smoothness in his voice started to shake, and I saw something in his eyes I’d never seen before. There was a tear forming on his long lashes. “Look at me and tell me you want me to stay here, that you want to face this alone. Tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll stay—for you.”

His hand was on my arm, and he stepped closer. He put the other hand on my cheek, and my body reacted with sparks, snapping through my body as his burning mouth melted into mine. I felt the familiar need I had pushed down so many times desperately trying to break free inside me. With Finn, there were never thoughts, only desire and instinct. He pulled me closer and tighter, holding on to me with everything in his being.

I couldn’t let him sidetrack me—too much was at stake. I broke free from the fiery kiss and the hold he had on me.

“I’m telling you to stay, Finn. I can do this. Just take care of them.” I pulled the suitcase behind me and left him and Cooper standing in the doorway.

I
T FELT
a lot like
Groundhog Day.
I pulled up behind Jack’s jeep and parked my car in the gravel drive. The little ranch looked just like it did when I drove up yesterday afternoon; only the rays of the setting sun were now replaced with eastern sunbeams peeping through the leaves. The street was quiet except for a few early morning commuters on their way into work. I waved at one of Jack’s neighbors as I pulled my suitcase from the trunk of my car.

I tapped a few times on the front door and waited for him to let me in. Nothing. I knocked again, this time with a little more force.

“Yep, I’m here. Hold on,” I heard Jack call through the door.

He cracked the door and peeked to see me standing with one hand on my suitcase, and the other clutching the leather bag dangling from my shoulder. He looked surprised and relieved to find me on his porch. I guess a part of him didn’t trust I would return. After everything he learned last night, I couldn’t blame him.

“Good morning. You have coffee? Did you sleep? You look terrible.” I pushed past him into the foyer and dropped both bags.

The study was bright with early morning sunlight. The embers in the fire had faded, and from the looks of the couch, Jack had probably spent the rest of the night there after I left. There were more charts drawn on the legal pad, and the letter rested on the coffee table. It made me nauseated just being in the same room with it.

“Sleep, me? No, not much. Coffee’s in here.” I followed him to the kitchen and gladly accepted a piping hot cup of coffee. “What about you, did you sleep?”

I took a sip and sat at the kitchen table. By the look of the décor, I assumed Jack hadn’t hung the apple berry border paper or painted the accent wall with the yellow hue, but it had a welcoming feel that was comforting after such a hard night.

“No, I didn’t even try to sleep. But I have good news. The protection spell for your sister is completed. She’ll be ok for a few days. No one can touch her.”

“You did that? What happens after a few days?” Jack sat across from me and placed the pot of coffee between us.

“I asked a friend for some help. It’s not a spell I can perform, but she’s good for a few days. After that, the spell wears off, and it has to be recast or hopefully, she can go on living like normal.” I reached for some sugar and stirred a swirl in my mug. I wanted everything to go back to normal. “You don’t have to worry about anything happening to her.” I smiled.

“If you can or someone else can create a protection spell, why don’t you just protect people all of the time?”

Jack’s question reminded me why non-magicals weren’t supposed to know about magic. They would always try to apply logic and reason to something that was mystical and not of this world. More than anything I could tell he wanted to make sure Emily was safe, but he curious about the magic.

I needed to avoid discussing Finn’s gift. I was glad his range of powers was in our arsenal against the Proxy, but I couldn’t even think about him right now or that kiss. His secrets weren’t mine to tell.

“It’s a little complicated, but only chosen witches can perform certain spells. There are some we all share, there are some we can teach each other, and then there are some that are so unique that only a few witches can do them. The
Guardian Spell
is a gift spell; it can’t be taught. We can’t spell everyone into safety all the time. Besides, we have to let people live their lives. I believe in free will, don’t you?”

Jack nodded over his mug. This didn’t seem like the moment to rehash college philosophy debates.

“I do have some more updates for you. I have an idea who might have sent the letter.”

He set the mug down. “You do? Who is it?”

“Again, this is complicated, but I’ll try to explain the best way I can.” I took a deep breath and looked into Jack’s eyes, knowing he couldn’t understand this level of darkness. “I think it’s a Proxy.”

“A what?” I knew Jack would have plenty of questions and I had prepared myself with the Cliff’s Notes version of Magic 101 before coming over. I also had to decide what I could safely tell him without creating more problems.

“I think it’s a Proxy. It’s a person, or really, a being, who rides on the coat tails of magic. They can sense magic, they can sometimes even see it, but they don’t have any of their own.”

“Ok, keep going.” Jack focused on me and looked determined to understand every magical word I uttered.

“Proxies do have the ability to become magical, to use magic, but only if they steal it. If they use their senses to track someone like me, they can take the magic.” I waited to see if Jack would register the enormity of what I told him.

He took another sip of coffee and leaned in his chair. “So, that’s what this is really about? A Proxy out there wants your power. Someone wants to steal your magic?” He paused. “But if he or she takes that from you, will you still be you? Can you survive?”

“I don’t know, sometimes yes, sometimes no. The stories I always heard as a little girl were that Proxies would take more than the magic, that they would take the actual life force from a person, but I don’t know if it’s all true.”

Jack stared at his knuckles while strumming his fingers on the table.

I continued, “But the good news here is, I think we finally know what we’re dealing with and that’s a big advantage.”

“Advantage, huh? Do you know who the Proxy is?”

“I’m pretty sure it was Helen.” Jack looked puzzled. “I mean, she’s not the Proxy now. Not anymore, she died in the plane crash, but I think she saw me in 1968 and told someone. I should have figured this out sooner when she looked right at me, and she was so darn catlike.” Again, I was losing Jack. “Proxies are quite feline, think Siamese cats—they are sneaky and quiet. Really, what better way to creep up on people and steal magic than to be like the stealthiest creatures on the planet?” I had always heard that cattiness of Proxies was their deadliest trait. “My guess is that, before the plane crash, Helen told another Proxy about me and that person was involved in Holden’s murder. And that’s why they don’t want any
Vegas Star
book or movie sequels surfacing. They also probably think I know more about the VonRue diamonds than I actually do.”