Fire Spell (11 page)

I didn’t wait another second before I raced along the hall, taking the turn with force and barreling out of the door. No one seemed to be following me, but I sped into the air and flew toward the theater before I found out if the council had sent someone to search for me.

I slipped into the back of the movie theater, which was empty by now. The western had ended hours ago, and the clerks had locked the building for the night.

“Open.” I pointed to the handle and urged it to unlock.

I walked toward the broom closet, tugged on the door, and closed it behind me. I waved my hand toward the wall, and whispered, “Unfold.”

I pushed through the seam and into the supply closet. I had never been so happy to see an overhead projector. I swiveled on my heels to close the seam and the mysteries of 1949. It felt safer to have the
Double
Fade Spell
, but I couldn’t walk through the hotel invisible. I needed some sort of normal.

“Radiance.” I commanded the spell to fall from my limbs. The glitter piled around my feet and disappeared into the carpet.

My room was waiting for me. If I could just make it to my room, I could fall apart there, but not here in this closest or in the hotel lobby. A deep breath filled my lungs, and I slipped out of the closet.

At this time of night, there would probably be one clerk at the desk.

My legs wanted to run, but I pushed them to a normal walking pace. I retraced the steps of the conference corridor to the lobby.

The chandelier had been dimmed, and the music that usually played on the overhead speakers was off. The desk was empty, but the computers were bright, so the attendant was probably in the office. I started toward the elevator when I saw a man sleeping on the couch. His tall frame filled the designer sofa, and he was hunched in a position that would give anyone the worst neck cramp. I pivoted toward him, feeling there was something familiar about him. I took two steps and stopped.

It was Jack.

W
HAT IN
the hell was Jack doing sleeping on the hotel’s couch? Part of me wanted to shake him awake and demand some answers; the other part wanted to run to my room like my original plan.

I walked toward the couch and knelt beside him. I patted his forearm. “Jack? Jack?”

He moved his head to the side, and one eye opened.

“Ivy?”

“Yep.” I tried to smile.

“They wouldn’t— I couldn’t—” He looked around the lobby and sat up. “I fell asleep. They wouldn’t let me in your room, and they’re all booked up.”

“And why is it you’re here, exactly?” The clerk had returned to his post at the desk. He eyed me disapprovingly.

Jack sighed. “Can we talk? I really need to talk to you.”

If he were going to try to pressure me again with this crazy western agenda, I would have to stun him. I couldn’t take any more surprises tonight. I needed wine or chocolate. Something that would steady me after my
Time Spell
. What I did not need was to get in an argument with Jack in the middle of the night.

“Jack, I’m exhausted and you’ve been sleeping on a couch.”

He stood in front of me and stretched his arms to the side. “I drove here to talk to you. We can’t do it in the lobby. Just five minutes, and then I’ll head back to Sullen’s Grove. Ok?”

He had that sad, forlorn look that I couldn’t say no to. “Ok. Five minutes. We can go to my room.”

I walked toward the elevators with Jack in tow. His messenger bag was slung across his chest. It looked small on him, but only because his shoulders were broad.

Neither one of us talked as the elevator carried us upward. The doors retracted, and I led him to my room at the end of the hall. I liked the quiet and privacy having an end room gave me.

I retrieved my key card and slid it into the slot. Jack waited while I tried to let us in. I was holding my breath the entire time, confused and anxious to find out why he left Sullen’s Grove and drove to Charleston. After tonight, nothing made any sense. I might as well add something else to the list.

He closed the door behind us, and I slouched on the bed. I didn’t think I could muster the energy to keep my good posture going. The exhaustion had settled into my muscles. All I wanted was a hot shower.

I looked at him. “Ok. Tell me. What catastrophic thing has happened in the book world that couldn’t wait?”

He knelt in front of me on the floor. We were almost eye level this way. His eyes pooled with warm chestnut hues. For a fleeting second, I thought how amazing it would feel for him to wrap me in his strong arms and hold me until I could figure everything out. But that was impossible. No touching. We were work colleagues, and I was not going to contribute to his death. Plus, too much had happened since Vegas.

“Jack, just spit it out.” He seemed to have lost his nerve.

His eyes locked on mine. “I remember.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure what he meant. “What do you mean? What do you remember? A new deadline?”

“No, Ivy. I remember Vegas.”

“What?” My lungs were still working, but the breath sliced through them in sharp slits.

His hands cupped my shoulders. “I’m confused and I don’t know what’s happening, but I remember everything from Vegas and don’t try to tell me it’s a dream.”

I shook his hold and moved closer to the door. It felt like the room was closing in on me.

“I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about. You and I have never been to Las Vegas together.” This couldn’t be happening. Holly’s spells were foolproof. She had never lost her hold on an
Eraser Spell
. She was the best Eraser.

He braced himself on the edge of the bed and stood. “I knew you would try to backpedal.” He smirked. “And I don’t know why you had your cousin do whatever voodoo she did to my head, to my memories, but they’ve all come back. I know it’s not a dream. I remember Helen, and the
Locator Spell
. You showed me that floating light thing at my house. I know you’re a witch.”

“No, you are definitely talking crazy talk. I think you should go.” I reached for the door, but he blocked me.

“Stop. We’ve done this exact thing before. You tried to run, I stopped you, and you finally trusted me. I remember it.” He rubbed his palm along his jaw. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. “What I don’t understand is why you did it. Why did you erase it? We shared things.”

I couldn’t take the hurt look on his face. In his mind, Holly and I had done the unthinkable.

“I was going to take you on a date.” He cut the distance between us.

I pressed my palms against his chest, trying to keep him an arm’s length away. There was no use trying to pretend all of it was a dream. He obviously knew too many details to try to use that story.

“It was to protect you. Can we leave it at that?” I searched his eyes.

“No. That’s not good enough. What did you need to protect me from? I already saw you defeat the Proxy. What else was there?” He hung his head. “What in the hell could be worth stealing my memory?”

“You were going to die! Ok? I did it to keep you alive.” It all came out in rapid succession. More than I meant to say.

He took a step back. “What?”

“Your life was in danger if you knew about my magic. It was the only thing I could do to undo it.” I slid against the door until I was sitting on the floor.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“That’s not how it works. If you knew about my witchiness, you were going to die. There were no other options.” I paused, remembering how it tore my heart in two to make the decision. “I didn’t want to erase any part of that trip from your mind, but if it meant you got to live, it was worth it.”

He sat on the bed, and I was glad there was more space between us.

“This is insane.” He looked at me.

“It is.” I ran my fingers through my hair, unsure of what to do next. I hated to call Holly at this hour, but she needed to know her spell didn’t hold. I reached for my phone.

“What are you doing?” he questioned.

“I have to call Holly. Something’s wrong with the spell.”

He walked across the room and grabbed the phone from my hand. “No. I don’t want her in my head again.”

I stood to match his glare. “You will die. Don’t you get it?” I tried to pull the phone from his grasp.

“No, you don’t get it. I want to keep my memories.”

He was being ridiculously stubborn. “She can’t do anything to you over the phone.” I held out my palm. “But, something is wrong. You shouldn’t be able to remember anything, and all of a sudden, you can. On top of that, I learned a whole lot of crazy stuff tonight, and I have a feeling it’s all connected somehow. Please let me call my cousin.” I waited, hoping he would cave to reason.

He planted the phone in my hand. “Ok, but as soon as she shows up, I’m running in the other direction. I’m definitely not shaking hands with her.”

“Got it. You’d rather die than forget Vegas. I think with most people, it’s the other way around.” I tapped the screen for Holly’s number.

Jack threw his hands in the air then stomped to the mini-bar. At this point, we both needed a drink. I held up my fingers so he would know to pour me something. Anything.

“Hello?” Holly sounded groggy, like a person who had just been awakened from a deep sleep.

“Hey, girl. I’m so sorry to call you like this, but we have a major problem.”

She yawned into the phone. “What’s wrong? Are you still in Charleston?”

“Yes, and Jack just showed up.” I watched as he poured two mini-bottles into rocks glasses. “Anyway, he remembers everything, Holly. Every little detail.” I waited for her to scream.

“What!”

There was no way to break that kind of news to her. “He has all of his memory back. I couldn’t wait to call you in the morning. Something is wrong for the spell to break.”

“I can leave now and try again. We have to do something.” She sounded panicked.

“No, he doesn’t want you to erase his memory. He’s being a stubborn ass.” I glared at him. “But there’s more. Hold on.” I headed to the bathroom where Jack wouldn’t be able to overhear me. I closed the door. “I did a
Time Spell
tonight to follow Grandma Grace, and I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Ok. Just take a deep breath and start from the beginning. This is a lot to take in right now, but I’m totally awake.”

“Thanks.” I sat on the edge of the tub. I wished I had talked to my cousin about the journal and all of the things I had discovered before now. It would make retracing the night a lot easier. “Ok, so my grandmother was in love with this guy named Leo in 1949.”

“Oh, sounds romantic. Go on.”

This was exactly the type of story Holly loved. “Anyway, she met him in Charleston, and it turns out they were part of some secret witch council. So, tonight I followed them on their first mission from the council, and they ended up on an island right off the harbor.”

“Ok.”

“And while I was following them, I saw the hooded man from my Foresight.”

“That creepy guy? What do you mean you saw him?”

“It was him, no doubt. The same one who told me to stay away from Jack, and now he’s the same one who told me to stay away from Finn. I had a nightmare the other night that Finn was in danger.” I ran my fingers through my hair; everything was a terrible nightmare.