“If you won’t do it for me,” she said in a deceptively calm voice, “then do it for Jupiter.”

I glanced upstairs like I could see him. My heart constricted painfully.

Then Rose said, “He’s counting on you. Lord knows he can’t count on her.”

And sometimes you do stupid things for people you love.

Golden light from the entry faded as my low-top sneakers crunched over white gravel. Adella’s poofy curls were silhouetted against the headlights from Yvonne’s rental.

“Everything okay?” Rose called out over my shoulder.

Muffled pounding sounded from the backseat of the car. Shouting followed.

“She’s angry as a bull,” Adella replied.

I could just make out the movement of Yvonne’s halo inside the dark car. When I stepped closer, I saw more. She was blindfolded. I glanced at Adella; the scarf around her hair was gone. I remembered how her knack kicked in when I looked up at her at the seafood restaurant that first night.

“She’s like Medusa,” I said dumbly.

Rose huffed. “Turning people to stone might actually be useful. She’s like Medusa’s evil twin. It came from my late husband’s family tree.”

“Avoiding eye contact only delays the inevitable,” Adella explained. “Unless you’ve got a solid wall between you, she’ll eventually ensnare you. She’s gotten me when I’ve had my back turned. You doing this? Stripping away the transmutation spell?”

“I can’t guarantee anything,” I warned. “Are we straight on that?”

They both nodded. Rose gave me the rental keys.

“And I’ll need the Solomon Seal ring,” I said. “Maybe it’s best you two head inside the house. Keep trying Lon. Check on Jupe.” I thought of the tail and twitched. No jeans to hide it this time; I was wearing mini cargo shorts that barely covered my ass. An ass that was, by the way, currently freezing in the cool night air. “Don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe.”

Adella slipped off the ring and gave a wary look toward the car as she handed it over.

“Go!” I said. “Before she changes your minds.”

I slid the ring on my index finger and waited until I heard the front door shut. Then I approached the car and hit the unlock button on the key ring. The car’s interior lights came on, illuminating Yvonne. Her sister’s blue-and-white striped headscarf had been torn in two. Half of it covered her eyes; the other half bound her wrists together behind her back. It was a shame that the Giovannis felt they had to do this. I almost felt sorry for Yvonne.

Almost.

“Get out,” I shouted.

She didn’t move for several seconds. I swung the door open and stepped back.

“Where are they?” she asked. The bottom edge of her makeshift blindfold was damp with tears. Mascara seeped beneath it, running down her cheeks.

“Inside. It’s just you and me. Please get out. We need to talk.”

“Untie me,” she bit out between clenched teeth. She was angry now. Her halo was dancing. I watched it carefully, worried that she might transmutate any second.

“You don’t need your arms to stand. Out of the car, please.”

She struggled to move her legs around, but finally managed a sloppy exit and teetered on high heels against the side of the car. “I don’t know what you expect to accomplish by talking to me,” she said, chest heaving. “But this is between me and my family.”

“Wrong. It’s between you and my family.”

“He’ll always be my son.”

“But when are you going to start acting like his mother?”

“It was just wine, for the hundredth time!” She slammed her heel against the car frame in aggravation.

“He’s falling down drunk!”

“I never said he could have more than a glass.”

“You left him alone at the table.”

“Just for a minute!”

“Liar. He told me what happened.” I stepped closer and stuck my hand in her coat pocket.

“What are you doing?” she said, squirming.

“Where is it? Jupe told me you were buying drugs. Is Evan a dealer?” I tried the other pocket. “He promise you something that would amp up your knack?”

She jerked away from me with a grunt. But I managed to get a hand inside her dress pocket. Bingo. The glass vial, filled with red liquid. Exactly the same as the other bottle of bionic juice.

“I didn’t use any!” she protested desperately. “I’m clean, I swear.”

I pocketed the vial. “It’s not something you should be allowed anywhere near. Your knack is already amped up enough as it is.”

“Ethan said it was magic, not a drug. He said I couldn’t get addicted to it. I just wouldn’t have to worry about showing my horns to use my knack.”

I couldn’t think of anything more destructive for someone like her. “What’s the matter with you, for the love of God? You encouraged Jupe to drink and left him alone so you could cut a drug deal?”

“I don’t need to watch Jupe every second. He’s a teenager, not a baby.”

“And he wanted to spend time with you. How often do you see him, Yvonne? Once a year? You didn’t see him last year at all—I know that much. Why? What could be so important to you that you couldn’t come visit? He’s a fucking joy to be around.”