An image of Mr. Booker’s dead body being eaten by crows popped up in my mind with shocking clarity. I sucked in a breath, and forced the image away before I saw my mother again. All my humor vanished with it, leaving fear behind.

I hoped my mom responded soon.

18

Vejovis

Typical of my life experience, the more I wanted something to happen—like an important e-mail popping up in my inbox—the less likely it was to happen. Even worse, the likelihood decreased with every press of the refresh button.

When I wasn’t obsessing over my inbox, I spent the day reviewing The Atlantean Chronicle, but I didn’t find a single thing of note. Selene’s detection spell was a bust, too.

Finally, an hour past curfew, a message came in from my dad:

So sorry sweetheart. Just got your voice mail but I figured it’s too late to call. I was at a symposium all day. I’ll call you in a pass first thing tomorrow. Love, Dad.

I sent him a quick reply and closed the eTab. I texted the news to Eli and then asked if he’d heard from his dad, but he texted me back saying no. He also told me to get a new phone because it was changing every other letter of my texts into symbols, making it nearly impossible to read. The symbol-changing was new, but the crappy phone wasn’t.

Tell me something I don’t know, I texted back, but Eli didn’t reply. Maybe my phone had been offended and eaten his response.

Eager to be off tomorrow, I turned in early. Selene came in not long after and lay down. I was a little surprised at her arrival. She’d gotten a phone call from Lance an hour before and had gone out to meet him.

Selene cleared her throat and then announced into the darkness, “So Lance just told me there’s a little more going on with Eli than him being tired.”

I rolled over, focusing my gaze on her vague outline. “What do you mean?”

She exhaled. “Some witchkinds have been giving him crap about being a Conductor.”

I leaned up onto my elbows. “Like what?”

“A couple of threatening notes left in his locker and some anonymous e-mails calling him a cheat and a fake.”

“Why on earth for?” My voice echoed loudly in the still room.

Selene exhaled again. “It’s stupid. But I guess a lot of the witchkinds aren’t happy about an ordinary using their magic. They’re acting like he stole it or something.”

I gasped, outraged. “That the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I know,” Selene said, a dark tone to her voice. “And it gets worse. Lance told me that his dad and the other witchkind politicians are unhappy that he’s being allowed to use magic at all. They tried to stop it. They say it’s dangerous to let an ordinary do magic.”

“What? But that’s so unfair.” I wanted to hit something, but the only thing available was a pillow, and that would be less than satisfying. No wonder Eli was so distraught. He’d been so happy to discover his magic, but now he was getting heat for it. My heart hurt for him. I wondered why he hadn’t told me.

“What does Lance say about it?” I asked, bracing for the worst.

I heard Selene shift on her bed. “He’s angry. More angry than I’ve seen him. He had a big fight with his dad about it on the phone. Senator Rathbone wants him to put in a new roommate request, but Lance refused. He’s no plans on ditching Eli.” Something like awe, or maybe pride colored Selene’s voice.

My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe it. I never would’ve expected Lance to stand up to his father. I guess this meant he wasn’t quite the total jackass I’d always taken him for. “I’m glad to hear it,” I said.

Selene didn’t respond for several long seconds. Then she said in a soft voice, “Me, too.”

We fell silent after that, each of us no doubt thinking about the boys in our lives as we drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Despite our good intentions, Selene and I both slept in late the next day. We hurried to get dressed. The cafeteria would be closing soon, and as much as I wanted to eat a Milky Way Midnight bar for breakfast, I figured it was a bad idea. Maybe afterward.

I opened the door to leave but froze when I saw my mother standing in the hallway, one hand raised as if she were just about to knock. I stared at her a full thirty seconds before registering that it was really her.

Moira put a hand on her hip, her vivid red fingernails flashing. A scathing look crossed her face. “I haven’t possibly been gone long enough that you’ve forgotten me.”

A huge smile spread across my face. “Mom!” I jumped forward, grabbing her so hard around the waist that she grunted.

But she hugged me back and kissed my cheek. “I missed you, too.”

I pulled away from her, a dozen questions on the tip of my tongue, but Mom held up a piece of paper, distracting me.

“I just got in this morning, but I hear you’re looking for a day pass,” she said, grinning smugly.

I grabbed the paper and examined it more closely, confirming it was legit. “You’re the best, Mom.”

Moira tilted her head, her blond hair—longer than it had been the last time I saw her—brushing against her shoulder. “I know.” She waved. “You two ladies go grab your coats. Let’s head out now.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, I climbed into the passenger seat of my mom’s neon orange-and-black pin-striped Dodge Challenger. Magickind were supposed to blend in with ordinaries whenever they traveled out in the ordinary world, but my mother tried to blend in more with teenage boys and old men with too much money and too little hair.