I held my breath, feeling something inside me shift, my internal gauge for him moving from doubt to belief. Then I exhaled as the change brought a sweet relief like setting down a heavy burden I hadn’t even realized I’d been carrying.

Acting on impulse, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and held it out to him.

Paul looked at it as if he’d never seen one before. “What are you doing?”

“Take it. Do whatever you need to do.”

Paul’s fingers slid around mine, as if he intended to take my hand along with the phone.

“You keep it.” Paul pushed my hand into my chest. “Give it to the sheriff. To get to the app press the home button three times and then swipe to the left twice. The pass code is three-eight-seven-eight-nine-seven. It’ll open the app and all the files, too.”

My mouth fell open, even as my mind repeated the numbers, committing them to memory. “You’re giving it to me? But why?”

In answer, Paul leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “You already know.” He let go of me then and started walking toward the mouth of the tunnel. But he paused and turned around. “Say, you, um, wouldn’t ever consider maybe giving it a go with me again, would you? That is, assuming I’m still alive come Sunday.”

It was such the wrong question at the wrong time, and I found myself wanting to cry and laugh at once. “Just promise that you’ll stay alive no matter what and we’ll talk about it.”

“Deal,” he said. And then he disappeared into the darkness.

29

The Circle of Twelve

“Where have you been?”

I paused in the doorway of Eli’s dorm, wary of his tone and the fierce look in his eye. “I told you, I was tired after my meeting with Deverell and wanted to take a nap.” At least, this was the story I sent him when he’d texted me during dinner, wanting to know why I wasn’t in the cafeteria. In truth, I’d just needed to be alone for a while, sorting through my thoughts and feelings. Not that I’d managed to resolve anything.

Eli put his hands on his hips, his expression doubtful. “So you weren’t down in the tunnels with Paul? All alone?”

I frowned. “Were you spying on me?” He of all people would know how to do it without me noticing.

“No, of course not.” He scowled. “Selene told me you’d been to see him.”

My face flushed. I brushed past him, heading for the sofa. I plopped down onto it and folded my arms. “It was nothing. I just needed to talk to him. I thought he deserved a heads-up about us going to the sheriff. And you’ve got nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself.”

Eli held his breath, his eyes hard. Then he exhaled, the anger seeping out of him. “I suppose you’re right.”

I frowned, unsure if he was agreeing with me telling Paul or that I could take care of myself.

“I mean,” Eli went on before I could ask him, “I don’t know why I worry about you so much. You can kick my ass, let alone Paul’s.”

I gaped. Had he really just said that? “You’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I be kidding?” Eli came over and sat down on the sofa beside me.

I glanced sideways at him. “Um, because you’re a guy and really big and stuff.”

He rolled his eyes in my direction. “That hardly matters when magic’s a factor.” Eli slid the ring from his finger and twisted it to the right, expelling the glamour to reveal his wand. “When it is, I might as well be a ninety-pound weakling.”

I cleared my throat. “Still having trouble with it?”

“Oh, you could say that.” Eli tossed the wand onto a nearby table. It skidded, clacking loudly, and stopped just shy of falling over the side.

I swallowed, sympathy making my throat tight. How awful for him. Not only was he getting harassed by witchkinds, but he could hardly use the magic they had tried to keep from him in the first place. I patted his leg. “Just give it some time. I struggled for a long while, too … heh … what am I saying? I still struggle.”

Eli snorted. “Sure, more time.” He popped his neck. “So what happened with Deverell?”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, that. Still not unblocked.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But I’m close, only one letter to go.” I opened my eyes in time to see Eli’s disappointed expression. Never mind that he banished it with a smile a second later.

“I guess we both need some more time.”

“Sure, which we don’t have. At least, which I don’t have. I don’t suppose you found something helpful in The Atlantean Chronicle.” I turned my gaze to the desk and saw the book lying opened on top of it.

“No,” Eli said. “If there’re any details on an assassination in there, it must be a single sentence only. More likely, the Atlantis in that e-mail was code for something else.”

I exhaled. “You’re probably right.” I stood up and faced him. “We might as well get a move on then. Who knows? Maybe we’ll find something in the dream this time.”

Eli smiled as he shifted sideways, lying down on the sofa. “I’m sure we will.”

I waited for him to fall asleep, refusing to get my hopes up. A few minutes later, I climbed on top of him and entered his dream. To my relief, the world I found myself in a moment later was free of the fog that had plagued his last few dreams.