"Your face tells me I didn't give the answer you wanted. Stay inside the circle and let the peace of the Mother of Mercy come to you."
I still held back. "What if my undisciplined power causes a problem?"
"Let peace come to you."
Raucous knocks sounded from the door. When I saw Salvador through the peephole, I let him in.
He marched over to Rusty. "I got a way to meet Felicia's new boyfriend."
It took me a second to reorient and remember this was Salvador's quest. "How did you manage that?"
"I met this neighbor yesterday when I was at Felicia's picking up clothes for her to be buried in. Stupid. Mom wants her to look pretty at the service. Stupid. Who cares how you look in the coffin?" He grimaced and turned away from us, wiping at his eyes with his arm.
"It's a way to show respect for the dead." From the damage done to Felicia, I didn't see how she'd look pretty in the coffin. I tried to see things from his point of view. "If we dishonor them, we shame ourselves."
Sal kicked a black beanbag. It shaped itself into a ball and rolled into the middle of the circle. "One minute my parents are like zombies, the next they're crazy people, yelling and screaming and crying. Today they had to act normal because that kid of Felicia's is going to be at the house."
"You didn't want to see the baby?"
He nudged a red beanbag with his toe. It wriggled away. "According to my mother, I'm too hyper, and I'd make the kid cry. Anyway, I needed to talk to you two guys about this thing Mark is trying to set up."
At the mention of Mark's name, I froze because for a crazy second it seemed like he was still alive. "Mark?"
"Yeah, he came over when I was at Felicia's place yesterday. He's some old guy who supposedly was Felicia's best friend. Not that Felicia ever mentioned him. He told me about seeing Felicia's boyfriend Sunday night. He knew how crazy mad Felicia loved her new boyfriend."
Mark was still alive for him. I was going to have to tell Sal. That felt like killing Mark again. "When exactly did you talk to Mark?"
"Yesterday morning, when I picked up Felicia's clothes. This Mark guy said Felicia's lover phoned him. He was going to fill me in on what happened when they met. I thought he'd call by now."
Rusty slid around to stand between Salvador and me. She put her hands on her hips, ready for a quick response if he exploded.
I tried to keep my voice level. "You need to know something about Mark. We had already interviewed him, so he knew us. He did go out to meet Felicia's lover last night in Tempe. When the Mystery Man didn't show, Mark called us."
Sal threw his hands up. "Why didn't he call me?"
"Mark didn't mention you. Felicia's lover called him while we were talking. Mark went outside to meet him. A car came out of the alley and hit Mark. He died soon after he got to the hospital."
Sal backed up out of the circle of beanbags until he bumped into a futon sofa that shifted away from him. "He can't be dead, like Felicia."
"Rusty and I had to live through it. The car knocked him halfway across the street. He was a crushed, bloody mess."
He drew back his leg to kick at a black futon. I grabbed his arm and yanked at him. "No, I've had enough violence from you. You leave that thing alone."
The futon scooted away, accompanied by two beanbags. They ended up huddled together on the opposite wall.
Sal put his foot down from the attempted kick. He stared at me. Gently, he removed my hand. "Why didn't he call me? He promised he'd keep me in the loop."
"If you reeked of pot when you talked to Mark and acted crazy, he probably had second thoughts later. Like being afraid you'd get violent."
He wiped his hands on his shorts. "I haven't used since I saw you guys Thursday."
Rusty walked over to a group of three beanbags. "Let's sit. It's hard to be aggressive when you're sprawled on a beanbag." She nudged a red one with her toe and addressed it, "It's okay, baby, we're going to behave."
The beanbag uncurled itself and formed into a chair shape. Two black beanbags, when touched by Rusty, joined the red one to create a half circle. After Rusty and I chose the end pieces, Sal lowered himself between us, sitting cross-legged.
He turned to me. "It wasn't an accident, right? You're saying this guy killed Mark?"
"That's what I think. I don't know what the cops are running with. Do you, Rusty?"
She leaned back, cupping her hands behind her head. "It's complicated. The Phoenix cops think they already have their suspect, but they're talking with Tempe in case the crimes are connected."
"Why did he have to get killed?" Sal sat hunched over his tightened fists.
I slouched a bit, in the hope that Sal would relax his body language. "So far, Mark's the only person who could have identified Felicia's lover. I don't know anybody else who actually saw him."
"Mark had a picture of the new boyfriend." Sal announced.
"Did you see it?"
"No, he promised Felicia he wouldn't show it to anyone."
I imagined Mark repeating a vow he'd made to Felicia. "What did Mark do with the picture?"
"He had a hiding place somewhere that no one would ever guess."
"You need to tell the police." I wrote down the Tempe cop's name and number and handed it to Sal.
He shoved it into a pocket. "Okay, not that it will do any good." Jumping off the beanbag, Sal looked down on us. "I'm going to find her new boyfriend. He was the last man who loved Felicia."
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
In the barn, I watched Jake flex the fingers of the Felicia mannequin. She lay flat on a counter along the wall of a cubicle. She'd been repaired, and her unblemished skin flushed a faint pink. In the space to my right, Vidoc glanced at me with raised brows. The students had returned. Next to Vidoc, a woman shook a blue liquid in a clear vial.
I couldn't wait for Jake to finish. "I want to know if you think a removal spell will take away the erratic magic Ernie sent to me."
Jake put down the mannequin's hand and turned to face me. "After this morning, Petra, I see the magic as being a part of your natural being. It's not something to be flushed out like an attacking virus. I could just as soon remove someone's talent for drawing or their belief in God."
"There is still a possibility it's an unusually virulent spell that could be removed. Theoretically, right?"
"No, in my opinion, you have magic blood that had not been normally activated in childhood. Ernie's actions triggered your suppressed talent."
"My position is that you have to try the removal spell unless you're positive to a degree of unchallengeable certainty that magic is an innate characteristic to me."
"I don't buy your self-serving lawyer's analysis." He pulled Ruby's box out of my pocket and handed it to me. "Having a familiar select you is a critical sign that you have wizard blood."
I removed Ruby from the box and held her up to the light. Her glass shell enclosed a skeletal system and organs. I stared at a throbbing red blob. "Is this her heart? Did I make it beat?"
"Your magic set her parts in motion."
Her heart beat much faster than mine. My breath caught as I watched it sending out blood. "I have to finish what I've begun."
"When you joined me in fighting the wind demon," Jake said, "you sent a surge of power that had purpose and direction. It was way beyond any flash of a days-old spell from a dysfunctional wizard."
Ruby was looking everywhere but at me. I tried to think of a counterargument but couldn't, a bad sign for a lawyer. "That's a subjective opinion on your part, not something you can verify with objective data. However, relying on your opinion, I'll accept your judgment as a working hypothesis and proceed with my further training."
"If I get what you're saying, your denial is softening."
"I'm still going to get a second opinion."
Jake nodded as if that's what he expected of me. "You can get all the opinions you want. No reputable wizard will perform a removal spell for you on
ce they learn about the familiar. It would be the equivalent of an exorcism. You once told me you understood the futility and cruelty of an exorcism."
That was before I knew I might need one. "I'm willing to stay here and work on the assumption that I have wizard blood, unless I learn differently."
"Always the lawyerly qualification. We'll start you on the regular program Monday. Once Ruby finishes her physical development, you'll do bonding and training with her. Why don't you research the issue? The library has books and a desk for your laptop."
"You don't need to be with me in the library?"
"The books will supervise you. They've never needed protection."
The library was at the top of the moving stairs. As I reached to open the door, it faded away. I lurched inside, thanks to the step down. In front of me, a shelf of books rose up to the ceiling. As I looked at them, titles flashed Watch Who You Call a Witch, The Roswell Revelation, The Naturalism of Supernaturalism. I went straight, almost stumbling when the floor slanted down.
The spines of the books lit up in red, black, and white. "Read me." The books had tones that ranged from gruff to ear-piercing.
At the back wall, I turned right and spotted a table where I could use my laptop. I squeezed between oversized books that jutted into the aisle and stacks of books piled crookedly on the floor. Sgt. SpellCheck's Right Way Magic, a foot wide and half-a-foot thick, pitched itself onto the floor in front of me.
"Need a spell. Know me well." A woman's voice shrilled from the book.
I deposited Sgt. SpellCheck on the table. On the cover, a woman in military camouflage with sergeant's stripes pointed a riding crop at a kid in a wizard's hat.
I skimmed through the steps in Ruby's instruction manual until I reached the point where the familiar had all her working parts, figuring she would soon be through with her development. Step Number Seven ordered Perform a bonding spell with your familiar. The voices of the books faded. I'd just started an internet search for a bonding spell when the woman sergeant peeled off the dust jacket illustration and appeared as a one-dimensional figure. Curly red hair cascaded out from under a baseball cap.
She snapped the riding crop at me. "Sergeant SpellCheck here. Attention! Halt. Hands off the keyboard."
"Why?"
Sgt. SpellCheck did a deep knee bend and jumped to the rim of the computer. She whacked it with her riding crop. "Time saved is time earned."
"This web page guarantees to bond me with my familiar in seven easy steps."
She beckoned me closer. "Recruit, does that training manual have the seal of approval from the Wizards Council?" A gold star on the cover of her book gleamed.
"No, but I can find one that does."
Her frizzy hair bounced as she paced across the laptop lid. "I'll march you to the best spells in my book. You'll conquer all. In return, you'll take me out of the library. An unread book is a dead book. No one reads me now that I have a web site." She jumped onto the keyboard, setting off a flurry of typing. "Do you want to be responsible for my living death?"
"Show me your best material for bonding with a familiar."
A clipboard appeared in her hand. "State your name, recruit."
"Petra Rakowitz."
Sgt. SpellCheck flipped through the papers on the clipboard. "Your name does not appear on the ranch's roster."
"Actually, I don't start till Monday. Officially."
She jumped into my face and hovered there. Her cheeks flamed. "Have you been deceiving me?"
"No, I'm here at the ranch but not actually started in the program."
Sgt. SpellCheck tapped me on the nose with her riding crop. I jerked back at the sting.
"Recruit Rakowitz, I withdraw my offer of help. Your weasel words failed you."
She flattened herself back into the cover illustration. SpellCheck lumbered back to the shelf, cramming itself in.
I kneeled down next to the book. "I told the truth, and I told it straight."
I tugged at SpellCheck, but couldn't make it budge. "All right. You can just stay dead. I'll get the help I need from the internet."
A book tumbled onto my head and then fell onto the floor.
"Do you dare?" A creaky voice inquired, so faint I had to bend down to hear.
I rubbed my head. No damage. The book was the size of a hardback novel. Its title appeared in black letters on the faded red cover. This Is All You Know of Spells and All You Need to Know.
"Do you dream?"
The voice came out of the book. The letters of the title lifted off the cover and formed into a ball. Bird legs came out at the bottom. A raven's shape appeared. It hopped onto the floor, fluttered its wings, lifting about a foot. It landed on the part of SpellCheck that jutted into the aisle.
"Get back in the book," I ordered, "I need spells for training my familiar."
Its beak opened. "Do you swear?" The voice was loud, croaking.
Lawyerly instincts aroused, I snapped to attention. "What?"
"Own me."
"You mean, take your book with me?"
The bird cocked its head. "Into your chamber."
"You want me to keep the book in my room. Is that all?"
"Read me."
"How often?"
"With love." The raven pecked at SpellCheck, leaving a dent.
"What do I get out of this?"
"My best spells."
I made up my mind. "Here's the deal. I take you to my room and open you once a day. In return, you provide the spells I need."
"Speak, and my best spells are yours."
His beady eyes darted around. He had to be a male, with his abrupt diction, demanding nature, and melodramatic, juvenile attitude. He ruffled his feathers. As he flew toward the book, I called out, "What's your name?"
He coughed out something that sounded like "Low key."
He faded into the title. I picked up the book and fingered its red cover marked with water stains. A sigh and a puff of dust escaped.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Vidoc was in the kitchen stacking gingerbread men into a plastic container.
"Snacks?" I inhaled the spicy aroma.
"They're for a student's birthday Monday. I'll do an animation spell with them singing 'Happy Birthday,' marching down the table toward the birthday boy. You can have this one. The legs fell off."
"Thanks." I put the spell book on the table. "I need someone to supervise me to do a bonding spell. I picked up a familiar at the market."
Vidoc brushed his knuckles over the cover. "The raven hasn't selected a student for three years. His last pick was a wizard of incomparable but disturbing talent."
I watched him pack up the last gingerbread man. A faint smile turned up his lips.
"You were his last choice?"
He snapped the lid on the container. "You'll find Loki a challenging partner. If you're rusty on Norse mythology, you might want to look him up."
The doorbell rang. While Vidoc went to answer, I did an internet search on "Loki," who it turned out was a trickster god in Norse mythology. Since I didn't picture Norse myth as being full of merry pranksters, I wanted to read more, but a deep male voice from the living room distracted me. "My nephew seeks sanctuary. He needs help."
"I'll check with Kai," Vidoc said.
I opened the kitchen door a slit. Ira Flynn and his uncle Ronan stood in the foyer. After shutting the door, I leaned on the table and visualized what Ira's presence meant. He'd returned for a tune-up. Monday morning, Ira would see me flip around rag dolls as I fumbled through spells. An accomplished wizard, Ira was at the ranch to repair his skills, while I was here to learn all the baby steps. For the first time, the real enormity of my task hit me, and I sank into a kitchen chair and gripped my hands.
Loki popped out of the book. "You will weep."
"I'm never going to cry."
"I will know why." He vanished.
"I'm sorry, man. I'm really sorry," Ira said.
"
You're doing the right thing. This is the first step to the end."
Now that I heard Ronan's voice next to Ira's, I fancied the older man's tones had more authority.
"Ira, Kai wants to talk to you in her office," Vidoc said.
I opened my laptop and read a message from Chris. I just returned from an overnight camping trip with the kids—no internet for twenty-four hours. It appears I witnessed the first manifestation of your power in my office. Jake has a great program. Good luck. I really wanted you working with me, but I understand you'll be at the ranch a while, so I'll take over from here on Keegan's case. Rusty is keeping me updated about Mark Turner. Since I'm studying with Jake to be a Master Sorcerer, I'll be seeing you.
I fired off a quick reply. Too bad I'm off Keegan's case since one of the main witnesses/potential suspects is now a resident at the Disclaimer Ranch. I deleted that sentence because it sounded pouty and violated Ira's privacy. I sent Chris a thank you, not carping on the fact that I'd been politely fired. The legless gingerbread man I'd been staring at crumbled into pieces. I guess I had some anger in my gaze from being dumped.
Even though Chris had fired me, he couldn't stop me from poking around and asking questions about Keegan's case. One of the potential suspects was now a resident at the Disclaimer Ranch, available for me to investigate. It wasn't like Chris would refuse to listen if I found something helpful.
I looked into the living room, where Ronan Flynn stood in the beanbag half circle. He contemplated the grubby back yard. At the whoosh of the swinging kitchen door, he turned.
I stepped up to him. "I suppose Ira told you I'm at the ranch now. I won't be working with Chris anymore on Keegan's case."
He straightened his shoulders. I could almost hear his brain shift gears into a reassessment. A wound-up woman, coiled tight around an empty space. He squeezed my hand. "May the peace of the Mother of Mercy find you."
I took my hand back and rubbed it. Energy from him tingled over my skin. "Ira has found peace here?"
"Ira has never found peace." His glance jerked from me toward Vidoc, who had reentered the living room. "Ira finds new ways to rebuild himself." Taking in a deep breath, he put his hand on Vidoc's shoulder. "Are Kai and Ira ready for me?"
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