"I wouldn't have come here if it hadn't been so important," I said as he ushered me down the hall. I picked up my pace so I could walk a beat ahead of him instead of feeling as If he were leading me along. "We can't just stand by while all those people don't even realize the danger. Any sanctions The Circle lays on me—"
"Oh," Dad said. "Those won't come down on you."
The Circle would be angry with him? As if he were my keeper and not just a parent. But guilt bit into my stomach all the same.
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“I know.”
“But nothing’s changed, has it? You’re all just going to let the eruption happen.”
“I spoke with your grandfather on my own a few nights ago,” Dad said, opening the front door for me. His car was waiting by the curb. “He said he would take my opinions under advisement, but that without an official proposal with security for the Confederation, it would be difficult to form a plan.”
I knew that tired note in his voice. Those were a lot of words that simply meant he’d gotten nowhere.
I stopped beside the car and spun to face him. "Tell me, truthfully, that you believe there’s any chance of someone in the Confed taking action to protect those people."
“Jonathan…” His eyes twitched away from mine. Just for an instant, but that was enough of an answer. A tight, wrenching fury tore up through me.
He tried. To be sure, he tried. But he clearly had never gone far enough.
"We can talk about this further at home," Dad said, reaching for the car door. As if talking had solved anything so far. It was time for more than that. My jaw set. Possunt quia posse videntur.
"Maybe tomorrow," I said.
Dad turned with a frown, but a verse in ancient Greek was already spilling from my mouth. A chariot racing toward victory. The words spilled out as fast as and forceful as I could summon the energy for this casting while keeping the melody.
The magic whipped around me in a whirlwind. I focused all my attention on my memory of the fountain in Central Park—far enough that he couldn't quickly follow, near enough that I wouldn’t exhaust myself—and ‘chanted myself away from him.
Chapter Twelve
Amy
My nerves jangled all the way home from the park. The way Jonathan had just taken off—what was he going to do?
What could he do, if the volcano was going to erupt now and none of the leaders of his magical community were willing to even try to help? But all of those people on and near Mount St. Helens right now, or who might be when it erupted…
My hand twitched against my hip, a rhythmic gesture that might have once calmed my nerves. My fingers had only been moving for a few seconds when the windshield wiper on a car I was passing jumped an inch, squeaking against the dry glass. I flinched.
Crap. I had to watch myself more carefully.
The murmur of magic around me sounded almost ominous as I hurried back up the stairs to my apartment. I could turn on the news to see if anything had happened yet… How much good was that going to do me, though? Did I really want to watch a tragedy on that scale in real time?
I yanked open the apartment door and halted. Dad was standing in the front hall, his hand over the phone. He pulled it back when he saw me, his expression going tight. A queasy feeling filled my gut.
I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. “Hi, Dad,” I said. “You got out early after all?”
“Not exactly,” he said. “But— I saw you coming out onto the street with a boy just as my taxi was pulling up. He was up in the apartment with you?”
Double crap. I’d told Jonathan everything would be fine if he were around when my dad showed up, but somehow it suddenly felt very, very not okay. Maybe because Dad was still giving me that vaguely pained look.
“He’s just a friend,” I blurted out, so fast I’d bet it was obvious I wasn’t being totally truthful. “He came over to go over some stuff from school. We weren’t sneaking around or anything. I didn’t know when you’d be back.”
“Is this the ‘friend’ you’ve been visiting some of the times you’ve been out the last few weeks? You didn’t mention he was a boy.”
“I didn’t think it was important,” I said. Dad’s expression turned slightly incredulous. “Dad. I know all the stuff about being careful. I promise all we did today was sit and talk and watch TV.”
That much was true. I said it so emphatically that Dad seemed to believe it. His shoulders came down a bit. But he still looked stressed.
“I’d rather you weren’t alone in the apartment with any boys until I’ve at least met them,” he said. “And… Did you and this boy make some phone calls from my office the other night?”
My body stiffened. The question was so unexpected that I didn’t even have time to control my reaction. Dad’s eyebrows rose.
“Amy, I would have thought you’d know better than to be playing around with anything at my workplace. I’m afraid I won’t be able to let you volunteer anymore. What in the world were you thinking, leaving all those messages?”
A flush burned across my cheeks. “I didn’t think anyone would know they were from your office. We just—Jonathan knew more about the volcano than was in the official reports—we had to tell people.”
“I got a few calls in the last couple of days,” Dad said. “Some of the organizations you called were concerned enough that they had the phone company do a trace on the calls, which of course pointed back to the office. Stirring up all that confusion was incredibly irresponsible, Amy. I’m disappointed in you.”
The bottom of my stomach dropped to my feet. After all the progress we’d made getting back to how things used to be… Now I was the one who’d broken his trust. What if I’d ruined everything?
“We were just trying to help,” I said.
“And this boy—Jonathan—he told you he had some secret inside information?”
Geez, when he said it like that, it did sound like I’d been duped by some con artist. I rubbed my mouth. What could I tell him? If I tried to explain about Jonathan’s magic, the ways he and his people had of deciphering these things, Dad would just think I was even more crazy.
I had the sudden urge to try to prove it to him—to levitate a pencil or something. But I wasn’t sure I could pull off anything big enough to convince him I wasn’t just playing tricks. It’d taken more than that for Jonathan to convince me. Dad would probably think it was more nonsense, be even more angry.
And what would Jonathan think if I took the real secret he’d entrusted me with, the one I’d promised was safe with me, and betrayed him by telling other people.
By telling Dulls.
All at once, my chest felt even more empty. Ten times worse than when I’d sensed myself drifting away from Lori and Denise before.
I’d just lost Mom. I’d lost my old friends. Having magic in my life could mean gaining so much… but did it mean I was going to lose Dad too?
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I didn’t know it was going to make any trouble for you.”
Dad raked a hand through his pale hair. “I’ve dealt with it. I don’t have time to hash this out with you now. But I do want to meet this Jonathan before you see him again, anywhere. No contact with him at all until I get back. Do you understand?”
I nodded automatically, frowning. “Get back from where?”
He brushed past the couch on his way to his bedroom. “I’m flying over to Washington State to confer with some colleagues about Mount St. Helens. I don’t know if we can make much difference, but… I know it’s been bothering you, and I’d feel better if I at least got a closer read on the situation.”
My stomach flipped right over. “What? No. Dad, you can’t go out there.” What if he got too close when the whole thing burst?
His suitcase thumped on the bed, and hangers rattled in his closet. “The volcano has been stable for the last few days, and I expect to keep a safe distance anyway. You don’t have to worry.”
He had no idea. “You can’t know that,” I protested, going to his bedroom door. “Please. I am going to be worried. Can you—can you at least wait a few days to make sure it’s completely stable?” Just don’t go right now. Just stay here until the danger’s over.
He marched out of the bedroom with his hastily packed suitcase and ducked into the bathroom. “This is the only chance I’m going to get around the work I get paid for. I promise I won’t be gone long—I should be back tomorrow evening. There are TV dinners in the freezer for tonight.”
Right. As if my main concern was what I’d get to have for dinner. “Dad…”
But what could I say? “My magical friend says the volcano will definitely erupt in the next day, even though your scientific friends haven’t seen a hint of it”? I bit my lip.
Dad stopped by the door and looked at me, half firm, half pleading. “Be smart when I’m gone. Remember what I told you. We can talk more about everything else when I get back.”
About the ways I’d let him down. “Okay,” I said, my throat tight. “Promise me you’ll stay far away from the volcano.”
“I’ll be careful,” he said, which wasn’t the same thing. He hesitated, and for a second I thought he was going to open his arms and offer a hug. Maybe he would have if I hadn’t just screwed everything up.
His hands stayed at his sides. “And I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got to go, or I’ll miss my flight.”
I watched the door for a minute after he’d left, as if he might come back and add something. My chin wobbled. We had been connecting, finding our way back to being some kind of family, but now… Was there any magic that could possibly fix this? This time the trouble actually was my fault, and I couldn’t even explain why.
I went to my bedroom and put on one of my Donna Summers records to try to take my mind off all the worries crowding in. It was on the sixth track when the apartment door rattled with a hasty knocking.
Who the heck could that be? I trudged to the door and opened it a few inches to find Jonathan standing outside.
He was dressed the same as he’d been when he’d left, but his collar was askew and his eyes wild. His gaze flicked across the room behind me and settled back on my face.
“I’m doing it,” he said, sounding like he’d run all the way here from wherever he’d been. “I’m going out there. If they’re not going to help, at least I will, however I can on my own.”
I blinked at him. “What? You’re going—” The pieces clicked together. “You’re going to Mount St. Helens.” Him too?
But at least Jonathan had a better chance of defending himself. At least he knew the full danger.
He nodded. “I tried talking to the—the mages who run things. They’re no use. So I’ll just have to show them… I’ll just have to show them how much of a difference even one mage who’s willing to step up can make.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What are you going to do?”
“I have a few ideas. Things that won’t work as well without a large group of mages working together… I’ll have to do some more thinking on the way about what I can do most effectively on a small scale.” His gaze turned even more intent. “You’ve been in this with me from the start, Amy. Do you want to come? Even a little bit more magic could mean saving a few more people.”
My heart thumped. Yes. Yes, I wanted to. It wasn’t just a bunch of strangers whose lives were on the line—now it was Dad too.
Dad had just finished chastising me for the seemingly crazy schemes I’d already gotten into with this guy. Dad had ordered me not to even see Jonathan again. I’d be breaking his trust all over again, even worse than before. But…
Jonathan held out his hand. The magic in the air tingled around me. My fingers curled into my palms.
Was I really going to stand back and not at least try to help prevent this disaster just to stop Dad from being a little more upset? He wasn’t going to feel anything if he died out there.
I grasped Jonathan’s hand, and he gave me that brilliant smile. Then he leaned in and kissed me, quick but hard.
“How are we going to get to Washington?” I asked as he pulled me into the hall. “We’re just going to hop on a plane?”
“Simple as that,” he said. “And if anyone tries to stop us…” He snapped his fingers with a flare of magical light. And right then, despite everything that had just happened and the crazy thing we were about to do, I thought it might really be that simple.
Chapter Thirteen
Jonathan
The squeal of a magical alarm I’d set to go off pierced through my hazy sleep. I jerked awake in the back seat of the sedan Amy and I had rented. A thin light was just starting to color the sky beyond the windows.
Amy stirred in the driver’s seat, which she’d tipped back as far as it would go. Thank the gods for her learner’s permit. I’d temporarily ‘chanted it to look like a proper driver’s license—and her to look old enough for the airport rental car attendant to give us one of his vehicles.
It’d only been an hour’s drive from Portland to the vicinity of Mount St. Helens, but by the time we’d gotten out here it’d been midnight. There hadn’t been much to see. The volcano was still holding steady, but when I focused my attention on it through the magic in the air, a terse, uneasy energy vibrated off of it. I didn’t need any special magical readings to know it was on the verge of the tipping point.
No one was heading up the mountain in the middle of the night, anyway. After scouting out the area as well as we could in the dark, we’d parked on the shoulder of the road well outside the danger zone and settled in to get a little sleep. We weren’t going to be able to conduct enough magic to help even a little if we were completely exhausted. I’d cast a different ‘chantment to alert me if the ground started to shake with an earthquake, but it hadn’t gone off.
Amy pulled her seat up and switched on the radio as I clambered back into the front passenger seat. The local news was discussing some upcoming music festival. She shook her head, her mouth tight. “They’ve got no idea today is going to be the day,” she said. “How does it look to you?”
We both peered at the volcano through the windshield. In the dawn light, the mountain looked almost peaceful with its forested base and snowy peak. But I could hearken that tension in it down to the base of my teeth.
“The eruption is close,” I said. “I can’t tell exactly how soon. Let’s head for the highway blockade now. We don’t know how early people might be gathering there.”
A new group of property owners were scheduled to be given access to their mountain cabins and the like this morning. In our furtive discussions on the plane, Amy and I had decided that was where we could make the most impact, since this rescue effort was limited to the two of us. It was where there’d be the most people all in one spot close to the volcano—and aiming to get closer.
Amy rubbed her eyes. “You’ll show me what to do, right? I don’t know… Doing magic focused on other people… I’m a little more comfortable with pencils and leaves.”
“You’ll be fine,” I said. “You can just help channel the magic toward them, and I’ll do the more focused casting.” A sense of fear and dread strong enough to convince those people they really didn’t want to go up the mountain today after all.
We could cast from the car without anyone noticing. So what if someone thought it was a little odd, everyone changing their minds all of a sudden? Once the volcano erupted, they’d be plenty distracted. They’d call it human intuition or all the other excuses the magicless were so good at coming up with for things they didn’t understand. No harm done, so much good accomplished.
The Circle would never have approved of this plan. The effect wouldn’t be as subtle as they’d have liked, and there wouldn’t have been time to put together the proposals and get wide enough approval by the time we’d even known about the scheduled trips to the mountain properties. But once I pulled this off, once I could show that magic had saved dozens of lives without h
urting the mage community at all, maybe they’d shift their views a little.
And even if they still brushed it off, I’d know we’d saved those dozens of lives.
Amy turned the key in the ignition. “I still feel pretty weird just about this,” she said, gripping the steering wheel. “I’ve never driven on my own before. At least the roads are pretty clear.”
“You’ve been doing great,” I said.
She flashed a smile at me. But as she pressed the gas and the car pulled back onto the road, the smile faltered. We drove in silence for a few minutes, scanning the roads. Her knuckles started to blanch.
“Which turn do we take here again?” she asked as we came up to a crossroad.
I dug the map I’d bought in the airport out of the glove compartment. “Let’s see. Left, and then about a mile down the road we need to take a right.”
She turned the wheel, biting her lip, and I set the map on the dashboard. My gaze slid back to the window. When I fixed my attention on the dark slope looming over the treetops, another discordant tremor passed through the magic into me.
Amy shifted her hands on the wheel. Her fingers fidgeted, tapping out a soft but frenetic beat—and the map leapt off the dashboard to smack the windshield.
My pulse jumped, and Amy startled. Her foot slammed on the gas. We jerked to a halt in the middle of the road.
Amy blinked at the map, which had fallen back down, and let out a ragged breath. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to do that.” She eased up on the brake to let the car creep forward again.
I looked from the map to her, my forehead furrowing. “You cast at it?”
“No. Not exactly. I just— Now that I can hearken the magic better, sometimes I seem to… I don’t know… rub it the wrong way? Or it rubs me the wrong way. Or maybe both. As long as I’m not too twitchy it’s fine.”