Spell Fire (18 page)

Thor picked me up in an older model silver BMW convertible. The top was up, a nod to the wintry chill. Aunt Terra had insisted we bring a mountain of extra jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves. We stowed them in the trunk.

"She must think we're going to Siberia, not up the street," I apologized as Thor lowered the lid.

"The trails can get cold and windy." Thor walked with me to the passenger's side and opened the car door for me. "Terra is looking out for us." He sighed. "But she's foiling my evil plan."

"What evil plan?" I buckled my seat belt to keep from leaping up and kissing him.

"To share my body warmth if you get cold."

"Oh." My abdomen shivered. "My parents warned me about boys like you."

"Did they?" His wavy blond hair framed his face, and a rakish expression lit his eyes. "Funny. My parents didn't say a word about girls like you."

You mean mental cases.
"They didn't need to. I'm like a train approaching an intersection. Gates go down and warning bells clang."

He angled his head. "Not my experience."

He closed the passenger door. As he walked around to the driver's side, I replayed his words in my head, savoring the meaning implied in his tone.
He doesn't see me as defective.
I could just imagine Jazmin's happy dance when I finally had a chance to tell her. I had to get a photo. Otherwise, she'd never believe me.

He got in and started the car. The satellite radio was set to an oldies rock station. As Thor drove the few blocks to the café, a drum solo sounded, and he tapped the steering wheel in accompaniment. It so reminded me of Jazmin's boyfriend.

"You should join the drumming circle," I said when the song finished and we had pulled into the dirt lot behind the café.

"I used to go." Regret tinged his voice, making me wonder why he had stopped attending. Thor parked the car, cut the engine, and unbuckled his seat belt. "I'm starving!" His palm circled his heart before grabbing the keys.

We opened the car doors in unison and climbed out. Our hiking boots scrunched the sand, kicking up dust as we approached the steep stairs leading down to the rear entrance. I hesitated at the top of the stairs, calculating.
Left, right, left, ground.
At the door, I reached beneath my leather bomber jacket and tugged my hoodie cuff over my hand to use as a germ shield.

"Allow me." Thor reached around me and opened the door.

Loud lunch chatter and yummy food smells swamped me. My stomach growled. We threaded past the table where Jett and I had sat, past the line at the counter, and ended up just inside the front door. I studied the menu painted high on the wall. "What looks good to you?" I asked.

"The Dusty Britches Platter." He pointed to the crazy-sounding listing, which included macaroni and cheese, soup, and salad. "What about you?"

The salad tempted me, but I feared the green onions would give me bad breath. "Grilled cheese," I decided out loud.

When we reached the front of the line, Morningstar beamed and said, "Greetings, Vikings!"

Thor cast me a bemused look before focusing on Morningstar. "Hail, wench!"

She giggled.

"Hey." I eyed the two men behind her, working the grill. They appeared clean and tidy, as if they followed the health code and kept their hair tied back and washed their hands. I decided to risk it. "Grilled cheese, please." As I pulled some cash out of my pocket, Thor told Morningstar, "We're together. Same check." To me, he said, "And I'm paying."

"Are you sure?"

"Yee-ah." He drew it out into two syllables as if he meant
of course
or
are you kidding?

"Thanks." No one ever treated the rich girl — quite the opposite. I felt like he had placed a sparkly tiara on my head inscribed Special.

To Morningstar he said, "The Dusty Britches Platter, please."

"Any drinks?"

I tore my gaze from the brownies. "Just water, thanks."

"Make it two," Thor said. He reached over me and plucked the largest brownie from the tray. "And one appetizer."

"You eat it as an appetizer, and you won't want anything else," Morningstar warned.

"We'll risk it." He flashed a bring-it-on smile, and I wondered why a modeling agency or casting director hadn't discovered him yet.

"It's your funeral," she said. "I mean—" High color spread across her cheeks.

"What's the total?" Thor asked, nicely but abruptly.

Morningstar told him the amount. After he'd paid for our order, Thor staked out a table while I fetched the cleanest-looking silverware and napkins from the self-serve station. When I returned, he had already unwrapped the brownie and pushed it to the middle of the table.

I handed him the tableware and a napkin. "Did I forget anything?"

"Nope. Perfect. Thanks."

"You're welcome." As I watched, he cut the half-brick sized brownie into four pieces. With the knife, he pushed two of the pieces toward me, sliding them along the crinkled plastic wrap. They weren't exactly equal. My OCD coiled. I lifted one shoulder, then the other, trying to realign myself.

"Appetizer or dessert?" he asked.

"Hand me the knife."

"To a ninja? I don't know if I should," he teased, holding the knife out of reach.

I huffed out an anxious breath.
He gave you the bigger half. Do not take the knife and shave off a sixteenth of an inch and push it back at him.
I searched for a quick cover. "Then
you
cut my pieces into halves."

"Going for the lady-sized bites, eh?" He leaned forward and divided my two pieces into four neat squares.

"You caught me," I lied.

We each reached for a piece, making the size discrepancy less obvious. My anxiety wormed into the floor, and I mentally sent it deep into the earth and kicked a boulder over it.

The rattling of dishes, whirring of the blender, and chatter from the other tables faded away as I savored the divine chocolate. After I had made the bite last as long as possible, I asked, "How did your finals go?"

"Close to awesome." He wiped his buttery, chocolate-smudged fingers on a paper napkin. "You?"

"I had to take one before I came here. It sucked. The rest are waiting for me when I return." Regret swamped me. I should have been studying this morning instead of painting boxes Rhododendron pink and Mighty Aphrodite purple for the Kids' Corner castle.

Be in the present.
"Where are you headed after high school?"

"I hope, college." His palm circled his heart.

"Have you picked a major?" I crossed my fingers, hoping he'd say astrophysics.

"Consciousness and Transformative Studies."

"Wow." I added it to my growing list of things to search online when I had some alone time with the store computer.

Before either of us could say more, a tattooed server stepped between us and asked, "Who had the grilled cheese?"

I raised my hand. "I did."

The heaping plates made tiny thuds as the server placed them on the table. "Anything else you need?" he asked.

Thor and I surveyed the table. "I think we're good," he said, throwing me a questioning look.

"Everything looks fantastic," I said.

"Cool." The server left.

I inhaled the comfort food smells, and straightened the two halves of my pre-cut sandwich before taking the first bite. We dug in. Thor finished his soup before moving on to his macaroni and cheese. He pushed back his sleeves, then tackled the salad. The light glinted off his medical alert bracelet.

I pointed my pickle at his wrist and asked, "An allergy?"

"Nah." He pulled his sleeve over the bracelet and eyed my half-eaten pickle.

I dropped the pickle onto my plate and snatched the last bit of sandwich. "If I leave to use the bathroom, will my brownie still be here when I return?"

Thor leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his ribcage, and shook his head. "First date, and already trust issues."

I popped the sandwich morsel into my mouth, chewed twice, then swallowed and summoned my sternest expression.

"Okay," he cracked. "But hurry. After seven minutes, my willpower vanishes."

"Every superhero has a weakness. You can have the rest of my pickle if it will buy me an extra minute."

"Deal." He leaned forward, snatched it, placed it on his empty plate, and then slumped back in his chair.

I rose and scanned the narrow hall behind him where the bathrooms were located.
No line.
Thor straightened in his seat. His amber-flecked eyes twinkled. "You think I'm a superhero?"

A familiar nudge pressed between my shoulder blades, igniting a sudden burst of dragon energy. I leaned down close enough to feel the warmth emanating from Thor's cheek and breathe in his lavender-and-sage scent. "I think you were once a dragon who flew over the Imperial City."

I pulled away and he caught my hand, sending delicious tingles up my arm. His eyes flickered. "Hurry back," he said, his voice low and husky.

Count on it.

In the sage-walled bathroom, the dragon energy ebbed away, leaving me with a slight buzz. I took care of business, then washed my hands — once. Standing on tiptoes, I checked my teeth in a mirror mounted so high on the wall, I suspected a giant had hung it. Using a fresh paper towel as a germ shield, I slid open the tarnished brass bolt and opened the door. A quick toss landed the towel inside the bathroom wastebasket. Chin high, I strode toward the dining area.

Thor sat sideways in his seat, watching for me. The plates had been cleared. Thor's half of the brownie had likewise disappeared.

"I must have been under the seven minute mark."

He stood and handed me the remaining dessert. "Indeed."

I fought the urge to cover my hands with my sleeves and cradled the treats. "Onward to Hidden Valley."

Thor left a tip, then we trooped out back.
Left, right, left, parking lot.
A vivid blue sky greeted us. I donned my sunglasses.
Poor Jazmin and Rayne.
I imagined them hunkered in their raincoats, slogging through lake-sized puddles on their way to seventh period. I hoped my parents were happily ensconced on deck chairs, reconciling.

We swerved around a half-sunken boulder and then came back together so closely our jacket sleeves rubbed. My abdomen fluttered. I willed him to clasp my hand again. Instead, he unlocked the car and opened the door for me.

"So polite for a Viking," I commented.

"I thought you said I was a dragon."

"Different lifetimes."

"Of course." He arched one brow. "You sound more like Terra and Esmun every day."

Dad would be horrified.

The door closed with a secure thud. I placed the plastic-wrapped bundle on my lap while I buckled my seat belt. Thor walked around to the driver's side, opened the door, and slid in. "What?" He glanced at the brownies perched on my knees. "You haven't eaten them yet?"

"Willpower. I'm channeling my inner ninja."

"Good to know." He twisted the key in the ignition.

I glanced about the car's tidy interior. No soda cans. No empty water bottles. No fast food cups with the straws still stuck in the plastic tops. A spare pair of dark sunglasses hung from the rearview mirror. No spill stains on the floor mats or seats. He passed the cleanliness test.

The tires kicked up sand and small rocks as Thor negotiated the parking lot and headed for the main road. Almost immediately, he exited onto a side street and drove past a visitor's center. "Portia left me a voicemail."

I twisted in the seat to face him. "Did she come up with a solstice event?"

"Sorry. No. It was something her granddaughter had told her."

I slumped in the seat.
Evie told her about Sophia. About my being committed.
I envisioned my relationship with Thor imploding.
He knows I'm crazy. He knows I'm crazy. He knows I'm crazy.
My throat constricted. Hot tears threatened to crest my eyelids and trickle beneath my sunglasses. I wished my parents would surface so I could go home.

"The spell book is better. Portia had credited the drumming. But Evie thought it was because of you."

I sat up and wheezed air into my lungs. "Me?"

"Yep. Evie said the grimoire likes when magic rights a wrong."

"But I haven't done any magic. I wouldn't know how."

His expression grew incredulous. "You vanquished a demon and stopped Lucia and her creepy friend from poisoning Spiral Journeys with dark magic!"

"Oh. That."

"Yeah.
That."
Thor stuck out his fist and we knuckle-bumped. "Evie and her mother are driving down for Christmas. Maybe we'll get to meet them."

My heart nosedived to my feet. I twisted toward the side window so he couldn't see my panic. A dilapidated mobile home park came into view. "Is this where Jett lives?"

Thor slowed the car and glanced out my window. "Could be. There aren't too many trailer parks in town."

"Wow." It would be a long skateboard ride, scorching during the afternoon, and deserted and scary at night. The sign out front had a pocked, scoured-by-sandstorms look. Whirligigs stuck in cactus pots twirled in the wind. The concrete had been sprayed green around some of the doublewides; others sported plastic turf. No pool. No place for Isis or the other kids to play. I flashed on my custom two-story fort back home with its yellow plastic slide and red disc swings. I had outgrown it years ago. The surrounding oaks, with their brittle fallen leaves, had pretty much reclaimed it. I wondered how much it would cost to clean and ship it.

The car picked up speed again. We cruised past homes where the desert came right up to the front door. I imagined rattlesnakes and scorpions slithering and stalking across the threshold. My flesh crawled.

"Pretty isolated," Thor said.

I shook my head. "I couldn't do it."

"Me either, it's too far from civilization. Hospitals. School." His fingers tapped the steering wheel.

"Malls."

His gaze shifted from the road to me in a ten-second, head-to-toe appraisal, sweeping my French braid, caramel turtleneck sweater, hoodie, chocolate leather jacket, and skinny jeans. The amber flecks in his eyes gleamed. "You are such a girl."