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  I have to get out of this. I’m almost done.

  The broken arrow is on the ground a few feet away, teasingly close. Just because it’s broken doesn’t mean it’s useless: the rules didn’t say I had to use the weapons correctly, just that I had to use them. I pick up both ends of the arrow and the demon-cabbie stares at me, claws drawn and lip snarled. I stare back at him. It’s like a Wild West showdown. Which one of us will draw first?

  Me.

  I sprint toward the demon, throwing the piece of the arrow that has the feathers at him. He catches it in the air, only a foot away from me, and I smile. His crimson eyes narrow, examining the arrow, and his brows furrow when he realizes it’s the side with the feathers. I collide with the demon and drive the other half of the arrow into his chest. The half with the salted iron tip. I don’t bother letting go until his demon guts are all over me.

  Everything turns white again and I’m standing in the middle of the training room. My clothes are normal again, but my brain is exhausted. I have no marks. No tears in my clothes. I still feel like I really was tossed around like a bouncy ball. I can’t believe all that was fake. Magic is awesome.

  “See you tomorrow, Miss Grey,” a voice calls out through a speaker as the door opens.

  Chapter Nine

  I can’t leave until Ric is finished since we drove together, and he hasn’t texted me yet, so I wander to the library. Hyde the cat is sitting at the librarian’s desk again. When I come in, he arches his back and his fur stands on end before he runs off down the stacks. I guess he doesn’t like me very much. I walk around Poncho Alistair’s desk and the whole thing is covered in papers. It’s a mess compared to the rest of the neatly organized space.

  I run my fingers over a book that’s open and I look down at the page. There’s a disturbing drawing on the page of a horned demon on the wheel of death thing. A man is holding a knife. The demon’s feet are on fire, and this spark is in the air, shifting between the man and the demon. Under the picture, the words “Ritual Restitution.” I stifle a gasp. That’s the one I plan to do as soon as I find my demon. There’s information here, in the library about it. The Triad really did hide it away. Why is it out in the open like this? It’s the same article I found years ago that outlined the materials needed for the Restitution, but that one didn’t have the picture. Seeing it all depicted there that way—a demon on a wheel of death, fire blooming, a man with a dagger aimed at the demon’s throat—it makes it look evil. If not evil, then dangerous.

  Maybe I’m okay without my own magic.

  For a second, it seems like a good idea. Much less dangerous. Much less at stake for me if I fail. But it’s not what I want. I want to be whole.

  Poncho calls my name and I jump at his voice, push the book away, and look up at him. He’s holding Hyde, stroking his fur. “Interesting reading?”

  I raise an eyebrow at him and cross my arms. I can’t show that I care about this. “Creepy. Why are you looking up that?”

  Poncho lowers Hyde to the ground. “It’s my job to know things.”

  I bite my lip. I can ask him. He knows things. “Can I ask you a confidential question?”

  He nods.

  “What do you know about witches with no power?”

  “Statics? Quite a bit.”

  “Not a Static.” I pause. “A witch who can pull power from another witch? Is that something you’ve heard of before?”

  My phone beeps the sound of the WNN and four alerts pop up. Four more demon attacks. Two in my region and two in the surrounding regions. All four resulted in death.

  He scratches his head. “Why do you ask?”

  I wave him off. “It’s nothing. A debate with a girl in my exams,” I say quickly. “Can I use the computer?”

  Poncho nods and I move back to the computer. In the search bar, I try various keywords about pulling magic from another witch. Nothing comes up. No hits at all in the system. Annoying. How does my magic work like this if no one else in history has had this ability? Or curse. Or whatever it is.

  Refocus. Demon. I type in Azsis’s name again, and move to the next item on the search list. Item number four of fifty-three. Item four is an article from a newspaper fifty years ago.

  Rise in Demonic Activity Causes More Death

  In an occurrence last night, three local families were slaughtered in their sleep. The Triad was not permitted to comment, but the council says the reports were demonic, all committed at the same time in various locations of town. The deaths do not seem to be related, but with the rise in demonic activity over the last two weeks, Enforcers are taking everything into account. The community is advised to take extra precaution in light of the dramatic increase in demonic activity.

  Two of the families were Nons and the other an influential member of the community. The names are not available for release. Alfie Spencer reported the event in the night after he and his wife were awoken to screams from their neighbor. The community is on high alert until this newest attack can be explained.

  Alfie Spencer. Spencer is a family name on Gran’s side; maybe he’s related to me. I search in the computer for that name. Nothing.

  I redo the search for Azsis, but this time that article doesn’t come up. Now there are only fifty-two items. Weird.

  I spend twenty minutes trying to find it, typing in keywords from the article, but there’s nothing.

  If Alfie Spencer witnessed a demonic attack, at a time when demon attacks were increasing, what happened to him? To them? How did that article disappear? Demon attacks are increasing right now, just like before. Maybe there’s something I can learn from whatever happened with Alfie Spencer.

  My phone has a missed call and a text from Ric. He’s done with his test and he passed too. Good. Now, all we have to do is pass the magic test tomorrow. Tomorrow. Do or die day. I shiver when I step outside the Nucleus House. It’s not cold, but that thought is intense.

  “You shouldn’t walk and text,” Carter’s voice calls. I look up from my phone and right into his green, green eyes. “I hear that’s dangerous.”

  I cross my arms and slide my phone back into my pocket. “I don’t really want to talk you. Like, ever.”

  Ric is waiting in his car for me so I move past Carter because I so do not want to deal with this, but he grabs my arm. His touch against my skin stirs the magic inside me and I really want to blow something up. I yank my arm away from him and take a step.

  “Pen, I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? For what exactly? Do you even know what you did?” What are you?

  He sighs, putting his hands into his coat. “You’re not a thing. I was just confused.”

  I cross my arms and don’t even try to hide my annoyance. “You aren’t alone there, but you don’t see me reacting that way.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not that guy.”“I don’t even know you.”

  His face lights up. “What are you doing now?”

  “What?”

  “Right now. You’re leaving. Where are you going?”

  “Home.”

  “Come with me instead. You want to know me? Come spend the afternoon with me,” he says.

  I bite my lip and glance over at Ric’s car. Something is wrong with my brain that I’m even considering this. But he knows things about me—the most important thing—and there’s got to be a reason our powers are connected. This could help me learn something.

  Carter leans in over my shoulder. “I promise I will get you home in one piece.”

  “What do you do with your afternoons?”

  He smiles. Annoying as it, he really does have a nice smile. “I can’t ruin the surprise.”

  I’m going to regret this. “One hour.”

  “Two hours,” he says. “One isn’t enough.”

  “Fine. Two hours. That’s all. Not a minute more.”

  “Great, that’s when I turn back into a frog anyway. I would hate for you to see that. It’s not pret
ty,” he says.

  I laugh because corny as it was, it was kind of cute. Don’t start thinking he’s cute, Penelope.

  But for the record, he is.

  I go to Ric’s car and can hear the music from outside. I knock on his window. He rolls it down quickly and lowers the volume. “Are you waiting for an invitation? Come on.”

  “I’m not going with you,” I say.

  “You’re sure?” he asks.

  No, I’m not sure, but at this point, Carter knows too much and there’s a lot to lose.

  I nod.

  “How will you get home?”

  “Connie can come get me. I just need to decompress. See you in the morning.”

  Ric shrugs and rolls his window up. Another great thing about him is that he doesn’t ask too many questions. I watch him pull out and then rejoin Carter on the sidewalk. He looks up from his phone at me.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  Thirty minutes later Carter parks his car in the woods on one of the scenic outlook trails just outside DC. “Let’s go,” he says.

  “Go where?” There’re only cars and trees around us.

  “Just come on.”

  I sigh and leave the car. Carter waits for me in front and leads me across the parking lot, past some Nons running on the nearby trail with their dogs. On one side of us is the interstate, on the other is water, and ahead is the city. “I feel like we’re not allowed over here,” I say as he jumps over a guardrail toward the water.

  “Are you always such a stickler for the rules?” he asks.

  “No,” I say, but yes. Yes, I am, and I know them all.

  Carter holds out a hand to me. “Just come on. Unless you’re scared. I understand how being around me could be intimidating.”

  Jerk. I jump the guardrail too, not taking his hand. I don’t need his help. An amused look spreads on his face, and now I just want to get this over with.

  He moves in front of me, leading us around the small strip of water and up over the hill through the trees. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never done this. I’ve been on the trails but there are no trails here and it looks like most sane people don’t go walking through here, but Carter seems to know where he’s going.

  The view from behind him isn’t too shabby. He looks good in his jeans.

  Stop thinking about his pants.

  Carter turns to me and I’m a little too focused on his butt, so that it startles me. There’s a smile playing on his lips, but he doesn’t say anything. I was totally busted though.

  “Ready?”

  “For what?”

  He nods his head and takes my hand. My skin immediately tingles. My stomach is fluttering around in my body. How does that happen to someone? Calm down! I let him lead me a little farther before he drops my hand. My body still tingles and I know that it wasn’t only the magic. It was something else that I don’t want to focus on.

  “Look,” Carter says.

  He turns me around the direction we just climbed, and I can see everything for miles. It’s like the whole city is underneath me. People and cars look like ants. Buildings, Arlington Cemetery, the Washington Monument—all the things that make this city unique sit below me. My jaw drops. This is totally better than any scenic overlook with trails. I walk around the small open space, taking it all in.

  “How did you find this?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “Sometimes things find you. The wonderful things that completely change your view on life.”

  Carter looks at me as he speaks, and part of me wonders if he’s just talking about this place. Of course he is, though. It’s not me. I don’t really want it to be me.

  “It’s really beautiful,” I say.

  “It is,” he says. His eyes are so bright that I can’t look away from them. A smile creeps up on the side of his mouth, and his whole face lights up as the magic stirs with something less expected. Look away.

  I clear my throat, mostly because I don’t know what to say. Carter sits on the ground next to the edge of the hill so his feet hang over. After a few seconds, I sit next to him.

  “This is what you do with your afternoons?”

  “Sometimes. When I’m not tracking,” he says. He gets this far-off look on his face and I wonder what he’s thinking. It’s serious, by the way his brow furrows and his jaw tenses. I want to ask him why he tracks demons, because I know that it takes something serious to make someone risk it all. I start to ask when he talks again.

  “I come here to think. It calms me down.”

  “Think about what?”

  Carter doesn’t look at me, but I’m a little grateful for that.

  “What I said to you before in the alley, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way,” he says. I shake my head and start to say it’s okay but he keeps talking. “This is my space. When I have things on my mind that don’t make sense. When you left me there yesterday, I came here. It reminds me that it doesn’t matter.”

  “What doesn’t matter?”

  “That question. ‘What are you?’ I wonder what I am all the time. Sometimes I feel like I don’t fit, you know?” he says. I completely know. I know better than anyone could know. “Here it doesn’t matter because this is just one city in a really big world. If I don’t belong here, there are other options. Maybe I just haven’t found the best one yet.”

  Wow. I never think that way and it’s a pretty idea, but if I don’t have magic then what I am really? My whole existence has always been magic—learning it, losing it, getting it back, and then being an Enforcer. It’s what I want. All I want. Maybe he doesn’t have anything like that, but I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else.

  “You’ll find a place,” I say. He looks at me again, and his eyes are bright and intense. I swallow down a lump in my throat. “I mean, I think you will.”

  Carter stands and pulls me up from the ground. I lean into him from the force of his pull. Even though I shouldn’t, I wonder what his lips would be like on mine. It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to be kissing anyone’s lips anytime soon. I have enough memories. Not that they’re that good. There was Bobby Weimer, Jason Prevoy, and Mickey Tanner from that dreadful three months during junior year. I bet Carter’s kiss is way better than any of them.

  “We should go,” he says quickly. I nod my head and steal one more look over the edge before we leave.

  Carter pulls up outside my house. The ride home was nice, if not a little awkward. I did learn a bit about him—one thing being that his taste in music doesn’t suck. The other being that his car smells like nutmeg, which is a wonderful smell to be trapped in.

  “Thanks,” I say, unbuckling my seat belt. “That was fun.”

  “Fun?” he says, his eyes wide. “I succeeded in providing fun?”

  “You did,” I say with a smile.

  He honks the horn and I jump. “Alert the WNN! Penelope Grey smiled.”

  I start to get out of the car and then I remember what tomorrow is and take my hand off the door handle. I should see if he can be there. Connie is coming tomorrow, but if Carter is there then I’m sure to be okay. I think. How far away from him do I have to be for his magic to work? What if I move too far from Connie? It’s better to have a fallback plan.

  “I have a proposition,” I say.

  “I’m not that type of guy,” Carter replies. I bite my lip. This is stupid. I shouldn’t ask him. I don’t really need him. I start to open the door again, but he touches my arm. “What is it?”

  “I’m taking my magic test tomorrow for the Enforcer examinations,” I say. His eyes widen, but I keep talking so I don’t lose the nerve. I’m not really an ask-a-favor kind of girl. “My sister is coming so I can use my magic because I really want to do this, and I have passed everything else, but her magic only works within a certain distance and I don’t know what ours can do but if you don’t have any plans it would mean a lot to me if you would be there. Just in case I need more magic and can’t use Connie’s. I mean, if tha
t’s weird then okay. You don’t have to. But you know, if you can I will owe you.”

  When I stop to take a breath, he’s just staring at me. He doesn’t say anything at first, so yeah, that was stupid. “Never mind,” I say. I open the door and get out of the car. I’m on the sidewalk when he rolls down his window.

  “I’ll be there,” he says.

  I turn back. “You’ll be there?”

  “That’s what I said. I’ll be there if you need my magic.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” he says. “Just tell me why it matters—being an Enforcer.”

  Why it matters? “It’s the only thing that matters. It’s like you said: I’ll never find my place in this world without this. Being an Enforcer is tied to who am I, and who I can be.”

  “But it’s not all that you are, or all that you can be.”

  “It is right now,” I say.

  Carter’s eyes focus in on me, and then he nods slowly. “What time?”

  “Eight,” I say.

  “Done.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. You owe me now.”

  “What do I owe you?”

  “We’ll talk about it when you pass tomorrow.”

  Then he drives away, leaving me on the sidewalk. He really is kind of crazy. In a charming sort of way.

  At dinner, Pop asks about the exams and Gran flinches. I ignore her. I don’t need her nerves on top of the ones I’m already feeling.

  “Tomorrow is the magic test,” I say.

  Pop smiles, only for a moment before hiding it away. Even though I can still see the twinkle of pride in his eyes. “That’s good, Penelope.”

  “It is good because tomorrow all this nonsense will be over,” Gran says. We all look at her. “Who wants dessert?”

  “It’s not going to be over, Gran. I’m going to pass.”

  She waves me off. “There’s no way they will pass you when you don’t have magic.”

  “I’ve made it this far without magic,” I say.

  “Yes, dear, but tomorrow is the day it matters the most. How do you plan to pull that off?”