“Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,
Live regist'red upon our brazen tombs
And then grace us in the disgrace of death;
When, spite of cormorant devouring Time,
Th' endeavor of this present breath may buy
That honor which shall bate his scythe's keen edge
And make us heirs of all eternity.”
—William Shakespeare
“Camille.” I tugged at her arm. “We should find our dads now.”
She spun to face me. “You really came for me. You aren’t one of them.”
“Of course not. Did you think I was lying to you?” Sliding my hand down her arm, I grasped her hand. “You’ve seen the sword. Let’s go.”
Her eyes bore into mine. “I’m sorry.” She looked into the amphitheater. “I need to stay here.”
“What?” I squeezed her hand and pulled her away from the opening. “They’re going to see you. Now is our chance to get away.”
“Stick with the plan. Go get our dads and meet me back here.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Be smart. It doesn’t help if we don’t know what we’re up against.”
Setting my hands on each of her shoulders, I forced her to look at me. “Camille, you’re not thinking clearly.”
She ran her hands down my arms and gripped my hands. Her gaze met mine. “Jude, be fast. Go get them. It’ll give me enough time to figure out what they’re doing down there. Then we can escape together.” Seemingly transfixed by the dagger, her eyes darted back to the front of the arena where the sword lay on the table.
It made sense. Having as much information as possible would be useful. “Do not leave this spot, and do not get caught.” I squeezed her hands, and kissed her hard.
“I love you,” she whispered as our lips parted.
I sucked in a breath. She loved me. “Don’t get caught.” I turned and jogged away wondering if leaving her was the biggest mistake of my life.
Jude. Jude. Come back. I heard Camille’s voice in my mind and sped back to her. “What is it?”
“Look.” She pointed to people seated near the front.
My dad sat beside Miguel. I balled my fists. What had he done? “Well, I only have one person to free now.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“He made his choice.” I spun and dashed through the passageway.
At the main hall, I summoned a cloaking spell and jumped into the air, using the wind to speed my progress. The corridors were deserted, and I had to wait for someone to enter the code for the elevator. Three guards ran in my direction, and I held my breath as they reached me.
Breathing hard, the guard on the left turned to the middle one. “What’s going on?”
“There’s been a breach in level B5,” the middle guard replied between jagged gasps for air.
“That’s where the princess is held?” My ears pricked at hearing them call her princess. She was not their princess, she was not their anything. Camille belonged with me and the trinity.
“Correct.” The head guard nodded.
“Shouldn’t we alert—”
“You want to interrupt the ritual?”
“No, I guess not.”
The doors opened, and I slipped inside the elevator ahead of the men. Hoping the chaos would help me get Camille’s dad out, I took even breaths. When we stopped on level B5, I tiptoed behind the guards, stopping at Grady’s room. The guards proceeded to the end of the hall to Camille’s empty cell. There would be no escaping through the stairwell beyond them, which would have gotten us closer to the amphitheater.
Laying my hand on the knob, I melted the metal as I had for Camille’s. Inside, Camille’s dad lay on the mat sleeping.
“Grady.” I jostled his shoulder and dropped my cloak.
His eyes opened. “Who are you?”
“A friend of Camille’s. Let’s get you out of here.”
“I don’t have much energy.”
“I’ll have to have enough for both of us.”
Sliding my hand under one arm, I lifted it over my shoulders. At the door, I evoked an invisibility spell and slipped into the hall. I helped him hobble to the elevator. Within a few seconds, it opened, and a slew of guards ran out and jogged to the end of the hall.
Inside, I pushed the button for the main level, letting the cloaking spell subside.
“Where is she?” Grady asked, his hoarse voice barely a whisper.
“Watching some ritual. Here, drink this.” I handed him a bottle of energy tea I’d blended.
“Who is with her?”
“No one.”
“You left her alone?”
“It’s not far.”
The elevator stopped, and I lifted Grady’s torso, supporting his weight, as we exited. Lumbering down the hall, I grew more anxious by the second. As soon as we entered the stone tunnel, I rested Grady on the rock floor. Holding my breath, I listened for Camille. I shot into the air, flying to the opening where I’d left her.
It was empty. She was gone. Witches packed around the exits of the cavern and Theron, Sonia, and the dagger were nowhere to be seen. My heart pounded in my chest, and I slammed my fist into the rock. The mass exodus could only mean one thing: Camille had been discovered. Cursing myself for listening to her, I rushed back to Grady.
He lifted his head, looking both ways down the narrow hall. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know. Gone.”
“Where? Why did you leave her alone?”
“That’s what she told me to do.” I spun away and back to face him. “She wanted to see what they were doing with the sword.”
“The sword draws them. As herald, it’s your job to protect the bearers, not the sword.”
My foot launched a rock at the wall. “How do you know I’m a herald? Like you protected her all her life. What kind of father leaves their half-witch, savior of the witches, daughter unguarded?” I pressed my palms to the cold stone, which shook as I poured energy into the rock.
“Hey, you’re not doing her any good wasting your strength.”
“We’ve got to find her.”
Circling the space, I realized I couldn’t leave Grady. Camille was smart. She’d head to an exit. We’d find her outside. With one of his arms laid across my shoulders, I carried him back to the main hall. I cloaked us when guards approached. They seemed to be heading to the center of the complex. Maybe Camille had run that way thinking to get out using the courtyard.
At the next darkened room, I slipped inside and lowered Grady to the floor. I had to think. I needed to get Camille. But reaching her might be impossible, and we could get caught trying.
“What are we doing?” Grady asked.
“I’m thinking.”
“Getting caught won’t help her. I say we get out and come back for her.”
Logically I knew he was right. But I hated the thought of leaving her. She would get outside, I told myself. She could meet us there.
Cloaking us once again, I supported Grady’s weight as we made our way to the main exit and waited for an opportunity. In half a minute, the door opened and we slipped past the oncoming guards. Grady leaned on me as we trudged across the field. I kept us invisible until I could no longer see the building. Halfway to the first security wall, I stopped behind a tree.
“This should give us some cover while we wait.” I lifted Grady’s arm from my shoulders.
He reclined against the trunk. “My head is getting clearer.”
“Here, put this on.” I pulled a jacket and shoes from my backpack.
“Do you have one for Camille?”
“Yes, I brought three sets.”
“Who was the other for?” Grady sat down and pulled on the shoes.
“My dad.”
“They had him too?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I knelt on the grass as a search light panned the area.
“We can’t stay here long.”
“We’ve got to give her time to get out.” Craning my neck, I scanned the darkness for any signs of movement.
“Once they have her, they’ll start looking for—”
A shrill siren cut off his words. Spotlights illuminated the ground between us and the castle.
“That’s our cue.” Grady tossed the backpack at me. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Arm around his back, we loped toward the wall as fast as his legs would go. I prayed Grady had enough strength or magic to get over the walls. I couldn’t believe we were leaving Camille. I was leaving Camille. My chest grew tight as we reached the stone structure.
“You got any more of that energy drink?” Grady peered up the embankment.
Hearing barking, I dug my hand into my pack. “Here, hurry.”
“You a full witch? Can you help me over?” Grady asked.
“Yeah, as of this morning I belong to Michael’s coven.”
“No way. How’d you get out?”
“Let’s jump, then talk.”
I fit my bag over my shoulders and my arms around Grady’s chest. Holding him tight, I called to the wind and jumped. My shoes scraped the glass shards cemented to the top of the wall, and I poured my strength into the spell, propelling us a good fifty feet past the barricade.
Landing, I let go of Grady.
“You’re strong.” He wiped grass from his pants.
“Thanks, maybe we can climb a tree and wait there.” I pointed to the copse of trees not ten feet from us.
Hearing an engine, I looked back to the compound. One, two, three sets of headlights exited from the gate along with at least twenty men carrying flashlights.
“Not an option.” Grady took off in a slow jog towards the trees.
Catching up with him in two strides, I fit my arm under his and we ran, limping at times, through the grass. The fog seemed to suck up every bit of light as the orbs from the flashlights grew smaller and smaller. We tripped on a limb or rock every other step, and I thought we’d never make it to the outer wall. I kept my eyes trained on our pursuers and let Grady guide us.
“Wall!” Grady yelled as I slammed into the cold, hard stone. “I’ve got enough juice now to get over.”
“Let’s do it then. On three, one, two—”
I called to the wind, heading straight up over the twenty-foot barricade. Then, I shot forward a hundred feet. Hoping Grady had followed, I lowered myself to the ground behind a group of trees. Panting, I reclined against a trunk.
“Let’s wait for her here.”
Grady sat beside me. “They locked her up after she got into my cell?”
“Yes. I only got her out because everyone was distracted by the ritual.”
“Do you know what happened to your dad?”
“He joined the coven.”
“They gave me that option too—”
Not wanting to hear more about the choice my dad made, I stretched my palm out to him. “We haven’t met officially, I’m Jude.”
He shook my hand. “So, herald Jude, what’s the plan?”
“Stop calling me that. And how did you know anyway? We wait here till Camille meets up with us.”
“I’m good with people.” He shrugged and turned to face the road. “How will she know where to find us? You got provisions?”
“I can call to her. We have three days’ worth of food for four people.”
“I’ll give you one day. If she’s not here, then we need to get off this island, make sure our families are safe, and get that brand off you. What skills do you have?”
“Telepathy, but only with certain people—”
He cut me off. “That’s how you can call to her? You got any other tricks up your sleeve?”
“Yes, and before we came here, she had us drink each other’s blood.”
“Smart kid. Where’d she learn that?”
“These dreams she had.” I wanted to keep my vampirism to myself. “We weren’t sure if it would work, though.”
“The hallucinations? Of the other children of light?”
“They were visions, more like watching a reality TV show. She saw what they were doing in real time.”
“I had a ticket, was on my way to Iceland when Michael’s coven took me.” Grady tugged another jacket from the backpack “You mind taking first watch? I need to rest.”
“Nope, I don’t plan on sleeping.”
“Well, you’d better. You’re going to need your strength.” He reclined on the grass tucking his elbow under his head.
Three hours passed and nothing changed. I guessed they’d given up looking for us. I wondered if they already had Camille but forced the thought away. I called out to her in my mind over and over.
As the eastern sky grew pink, Grady tried to convince me we should move before it got too light.
“You said you’d give me one day. We wait till tonight.”
We stayed in the tree all day. I reached out again and again for Camille, but heard nothing. By nightfall, Grady had recouped and was ready to leave.
“You gave me a day. We leave at midnight.”
“You’re so stubborn. She’s not coming.”
“How can you just give up like that?”
“I’m being smart. You obviously can’t think clearly about this. We need backup, an army to get her out of there. We need to find someone to help us. But first, I’m making sure Tyler and Janine are okay. Plus, we must get that brand off your arm. No one will ever trust you with that thing.”
Turning my back on Grady, I tried to digest his words. “Fine”—I raked my hand through my hair—“you take watch, I think I’m finally exhausted enough to sleep.”
I woke to Grady poking my bicep. “It’s ten. We should head out.”
“Fine.” I slung my pack onto one shoulder and dropped to the ground.
We stayed parallel with the road, snaking through brush and trees. When we’d been walking about an hour, lights shining through the windows of a home came into view, and we made our way to them.
“My powers are limited right now. What else you got?” Grady asked.
“Telekinesis, mind control—”
“That’ll do. Why don’t you suggest to whoever is home that they need to give us a ride to the ferry?”
“What if they’re witches?”
“If they’re of Michael’s coven, we’re in trouble.”
Approaching from the side, I cloaked both of us again, and we huddled under the window. We listened for an hour with no sign of magic being practiced before deciding the occupants were a safe bet. I supported Grady as we walked up the steps to the front door. A hard rap produced an elderly gentleman. Fortunately, Grady spoke Italian. He relayed our plight while I urged acceptance and a desire to help to the gentleman’s mind. After a few exchanges, he nodded his head and closed the door on us.
“What was that? I thought he was going to help?”
“He is. He’s getting his coat and keys.”
Within a minute or so, the man appeared again with a hat and coat on. We followed him to the car. It wasn’t till we got in and he turned the heat on that I realized Grady was shivering uncontrollably.
“You weren’t cold out there?” He rubbed his hands together.
“Must be the adrenaline.”
The drive took fifteen minutes. I thanked the gentleman in English as he stopped in front of the ferry building. He nodded and smiled, and Grady exchanged a couple of lines with the man.
“He says the next boat is at five in the morning.” Grady waved at the gentleman as he drove off.
“That’s not going to do. We’re sitting ducks here.”
“We could steal a boat.”
“With the dark and the fog? We’d be lost at sea.”
“Well, maybe there’s a phone inside, and we can coax the ferry driver into work early.”
I stuffed my hands in my pockets as we entered the building. Grady spoke to the worker, and I pushed suggestions into his head. After a few minutes, he agreed to call the ferry boat captain. I listened to Grady’s side of the conversation, only understanding a few words, and prayed magic worked via cell phone. Grady handed the device to the attendant, who spoke a few more minutes in Italian and then ended the call.
Grady handed the attendant’s phone to me. “He said the ferry boat captain will be here in half an hour. You can use this first. I have to figure out how to break it to my ex-wife and son that Camille and I are witches.”
I took a seat on a bench, contemplating what to say to my grandparents. “I’ve got to think a bit too.” Passing the phone back to him, I crossed to the window peering out at the dark ocean.
Hating I hadn’t called them since, I remembered my conversation with Nan and Pop the first day we’d arrived in Sardinia a month ago.
“Jude!” Pop’s deep voice sounded warm and welcoming like always. “Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
“Yeah, well, I needed to talk to you. Have you talked to Dad lately?”
“Been over a week, we’re starting to get worried.”
“Yeah, me too.” I peered out at the churning sea, thinking he could be just levels below me, but I had no way to get to him.
“I know about you and Dad. That’s what I’m doing here, becoming a witch.”
“Well, it was bound to happen sometime.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think we should keep it from you, but it was your dad’s choice. Come home and let me train you.”
“It’s too late for that.” I paced away from the window, trying to abate my anger. Dad deserved my rage, not Pop.
“Jude, about your mom…”
“I don’t want to talk about Mom.” I assumed the phones were tapped, and I couldn’t chance them knowing I was part vampire. “It’s okay. I understand her better now.” I hesitated a second, letting my words sink in.
“Oh, okay, well, why don’t you talk to your Nan. She’d love to hear your voice.”
“Thanks for understanding, Pop.”
“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”
My grandfather, or Pop, had to be the coolest man ever. At seventy-three he still worked twenty hours a week as a pharmacist. I hated that I’d left Nan and him. They counted on the income from my part-time job. Of course, it’d been Pop who’d suggested I go to Iceland.
What did I say to them? How could I keep them safe? My mind ticked through all the possibilities. I had no idea if Pop or Nan still practiced their magic. Maybe they had in secret, but I couldn’t count on it. Then, the answer came to me. Dad kept a basement apartment as a safe house. They could go there. He’d always said to use it in case of any natural disasters or national emergency. I’d always pictured us fleeing to the small apartment because of an earthquake or atomic bomb threat. Maybe he’d designed it to be witch proof too.
“Here.” Wiping his eyes, Grady held the phone out to me.
“Everything okay? What’d they say?”
“I have to go there. They’re not going to believe in magic if I tell them over the phone. They’ll throw me in an asylum just like they did Camille.”
“They put Camille in an asylum?” I took the phone from him.
“Just to get her meds regulated.”
I wanted to hit Grady for not telling Camille the truth about her magic. Turning the phone over in my hand, I took a deep breath. I deserved a big belly punch for leaving her alone in the corridor.
Grady stood and straightened his pants. “Tyler may be of use to us. If we can awaken his magic, then we’d have another team member. He may even be a herald.”
“That’s right. Camille and Tyler have the same birthday. Only one year apart. I could help you train him.”
“I convinced him to take his mother and find a hotel room near the airport. Told him I got messed up with the wrong people. It scared him enough he will do it, but we have to get to Iceland fast.” He walked to the attendant’s desk.
Dialing Pop’s number, I let it ring and left a message. Remembering the safe house number, I tried that line. Pop picked up on the first ring.
“Hello.” His deep greeting rumbled through the phone.
“Pop, it’s Jude.”
“Jude. You okay? Your dad called. Told us to take shelter. What’s going on?”
“When did he call?”
“About a week ago. You know anything about that?”
“Dad joined Michael’s Coven. It’s a long story. I sort of did too but just to gain all my powers. The brand didn’t take.”
“No, it wouldn’t because you’re—”
“Some things are best unsaid, Pop.” I cut him off before he could say the word vampire.
“I agree. Where are you? Can you get home?”
“We may need a safe place to stay in LA.”
“How many people?”
I glanced up at Grady. “Four, maybe.”
“Well, it will be tight, but we’ll make do.”
“You and Nan okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about us.”
“Okay, I love you.”
I ended the call and joined Grady at the desk.
Busting through the door, the seaman’s girth rivaled his height. He muttered under his breath as he ushered us onboard. We followed him to the control room. Hearing the engine roar to life made my stomach turn. I looked out into the fog. Was I really leaving her? Abandoning her? I paced the small space.
“What are you thinking about?” Grady questioned.
“Camille. I shouldn’t be leaving her. This is all my fault.”
“You can’t focus on that now.”
I clenched the bar in front of the as the boat dipped in the rough surf. Grady outlined our next moves. He had an apartment in Rome where he kept money and extra passports in case of an emergency.
“They’ll be enough for the four of us and an extra for Camille, when we rescue her.”
“But how do we get to Rome?”
“Same way we got here, mind control.”
I hated relying on my magic and would feel safer once we got to Rome and got our identification papers and some money.
Grady laid a hand on my shoulder. “This is not going to be easy for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“That brand. It will weigh heavier on you the farther you are from the Coven’s compound.”
“Well, that’s something to look forward to. I think I can handle it though. We’ve been through a lot the past four weeks.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not. If she were my daughter, I wouldn’t want to.” I looked out into the dark night.
“Enough said.”
We sat in silence the rest of the trip as the boat rose and fell with the swells. The surf pelted the windows, and I hated that we couldn’t see where we were going. I thought back to the day we arrived on Sardinia. The view hadn’t been much better. With the fog, we’d only been able to make out some ten feet in front of the ferry. I forced memories of the prior journey out of my head. Dwelling on my time with Camille wouldn’t bring her back. Assembling an army with Alena’s resources was our best chance at rescuing her.
The engine slowed, and I stood, trying to pick up any light beyond the boat. Within the next few minutes, a couple of glowing spots appeared off the bow. The assistant ran from the bridge, through the main room. We followed him outside and helped tie the ship to the dock.
Grady thanked the Captain and worker, and I nodded to show my appreciation. We made our way up the wooden ramp, to the street above.
“The airport is on the opposite side of the Island.” Grady pointed to the west.
“I know. We need a taxi.”
Leaving Grady on a bench, I jogged up the street to the business district. I found a bar and hailed a cab waiting outside. Waving him back to where I’d left Grady, we piled in. Grady spoke some Italian to him and the driver yelled and motioned for us to get out of the car. Using my mental coercion abilities, we got him to agree to take us to the airport at Elmas. Still feeling like we were bobbing on the water, I fought nodding off. Grady shivered beside me, and I handed him one of the meal packets and a third jacket. We’d need to get him a decent outfit. Realizing my pants and shirt were caked with soil, I brushed the dirt from the fabric.
The city lights stung my eyes as we passed street light after street light. Finally, the cab driver pulled up to the terminal entrance. Grady thanked the man, and I copied his words, thinking I should be paying more attention to learning the language than feeling sorry for myself. Inside, Grady and I made our way to the shopping area. My guilt over our transgressions ratcheted up as I suggested to the clerk that we didn’t need to pay for our new clothing. The attended bowed over and over to us as we backed out, thanking us for using his business.
“How was that so easy?” I asked Grady as we entered the men’s room.
“Some minds are weaker than others.” He shrugged. “The airlines are going to be tough. Let’s get some hot coffee in us after we clean up.”
I was glad that Grady’s strength seemed to be returning and hoped the coffee and pastry would bolster him further. As I watched him eat, my mind drifted back to the previous forty-eight hours. Miguel had woken me before midnight and taken me to the chapel. I’d read and re-read every detail about the ritual. It included sharing blood with the elders. To ensure they couldn’t track me, I’d taken one of Camille’s birds, cracked its neck, and stuffed it up my sleeve. I hated that it had to be her canary, but figured the other animals would be missed. When the time came to slice my arm, I held my wrist under the table and sliced into the bird, letting the blood flow into my hand. Raising it over the bowl, the bird’s blood mixed with the others. I doubted the witches gathered there noticed the off flavor, but for a quarter vampire who’d tasted human blood, it was obvious there was something other than people blood in the bowl.
Adding the bird’s life to the list of my sins, I refocused on Grady. As he sipped his coffee, I noted he had no seal on his arm.
“Why don’t you have a seal?”
“Only Michael’s coven uses the brand. They practice a dark magic that binds them to the coven leader and to their ancestors.”
I leaned towards him to keep our conversation from being overheard. “You mean like the dead?”
“Yes, they draw power from their fallen coven members.”
“Do you think that’s what they’re going to do with the sword, bring them back?”
“That’s a good guess.” He cleared his throat as our waiter approached. “Do you want anything else?”
“No.” I waited for the server to leave. “I have allergies. I can’t eat processed foods.” Thinking of my vampirism reminded me of Camille. I wouldn’t have known about my mom or any of this if it weren’t for Camille. Trying to avoid a mental spiral, I asked Grady more about the brand.
“The brand is like a tether to your soul. It should have prevented you from doing anything against the coven’s wishes. That’s how they control their people and keep their power.”
“And the weight of the brand is why everyone lives close together?” I asked. “So, going to Iceland is going to be…?”
“Like the worst pneumonia you’ve ever had.”
“Wonderful.” I rolled my eyes and set my napkin in my lap. “I’m guessing me staying here would be a bad idea?”
“I think I need you to help convince Tyler and Camille’s mother.”
“I wish I had some type of proof. This”—I held out my arm—“just looks like a tattoo.”
“You have your magic.”
“Hopefully.” I slouched in my seat. My head had begun to ache, and I closed my eyes. Hearing someone approach, I opened them and straightened my back.
Finishing our coffee, we surveyed our airlines choices. Grady picked a desk with a young female attendant. As we approached, the woman flashed a wide smile, aimed straight at me.
“She likes you, use that,” Grady whispered to me.
When we reached the counter, I leaned over so there was barely a foot between us. Reading her name tag, I did my best to pronounce the name with an Italian accent.
She giggled and covered her mouth, repeating her name with the correct inflection.
Grady spoke to her in Italian, I assumed explaining our situation. Look at these poor men, I used magic to suggest the thought.
Wide-eyed, she looked between us. I continued to suggest that we looked like honest people who needed help using my mind control skills. Glancing around, she called to a nearby gentleman.
“Damn,” Grady said under his breath.
The woman helping us spoke to the man in hushed Italian. The man stepped up to the desk.
“Do you have identification? Some bank we can call to verify your funds?” he asked in broken English.
“We lost everything.” Grady turned his hands up. I focused on what might sway the gentleman. They have the funds, and I could get a tip out of this, I suggested with my magic.
He threw his hands in the air and started yelling at us in Italian.
“This isn’t working.” Grady started to back away from the counter, and I did the same.
The man took a whistle from his chest and blew it, yelling, I assumed, for security.
Grady grabbed my arm. “Get to a crowd and cloak us so we can get out of here. I’m sure we were being filmed.”
“Dang.” I swung to see people exiting a ramp a few gates down and pumped my arms to propel myself to them. Hearing Grady a few steps behind, I didn’t look back. Uniformed guards approached from every direction, and I ducked around a family toting multiple bags. Reaching back for Grady, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the center of their group. The dad looked wide-eyed at me as I enacted our cloaking spell.
“Now run,” Grady whispered in my ear.
He didn’t need to tell me again. I gripped his arm as we hurled down the hall, dodging passengers. Nearing the exit, I realized the guards had created a barricade. I communicated to Grady that we should jump together, and he appeared beside me. Three, two, one, I sent to him, jumping about five feet in front of the line of men. Fist out, I punched the door open. When we landed, I lost his hand but grabbed his arm the next second.
The guards swarmed out of the terminal but stopped their pursuit on the sidewalk, milling about and yelling at each other.
“Let’s try one of the charters.” Grady pointed to the small hangars as we ran.
“You’ve got be kidding, I’d rather swim at this point.”
“They don’t have security.”
“Okay, but I get to pick.” Holding our cloak, we walked into the hangar. Several planes were being serviced, and I surveyed our choices. Picking out the oldest looking plane, I ducked behind a large metal toolbox. When I pointed to the ride I’d chosen, Grady shook his head. It’s our best bet, I told him.
I let go of his hand and discontinued our cloaking spell. “I get to choose this time.” I repeated my previous demand. Rounding the shelves of tools, I approached a mechanic tinkering with one of the engines of a small jet.
“Is this for hire?” I asked, sending thoughts that we looked like we could make him rich if he helped us.
The man looked from his work to me. “Italiano.” He shrugged and turned back to the motor.
“Sir.” Grady spoke a couple of sentences of Italian while I used my mind control. The man shrugged, dropped his wrench, and walked to a partitioned office.
“What do you think?” I asked Grady wondering how my English language formed magical suggestions were working on Italian speaking people.
“No clue. I told him I would pay them double when we landed in Rome.”
The mechanic exited the small room with another man, who was dressed in a pilot’s shirt. Reaching us, the uniformed gentleman said a couple of Italian phrases.
Grady seemed to be haggling with him. I watched the mechanic as he finished his task, closed the compartment on the motor, and secured it in place. Seeing Grady and the pilot shake hands, I relaxed. The next piece had fallen in place. If it weren’t taking me farther away from Camille, it would have made me infinitely happier.