Wicked Sense (44 page)

Well, as nor
mal as a wannabe murderer can live
.

Police also asked us why we accused Jane of kidnapping Mona. After they interviewed some of
Greenwood
High school students and staff, the police understood our suspicion. Jane’s bad reputation saved us from
m
ore questioning.

And the school is gone.

Really, things couldn’t have worked
out
better.
I mean, considering.

I feel Connor’s signature and prepare
for
our meeting. Or rather, for our confrontation. He didn’t sound
pleased
on the phone. I wouldn’t care—not anymore—but I need him to be happy
. He must
believe my story.

I chose a neutral ground for the talk: t
he
International
Fountain at Seattle Center, which is turned off. I sit at the raised edge of the
sunken
half-dome.
When he arrives, I
stand up and
give him one of my best smil
es. I’m glad my Allure is back. I
t makes things easier.

“Why so
chuffed
?” he asks me, already suspicious.

“I’ve got good news,” I say. I do, but I’m going to tell him a
whole other set of good news, completely fabricated.

He looks around.
A
guy eating his brown-bagged lunch
is
at the fountain,
but he’s
sitting on the opposite edge
of the dome, away from us. A woman with a stroller
crosses the Seattle Center boulevard
. It’s too chill
y
for tourists. Connor waits until the woman is gone and asks,
“Do you know where Jane is?”

I’m taken aback. “Is that what you’re worried about?”

His face gets heavier. This is not going well. “Don’t start with this again, Skye. Either you’re over me or you aren’t.”

Damn, he’s right. Let it go, Skye. “I’m over you.”

“So, it’s about Jane? I’m asking because she’s missing, and she would only disappear if she had
found
the Singularity.”

Ooh, I’m going to relish this.

“She did,” I say.

The look on Connor’s face is priceless. Unfortunately, he
recovers
fast. “No more games, Skye. Tell me the truth.”

I
remind
myself to resist his Trust Charm so I don’t babble the truth by mistake. “Actually, the Singularity found Jane.”

He
shoots me
an exasperated look, and I try not to enjoy it too much.

A middle-aged couple holding hands
arrive and sit a few yards from us. She rests her head on his shoulders while she drinks from a
Tully’s cup
. Connor looks at them uncomfortably, and I don’t know if he’s worried about the Veil or the display of intimacy. Either way, I need him happy and relaxed today.

“Come with me,” I whisper while going into the dry fountain area. I climb down the half-dome, careful not to slip. He follows me, and we stop by the water spouts. I hope nobody turns them on while we’re here.

“Who is
she?
Where
is she?” His voice is
cold.

“Her name is
Brianna
Jenkins. Right now, she’s in the hospital in a coma.”

“
Brianna
?”

“Do you know her?” I’m afraid of the answer, the only unaccounted item of my lie.

“I remember Jane mentioned something about a
Brianna
. Wait, she goes to
Greenwood
!”

I nod.

Connor asks, “But how
come
Jane never detected her?
How come
you
didn’t either?
”

Here I sprinkle a
little bit of truth to make the lie more
palatable
. “The Singularity works differently
. She is special. We were right
:
she
has natural defenses.
M
agical shields
,
and they
are always up, even at
close
range, even when we touch her. B
ut we can sense her when she uses her magic
and loses control of it
.
Only
she doesn’t only use
it, she
unleashes
it.”

“The earthquake,
”
he says.

I nod again. “
She caused it.
I still don’t know if she did it on purpose or
if
she lost control somehow while testing her powers.
”

Connor shakes his head. No doubt he’s imagining the consequences.

“What
does Jane have
to do with it?”

I hope the story sticks. “My guess is that
Brianna
sensed Jane, identified her as a Sister, and befriended her.
Brianna
doesn’t come from a witch family, so
I think
she
had no other way of learning about magic unless she
posed as
a Knowing, doing whatever Jane asked her to
do
.
Brianna
was the one who gave me the blinding potion at school.”

“It makes sense,” Connor says, more to himself.

Yes!

He looks at me with a hint of suspicion.
“But how do you know that? And
what about the school fire
?”

“I think Jane saw
Brianna
releasing her energy
,
but Jane was
knocked down
by the earthquake
. When Jane woke up in the hospital, she
realized who
Brianna
was
and
went after
her
.” I stop there, waiting for him to make the connection.

Connor grabs my arm. “Jane can absorb energy!
”

“And Charms,” I say.
I look at my arm, still held by him, and he lets it go.
I decide to be graceful. “Remember how she stole my Allure? She probably hijacked your Trust Charm too. I imagine that’s how she got you to spill the beans about the Singularity’s location
.
”
I’m not so sure about that part, but I want his sympathy.

He nods. “Yes, it might have been that. She steals energy.
She wanted
to steal the Singularity’s energy! Wow,” he says. “Just… wow.”

“Indeed.
Brianna
fought back when Jane attacked her and—intentionally or not—created the fire that razed the school.”

Some kind of classical music starts
to play
.
I look around, confused.
The woman drinking coffee
makes
a beckoning gesture
. “They’re turning the fountain on,” she yells.

We
thank her and climb up to the promenade. The water ballet starts.

Connor watches it for a minute and then says,
“Wait a minute. And
what
about
your boyfriend’s sister? Why did Jane take her away?”

It’s so weird hearing
Connor, of all people, refer
to Drake as my boyfriend. Anyway, that’s not why I’m here.

Mona’s involvement is t
he part
of the story I have most trouble with
. “I have no idea. Maybe
Jane
wanted a
hostage? I really don’t know
. I think Jane changed her mind and gave Mona a
f
orget
potion. When they found Mona in the hospital garage
,
she didn’t know how she got there.”

He looks at me for a long time, before saying, “
It
does sound like Jane.”

I refrain from sighing in relief.

Connor continues,
“I’ll let the Mothers know at once. We’ll keep an eye on this
Brianna
.”

He
turns to me with grateful eyes I’ve never
seen
before. “Thank you, Skye. You found her!
I owe you.
All
the
Sisters owe
you,” he says. He
shakes his head. “
You actually found her! You’re amazing…” He
moves
to hug me
,
and I think his Trust Charm must be in overdrive, because I let him. I even hug him back.

He was never so warm, so open, so… vulnerable.

But it’s too late now, Connor. You are two years too late.

***

“Darling, you must come at once
!” Mum says on the phone. “T
he Mothers want to thank you.”

“Mum, enough about that,” I say.
“
How are you?”

“W
onderful,
darling
. I’ve never felt better. My daughter is the pride of the Sisterhood.”

“I mean your health.
”

She gives
a
little, very
proper
, chuckle. “
Oh,
me
.
I’m fine. The doctors are astounded by my recovery. Of course, they don’t know I’ve been having some help
on the side
. When are you coming back?”

I think of Drake—and also of the few
loose ends
left to tie up.

“It might be a while,” I say.

So, here I am, not only dating a witch, but also the brother
o
f the most powerful witch in the world. Mona
always thought she was a freak. N
ow she knows it for sure.

I have no idea how this is going to play out.

I try to imagine what will happen when
Brianna
wakes up. They have her on the scene
of the arson, with burn wounds.
H
er car was there too,
at the gym’s back entrance,
and the call to 911 came from her cell.

Also, it seems a horde of witches will be watching her forever now.

Brianna
not only is a Knowing, but she also knows Mona is the Singularity. Skye is thinki
ng of slipping a
f
orget
potion i
n
Brianna
’s IV drop, but Skye doesn’t know how potent it can be, nor if it
could
be absorbed
that way
.

I alway
s forget Skye didn’t finish her
witch studies or whatever they’re called.
Do they have a college for that? There’s so much I don’t know yet. And Mona
is even more of a beginner.

Now it’s time fo
r the Big Talk. Not the one I was afraid to have with Skye a while ago.

T
his is
about
Mona, Skye, and
me
discussing our options. Mona
will walk
us through what went down on the day of the earthquake.

For the first time in years I’m allowed in Mona’s room. Well, I’ve been here
from
time to time. I just wasn’t allowed to.

Dad is downstairs. He’s just glad we’re all okay. But I think he’ll never travel without us again. Ever.

Since Mona’s Allure kicked in, she looks gorgeous and rad
iant. She
didn’t lose an ounce
or
an i
nch,
n
or
has she
changed her slouched posture, but she exudes a glow of beauty. Which so doesn’t match her
emo
wardrobe.

Mona starts.
“Pain and I were just hanging out when that bitch—”

“Jane,” I say, try
i
ng to help.

Mona shoots me
a threatening stare. “T
hat
bitch
,” she continues, “knocked
at the door. At first
,
s
he said she was Drake’s friend. B
ut
I think
she saw our candles and
our
Wiccan props
i
n the basement before knocking on Pain’s door.”