by Kim Chance
Maggie laughed. “’Cause I know you better than you know yourself.”
I grinned and sat down to put my boots on. Then I pulled the dagger Gareth had given me from my bag and carefully tucked it in the waistband of my jeans. I pulled the sweater over it and checked in Maggie’s full-length mirror to make sure it was covered.
A few minutes later, I was putting on a thin layer of lip gloss when headlights flashed across the wall. “He’s here,” I said, peering out Maggie’s bedroom window. Ty’s familiar black car was parked in the driveway. “I think I’m gonna throw up,” I continued as Ty walked toward the door.
“It’s not like you’ve never hung out before, Styles.”
“I know, but this is . . . different.” I tugged on my hair, trying to smooth it into place.
Maggie walked over and pulled my hands away from my scalp. “Stop that. You look beautiful, and he’s gonna think so too.”
“You really think so?”
Maggie put her hand on her hip. “Please, when have I ever been wrong?”
“Never.” I grinned. Downstairs, the doorbell rang. I jumped, and the light overhead gave a tiny flicker.
“Come on,” Maggie said with a laugh. “Let’s go save him before my dad starts doing his ‘famous’ impressions.” She cocked her head at me and, with a voice that perfectly mirrored her father’s phony Humphrey Boggart accent, said, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
Giggling, we linked arms and walked down the stairs to where Ty was talking casually with Maggie’s dad. He was wearing his leather jacket—which I’d finally returned—and a long-sleeved gray thermal with a pair of dark jeans and boots. He looked incredible.
Swallowing, I forced myself to focus on the stairs so I wouldn’t trip and fall on my face.
After listening to Donald Duck and Bill Clinton remind us several times to stay safe and wear our seatbelts, we managed to say good-bye to Mr. Dawson and head outside. Maggie dutifully crawled into the backseat with a wink as Ty walked me to the passenger side of the car and held the door open.
“Thank you,” I squeaked as I sat down. Oh my God. I cringed at the shrill sound of my voice. Behind me, Maggie snickered. I turned around and gave her a quick glare. She responded by kicking the back of my seat, as if to say, “Chill out! Take a deep breath!”
I rolled my eyes but sucked down a mouthful of air anyway.
Ty walked around the car and got inside. He cranked the car and backed down the driveway in one fluid motion. “I didn’t want to say this in front of Maggie’s dad,” he began, his cheeks turning slightly pink, “but . . . uh . . . you look gorgeous tonight.”
My cheeks burned, but I smiled. “Thank you,” I said, grateful that my voice seemed to have returned to its normal state.
“And we all know, I, of course, look fabulous!” Maggie chirped.
My laugh had always been a little too breathy for my liking, but it blended with the deeper tones in Ty’s laughter as we chuckled at Maggie’s comment. I liked the way it sounded—our two voices together in harmony. A flash of warmth rushed through me.
“How’ve you been?” Ty asked. “I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you much since Serena’s house.”
“I’m okay. Worried about Gareth. I can’t reach him on his phone. He called a few days ago, but since then nothing. Everything else’s been quiet.”
“He’s probably just being extra cautious,” Ty suggested.
“Yeah . . . maybe.”
“No sign of the Scavengers?”
“No, not that I know of anyway. I haven’t seen anything strange, and Serena hasn’t had any more visions about them, so I’m guessing whatever Gareth is doing must be working.”
“Are they still in the area?”
I nodded. “She thinks so, but she’s too afraid to do any real spell that would tell her for certain. She doesn’t want to attract any more attention.”
“Well, no news is good news, right?”
“Right,” I agreed. “Although I really wish Gareth would call. I’ll feel a whole lot better once I hear from him.”
“I’m sure he’ll call soon,” Ty said.
“I hope so.”
“And how about you, Maggie?” Ty turned his attention to her, and Maggie immediately launched into an animated narrative of her week. I watched Ty’s face as he listened, my heart fluttering as I studied the planes of his cheekbones, the strong set of his jaw, his lips that were quirked up into his crooked grin. I resisted the urge to fan my warm cheeks.
After parking the car and paying for out tickets, we walked into the carnival grounds. The cheerleaders had really outdone themselves this year. The fairgrounds were brightly lit with colorful lights, and speakers hanging from the light posts blasted popular country music. There was a large selection of rides, including a Ferris wheel and a Tilt-A-Whirl, and there were tons of booths that had games where you could win prizes. The smell of popcorn and funnel cakes wafted through the air, and my mouth began to water. In the back corner of the fair there was a haunted house, and there was also a haunted corn maze as part of the festivities.
“Wow,” I said, taking it all in.
“What you said,” Ty replied, his face in equal awe. Maggie, who was grinning like a five-year-old, nodded.
I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet. “What do you want to do first?”
“Oh, look,” Maggie said, pointing toward one of the booths. “There’s Lily Owens!” She waved, and a girl I recognized from school with strawberry-blonde hair waved back. “I think I’ll go hang with her for a while.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but snapped my lips back together when Maggie glared at me.
“You guys have fun. I’ll meet up with you later, okay?”
I let out a huff. I’d been counting on Maggie as a wingman, but as she wiggled her fingers at Ty and grinned at me with a smile that would’ve made the devil cringe, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
I mumbled under my breath as she winked at me and then skipped over to where Lily Owens was waiting. “Why, that little—”
“So,” Ty said, “are you hungry, or do you want to hit up the rides first?” He was beaming a smile that made me feel all gushy inside.
“I could definitely eat.” I tried to say it casually, but in truth I was starving. I’d been too nervous to eat earlier.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Ty said with a grin, “because there is a booth over there that claims they have corndogs so good they’ll make you want to slap your mama!” he finished the last part with an over-exaggerated Southern accent that made me laugh.
“That sounds great! Although I must warn you, I can pretty much eat my weight in corndogs. They’re my favorite.”
Ty grinned and put one of his hands over his heart in mock surprise. “Beautiful and loves corndogs? Be still my beating heart!”
Laughing, we headed toward the food vendors.
The crowd was thick and difficult to maneuver through. As Ty was getting the food, I jumped to the side as a mother wrangling three young boys almost trampled me on the way to the ice cream stand, and I stumbled into somebody on my other side.
“Excuse me, sir!” I said to the tall gentlemen I’d accidently bumped into. The man grunted in response, pulling his black baseball cap lower over his eyes. He stalked off without a word.
“Geez, rude much?” I muttered.
Before I could think on it further, Ty walked over triumphantly with a tray full of corndogs in his hands.
“You ready for this, Styles?” he crowed. “’Cause I’m about to kick your butt in a corndog-eating contest.” He did a little box step with his feet.
“Already practicing your victory dance?” I laughed.
“Yep, just want you to have a little taste of what’s to come.” Ty’s smile lit up his entire face.
“Ha!” I chortled. “Dream on, pal! I never met a corndog I didn’t like!”
Laughing, we made our way toward the picnic tables.
“You ready for this, Styles?” Ty asked, handing me a corndog.
“Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“There’s still time to back out, you know,” I yelled over the din of laughter and childish shrieks.
Ty leaned forward and gripped the wheel of his electric-blue bumper car. “I never back down from a fight.” I got a brief flash of smirk before a loud bell jangled and the cars went live.
I yanked my wheel and sped down the shiny linoleum track, trailing Ty’s car by a few feet. Just when I was close enough to ram the bumper, a yellow car driven by a kid in a Minions shirt t-boned me and sent me spinning into the middle of the track. The kid’s gleeful giggle echoed in my ear as I maneuvered my car back into the flow of traffic, scanning the sea of color for electric blue.
I heard his shout before I felt the impact that sent my car spinning. Squealing, I tried my best to control my car, but I was laughing too hard to make a real go of it. Ty rammed me again, knocked my car off the main course and into a small corner. I was trapped. I held my hands up, feigning defeat.
“Do you yield?” Ty joked, as if we were in the middle of a duel. He held out his arm like a sword and pointed at me. I tried to maneuver around him, but he had me pinned. He grinned smugly at me.
“Never!” I yelled, abandoning all attempts of going around him and stepping on the gas pedal instead, ramming my car into his. The impact knocked his car to the side just enough for me to squeeze through. The expression on his face made me burst out in another fit of giggles. The wind whipped my hair around my face as I raced toward the opposite side of the track, his laughter booming behind me.
By the time the bell jangled again, I was doubled over in my seat, laughing so hard my stomach ached. Ty’s car was parallel to mine, his own shoulders shaking nearly as much.
It took several minutes, but he finally stood up and managed to pull me to my feet. I was out of breath and the muscles in my face hurt from smiling so much, but I couldn’t stop the stupid grin I knew was plastered on my face.
“How about now?” he said, trailing a hand down my arm. “You yield?” His eyes were bright and sparkling.
The touch of his skin on mine sent a wave of heat
through me.
“Never,” I whispered. Every fiber of my being began to sing as he reached out and ran his fingers lightly over my cheek. My breath hitched in my throat as he leaned forward to kiss me.
“Um . . . excuse me.”
We both jumped. Ty took a step backward, and we both looked down at a kid wearing a baseball hat staring at us with crossed arms. “Blue’s my favorite color,” he said, looking pointedly at the car Ty had exited, the one our bodies were currently blocking.
“Oh,” I said, moving out of the way. “Sorry about that.” I tried to smile at the kid, but disappointment was coursing through me. I think I grimaced instead. The little kid gave me a weird look before hopping into the car.
Ty chuckled and reached for my hand. “Come on, Road Slayer. Let’s go get some lemonade.”
I let him lead me back outside where the night air was cool against my flushed skin. I’d expected him to drop my hand once we were outside, but he didn’t. His warm hand was still wrapped firmly around mine. I gave his fingers a gentle squeeze, and when he looked down at me, I swear my heart dropped right out of my chest.
I was so busy enjoying the gushiness of my emotions that when Ty stopped abruptly, I didn’t notice. I tripped as the tether of his arm yanked me backward. It was then that I saw the tight set of his shoulders, his rigid posture.
“Ty?”
When he looked at me, golden light ringed his irises.
“What’s wrong?”
He scanned the area, ignoring my question. Whipping his head back and forth, he pulled me toward the food vendors, tension pulsating down his arm.
“Ty, what is it?” He was walking briskly, and I did my best to keep up. I looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Ty!” I yanked on his arm and pulled him to a stop. “What’s going on?”
He was breathing easier now, and the golden light had faded slightly from his eyes. “I don’t know,” he said, focusing on my face. “Something’s not right.”
“Praetorian senses?” I asked, pointing to his eyes.
He nodded. “I think maybe we should get out of here.”
The look on his face made me swallow hard. “Is it the Scavengers?”
“I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it’s not friendly.”
That was good enough for me. “Okay, we have to find Maggie first. I don’t want to leave without her.”
Ty nodded, and we moved through the crowd, both of us alert. We were near the back corner of the grounds, the one adjacent to the corn maze, when I heard someone call my name.
“Styles! Styles, up here!”
I looked up, and Maggie was waving from one of the passenger pods on top of the Ferris wheel. Next to her, Lily Owens also gave a cheerful wave.
“Shit,” I muttered. Maggie’s pod was at the very top of the wheel.
She waved again, but her smile faded when she saw the serious look Ty and I were sharing. She disappeared from over the side of the pod, and a few seconds later, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
What’s wrong? Scavengers?
Maggie was lightning-fast when it came to texting.
We’re not sure, but Ty has a bad feeling. We need to go.
Roger that. As soon as I get down.
I sighed and shoved the phone back into my pocket.
Ty was standing stiffly at my side, his eyes scanning the crowd, looking for any signs of trouble.
I had no idea what to look for, but I scanned the crowd too. Adrenaline was pumping through me to the rhythm of my pounding heart. Every sound made me jump, and the bright lights of the carnival suddenly felt too warm. Shivers were racing up and down my back, and there was something hanging in the air that made my stomach churn with nausea.
“Ty,” I said, my voice strained, “you’re right. Something’s wrong.” I sucked in a shallow breath. “I can feel it.”
The golden rings around his eyes were growing brighter. He pulled me closer to his side, his arm a welcome and protective weight around me. “We really need to get out of here.”
“I know,” I whispered, watching as Maggie’s pod moved inch by inch toward the ground. The operator seemed to be giving each individual pod a turn to stop at the very top. I chewed on my bottom lip, my fingers tapping an impatient rhythm at my side.
There were only three pods left in front of Maggie’s when the screaming started.
The air erupted with horrified wails and shrieks of terror. I twisted my head back and forth but couldn’t locate the source of the cries. The people around me had grown eerily quiet as the screams floated through the air. Then I saw it.
I stood frozen, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. There was a strange orange glow illuminating the sky. The amber hue seemed to glow against the contrast of the dark night, but the feeling in my gut told me this was no carnival trick. This was deadly.
Ty stood beside me, his eyes too fixated on the sky.
“Ty, what is—” I broke off. The realization came crashing down. “Oh my God. It’s fire. The corn maze is on fire!”
As if my words had broken some kind of spell, the crowd around us erupted in panic and began running toward the exits. Carnival workers and volunteers were yelling at the crowd to remain calm, that everything was under control, but the air was already thick with smoke, and a wave of heat seemed to blanket the grounds. The corn maze bordered the fairgrounds on two sides, and with each passing minute, the screams grew louder, the thick orange haze growin
g brighter.
I wasn’t sure what compelled me, but I pushed through the crowd and ran toward the main entrance of the corn maze. As the blazing field came into view, I skidded to a stop and assessed the scene. About five feet away from the entrance to the corn maze, three carnival workers with fire extinguishers were trying to put out a large blaze that appeared to be one of the kettle corn vendor carts. Though the cart fire looked frightening, it was nothing compared with the flames that rose up behind it in the midst of the dry cornfield.
Ty stood wordlessly at my side, the bright flames dancing in the reflection of his eyes.
“The wind must have carried the embers!” I shouted over the noise, indicating the cart. “The cornstalks are so dry they burn like paper.”
A small contingent of policemen were trying to organize a rescue plan for those trapped inside the maze, and a tall carnival official barked into a walkie-talkie. People were running in all directions as the tall orange flames flickered and danced along the edge of the field, engulfing everything in their path. Black smoke billowed out behind the flames, and the air was filled with the roar of flames and burning cornstalks.
With the cart fire finally out, the carnival workers ran over and tried to extinguish the blaze with the fire extinguishers, but their efforts, however admirable, were no match for the appetite of the all-consuming fire.
Sirens sounded in the distance, but as the flames continued to spread, it became clear that in a matter of minutes there would be nothing left of the maze but ash and smoke.
“Lainey.” Ty’s gruff voice was low in my ear. “I don’t think it was the kettle corn cart.” He nodded at the burning stalks. “Look at the flames. Even with the dry conditions, it’s moving too fast.”
I stared at the fire. Nearly the entire corn maze had been consumed by the flames in a matter of seconds. Ty was right; even with the dried-out stalks, there was no way it could’ve burned that fast. It wasn’t possible . . . No, it had to be magical.
“Oh my God,” I said, feeling my knees start to weaken. Ty gripped me under the elbow. “Someone’s using magic, aren’t they?”
