by Ariella Moon
My core fluttered, overriding the warning image of the tower tarot card flashing inside my head. I clasped his hand. Instead of his usual calming warmth, Thor's palm was sweaty. He didn't haul me out. He just held my hand and blocked the door from slamming on me as I climbed out.
Thor closed the door, then popped the trunk. While he hunkered into a down jacket, I wound a cashmere scarf around my neck and pulled a knit cap over my ears. I debated exchanging my leather jacket for the heavy barn coat Terra had loaned me. Vanity won. Besides, Thor could warm me.
Nearby, a guy wearing expensive-looking climbing gear chased a protein bar wrapper across the asphalt. The only other people in the half-filled parking lot were a clutch of rock climbers.
I stared at the massive boulders mounded precariously on top of each other. "Why do I feel like I'm in the badlands?"
"Because cattle rustlers once hid stolen herds here."
"Perfect. I'll add channeling to my college application."
"Don't forget dragon shaman."
"Right. Columbia will offer me early admission with that one."
"Stranger things have happened." He held a bottle aloft. "Water?"
"No thanks." I knew you were supposed to carry water on hikes, but it wasn't warm out and I didn't want to carry it for a mile. Thor slipped the bottle into his jacket pocket, then closed the trunk and locked the car. "Ready?"
I gestured toward the trailhead. "Lead on, Scout."
The circular trail threaded through narrow rock passages, where massive boulders protected us from the wind and we were forced to walk in single file. I concentrated on stepping where Thor stepped and making sure I didn't slip on loose sand. If his dragon still dogged us, I didn't sense it.
Thor slowed his pace as if he thought I had never hiked before. On the flat, open sections, a few people could walk abreast. The hiking was easier, and rocks marked the compacted earth path. I relaxed. Not needing to watch my footing, my gaze swung upward to the precarious rock formations. One strong earthquake… I squashed my anxiety by reminding myself the boulders had been there for eons.
"I should have brought a camera," I said.
"We can use my phone." Thor stopped and leaned against a boulder. His color seemed off, and when he pulled the water bottle out of his pocket, his hand shook. "Open this while I dig out my phone."
The bottle was so cold it felt as if it had been in the freezer. "You okay?"
"Sure. Give me a minute."
I twisted off the cap and placed the bottle on the boulder. The wind had died down. Thor dug his smartphone out of his pocket. It slipped from his hand. Somehow, I caught it.
Thor hadn't moved. "Thanks," he said.
I glanced at the touchscreen. "You have a message from Jett."
Thor took a shaky swig. Water splashed his jacket. He brushed it off and balanced the bottle on the boulder. "Read it to me."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Sweat glistened on his forehead.
"Okay." Worry washed through me. He doesn't look well. I opened the text.
Urgent Ainslie calls me at the store.
Thor stiffened. "Hope everyone is okay."
"Me, too." My heart crash-landed at my feet, and fear spiked my anxiety. "I've lost the signal!"
"Climb up the rocks."
I clambered up the first mammoth boulder. Thor watched, seemingly unable to move. I held up the phone… Roaming. "Crap." I shoved the phone into my jacket pocket and used both hands to climb higher.
"Any luck?" Thor called up to me.
I pulled out the phone and angled it so I could see the screen. "Yes!" I punched in the number for Spiral Journeys. "It's ringing." Come on. Come on. Come on.
Jett answered on the fourth ring. He sounded breathless. "Ainslie?"
"Yes. Is everyone okay? Did my parents call?"
"No word from them." He lowered his voice and it sounded as though he had cupped his hand over the phone so no one would overhear him. "How's Thor? Are you at the park?"
I glanced down. Thor swayed a little on the boulder. "We're at Hidden Valley. I don't think he's feeling too well. Why?"
"I did a fire fortune and—"
Thor plummeted sideways, hitting the earthen path with a sickening thud.
"Thor!" I scrambled down the rocks.
"What happened?" Jett yelled.
"He—" The connection broke. Roaming. I jammed the phone into my pocket.
Thor remained motionless. He had landed on his side, then fallen onto his back. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. I jumped to the ground. Sand crunched beneath my boots. Pebbles bit through the knees of my skinny jeans as I knelt.
"Thor?" I willed his eyes to open. When they didn't, my gazed dropped to his chest, hoping to see it rise and fall. If it did, his down jacket hid the movement. My mind trolled through what little I knew about caring for an accident victim. Don't move them. Keep them warm. Phone for help.
"Thor?" I touched his cheek. "Please wake up. Please."
A ragged moan limped from his lips. He brought his hand to the rapidly swelling gash above his right eye.
I almost collapsed from relief. "Are you okay?" I brushed sand and white pebbles away from his eye. "What happened?"
"Got dizzy."
Why? The question screamed in my head. It couldn't be hypoglycemia. We had just eaten. I pushed back his sleeve and fished out his medical alert bracelet. Two words had been etched into the nickel: Supraventricular Tachycardia.
Cardia. He has a heart condition? "Don't move. I'll call for help." I started to rise.
"Wait." He gasped for air. "Hold the water bottle to my face." He took a deep breath — as deep as he could manage — pinched his nostrils shut, and closed his eyes and mouth. His cheeks puffed out and his expression became strained as if he were bearing down. I held my breath, mirroring him.
When I thought we might both explode, he released his nose and forced air out his mouth.
I retrieved the icy bottle and screwed the top back on before pressing it against Thor's forehead, avoiding the bloody gash.
After a moment he said, "Thanks. I'm good now."
"Are you sure? Don't move." He appeared far from normal. I rose and balanced the water bottle on the nearest boulder. Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. I did a three-sixty. No hikers or rock climbers in sight.
"Ainslie?"
My knees crunched the sand. "I'm right here."
"I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you warn me?"
A tear trickled from the corner of his eye. He swiped it away. "The doc had said it might never come back. But everyone treats me like the dying kid. Except—"
"Me."
His expression softened. "Except you."
I clasped his hand and held it near my heart. "When my best friend disappeared, I felt so powerless. I couldn't help her. I couldn't find her." Pressure built behind my eyes. "I ended up on a mental ward for a while."
"Rough."
My brows twitched in agreement. "The whole middle school thought I was crazy. The rep would have followed me into high school, so I enrolled in a private school." I glanced from Thor to the boulders. "Every day my parents expect me to relapse."
"They sound like my parents." He squeezed my hand. "You won't relapse."
"I might if I lose you, too."
A smile dimpled the cleft in his chin. "You won't." Sirens wailed in the distance. "Think Jett called nine-one-one?"
"I better, in case he didn't."
Thor's grasp tethered me. "She…the dragon…was with me the first time… It happened here. A kid at school had invited me to a rock climbing party."
"Uh-oh."
"Yeah." He averted his gaze. "This is my first time back."
"Maybe we should scratch this off your bucket list."
He laughed. "Think so?"
The sirens ceased. The wind picked up and whistled in my ears. Thor squeezed his eyes shut until it stopped. A fresh dusting of sand stuck to his cheeks. I swept it away w
ith feathery strokes.
Thor pressed my palm to his cheek. "I blacked out. It could cost me my driver's license."
"Thor and Ainslie?"
I twisted toward the unfamiliar voice. A dark-haired man wearing a ranger's uniform approached us. I released Thor's hand and stood. "I'm Ainslie Avalon-Bennett."
"Ranger Lightfoot. Nice to meet you." He glanced down. "And you must be Thor."
"Yes, sir." Thor shifted his legs as if preparing to stand. The ranger placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No need to get up." The ranger studied the lump over Thor's eye. "Nasty cut. Did you slip on the rocks?"
Thor sidestepped the question. "I'm fine, now."
"Just the same, let's give it a minute."
A serious-faced uniformed Emergency Medical Services team hiked into view — two men and a woman. They nodded to the ranger. The point man lowered his heavy-looking pack and said, "So, what do we have here?"
Thor's brows furrowed. He winced and touched the flesh beside his cut. "It's nothing. I fell."
The team surrounded him. The woman crouched beside Thor and angled his medical alert bracelet toward her. "Supraventricular tachycardia." A stethoscope and blood pressure cuff appeared. "We'll need to do an EKG."
"Let's give them some breathing space." The ranger steered me to a spot a few feet away. He pulled out a notebook and pen. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Okay." Anxiety whirled up my legs. Should I tell the truth? What if Thor loses his license? What if I lie, and he doesn't? What if he blacks out while driving?
"Miss Avalon-Bennett?"
"What? Sorry."
"Please sit down." He had led me to a rock where the only roost forced me to sit with my back to the ambulance team.
I perched on the cold boulder and clamped my hands together. "Do you have to fill out an incident report?"
The ranger sighed. "Always."
Crap.
"Tell me what happened."
"Ainslie!" Uncle Esmun strode into view. The woman behind him spotted the medical team and dashed to Thor's side.
"Mom, I'm fine," Thor assured her.
Uncle Esmun's gaze circled my aura. He pulled me into a side hug, then shook the ranger's hand. "I see you've met my niece and her friend."
"I have a few questions for them, Esmun."
"I understand. Do what you have to do so we can get these kids home."
I glanced at the medical team swarming Thor. Twice I had ended up in the emergency room before landing in the lockdown ward. I knew the look. Thor wasn't going home — not yet.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Uncle Esmun lowered the volume on the car stereo, almost muting a country western version of "Jingle Bell Rock." Ahead, Thor's mother drove the BMW behind the ambulance.
"You bummed he didn't want you to go to the hospital?"
I pressed my fingers to my lips and shook my head. "No. I understand." He doesn't want the image burned into my head, where I can't shake it out. "Why didn't you guys warn me?"
"It wasn't our story to tell." His brows arched. He didn't say it out loud, but I knew he was thinking, which is why we didn't tell Thor about you.
I shifted toward him and adjusted my seat belt. "Is this why you hoped I'd hit it off with Jett?"
Uncle Esmun blew out a long breath. "Think I'll delete 'matchmaker' from my résumé. Terra warned me it was a toss-up between Jett and Thor. Both of their astrological signs are good matches for you." He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at me. "Don't get me wrong. They both be fine young men. I don't favor one over the other."
"Then why—?"
"Spell fire."
"Spell fire?"
"When we worked on your almanac, the phrase kept entering my head. I had no idea what it meant. But I knew in my bones there was some connection between you, spells, and fire — not bad fire," he hastened to add. "Not like you in a burning building or something. But fire." He shrugged. "Jett had flames inked on his knuckles. I figured he was the link."
"Hmm." It sounded logical, though totally flawed. "Thor thinks I'm a natural dragon shaman. They do spells. And isn't fire one of the elements associated with dragons?"
"This be true." Uncle Esmun rubbed his nose. "I see your point."
I wriggled in my seat. Maybe "spell fire" wasn't about Jett or Thor. Maybe it was about me.
We had reached the main road. The ambulance and Thor's mom peeled one way; we headed the other.
"Don't worry," Uncle Esmun said. "They'll call us."
"Oh no." I patted my pocket. "I still have Thor's phone."
"We'll get it to him tomorrow."
We passed Coyote Crossroads. A few cars were parked along the street. More were probably in the sandy back lot. I wished Morningstar were free so we could talk.
A few minutes later, Uncle Esmun squeezed into the last parking space in front of Spiral Journeys, and we piled out. "Thanks for picking me up."
"Glad to do it." We reached the front door. Uncle Esmun gave me another hug. "Terra was counseling a bereaved client. I didn't interrupt her. I just phoned Kate — Thor's mom — and took off." He held the door open for me. Jett glanced up from his customer at the register when the wolf-and-moon chime clanged. He saw me, and his eyes widened.
"I'll find Terra and fill her in," Uncle Esmun said.
"Okay. I'll help Jett." Three more customers lined up at the register, so I assisted a woman at the wand and fairy dust table, then another with incense. The steady stream continued for twenty minutes. At last, Jett was free, and I had helped or greeted every customer on the floor. I gravitated to the register area.
"Is he okay?" Jett asked.
I hesitated, unsure if Jett already knew about Thor's heart condition. "He fell. He's headed to the hospital to get checked out."
Jett chewed his thumbnail. "Esmun called nine-one-one and the rangers. I was afraid they wouldn't listen to a kid."
"They arrived quickly. Thanks." I touched his shoulder.
Jett's gaze dropped to his sneakers. "Guess my fire fortunes helped for once."
"Big time." I glanced toward the back. "I need to talk to Terra. But buzz us if you get busy."
"Sure." He let me take two steps before he said, "Wait. I'll do it."
I swung around. "Do what?"
"My fire fortunes. The solstice event." He placed a small object on the counter and stepped back.
My gaze dropped to the pot of fairy dust. I picked it up. The glass jar retained warmth from Jett's hands. My note remained. Isis/Paid. AA-B.
"One condition, though," Jett said. "Do you still promise to watch Isis?"
My pulse jumped. "Of course."
"Then I'm in."
I think my eyebrows shot up to my hairline. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I don't want Terra and Esmun to lose this place. And the schools need the money."
"Awesome." My heart grew lighter, as if the Grinch had returned Christmas. I placed the little pot back on the counter.
"But remember. I'll only do it if you watch Isis."
I got it. "No problem." How hard could it be? Maybe she would be over the green snot stage.
"She's wary of everyone else. It's why she hides under the table."
I flashed on Isis's worn ruby slippers and how I had glared at her on the plane. "She's a little cagey around me, too."
An impish smile lit Jett's face. He flicked his head and his bangs shifted away from his eyes. "She thinks you're an angel. She told me you glow."
A blush warmed my face. I saluted him. "Angel at your service. Okay if I tell Aunt Terra and Uncle Esmun?"
He bowed and glided his hand through the air. Feeling like a princess who had been announced at the ball, I left before he changed his mind.
"We're on!" I told Aunt Terra and Uncle Esmun when I found them in the office. "Jett said he would perform the fire fortunes."
Aunt Terra tilted back her head. "Thank you, God and Goddess!"
****
&nb
sp; Spiral Journeys rocked. Demonstration Day rocked even more. Morningstar hunched over a television tray wedged into the register area, deftly wrapping gifts. Jett stood with his back to her as he tended the line of customers. The stool had been removed to make room for the wrapping area. His brow knotted as he inputted prices into the computer. Aunt Terra handled the crowd around the Wicca table. Uncle Esmun coated candles with anointing oil and protective herbs for two servicewomen. Lucia and I roamed the store, answering questions and helping people locate items. Thor, who had shown up an hour before, sat on the floor in the kids' corner and pretended to be zapped by a wand-wielding six-year-old and a giggling Isis.
One week until the winter solstice, and the Christmas shoppers had found us. A relieved sigh fled my lips.
Ten minutes remained until closing. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My stomach grumbled, unhappy I had skipped dinner to help customers. Lunch had been a smoothie and a brownie, choked down in the back room while posting about the solstice event on social media. I longed for a chicken Caesar salad, a hot bath, and clean sheets.
At nine o'clock I locked the front door, unlocking it as necessary to let out customers as they finished shopping. The last one exited at nine-twenty, along with Morningstar, Jett, and a sleepy-eyed Isis.
I dimmed the lights. Uncle Esmun stood spotlighted behind the register as he reconciled the checks and credit card receipts against the bank machine printout. Aunt Terra had carried the cash to the office to count and stash in the safe. I yanked the stilettos off my swollen feet. In slow, torturous increments, my toes unfurled against the industrial carpet.
Lucia, Thor, and I fanned out to straighten the store. Like two magnets, Thor and I worked toward each other, meeting at the bookcases.
"Good day, huh?" he said.
"Yeah. Busy." I forced myself to not give him a head-to-toe appraisal. I hadn't seen him for two days. By phone he had said he was resting, but he hadn't volunteered any details about his hospital stint.
"Good thing you showed up tonight. Thanks for helping." Every time there had been a lull, my gaze had sought him out. Each time my brain had arrowed on he's going to die, I countermanded three times: He's totally fine. He's totally fine. He's totally fine. The effort had sapped me.
